Sharon, the blogger at Remember Jerusalem, reviewed my latest book, The Return to Yerushalayim.
While I’m writing a blog post, I want to thank all the readers who reached out and asked how my family and I are doing in Israel, in light of the current events. It’s hard to formulate a response. Thank G-d, we’ve seen miracles. And yet, how can I say that we are fine when over 200 Israelis, among them babies, are held hostage in Gaza? And when our soldiers are in the lion’s den, fighting for a brighter future for Israel?
What I can say is that the unity displayed throughout Israeli society in the past three weeks has been incredibly moving and heartwarming. The amount of chessed going on here, the kindness and care shown to anyone impacted by the war are astounding and inspiring. We feel very fortunate to live here and to be part of this amazing community.
It is unfortunate that it took such horrific atrocities to bring us together. But this unity is precisely what the Jewish people need at this point in history. This war is bringing out the best in all of us, no matter what our religious or political views are.
And that’s our response to the antisemites, who have shamelessly raised their voices all over the world. They hate us because our mission is to be a light unto the nations. Our existence reminds the evil forces of the world that they are evil. In response, we must work harder on being that light unto the nations and on bringing more light and good into the world.
We don’t need to justify our existence to the antisemites, but we do need to justify it to ourselves. We need to remember that we are here on a mission and to do the work that G-d put us in this world to do.
May G-d help us succeed in our mission and may He keep Jews safe all over the world and bring the hostages home, safe and sound!
