Reflections From Rabbi Davis – Israel 2025
February 10, 2025
When I am in Israel (or really anywhere, I can’t help but take pictures of bakeries and local produce. But as tasty as they are, they are not the focus of this Minneapolis Jewish Federation mission to Israel called, Tikvateinu (Our Hope).
Our day began at the Machal Memorial. After flying all night (and stopping for pastries), we went first to a monument that honors volunteers from around the world (Mitnadvei Chutz LaAretz) who fought and in some cases died in Israel’s war of Independence. (pictured)
They responded to the call of their brothers and sisters in their hour of need. Bringing their expertise (i.e., as pilots) and their sense of purpose, they were as Ben Gurion said, “the Diaspora’s most important contribution” to the survival of the Jewish State. Beth El’s own Bucky Becaner z”l regularly regaled us with stories of his time in Machal bringing goods to the fledgling State by evading the British blockade.
Our volunteering this week will be of a different nature. We spent part of the day shopping for items we will donate along with those things we shlepped from the US: swim goggles for the wounded who are doing water therapy, gifts for women whose husbands are currently serving in the army, handwritten notes of encouragement for soldiers and more.
After a long day of travel, a heartbreaking lecture about the hostages by Time of Israel correspondent, Jessica Steinberg, and a wonderful Israeli dinner of salatim and grilled meats, we divided up the gifts we will deliver over the coming days. (pictured)
We learn in this week’s parasha that when Moshe set off for Sinai, Yitro blessed him saying, “lekh l’shalom go towards peace.” This stands in contrast to “lekh b’shalom go in peace” which is used when someone is going to die!
Our presence in Israel this week will in no way impact the cease fire or efforts to forge a lasting peace. But we hope that by showing up, we remind our Israeli brothers and sisters they are not alone. In this time of anguish end emptiness, we pray that in some small way it makes them feel more shalem (whole). I know it does for us.
February 11, 2025
Sometimes you just need a hug. At the site of the Nova Festival massacre, I saw boys from a youth group standing shoulder to shoulder singing songs of unity (pictured). And I watched a family holding each other as they stood in front of a monument for their murdered child/sibling (pictured).
Listening to stories of October 7, a member of our group stood leaning against a tree. As the weight and sorrow of events settled on her, she found herself literally hugging the tree. It swayed gently in the breeze and she felt grounded, supported and strangely comforted by this etz chayim (tree of life).
Tonight, we shared dinner with a group women whose husbands are serving in the reserves. I spoke to Hadassah who has seven children under the age of 13. I can’t begin to imagine the physical and emotional stress she’s been under working and carrying for her family while her husband’s in Gaza five months at a time.
But Hadassah spoke with a faithful calm and powerful conviction about what it means to serve one’s country- her husband’s service and her own as a mother and a social worker working with women who have special needs.
How does she do it? She feels lifted by the prayers of Am Yisrael (the Jewish people) and motivated by her own sense of mission to and responsibility for Klal Yisrael.
I knew I could not give this Orthodox woman a hug. But sharing stories and swapping family photos created a special bond nonetheless.
As much as we might have felt today like we needed a hug, it is nothing compared to the hostages and their families who desperately long to embrace one another.
Ecclesiastes said, “there is a time to embrace.” With the breakdown in the hostage “deal,” we pay fervently that this is such a time!
February 12, 2025
We traveled to Kibbutz Holit in the far south.
Partnered after October 7 with the Minnesota Jewish Federation, the kibbutz was originally established in 1978 in the Sinai Peninsula. Four years later when Israel gave the Sinai back to Egypt, it was relocated to Israel, 2 km from the Egyptian border and 2 km from Gaza, near the Rafa Border crossing.
At the time, there was little around, only miles of desert (Holit means sand dune). But there was a giant tamarisk tree (pictured) around which the kibbutz grew. S’machot like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and communal gatherings all took place in her shade.
Today, the kibbutz is quiet (pictured: kibbutz dining hall). The playground once filled with life is empty (pictured: children’s train). After October 7 when Hamas killed 15 members, the kibbutz was once again relocated out of the war zone.
But today the kibbutz is in the early stages of rebuilding. Like a tamarisk which grows a new branch when one is cut off, the kibbutz is working hard to sprout new life after lives were cut short (pictured: family living room torched by terrorists).
We helped in a small way in this rebuilding by planting trees (pictured). We did so to celebrate Tu B’shvat. We did so as an act of defiance- to affirm we are rooted in this land. And we did so as an act of faith in the future of this community.
