By the Grace of G-d
Dear Friend,
Let me talk about the embrace of Judaism.
The oneness of our people.
Geographical differences, cultural biases, varying levels of commitment to Jewish observance aside, we are one.
Our oneness even defies the generation gap that is universally bemoaned.
Our traditions withstand the test of time.
As the verse from the Torah reads: (Samuel 2, 7, 23) And who is like Your people, like Israel, one nation in the world, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, and to make Him a name…
Last Thursday I made a morning-to-evening visit to Israel. It was to offer condolences to my aunt, uncle and cousin who had lost their grandson/son in Gaza.
Sitting in the ‘shiva-tent’ in Israel I had a chance to see the unity and togetherness of our people in full display.
A picture display about my fallen cousin Zamir highlighted the volunteer work he did with special-needs children. This entailed engaging them in educational growth as well as tending to their demanding needs. He did not shy away from changing them and cleaning them up when they were soiled.
My cousin Zamin HYD
His company commander paid a visit while I was there. He spoke about the compassionate nature of Zamir who himself was a staff sergeant and oversaw others. Zamir didn’t simply give orders to those he was responsible for; he tried to explain the rationale for those instructions when it was feasible. He had a positive disposition and cared deeply for those around him.
Zamir, my cousin, like the soldiers who served with him, yearn for peace yet understand the complex reality that fighting this war of self-defense that was thrust upon us, is the surest way to allow our people to live in safety in the land that Hashem has given us.
The atmosphere of love surrounding the ‘mourning tent’ in Bet Shemesh where the family lives was uplifting beyond words.
It was clear that the people of Israel were embracing the family of Zamir.
Logistics were efficiently provided. Transportation to the funeral at Mt. Herzl, a special mourning tent to accommodate the large crowds, short shiva stools and an officer trained in grief counseling were all organized by the relevant Israeli government office.
The neighbors brought in food.
A Jewish organization from the USA sent financial help for covering related expenses.
People of all ages and backgrounds came to comfort the bereaved family.
Some are relatives and friends of the family. Many don’t know the family. They simply feel the need to come and pay honor to the hero who fell in the defense of his people. They sit there respectfully, offer words of comfort to the mourners and reaffirm that we are all part of one extended family.
The fellow soldiers of Zamir’s unit were given time off to come and comfort the family.
And I sat there awash with grief and overwhelmed with feelings of awe and love for my brothers and sisters. Feeling very deeply how fortunate is my lot to be sitting with the special people – Am Yisrael - that I am blessed to be part of.
The ultimate oneness of our people is expressed by individual Jews being prepared to sacrifice their life in protection of their fellow Jews.
We hope and pray for the end to the physical battle raging in Israel. May our hostages return home safely, our soldiers be able to be a peacekeeping force and our wounded by healed.
There is another spiritual front that we engage in simultaneously.
Our generation is in a full scale struggle against the forces of assimilation. The weapons we use to fight assimilation are Jewish outreach activities. Jewish continuity can only be guaranteed when firmly anchored in authentic Jewish observance as taught in Torah and Halacha.
It was to fight this battle against Jewish apathy that leads to assimilation that the Rebbe dispatched his followers around the globe empowering them to be his representatives in spreading the authentic and holy light of Yiddishkeit.
My colleague R’ Tzvi Kogan was doing just that. He was manning a Jewish outreach outpost in the UAE engaged in peaceful and light-filled activities. He was armed with inspiration and determination not with physical weaponry. Tragically he lost his life at his post.
At the Shluchim conference in NY just after his murder we renewed our commitment to our holy mission. We internalized the Rebbe’s response to darkness and tragedy which is to respond to the darkness with rebuilding even bigger. And to engage in efforts of light and goodness with ever increasing intensity.
This week our community lost one of its oldest members. Mr. Norman (Chaim Nochem Halevi) Baum originally of Buffalo NY passed away just half a year shy of his ninetieth birthday. The burial took place at our local Jewish cemetery.
Norman Baum with his visiting great-nephews . Bangkok 2013
Norman's niece Julie came from New Zealand to pay her respects on behalf of the family. From Julie I heard an incredible story that further illustrates the oneness of our nation.
Originally from the USA, Julie had relocated to her husband’s country of New Zealand. While having a bris for her first two boys born in the USA was a simple matter, arranging a bris for her third boy to be born in New Zealand, seemed like an impossible feat. Julie’s mother who lives in Napa Valley asked her Chabad rabbi in whether he could provide some prayers that the family could say while a non-Jewish doctor would do the circumcision.
Rabbi Elchonon of Napa Valley’s Chabad told the family the story about his great grandfather for whom he is named.
Reb Elchonon Shagalov, dared to practice as a mohel circumcising Jewish children in the town of Homil in Stalin's Russia. One day he was taken by the KGB and never seen again.
He made the family an offer. ‘My great grandfather gave his life for Bris, allow me to organize a mohel to fly to New Zealand and do a proper Bris’. The family agreed. If a rabbi cared enough to organize a bris in New Zealand, they would certainly agree to go along with it. They felt happy to give their son this eternal gift of entering a covenant with G-d in the proscribed manner.
The organization that sponsors providing a mohel for a bris was contacted and Rabbi Mendel Raskin flew out from Melbourne to Christchurch New Zealand to perform a bis on baby Daniel.
I was enthralled by the story and especially the twist it took with a mohel from Melbourne, having grown up there. I told Julie that I know Rabbi Raskin well. He was my teacher just after my bar mitzvah. A deeply spiritual man who is a paradigm of selfless giving.
Julie and I were amazed.
Join the dots.
A rabbi who loses his life in Russian for adherence to bris many decades ago. His great grandson a rabbi in Napa Valley who bears his name. The contemporary rabbi connects with a woman who has a brother in Bangkok. The daughter of the sister from Napa Valley moves to a town in New Zealand and at her mother’s rabbi’s urging lands up having a mohel circumcise her son. The mohel from Australia has a student who is the rabbi in Bangkok who tending to her uncle and eventually brings him to his final rest in the traditional Jewish way with Chevra Kadisha and funeral. The niece visits the uncle’s home and the story seems to come full circle.
It is the story of the circle of Jewish life. From being born as a Jew and entering the covenant of bris to dying as a Jew and having a proper Jewish burial.
Am Yisrael Chai.
I feel so warmly embraced by being part of this special people Am Yisrael.
And I hear the urging and insistent call of Shema Yisrael, - Hear Israel – you and I – Hashem is our G-d. Hashem is One!
This is a clarion call to jump into the action. Not to stay at the sidelines. Each of us needs to be prepared to do our bit for the oneness of our nation and for the continuity of our collective.
To look beyond what is selfishly good for me as an individual, rather to think of what is good for Hashems’ people as a whole.
We ought to take the lesson of sacrifice from my fallen cousin, from my colleague R’ Tzvi Kogan the Chabad rabbi who was killed in UAE last week, and from the legendary Reb Elchonon Shagalov who gave their lives on behalf of our people.
With one major caveat.
As we are so close to the coming of Mashiach, we pray to Hashem that we be granted the gift to show our sacrifice as living Jews. That our sacrifice will be that of sacrificing our egos. That our test of faith will be about foregoing on our wants and desires in favor of what is better for Hashem and our fellow Jews.
By spending a bit less on our own frills and a bit more to giving Tzedakah and helping others.
May that blessed time of Mashiach be a reality for us really soon as in NOW.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yosef Kantor
PS. To give tzedakah and help others via the humanitarian fund, please click here.
Traditional Latke baking infused with joy and fun at CKids Bangkok
Weekly Talmud Class in Bangkok
