“Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine should be a clarifying moment for Jews, but also for the Western world,” says Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch in the wake of yet another terrorist attack in Israel. “The yearning for peace must rest on the willingness to defend yourself. We will always support Israel’s right — and moral obligation — to self-defense.”
“For weeks, we’ve watched the Russian military mauling millions of innocent civilians. I am inexpressibly frustrated by simply watching,” says Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch. “For this reason, our president Steven Silverstein and I will be leading a humanitarian mission to Poland and the Ukrainian border in the last week of April. And I want you to come with us.”
“We are often stripping a person down to one piece of themselves — one word, one act, one meme. So many of us are too quick to judge and we do not do enough to bring people back into the fold,” says Rabbi Samantha Natov. “Judaism gives us a mechanism to share our lives with others: to see the fullness of the person in front of us, and for them to see us.”
“How can we celebrate while our brothers and sisters in Ukraine are fighting for survival?” asks Rabbi Samantha Natov. “This week, I saw photos of Ukrainian Jews making hamantaschen, singing and reading the Megillah. It’s nothing short of a statement of resistance. They’re saying: ‘We are still here.’”
“With the war raging in Ukraine, we are increasingly aware of how quickly things can change and how vulnerable we always are,” says Rabbi Samantha Natov. We tell each other stories to cope — and to avoid repeating history. “On this Shabbat of Remembrance, we are told to both ‘remember’ and to ‘not forget.’”
“The Ukrainian people are saying ‘hineini’ — ‘here I am,’” says Rabbi Sam Natov. “People in neighboring countries are saying ‘hineini’ as they welcome refugees. Abraham, Jacob and Moses all said ‘hineini.’ And we, too, say ‘hineini’ by raising donations, joining together to rally, supporting Ukrainian businesses, and bearing witness to the experiences of the Ukrainian people.”
