Thinking Torah Blog

There are moments in our lives when everything changes, when our perception of the world undergoes a profound transformation. In this week's Torah portion, our ancestor Jacob experiences such a paradigm shift. He has a dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder, and in this dream, he hears God speaking to him. Upon waking, Jacob exclaims, "God is in this place, and I, I did not even know it." Rabbinic Judaism echoes this line when it begins to use the word HaMakom, The Place, as a name for God, thus reframing God as being present in all places, not just specific ones. I share this belief.

As Jews, we do not celebrate destruction and loss of life, in part because we recognize that "God is in this place." And yet, the events of the massacre on October 7th have challenged my commitment to universalism. It's not that I no longer believe in universalism, but rather that my current need to focus on telling the specific story of the Jewish people is overshadowing my universal ideals. I believe this shift has occurred because, in the midst of the media's constant attention, I am continually reminded of the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza. The loss of Palestinian lives is a tragedy, and some community members have reached out to me, wondering why I haven't addressed this issue more prominently. They ask why I haven't prayed for the safety of innocent lives regardless of ethnicity.

As a rabbi, my primary responsibility is to the Jewish people. I have consistently raised awareness about the tragedy that occurred on October 7th, not because I don't care about the Palestinians, but because if I don't, who will? Unfortunately, October 7th is no longer dominating the headlines. It took 20 years for Holocaust denial to gain traction in our world, but it took only 20 seconds for some to deny the massacre perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th. We must not allow the memory of that tragedy to fade away. We must continue to share these stories because we are the ones who can ensure they are not forgotten. God is in Gaza, and I want us to remember that God was also present in Kfar Aza, Be'eri, and the Nova Music Festival.

Many of us were at the Ypsilanti City Council meeting on Tuesday, October 21st, including Paster Emily Swan, the lead pastor at Blue Ocean Faith. Pastor Swan wrote an important letter to the council asking them to rescind the hurtful resolution they passed two weeks ago. Please read Pastor Swan's letter HERE.