By Rabbi Jonah Pesner I write these words as I return from Israel as part of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations mission commemorating the first anniversary of the October 7th attacks on Israel – the most violent massacre of Jews on a single day since the Shoah. I share the following […]
Today is October 7th – Today is day 365. Today we mark one year on the Gregorian calendar since the day that will live in infamy. It is a day referred to by its date, and everyone knows what we mean when we say “October 7th” or “the 7th”. Some compare it to the Israeli […]
“תִּכְלֶה שָׁנָה וְקִלְלוֹתֶיהָ, תָּחֵל שָׁנָה וּבִרְכוֹתֶיהָ“ “May the curses of the past year fade away, and may this year begin with its blesings” Iran is often compared to an octopus. The terror and desire to destroy Israel comes from its head but is enacted through its many far-reaching tentacles. For the past few decades, […]
:וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלָי מִצָּפוֹן תִּפָּתַח הָרָעָה עַל כָּל יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ (ירמיהו א:יד) “And GOD said to me: From the north shall disaster break loose Upon all the inhabitants of the land!‘” (Jeremiah 1:14) I was struck this week by a headline that said “Israel’s Bombardment of Lebanon” as if that told the whole story […]
September 20, 2024 – י״ז אֱלוּל תשפ”ד Many of us will always remember where we were on October 7th. Previously, I had three specific dates that I will always remember: The famous handshake on the White House Lawn between Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat, and Bill Clinton to formalize the Oslo Peace Process on September 13, […]
Friday September 13, 2024 – י׳ אֱלוּל תשפ”ד בְּרֶ֥גַע קָטֹ֖ן עֲזַבְתִּ֑יךְ וּבְרַחֲמִ֥ים גְּדֹלִ֖ים אֲקַבְּצֵֽךְ׃ בְּשֶׁ֣צֶף קֶ֗צֶף הִסְתַּ֨רְתִּי פָנַ֥י רֶ֙גַע֙ מִמֵּ֔ךְ וּבְחֶ֥סֶד עוֹלָ֖ם רִחַמְתִּ֑יךְ אָמַ֥ר גֹּאֲלֵ֖ךְ יְהֹוָֽה׃ (ישעיהו נד:ז-ח) For a little while I forsook you, But with vast love I will bring you back. In slight anger, for a moment, I hid My face from […]
Friday September 6, 2024 – ג׳ אֱלוּל תשפ”ד It didn’t have to end like this. This was not the ending that we expected. This was the nightmare scenario that we all knew could happen deep in our consciousness, but we hoped and prayed that it wouldn’t. Now we are grieving and many of us are […]
Friday August 30, 2024 – כ״ו אָב תשפ”ד רְאֵ֗ה אָנֹכִ֛י נֹתֵ֥ן לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם בְּרָכָ֖ה וּקְלָלָֽה׃ אֶֽת־הַבְּרָכָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר תִּשְׁמְע֗וּ אֶל־מִצְוֺת֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם הַיּֽוֹם׃ “See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: blessing, if you obey the commandments of your God יהוה that I enjoin upon you this day;” At […]
Friday August 23, 2024 – י״ט אָב תשפ”ד וְאָכַלְתָּ֣ אֶת־כׇּל־הָֽעַמִּ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ נֹתֵ֣ן לָ֔ךְ לֹא־תָח֥וֹס עֵֽינְךָ֖ עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וְלֹ֤א תַעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־אֱלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם כִּֽי־מוֹקֵ֥שׁ ה֖וּא לָֽךְ׃ (דברים ז:טז) “You shall destroy all the peoples that your God יהוה delivers to you, showing them no pity. And you shall not worship their gods, for that would be a snare […]
Friday Augus 9, 2024 – ה׳ אָב תשפ”ד According to the Jewish calendar, we refer to the days between the 1st and 9th of Av as “the Nine Days.” The Talmud teaches that “When the month of Av begins, we reduce our joy.“(Taanit 26b) The Nine Days inaugurates an even greater depth of communal […]
Friday August 2, 2024 – כ״ז תַּמּוּז תשפ”ד בִּנְפֹל אוֹיִבְךָ אַל־תִּשְׂמָח וּבִכָּשְׁלוֹ אַל־יָגֵל לִבֶּךָ׃ (משלי כד:יז) If your enemy falls, do not exult; If he trips, let your heart not rejoice, (Proverbs 24:17) כִּי לֹא־תִהְיֶה אַחֲרִית לָרָע נֵר רְשָׁעִים יִדְעָךְ׃ (משלי כד:כ) For there is no future for the evil person; The lamp of the […]
Friday July 26, 2024 – כ׳ תַּמּוּז תשפ”ד Yesterday, I was proud to represent ARZA and the URJ alongside a group of Israelis, hostage families, and American Jews to raise our voices in protest over Prime Minister Netanyahu’s repeated failure to bring about a hostage deal and his insistence on an amorphous slogan of “total […]