On Tu B’shvat, there is a tradition to eat carob which some say tastes like chocolate. I prefer my chocolate dark, not to taste like bark. But the tree’s message cannot be missed.
The word for carob in Hebrew, charuv, shares the same root as the word, cherev, sword and the word, churban, destruction (pictured: mural memorizing police officers killed Oct 7 in Ofakim).
The rabbis taught that it takes a carob tree 70 years to produce fruit. We are thus reminded that though we may know death, though we may witness destruction and feel despair, we have faith that one day our efforts to seed new life will yield sweet fruit.
February 13, 2025
In Sderot, they don’t bring balloons to birthday parties. If they pop, they would frighten children who have lived with the sound of Hamas missiles for years.
In Ofakim, we participated in an art therapy class. To us, we were just hammering nails into wood doing a craft project. But when a therapist runs this program for local women, it takes participants weeks to hear hammering rather than what sounds to them like gun shots that killed their neighbors on 10/7.
Looking around, one sees Israelis going about their daily lives- sitting in cafes, shopping, working. But not far below the surface is trauma. And Israelis are reaching out to help and be helped.
Today, we met with participants of No Soldier Left Behind. This NGO offers veterans professional counselors, mindfulness meditation, yoga, support for their families, and most importantly, a community of understanding. The veterans with whom we spoke and who served in the Yom Kippur War and First Intifada, warned us of the “tsunami” that is coming when this current war ends (may it be soon!)
In Tel Aviv, we visited Hostage Square and the office of the Hostage Family Forum. We were privileged to hear from the father of Tal Shoham who is being held in Gaza. He told us that his young grandchildren who were freed from Gaza after 50 days are really struggling emotionally being separated from their dad.
While there are no quick fixes for trauma, the Hostage Family Forum is providing impressive wrap around support. In addition to nonstop advocacy, this grassroots initiative has been there for families 24/7 for 496 days providing hot meals daily, financial support, medical care, legal aide, and more all for free.
These organizations are incredibly grateful for the support of the American Jewish community for providing resources that go above and beyond what the Israeli government is doing. They are particularly impressed by the generosity and commitment of the Minnesota Jewish community offered through the Federation- not just by the tzedaka but by the sensitive, thoughtful way it is offered and by the fact that the community has shown up again and again.
In the parasha this week we read, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” In this first of Ten Common andments, God reveals God’s self not at creator of the universe but as One who loves and desires freedom. But why the repetition, “out of Egypt” and “out of the house of bondage?” Either one alone would have been enough. It is to indicate that God freed the Israelites not just physically but freed them of their emotional bondage.
And that is our prayer- that all the people who have suffered so this last year and a half find relief, refuat hanefesh urfuat haguf, healing of body and a healing and soul.
Pictured: Hostage Square piano player, Israeli school groups visiting the square, posters for demonstrations in the Family Forum office, a clothing store in Yafo, Yaffo street scenes.
February 17, 2025
It’s hard to summarize our week in Israel with a concluding post. So, I’ll mostly just share a few final photos.
But one image deserves an explanation: the cypress tree statues. Installed in 2024 against the back drop of Jerusalem’ Old City walls, its message is poignant and timely.
The steel trees are presented in various states of growth from withering to flourishing. Zoom in and you’ll see that the trees are made of cut-outs of people. This corresponds to the verse in Deuteronomy, “for a person is like the tree of the field” (20:19) and suggests that withering and flourishing are in our hands.
Cypress trees are middle Eastern evergreens. In many regions, including in Israel, they are planted in cemeteries where they represent the eternal life.
“Adapting easily to the extremes of weather, including drought and other difficult conditions, the cypress tree is a symbol of stability and rootedness,” reads the exhibit sign. Could there be a more appropriate metaphor for our hopes for Israel at this time?”
The Israelis we met this past week- fellow volunteers, kibbutznicks, injured soldiers, hostage families, and more- possess a vital spirit and exhibit inspiring resilience. They give me hope that despite the difficult conditions Israel faces, the country and her people will remain ever green as she continually renews herself.
On this 500th day of captivity, I pray for the release of the hostages, and one day, for all the people of the region to flourish.
Also pictured: “I love Jerusalem” sign taken from the ramparts of the Old City, bakery treats, flowers in Yaffo, scenes from Tel Aviv’s Carmel market, Tel Aviv skyscraper.
