Israel At War – What WE Can Do

“אַחֵינוּ כָּל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל, הַנְּתוּנִים בְּצָרָה וּבַשִּׁבְיָה, הָעוֹמְדִים בֵּין בַּיָּם וּבֵין בַּיַּבָּשָׁה, הַמָּקוֹם יְרַחֵם עֲלֵיהֶם, וְיוֹצִיאֵם מִצָּרָה לִרְוָחָה, וּמֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹרָה, וּמִשִּׁעְבּוּד לִגְאֻלָּה, הַשְׁתָּא בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב.”

To our brothers,​ who are part of the house of Israel, who are in pain or captivity​, whether they are at sea or on land: May God have mercy upon them, and bring them forth from distress to comfort, from darkness to light, and from subjugation to redemptio​n, now speedily and at a near time.

To our dear JOIN Family,

We write these words with a broken heart and a sick stomach. We cannot begin to fathom the horrors and barbarism beset on our brothers and sisters in Southern Israel by Islamic fundamentalists. We, together with all of you, are in a state of shock. Shock on so many levels. Shock this could happen. Shock that humans could act with such cruelty and inhumanity. So many of us know friends or family who are, unfortunately, among the victims, missing, or being called to the frontlines, risking their lives to protect our people and our homeland. From afar, we feel helpless.

In Hebrew, there are two very different words for the concept “why”: מדוע and למה. The word מדוע is “why?”; why does this happen? How can God allow this sickening atrocity? To this we have no answers and pray for a day when we will have clarity. The word למה means “for what.” What can I do? How can I respond given the current horrific situation? To answer this question we have our precious Torah that has guided us in the past and continues to guide us to build a better future. Here are a few suggestions:


To Feel the Pain

The Jewish people are one large family. Just as one Jew can find commonality with a fellow Jew anywhere across the globe and share a Shabbat meal together, so, too, we suffer, and cry and mourn together. This is not just in thought and emotion, but also in action. We are called upon to dilute our happiness and our leisure time just a bit to allow us to connect with our brethren who are suffering so much. There is a time to rejoice and there is a time to mourn. Now is not the time for major social gatherings when our brethren are deeply suffering in Israel. To this end, JOIN has decided to postpone the men’s fishing trip this Sunday and SPARK has re-formatted their monthly SPARK IGNITE event to focus on Israel. Additionally, our teens division, JSU, will be running a Saturday night program for the teens in their home.


To Pray, To Learn, To Be Proud Jews 

No, Prayer and Torah study are not a Band-Aid when there is nothing left to do. A last resort to help, for, alas, we are not in Israel to help. While we do not know the reasons for why such atrocities happen, this is a time when God wants us to say למה- for what? What can I do better as a Jew? What area can I work on? It is a time to pray for our soldiers, for the hostages, for the wounded, and for peace in Israel. It is a time to increase our spiritual connection with Torah study. Consider adding a daily and consistent act that will connect you to Torah and Mitzvot. Please respond to this email if you would like to discuss how you can add a spiritual element to your day. To that end, we are starting two new WhatsApp groups that will provide a daily 90-second Jewish idea on a specific topic. We encourage you to join one of the groups (links below) and take advantage of this opportunity – as it will provide much merit for the front line soldiers, those who have been taken hostage, and all of the families suffering.

Rabbi Federgrun’s WhatsApp group on Raising a Loving Family: https://chat.whatsapp.com/HVSHXsvgF6gItqsurKQoX1

Rabbi Yachnes’s WhatsApp group on Finding Strength During Difficult times: https://chat.whatsapp.com/ByGtquDEvE58I4W5tVSjuZ


To Unite Together

Saturday and Sunday were also Simchat Torah, the days of the celebration of the completion and restarting of the five books of the Torah. It is a day of immense happiness with singing and dancing. Throughout the world, in Israel and in the diaspora, Jews were both crying and dancing. Crying hearing the initial reports of so many who were brutally murdered – each person an entire world, destroyed. Dancing in celebration of our most precious gift to the world, the Torah, that brings light to the world. The songs in our holy synagogues and in our holy army bases included “Am Yisroel Chai,” the Jewish people will always live and survive, and “Acheinu” (words found on the top of this letter), how we pray and care for each other. Now, especially, is a time to come together, put our differences aside, and focus on what unites us. We encourage you to come together and attend the Orlando Jewish Unity Day: Stand with Israel, sponsored by Chabad of Greater Orlando and the City of Orlando. It will take place this Sunday from 5-6:30 pm at the Walt Disney Amphitheater. See the flyer below for more details.


Show Support and Give Strength to Israel

Within hours, the Jewish people have found numerous avenues to help the soldiers who are fighting on the front lines. מי כעמך ישראל – Who is like the Jewish people? You can make a donation to any of the many different organizations who help the soldiers receive the proper food, clothing, and even warfare that they need. You can send packages of G-Shock Watches, Camelbacks, headlamps, sleeping bags and so much more. There will be a supplies drive at the Roth JCC on Sunday afternoon from 1-4 pm. Please see the document below for details on which items to bring.

We will also be providing lawn signs and car stickers that promote Orlando Standing with Israel. Thank you to FASTSIGNS of Orlando, Central and to Richard Goldstein and Renee Friedman for providing us with these signs. You can receive these signs by contacting us or by reaching directly to FASTSIGNS at (407) 898-5770. You can also post on Social Media. Amplify our voices by liking, re-posting, and sharing Pro-Israel posts and by reporting anti-Semitic posts.

Below is a short list of ways you can donate and help Israel:

Providing spiritual and emotional support for the Israeli soldiers: https://tzalash.org/donation/

Providing food, clothing, boots, and other necessary needs for the Israeli soldiers: https://thechesedfund.com/eretzhakodesh/acheinu

United Hatzalah helps on the medical side for those who have been wounded https://israelrescue.org/donate/

Magen David Adom https://www.mdais.org/en/donation

Friends of the IDF fidf.org/israelunderattack

Unfortunately, the Jewish people’s story knows all too well of tragedy and cruelty. But, our story is also one of overcoming and prevailing. As we say every year at the Pesach Seder, “In every generation our enemies have tried to destroy us, but Hashem continues to save us time and again.” Our survival is the greatest miracle of the world. We are in pain and we are suffering tremendously, but we are confident that we will be strong, we will unite and we will continue to thrive.

Am Yisroel Chai!

 

 

IDF Supply List

Drop off Locations:

South Orlando – Sunday 10/15 6330 Hidden Dae Ave 32819 Anytime

North Orlando – Sunday 10/15 @ Shalom Orlando – 851 N Maitland Ave 1 – 4 PM

  1. Camelbacks (water bags)
  2. Headlamps
  3. G-Shock watches
  4. Power Banks /Portable Chargers
  5. heating bags
  6. sleeping bags
  7. Solar chargers for phones
  8. Thermal clothing
  9. Winter hats
  10. Gloves
  11. Socks- dark colors only!!
  12. Towels
  13. Toothbrushes
  14. toothpaste
  15. Deodorant (the strongest ones M & F)
  16. Pads and tampons
  17. Wipes
  18. Travel size shampoo / conditioner
  19. body wash
  20. Bandaids
  21. Neosporin
  22. Gold Bond powder
  23. Pain killers like Tylenol, Motrin, etc
  24. Hand sanitizers