Israel Solidarity Mission – Day 2

Today was the reason I came on this trip. I came to bear witness to the atrocities of Black Shabbat, October 7. Houses blackened with soot. Safe rooms covered in blood and bullets. A bottle of wine left on the table outside from a last sukkah party the night before. In this house, a friend, in that house, a young family. Doors with a “Bring Them Home” poster of their owner taped to the door.

The Dreams and Nightmares of War

In Parshat Vayetzei, we read the dream of Jacob’s ladder, as angels rise and descend in a place called Beth El, the House of God. In normal years, we could all find inspiration and encouragement in the power of our dreams. But this is not a normal year—October 7th made sure of that.

Call Me Maybe – Parshat Vayishlach 5784

Although the types of messages in the Torah are different than those of today, you can imagine what ancient messages might have looked like with today’s technology. Perhaps the visual cue of the ram in a thicket would come as an animated GIF on Abraham’s iPhone. Maybe Noah would have been alerted about the flood with an emergency broadcast system notification.