300 days.
300 days of innocent people, men and women, babies and the elderly, held hostage by a monstrous enemy. 300 days during which loving mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, spouses, close friends, and relatives live every moment with unimaginable questions: is my loved one alive or dead, whole or wounded, healthy or ill? When was the last time they saw sunlight, inhaled fresh air, had a meal? Will they return? Will they ever recover from the trauma of captivity?
300 days of soldiers on the front lines, fighting a monstrous enemy. 300 days during which they have placed their own lives on hold to fight for their nation, for us. 300 days away from home and family, from education and career, from calm and income. 300 days during which loving mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, spouses, close friends, and relatives live every moment with unimaginable questions: is my loved one alive or dead, whole or wounded? Will they return? Will they ever recover from the trauma of this horrible war?
300 days of tens of thousands of families forced from their homes, compelled to abandon their communities by the terrorizing attacks and rocket fire from north and south. 300 days of disrupted income and education, of life suspended, removed from the privacy and intimacy of the family home and from the connection and support of neighborhood and community. 300 days during which parents and children constantly ask themselves if they will ever be able to return to those homes and communities, if they will ever feel safe there again.
This Shabbos we will read the words Moshe leveled accusatorily at the tribes of Reuvein and Gad: “Are your brothers to go to war while you stay here?” Moshe could not accept that part of the Jewish people would watch passively from the sidelines as their brothers fought and struggled. “V’heyitem n’kiyim mei-Hashem umi-Yisrael! It is insufficient to discharge your personal religious duties; you must be there for your fellow Jews, for your nation.” That expectation must haunt each of us and demands both practical and emotional responses. No Jew anywhere can live life normally, “participating” by checking the news and saying a quick Psalm. In what way are we joining this fight? In what way are we deeply and constantly mindful that life is nowhere near normal for so many of our beloved brothers and sisters? In what way are we making our lives different?
This has been an astounding week, as with God’s help and with the dedicated efforts of great people, vicious and murderous enemies of the Jewish people were eliminated and Evan Gershkovitch is on his way home. Yet, even as we celebrate these small victories and revel in their intriguing details, the displaced remain displaced, additional soldiers are called to the front lines, the “deal” remains elusive, and the State of Israel is in danger of facing an all-out war on multiple fronts. May God help us.
300 days. We must not just take note and move on.
I had the privilege to spend a recent Shabbat in a Sefardic community and noticed a striking insertion in their version of the Shabbat Birkat Hamazon, where they apologize to God for having a Shabbat meal. “Even though we ate and drank, the destruction of your great and holy house we did not forget.” Indeed, how can our lives go on as usual while God’s home lies in ruins? While those who say this line each week may not recognize the power of that statement, to the visitor it was deeply impactful.
Perhaps during this time we ought to insert a line like that into various junctures in our day. Even though we slept, the sleepless mothers and children of the hostages we did not forget. Even though we ate, the lost appetite of the soldiers’ families we did not forget. Even though we came back to home and community, the displaced we did not forget. Even though we are sitting here, our brothers who are fighting for their nation, for us, we did not forget.”
Are our brothers to go to war while we stay here?
300 days. We must not forget – because our dearest brothers and sisters certainly haven’t.