This week, much of the Jewish and general social media universe have quickly written about the meaning of Claudine Gay’s resignation as the president of Harvard University. There are people who view this as a victory in the war against antisemitism on college campuses, while others think this is a terrible result for Jews as it will be used by our enemies to exaggerate the strength and reach of Jewish power.

I want to invite you to imagine the ancient walls of Jerusalem surrounded as the Babylonians lay siege to the holy city. Nebuchadnezzar built towers around the city. For approximately two-and-a-half years, the city was cut off from the outside world. No one seemed to care about the Jews. In II Kings 25:1, we read that “by the 9th day of the [4th month] the famine had become acute in the city; there was no food left for the common people.”

In second grade, in the face of injustice, I committed a terrible act of cruelty. It’s an incident that I have shared before, although not in many years, so please forgive me if you recall the story. A new child joined our second-grade class. His name was Zinatalli; when he first arrived, I was as excited as could be, because for the first time, I was no longer the shortest child in my grade.

November 18th, 1978—that’s when the mass suicide occurred, forty-five years ago. November 18th is also my birthday, so perhaps that is why the story of Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre has always haunted me. Jim Jones began as a social activist, working to ameliorate some of America’s racism. Over time, the forms of his social activism and his associated beliefs became more extreme, even as his ability to manipulate and exert control over his followers grew.

Carl Jung once said that “Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol or morphine or idealism.”

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.

This talk has evolved from an initial focus on the Israel Gaza to emphasize instead the spiking levels of antisemitism here in America. Despite this shift in focus, the thematic content of this parshah, Chayei Sarah, could not be more pertinent while Israel buries its 1300 slain family members and continues its war against Hamas.