Six

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Six murdered hostages. Six Israelis. Six beautiful souls.

Ori Danino, 25Carmel Gat, 40Hersch Goldberg-Polin, 23Alex Lobanov, 32Almog Sarusi, 27Eden Yerushalmi, 24

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I, like you, am heartbroken and filled with grief and anger. Today, I have no words of uplift, no silver lining to offer to my community. It’s OK to mourn and cry and wail. It’s OK right now to sit in this grief and anger. As Yossi Klein Halevi said in his recent podcast For Heaven’s Sake,

“There is the sense of being in a nightmare that just keeps getting deeper and a feeling of loss of control and also rage, tremendous rage.” 

But…when we are ready to lift up our heads and dry our eyes, let this poem by Ittay Flescher be there for you. It is a poem about hope and possibility, a dream of a future that may just yet be for all of us. 

When There is Peace: A poem for our future 

By Ittay Flescher

After the bombings of Gaza cease, the hostages come home, and all the displaced residents from southern Lebanon and northern Israel finally return to their homes, there will be immense spiritual and moral reckoning.Palestinians will mourn at the graves of Tamar and Yonatan Siman Tov, and their beautiful children Shahar, Arabel, and Omer, who were all slain in what should have been their safe room in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. Israelis will mourn at the graves of Mohammed Abu al Qumsan’s four day old twins killed in Gaza, his baby boy, Asser, and baby girl, Ayssel. They will remember his wife Joumana Arafa, a pharmacist who survived the whole 9 months of pregnancy in Gaza throughout the war only to be killed four days after she brought her twins into this world through a miraculous caesarean birth.The Palestinian Prime Minister will lay a wreath at the Nova Memorial, and the Israeli Prime Minister will lay a wreath atop the ruins that were once Gaza City, formerly the most populated Palestinian city on earth.

When there is peace

, few will forgive, none will forget, but all will commit to ensuring that no such horror is ever repeated.

When there is peace

, our children will learn that Hashem and Allah want this land to be shared and that what is hateful to you must never be done to others.

When there is peace

, Jews, Muslims, and Christians across the world who support Palestine and Israel will again be able to break bread together, share their faiths, and find common cause in their Abrahamic traditions.

When there is peace,

released Palestinian prisoners will call for truth and reconciliation, just as did the released prisoners from South Africa and Northern Ireland.

When there is peace,

Israeli children will no longer serve in the IDF unless they choose to, for the army will become an optional choice, side by side with national service and other forms of volunteering that will give back to their country.

When there is peace,

the greatest battles between Israel and Palestine will be in the European Cup Final and Olympic Judo mat. 

When there is peace,

nations of the world will look to this land as a beacon of hope where anything is possible.All this can happen When there is peace

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From Rabbi Ilyse Glickman:

This is our ongoing blog series to introduce the DJC community to podcasts, books, websites, and other offerings that may expand our understandings of the current war in particular and Israel/Palestine more broadly. I hope you listen/watch/read these recommendations with curiosity, openness, and empathy. Please let me know what you think about today’s offerings: rabbiglickman@djctoronto.com. I look forward to the conversation.