I write to you from the El Al airplane en route to participate in the Voice of the People Council, hosted by President Herzog of Israel.
Over the next week, 150 Jewish leaders will gather and discuss both the challenges of today’s Jewish world but also action plans of opportunity.
As I inch closer to landing in Israel, so much has changed since my last visit in May 2024. Many more hostages are home and yet many more families of hostages are now saying Kaddish for their loved ones who were brutally murdered in captivity.
Today is Rosh Chodesh Adar. In normal years, we would sing Mishenichnas Adar Marbim Besimcha; when we enter the month of Adar, our joy should increase. Yet, for so long now it has felt more like the month of Av, where we learn that our joy should be diminished.
Where do we find strength to continue this Adar? It can be found in the parsha where we read, “They will make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them.”
A beautiful commentary explains the different levels of holiness within a sacred space. There are external rooms, there is the actual sanctuary, and then there is the ark itself, housing the Torah. Our sanctuaries would simply be buildings were it not for the people, and our buildings would not be a sanctuary if it were not for the Torah. We work in partnership with the Divine to create the world in which we live.
In a few hours, I will celebrate Shabbat with family in Israel. I will sit with Israelis who for the last 16 months continue to live in a vulnerable state, with moments of deep despair coupled with moments of hope.
For so many of my trips to Israel, I had a clear understanding of the Israel I was going to.
At this moment, while I am not sure what Israel I will experience this week, I do know one thing for sure: we have an Israel that we can go to and an Israel that we must go to where thousands of years ago, the Divine presence appeared, and where thousands of years later, we, too, bring that Divine presence into this month of Adar.
