Dear TEE community,
I’ve come back from some time away from work but, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take time away from the news. My email has been inundated with statements, articles, and long conversations about the war in Israel and Palestine. My family members in Israel are sharing their grief and fear. My Palestinian friends are sharing theirs. Like many of you, I’m sure, I’m in a state of information and emotional overload. And yet as a Jew, as an American, and, of course, as a rabbi I feel the need to pay attention.
This week’s Torah portion has one of the most remarkable and, in this moment, challenging stories in the Bible. Having decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, due to the wrongdoing of their inhabitants, God chooses to have a conversation with Abraham about it first. Incredibly, Abraham immediately confronts the Holy One, saying, “Will you sweep away the innocent along with the guilty?”
This is the question so many of us are struggling with in this moment. What is an appropriate response to the atrocities committed on October 7th? Can there be such a thing as proportional violence in answer to violence? How many of the innocent can be swept away along with the guilty before a new injustice occurs?
In Genesis, Abraham continues his challenge to God: “Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” We are not God but we, too, are called to act justly. Those of you who know me, know that I am never short of opinions. But in this instance, I am aware that I do not have anywhere near the whole picture. Of course, if the solutions to this conflict were simple or obvious, we would all know them.
It is extremely uncomfortable to sit with uncertainty, but in this moment I can only ask myself how to apply what I believe are fundamental Jewish values, such as the sanctity of every human life, the immorality of kidnapping,* and the teaching that we should never celebrate warfare or violence.
I have been thinking about part of a joint Jewish-Muslim statement which reads, “We are grieving family and friends, babies and grandparents, while the world chooses sides as if it were a football game.” Several years ago, there was a solidarity campaign where Jews and Muslims shared pictures of themselves together with the caption, “We refuse to be enemies.” In times of high emotion it can be difficult to see beyond “us” vs. “them,” but that is where peace dwells.
One of the great strengths of community is that we do not have to experience difficult times, such as this one, alone. Friday night at our Shabbat services we will be studying this week’s Torah portion and have an opportunity to consider our own answers to Abraham’s questions. I hope our time together will also provide a sense of solidarity and support in light of the painful events in this country as well as Europe and the Middle East.
May the One who orders the cosmos create wholeness and wellbeing for all the inhabitants of earth.
Rabbi Drorah Setel
*“You shall not steal” in the Ten Commandments actually means “You shall not kidnap.” Additionally our daily prayers refer to God as “the One who releases the captive.”