We also have plenty of friends & relatives with kids in the army. I say kids, not only because they are their offspring, but because they are kids. I have to laugh when I hear parents talk about their 18 & 19 year olds going to college and taking care of their laundry and expenses as if they are still young children. This is the age of boys & girls defending us in Gaza! These are the ages of the 30+ soldiers who have lost their lives so far. If they are old enough to shoot an M16, they are probably old enough to manage their laundry. Please do not tell me about how different Israeli teens are from American teens- they are all young adults....with different expectations waiting for them at the end of high school. So those friends, family & acquaintances who have kids in the army, do not quite go about their business AS USUAL. They live their lives on the edge...waiting to hear their son or daughter's voice telling them that they are safe and ok; and while sitting on the bus or in traffic, or at that meeting, or in the doctor's office, or wherever they are, they close their eyes and pray for their safety. Are they proud? Of course they are, but the fear is there as well. It just is what it is.
If you ask the press about the "matzav" in Israel, they report that Israelis are busy killing & injuring innocent people and UN peace keepers. I know some very intelligent and talented journalists and photographers, somehow none of them work for the foreign press. Why is that?
Don't ask Europeans unless they are informed Jews, because they are busy burning buildings, harassing Jews, and holding "let's play dead" demonstrations. By the way, if you talk to those European Jews, please ask them why the hell they are still living there. By the way, I noticed that this week I have two Facebook friends who traveled to Paris for vacation. REALLY? Of all the places in the world available for travel do ya have to go to France? Seriously?
Here in America, the results of the "matzav" in Israel have been quite remarkable. Last week scores of Jews, from every flavor of the rainbow and then some, marched together in support of Israel. It is has been a very long time since the American Jewish community was united about anything..... We waste so much time and energy on diversity, disparities and indifference, it is refreshing to see us generating positive energy together to share with our "lansman" in Israel. I am wondering how long it will last. How sad it is that we need a crisis in Israel to unite. Rabbi Solovietchik (ZT"L) said that one of the secrets to Jewish survival is Brit Yi'ud; a shared dedication or destiny to conquer and retain Eretz Yisrael. I believe we are living the proof of that right now. We are all united in the defense of Israel and all of the sudden it doesn't matter who you are are, how you worship, where you daven or if you pray at all. Side by side we support Israel. Whether we believe it is ours legally or spiritually, whether we sit on the right, left or in between- we are united.
Before I sign off to light my Shabbat candles I am thinking about my friend Debbie Friedman (Z"L) who passed away a few years ago. Debbie and I were so different, yet so similar. In simplistic terms we bonded over our belief in God and had strong connections to Medinat Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael. Debbie had a way of unifying people through music and with her calm and peaceful demeanor. If she were here, she would be writing songs to help us pray for the safety of soldiers, to comfort grieving families and for peace in Israel. It is times like these when I remember how much we lost when she passed away.
May this be the week that we see a new "matzav" in Israel. A matzav filled with peace and safety for all.
