26 Oct MTC Highlights: Parashat Lech Lecha
Rav Boruch Boudilovsky - Educator
This past Yom Kippur, before Ne’ilah, I emotionally explained that the poem which we recited earlier during Mussaf, and which graphically remembers the sages of Israel who were martyrs, never really ended. In a way, the poem continues and includes all the Jewish martyrs who lost their lives ever since. Some of the victims since the previous Yom Kippur were three sets of beautiful siblings, including the two Lee sisters as well as two beautiful young brothers dressed in their Shabbat clothing and killed hours before Shabboat on the streets of Jerusalem. I continued by asking, ‘Where is the joy to our land and celebration to our city Jerusalem (Simcha Le’Artzecha VeSason Le’irecha) which we pray for throughout the Yamim Noraim?’ I then concluded by highlighting how to make things worse, we Jews are tearing each other apart with Sina’at Chinam!
On Friday and Hoshana Rabbah (the day before Simchat Torah in Israel), I cried as we recited the liturgy describing our unconditional love to Hashem despite everything we have endured:
‘[We are] exiled and reviled, fair like a date palm, killed on account of You, like sheep to the slaughter, dispersed among tormentors, wrapped in your embrace, clinging to You, bearing Your yoke, beaten down in exile, learning the awe of You, our faces scratched, given over to the violent, oppressed and in turmoil. Save us, Please! (See Rabbi Sacks Sukkot Machzor page 686).
The following morning, as we celebrated the Torah which makes us the beautiful nation we are, the news started arriving. We nevertheless continued to sing, dance, and celebrate in sanctity. But after Havdallah, when we reflect on the separation between light and darkness, we learned of the unimaginable darkness we were and are in. More than a thousand and four hundred new martyrs were massacred and desecrated on Simchat Torah. Complete families, babies, children, parents, pregnant women, and holocaust survivors. Hundreds of people, including children as young as a year old only, were taken as hostages to suffer under the hands of some of the most barbaric terrorists on earth.
I will never forget how within ten minutes, a seemingly irreconcilable nation deeply split by divisiveness, reunited and became the most beautiful family, sharing grief, comfort, and hope. The unity now is cathartic. I now know that even when we eventually go back to arguing, we are still and will forever be one inseparable family.
עושה שלום במרומיו הוא יעשה שלום עלינו ועל כל ישראל!
Shabbat Shalom.
Student Reflection
Rachel Merczynski-Hair - Manhattan, NY - SAR, NY
These past few weeks at MTC have been unlike anything I’ve experienced before – I now know what it means to truly be a part of עם ישראל.
In a time like this, it is so easy to get distracted and discouraged by all the bad that is going on around us. And while it’s important to be aware, MTC taught us that rather than sitting around, do something about it. Be a light, harness the energy around you and let it motivate you to do something meaningful.
I made the tough decision to stay in Israel when all of this broke out, and I could confidently say that I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else at a time like this. I get the privilege to not only witness the good of the Jewish people, but actually be a part of it. I see everyone putting aside their differences to bring unwavering and unconditional love and support to everyone else around them, even if they just met them that day. I’m experiencing what it means to be a part of something much bigger than myself, and because of that I feel so connected to not only the land of Israel, but to the Jewish people than I ever have before.
I’ve discovered the importance of אחדות. When we all come together, each of us is capable of bringing so much good into the world. This past week we have had opportunities to help out and spread the joy inside of each of us. We were a part of making 5000 sandwiches to send to soldiers, giving blood, volunteering in hotels with families that were relocated to Netanya from the South, saying Tehilim together, being with Beit Elazraki, visiting hospitals, learning Torah together every day, and so much more. MTC sheds such a unique light on any situation that comes its way and it’s so special to be a part of.
The environment MTC creates is truly exceptional. Everyone, no matter what they’re going through, is always looking to uplift everyone else around them and is constantly making sure everyone is okay. I’m surrounded by the most optimistic, genuine, and kind people who are honestly making me the best version of myself I can be. Even the kids in the pnimiat yom who I’m so lucky to be around every day, always greet me with a hug and uplift everyone’s spirits around them.
I feel inspired and so beyond lucky to be a part of such an amazing nation and community, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of this year brings!