By the Grace of G-d
Dear Friend,
This is the first Shabbat of the year when we read the first portion of the Torah.
In the beginning G‑d created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep; and the spirit of G‑d hovered above the surface of the waters. G‑d said: “Let there be light,” and there was light. G‑d saw the light, that it was good; and G‑d divided the light from the darkness. G‑d called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night; and there was evening and there was morning, one day
Usually , the theme I would address on this Shabbat is the fact that the first item Hashem created was ‘LIGHT’.
This is an indication to us that we need to try and be like G-d and add light to our lives and to the world around us.
Currently , is that the theme that I should address?
How would I even introduce that conversation?
Is it realistic to talk about ‘let there be light’?
When there is so much darkness.
Perhaps this week I should focus SOLEY on the second verse of the Torah about the darkness.
This week we have been exposed to darkness that the human mind cannot begin to comprehend.
Emotions and tensions are running high.
Fear and hopelessness are the default right now.
The darkness is so obvious that you don’t need me to tell you about the darkness in the world.
Every news report and every description of the unspeakable barbarism that unfolded is confirming and testifying to the darkness.
I am struggling. Possibly you too are struggling.
In this time when unimaginable atrocities have occurred to the Jewish people, we are all groping, grappling, rethinking, regrouping and reframing.
I go back to the birth of our nation at Mount Sinai where we received the Torah.
What does the Torah say we need to do?
‘Hashem said, let there be LIGHT’. ‘And there was LIGHT’.
We need to add light.
This verse will be read tomorrow by Am Yisrael all around the world from the Torah scrolls which each contain the exact same words and letters.
The same words that have been read for thousands of years.
During the times of the Romans murderous conquest of Judea, during the Spanish Inquisition, during the Crusades, amidst the bloodletting pogroms and in the throes and abyss of The Holocaust.
In the darkest, most dismal, and hopelessness of times, we, the Jewish people have never given up. We try as hard as possible to bring light to the world. Even when the struggle seems impossible.
We have read the words of the Torah ‘let there be light’ under all circumstances and we continue to read and more importantly listen to those words.
The darkness is all too real and close to home.
My Melbourne-born cousin Yonadav Kaploun lost his daughter in law Adi and soon-to-be daughter in law Tehilla, when the terrorists attacked Kibbut Holit.
Below is an excerpt from the Australian Jewish News:
Adi and her boys, three-year-old Negev and four-month-old Eshel, were taken at gunpoint to be marched across the border to Gaza, along with a neighbour Avital Aladjem.
Avital had been hiding in a wardrobe with another neighbour, Chaim, who was shot dead before she was captured. Negev was shot in the leg.
Shortly before reaching the border, the terrorists released Avital, and also Adi’s children, without explanation. But there was no news of Adi’s release and the family initially believed she had been taken into Gaza. Avital managed to take the children back to a nearby town and phoned their father, Anani.
Speaking to CNN earlier, Avital said of her friend Adi, “She’s brave and she has such a good heart. She wouldn’t hurt a soul. She’s always smiling and always giving. She’s so kind and gentle and such a good mother.”
The children have been reunited with their father and have been given medical attention in Jerusalem.
The family’s worst fears were confirmed on Tuesday (Israel time) with the discovery that Adi had been found murdered. Yonadav, who lives in Israel, is now mourning for Adi and Tehilla.
My family, colleagues, and friends in Israel, those who have been called up to reserves, as well as my daughter and her kids who have been in and out of shelters all week, tell me about the intense and palpable fears and anxieties.
They also tell me that there is a spirit of resilience, a spirit of mutual responsibility and a feeling of hope.
They try to find things that are positive, like the miraculous saving of Yonadav’s two grandchildren, to focus on.
They a turning on their lights, mustering up their inner reserves of energy, that they never knew they had, trying valiantly to outshine the darkness.
People are sharing stories of incredible heroism and miraculous incidents.
My friend,
We, and I specifically address those of us who are living outside of Israel, need to participate in the herculean effort and add our light to the collective effort.
The Torah’s message is for every time and every place and every person.
YOUR DEEDS COUNT.
The world needs YOUR light!
Use YOUR creativity and individuality to tailor the message of adding light to fit your personality. It’s not a ‘one size fits all’ exercise.
Let us engage with our own selves. In the most private aspects of our humanity.
Our minds. Our hearts. Our thoughts. Our feelings.
Let us engage in modes of ‘light’ in ways that impact those directly around us.
Our words. Our deeds.
We can bring light to each of those aspects of our life.
I have intentionally spoken a bit abstractly as YOU know better than me what YOUR contribution of light ought to be.
Let me make it a bit more practical for myself and those who wish to listen in to me as I speak to myself.
Let us start with the mind.
What could one application of bringing light into your mind, heart and feelings look like?
Think as much as possible (even if just for a few minutes) about positive things.
Ready to take positive thinking to the next level? Meditate on the ultimate source of life. Hashem. And try to bolster your faith. Click here for ‘Gate of Trust’.
At the very least, carve away some time to ‘come up for air’ from the constant immersion in the overwhelming harshness of the current situation. It is not about being an ostrich and escapism. It is about staying strong.
Taking time to focus your mind on positivity allows you to bolster yourself to be powerful enough to make your unique contribution to helping out the situation.
Make it a point to notice and appreciate the incredible oneness of our people at this time of deep crisis as we band together as one unified family.
And most importantly, bring light into your speech and deeds.
Speak positively about your faith in G-d.
Speak positively about your fellow Jews.
Try to find the spark of good in those you may not have been friendly with before.
Reach out to those you sense may be struggling. Even the usually strong people, the bedrocks of society, have found their equilibrium challenged.
And above all. Remember that yes, YOUR DEEDS COUNT.
And keep praying for the safety and success of our soldiers.
And for peace.
The Torah is a book of peace. Our agenda is one of peace. We are fighting only in order to achieve peace.
We are a nation that lives with the knowledge that we must do everything within our power militarily to bring to a total victory, and at the same time we must pray fervently for Mashiach when Hashem will remove evil from this world for eternity.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yosef Kantor
PS As we are several hours away from Shabbat, at 5:42 this late afternoon (time is accurate for Bangkok) light Shabbat candles and thus bring light into the world.
(No special candles are required. The easiest candles to set up for Shabbat are ‘tea lights’ that are readily available in most places).
Before Shabbat or after Shabbat on any of the six days of the week, put on Tefilin. The mitzvah of Tefilin has a special power when it comes to the deterrence and strength of the soldiers of Israel. Tefilin are a mitzvah that has the G-dly blessing of adding life.