Quest for Peace and Unity on This Shabbat

U’fros aleinu sukkat shlomecha, cover us with the shelter of Your peace, may we have the courage to denounce violence and destructiveness, and may we become partners in building that shelter of peace.” -Rabbi Nico Sokolovsky

As Jews prepare to welcome another Shabbat, I can’t help but think about how different the world is compared to last week. I, like many of you, have been watching in horror the terrorist acts in Israel and Gaza. Thousands of innocent humans have been murdered, hundreds more kidnapped or assaulted by Hamas. ?The level of escalation and blood-shed in the last week has been like no other. Saturday, as an example, more Jews died in a single day than any day since the Holocaust.

My heart goes out to Arabs, Jews, Palestinians, and Israelis and to all who love them. As a Jewish woman myself, my heart has broken more and more with every update. Israel is the center of our faith and, in fact, the configuration of every temple in the world physically points to one place, the state of Israel. At Shabbat and high holiday services, we pray for Israel, and a pilgrimage to Israel is considered an honor. One that I was planning to take in November.

These attacks are a reminder of how fragile life is and how important it is to come together and stand united. For those with family and friends affected by this horrific time, I am sending much love to you as you support them through this. If you have a friend who is Palestinian or Jewish, check in on them as chances are, they are struggling. It’s time to wrap them in love, empathy, prayers, and light. Let them know you are there and are thinking of them.

It is also moments like this where I am proud to be a part of the United Way family. Our Israeli counterparts in United Way, named Matan, are working hard to support their community through this tragedy. They are currently mobilizing support services, with the help of United Ways in their area and United Way Worldwide. This a reminder that our work is global and UW is, once again, there for every community that needs us.

I hope you will consider supporting organizations that I admire and that are doing important work both in Rhode Island and abroad. They include:

Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island Israel Emergency Fund - https://www.jewishallianceri.org/support-us/featured/israel-emergency-fund

United Way Worldwide Disaster Relief Fund - https://www.unitedway.org/recovery

Doctors Without Borders (who have been provided medical services in Gaza for more than 20 years) - https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

Much love to all, Cortney