Reflecting on the massacre of over 1,400 Israelis by Hamas, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch wonders: “What culture, what mindset, what belief system produces — or condones — such brutality?” This week’s parashah describes the flood that wiped out humanity, he says. But, like Noah, “even when the world is awash in immorality, it is still possible to be righteous…”
A week after Hamas massacred more than 1,000 Israeli civilians, “we gather for Shabbat on the day that Hamas has termed ‘A Day of Rage,’” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. “These rally-goers are not supporting peace. They are not supporting Palestinian rights. They are supporting a Nazi philosophy of exterminating Jews.” So what can we do? “Show up,” he says. “Hold everyone accountable. Insist on moral clarity…”
At a gathering mourning the surprise attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians and expressing solidarity with Israel, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch said: “We saw in vivid reality what a pogrom looks like… Make no mistake: Israeli civilians were massacred because they were Jews. They massacred whole families. They slaughtered babies. They raped young women… and they ask why there is no peace? The days of murdering and massacring Jews with impunity are over… Israel will prevail. Am Yisrael chai!”
“We are either rushing or resting. One or the other,” Rabbi Samantha Natov observes. But dwelling in our sukkahs, being both outdoors and indoors, teaches us to “dwell in contradiction,” she says. “Instead of running from one moment to another, we can strive to integrate peace into whatever moment we find ourselves in.”
Fifty years after the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch reflects on his experience as a 14-year-old new Israeli immigrant and the Jewish state’s brilliant successes and unresolved disappointments over the intervening decades. But “there is something about the Jews that makes it difficult for us to live together,” he says of the ongoing civil discord in Israel. “For our own self-dignity, we will continue to voice our clear and unreserved moral resistance to extreme elements of the Israeli government.”
An encounter with a very non-New York couple leaves a lasting impression on Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. “They reminded me of the basic truth of our tradition: that a wise person learns from everyone,” he says. “Morality, the very soul of religion, is a feeling, the result of friendship and companionship.” As we begin 5784, Rabbi Hirsch says: “May you be tolerant of all people, assuming the best in them, judging them favorably, and giving them the benefit of the doubt…”
