We say that all Jewish souls were at Sinai together. Do you recall “being there?” What does it mean to us that we were part of the Sinai experience?
The Midrash explains that each and every soul who received the Torah did so according to his or her own strength. Men, women and children were taught of the Lord and the ways of Jewish tradition.
When we come to the Torah on the Sabbath to hear the reading in synagogue it is a reunion then! When we gather for services it is a reminder of the time when we were in the desert with no instructions yet about how to be a People or what Jewish culture meant.
Renewing the covenant with God, each of us on our own terms yet collectively, is at the core of the Jewish worship and Shabbat morning experience. When we ask ourselves how Torah and Jewish wisdom may impact our lives and the world we fulfill the destiny of the Jewish People that began back at that humble Mount Sinai those many generations ago.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bolton
IN CASE YOU DID NOT SEE MY LETTER ABOUT THE MURDER IN WASHINGTON DC:
כָּל֨וּ בַדְּמָע֤וֹת עֵינַי֙ חֳמַרְמְר֣וּ מֵעַ֔י נִשְׁפַּ֤ךְ לָאָ֙רֶץ֙ כְּבֵדִ֔י עַל־שֶׁ֖בֶר בַּת־עַמִּ֑י בֵּֽעָטֵ֤ף עוֹלֵל֙ וְיוֹנֵ֔ק בִּרְחֹב֖וֹת קִרְיָֽה׃ {ס}
My eyes are spent with tears,
My heart is in tumult,
My being melts away
Over the ruin of my poor people,
As babes and infants
languish In the squares of the city.
(Lamentations 2:11)
We are heartbroken and angry, outraged by the shameless and wicked murder of Yaron Lischinsky z”l and Sarah Lynn Milgrim z”l, staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, last night. We stand in solidarity with the victims’ families and mourn with them in sorrow.
We have just seen the intifada globalized, and it is not an attack only on Israel – it is against Jews. We have just witnessed the blood of our brother and sister spilled after the call for eradicating Jews went out under the slogan and charge of “Free Palestine.” The delegitimization, demonization, and antisemitism spewed on American campuses and in the media have contributed to the environment in which we knew something was going to happen. The gunman was in front of the Jewish Museum in Washington to target Jews – don’t let the media reports about the two young people’s jobs at the Israeli Embassy cloud our understanding. They were targeted because they were Jews.
Thankfully, the outpouring of support and partners who join us in condemning these acts and this antisemite murderer is widespread. But we must continue to articulate our expectations that they indeed stand with us to overcome the scourge of antisemitism and violence against Jews happening worldwide.
Anyone with moral clarity recognizes these murders as the breakdown of civilization and pure Jew-hatred. This was a killing in cold blood of two members of the Jewish family. This was murder outside the new Jewish Museum in Washington, DC – yards away from an FBI field office and our nation’s Capitol.
As Josh Kramer of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) wrote: The investigation is ongoing, but what we know is clear: Sarah and Yaron were targeted because they were Jewish. We grieve alongside their families and redouble our commitment to ensuring that antisemitism is confronted without apology, and that Jewish life continues proudly and publicly.
I encourage you to come to Shabbat services to unite in prayer. Come feel hope as we celebrate a young couple in love at the Torah who will celebrate their aufruf before their wedding.
We will never let terrorists and those who disdain life – who target and murder Jews -overcome our hope and celebrations. We remain steadfast in our commitments to strengthening and making flourish our Jewish community and all Am Yisrael.
B’vrakha, with wishes for comfort and blessings for strength,
Rabbi Bolton