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Shalom, chaveirim - hello, friends -
I have two columns this week: one on Purim and one on my experience on an army base this week ...
From Haman to Hamas, what the Jewish holiday teaches us about fighting antisemitism
If you want to gain a better understanding of growing antisemitism in our society today and even how we as a modern Jewish community might respond, look no further than the Jewish holidays.
Each holiday reminds us of God’s presence in our lives, the miracle of our survival, and our own human agency so that we refuse to live as victims. But these holidays also speak volumes about the varied forms of antisemitism and the response of the Jewish people.
Continue reading here.
I've never worn a military uniform before and suddenly, I spent several days in one.
In 1982, Dr. David Aharoni, former head of the IDF's Paratrooper and Infantry Corps, heard how farmers in Israel's Golan and Galilee regions were suffering on account of the beginning of the war with Lebanon. The lack of manpower in the fields led to crops going to waste so Aharoni coordinated groups of volunteers to save precious produce and thus was born the organization known as "Sar-El" which is an acronym for Sheirut Yisrael ~ Service to Israel.
I was excited to learn that Sar-El was an acronym meaning “Service to Israel.” First off, those four letters are the last four letters of the name of our people - meaning that only the first letter was excluded: yud (י). Yud is the first letter of our people’s name. It is also the first letter of God’s ineffable name. Even without the yud, the idea that we were serving God was still very much present. After all, the word ‘sar’ (שר) in Hebrew means “minister” and the word ‘el’ (אל) is a name for God. Therefore, part of our work this week was to serve as ministers for/of God … ministering to our people (in whom the divine spark rests ~ as with all humanity) and hopefully providing a measure of pikuach nefesh (saving a soul) for the Israeli military.
Continue reading here.
Wishing everyone a shabbat shalom u'mvorach - a shabbat with much peace and blessing and may it be a Purim sameach - a happy Purim,
Rabbi Mark Cohn
The photo above is me in a warehouse packing medical supplies. In the picture are my fellow volunteers plus our Israeli army supervisors.
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Thursday, May 9 (7:00 PM) at Congregation B'nai Israel, 444 Main Street North, Southbury. Acclaimed author, journalist, teacher Yossi Klein Halevi will be speaking on "How October 7 Changed Israel and the Jewish World." This evening is hosted by our congregation joined with CBI of Southbury, the Jewish Federation of Western CT, the Greater Washington Coalition for Jewish Life, United Jewish Center of Danbury, and Temple Beth David of Cheshire.
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