Rabbi's Message

In this week’s double Torah portion, Tazria Metzora, we learn that life can change in a moment.  One moment everything is fine and then the next, everything is not.  One moment we are healthy and the next moment we are sick.  One moment we are living our lives and the next moment we need to pause, to step back in order to heal. 

However, today, it is not just the Torah portion that teaches us that message.  Today is Yom HaAtzma’ut, Israel’s Independence Day.  Today, Israel turns 77. And as it does each and every year, Yom HaAtzma’ut comes on the immediate heals of Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day.  In a two-day-span, we move from mourning to joy and from darkness to light.  Israelis move from the saddest day on their calendar to their most joyful.  Life can change in a moment. and unfortunately, today we are reminded of this lesson another way as well.  Yesterday, most of the Yom HaZikaron commemoration in Israel were canceled.  And the same is true today for the planned Yom HaAtzma’ut celebrations.  Because life can change in a moment, and right now Israel is fighting what are probably amongst the worst fires in its history.  More than 125 firefighting teams are hard at work around the country.  Foreign assistance has been requested, people have been evacuated from their homes, and a state of emergency has been declared.  On a day that is often marked by bonfires and barbecues, today they are forbidden in Israel and the fire of joy and celebration has become a fire of concern and destruction.

Together, let us pray for the firefighters who are trying to get the flames under control, the people who are being evacuated from their homes, and for the land that's currently being ravaged. Yesterday, on Yom HaZikaron, Shira Lankin Sheps, the Executive Director and Founder of the Shvilli Center wrote this prayer.  May God hear these words, steady the hands of all those fighting the fires in Israel, and bring comfort and support to our brothers and sisters. 

God,

We have been caught in the midst of our grief,

on a broken day; we are a nation carrying heaviness. 

And now there are flames chasing our people from their homes?

Roaring into the sky, the skies are thick and grey-

My heart is beating so hard- how much more of this can we take?

Open the heavens - let your precious rain fall upon us.

Dust is whipping through the brutal winds, 

ashes falling from the heavens as we speak.

We need You,

We need You,

Protect the firefighters,

Protect the people,

Protect the houses,

Protect the highways,

Protect Your precious land,

so carefully cultivated,

so lovingly populated,

the animals in the forests,

and the trees that offer them umbrage,

Your holy towns and cities,

keep us all safe,

Today we are meant to mourn,

tonight to celebrate...

Please, remember us, as we remember them.

Join our TBS community in supporting Israel during this critical time by making a donation to the JNF Fire and Rescue fund: https://my.jnf.org/fire-and-rescue/Donate