Rabbi Ariel Root Wolpe’s Words on Israel
October 22, 2023
Dear Ma’alot community,
Our tradition teaches that we have an obligation to take care of each other, to reach out and lift each other out of suffering. To not let fear and pain get in the way of love, to reject polarizing rhetoric and dehumanizing tropes. We struggle to hold it all: the grief and shock from the slaughter of 1,400 Israelis on Simchat Torah, 200 Israeli hostages — including babies as young as eight months old — still held by Hamas, a humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza with over 4,000 reported dead, and bombs falling on the north of Israel with threat of further attack. And I have seen the continuous outreach of support as each new horror unfolds: person to person and community to community.
Amidst it all, I am also burdened by the hatred and the misunderstanding of the “other.” There is rising antisemitism and Islamophobia across the world, causing many to fear for their safety. For the Jewish people, each news item, each social media post, each conversation is laden with centuries of trauma in our memories and our bodies. We are a people repeatedly vilified and caricatured by the world, a history that makes this moment all the more scary. The Jewish people are collectively in yet another trauma. And to move through this trauma, we need to find and create spaces where we can listen deeply, find comfort in community, and build the relationships that draw us towards a better future.
Core to Ma’alot’s mission is the transformation of self and society. Our Community vigil is one place to offer a space to tune into all of the pain, the fear, the anger, the grief, the confusion, the numbness, along with the love and the beauty and the hope, and to find our truth amidst it all. To call on our most ancient musical and ritual tools to carry us towards tenderness and compassion. To say Kaddish, to pray for the safety of those in danger, and sing Misheberach for healing. To find our resilience and our humanity amidst the broken shards.
If you haven’t been in Jewish spaces in a while, if you are confused or grieving, if you need a safe space to process, then I hope you will reach out and find your people in community.. Let’s be there for one another.
October 9, 2023
Dear Ma’alot community,
Thank you for your patience in receiving a message about Israel from me. I have been taking time to grieve, to cry, process, to be with my family and check on those I know in Israel. I know that these past few days have been agonizing for many of you.
I am heartbroken and in deep pain. My social media is filled with pictures of innocent Israeli families and civilians slaughtered and taken captive by Hamas, and posts by those frantically trying to find those who are missing. In the news I see residents of Gaza fleeing for their lives and counting the hundreds of men, women and children dead. They are all victims. As I move through each story, I close my eyes for a moment and pray - for peace and safety for them and their families, and an end to this war.
In the Ma’alot community, there are a diverse set of opinions about Israel, and this crisis elicits a complicated mix of emotions for many of us. But no matter your politics, acts of violence against the innocent must be unequivocally denounced. We must remember that the destinies of Muslims and Jews in this region are inextricably intertwined, and that brutality and terror harm everyone and move us farther from peace. Neither Palestinians nor Israelis are going anywhere because this land is their home. No-one will know peace until we find a way for everyone to live in safety and security.
I hope that, even in this wake of this violence, Jews and Israelis, as well as Muslims and Palestinians, all those experiencing trauma, anger, and fear will turn away from revenge. I pray that the leaders on both sides become imbued with a vision for peace, and learn to see one another as part of their family. I believe that it is possible for there to be a just and peaceful future in the Middle East and that we can support that future by reaching out to those who are suffering in solidarity and support. Even when we feel powerless, our ancestors ask us to step into our power – to pray the tears of our hearts and to act against injustice and tragedy.
We pray with the words of the prophet Isaiah: lo yisa goy el goy cherev, lo yilmadu od milchama. Let nation not lift up sword against nation, let us no longer know war.
There are sections below for words to pray and ways to act. I hope you will find what speaks to you and aligns with your values.
With a weeping heart and fervent prayers for safety for all,
Rabbi Ariel
Words of Prayer
Prayer for the captives translated by Rina Carmel.
מי שברך אבותינו אברהם יצחק ויעקב יוסף משה ואהרון דוד ושלמה, הוא יברך וישמור וינצור את החטופים והשבויים, בתוך שאר אחינו בית ישראל הנתונים בצרה ובשביה. בעבור שהקהל מתפלל בעבורם, הקדוש ברוך הוא ימלא רחמים עליהם, ויוציאם מחושך וצלמות, ומוסרותיהם ינתק, וממצוקותיהם יושיעם, וישיבם מהרה לחיק משפחותיהם. "יודו לה' חסדו ונפלאותיו לבני אדם". ויקוים בהם מקרא שכתוב: "ופדויי ה' ישובון ובאו ציון ברינה ושמחת עולם על ראשם. ששון ושמחה ישיגו ונסו יגון ואנחה" ונאמר אמן.
May G!d who blessed our fathers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, David, and Solomon, and our mothers Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah may G!d bless and keep and bring to safety those who have been kidnapped and who are being held captive, along with all the House of Israel in need of protection. We pray for them, may G!d show them mercy, and bring them out of darkness and shadows, and bring them out of imprisonment, and save them from distress, and return them speedily to their families. “May G!d grant benevolence and miracles to the children of Adam." And may it be, as it is written: "May G!d return them to Zion with singing and gladness, and do away with grief and sorrow.” And let us say Amen.
How to Support
Gratitude to Lab/SHUL for compiling this list of resources
ASUTA HOSPITAL NEAR GAZA BORDER NEEDS YOUR URGENT HELP.
To anyone who can help - we need you today. There is an urgent need to raise donations, all of which have one goal: saving lives. These donations will cover a variety of medical emergency equipment.
For donations in Israel: all donations are recognized according to section 46.
For credit card donations go directly to: www.AssutaAshdodFriends.org
For bank transfers:
For donations in the USA through the Friends of Samson Assuta Ashdod Hospital - tax exempt according to 501c(3)
For bank transfers:
JPMorgan Chase Bank
383 Madison Ave, NY, NY
ABA# 021000021
SWIFT# CHASU33
Account number: 939921786
Account name: American Friends of Assuta Ashdod
SUPPORT ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE EFFORTS - now more than ever. “Sulha Peace Project” was established in 2000 in the midst of the Second Intifada with the goal of creating eye-to-eye, heart-to-heart encounters between Palestinians and Israelis. When the smoke clears -- this will be one of the first grassroots organizations to bring people together to help heal. We need your love and support
EMERGENCY SUPPORT FOR IDF FRONTLINE GEAR -- soldiers on the frontline now faced with shortage of life-saving gear: Bulletproof vests & helmets.
Hundreds of thousands of reservists have been mobilized to the front line. While they will be risking their lives to protect our country, they are fitted with outdated gear from the 80s.
This donation will make sure we fit our soldiers with the best protective gear out there. Every Ceramic vest + helmet is 500$. If you have the means, please donate, and help our brothers and sisters to return home safely.
Donate here.
TAKE A MOMENT FOR A QUIET PRAYER AND LIGHT A CANDLE FOR PEACE - Download the Mothers’ Prayer for Peace - composed by Jewish and Muslim mothers and spiritual leaders, a decade ago, during yet another round of violence between Hamas and Israel.