Saturday evening, October 7, 2023
We awoke this morning to the shocking news about the massive surprise attack on Israel by Hamas, with terrorist infiltrators entering Israeli towns along the Gaza border, thousands of rockets sent by air into Israel, a staggering number of Israelis killed and the hundreds wounded, and dozens of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas. The toll is very high, and today's events are shocking.
Today was the conclusion of Simchat Torah, and this morning’s horror provided a stark contrast to our joyful dancing in the street in Brookline last night to celebrate our people’s life-affirming tradition.
Our hearts are with Israel today. We are filled with grief and mourning for the Israelis killed, and we pray for life and health for all those whose lives are in the balance, and we are especially concerned for those taken hostage. We know that today many Israelis, and we who care for them, are experiencing fear and a sense of danger, and we are praying for strength and for their safety, and for the safety of members of the Israeli Defense Forces fighting to protect them. We are also grieving for the loss of life among many innocent Palestinian civilians.
We were relieved to hear from members of our congregation who are currently traveling in Israel that they are safe, and we have also been in contact with some of Sinai Brookline’s dear friends in Israel, including members and rabbis in the Israeli Reform movement and its synagogues, as well as Rabbi Golan Ben Chorin, who has been teaching our “Building Bridges” program for the past few years, who is safe, and we continue to pray for their protection and well-being. During Shabbat, we were grateful to receive messages of support for the Jewish people from our friends in the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization and the Brookline Clergy Association.
If you, or a loved one, is currently in Israel, and we have not spoken with you, please reach out to one of us by email (rabbivogel@sinaibrookline.org, or rabbistein@sinaibrookline.org), so that we and the Sinai Brookline community can support you.
We pray that that the violence will not expand to other arenas, and that the agenda of extremists who believe they benefit from chaos and hatred will not prevail.
The Sinai Brookline community is holding in our hearts the victims and their families and loved ones, and we pray for the safety of all of the people of Israel.
Rabbi Andy Vogel
Rabbi Talia Stein
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