Before this morning’s message, I wanted to share a few brief reminders:
1) The annual CTE Sisterhood Supper in the Sukkah is tonight at 5:30. Please join us!
2) Please note that my Monday night Adult Ed class, “Can You Believe She Said That? The Jewish Take on Gossip” does not start tonight. The class in fact begins on Mon., Oct. 31, and runs three weeks (10/31, 11/7, 11/14). We apologize for any confusion, and I hope you will consider joining me for this upcoming class!
This week, there has been momentous news out of Israel. It is looking very likely that Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who has been imprisoned by Hamas for five years, will be returning home tomorrow. Israel negotiated a deal for Shalit’s release that included an exchange of over 1000 Palestinian prisoners. Among these prisoners are individuals responsible for horrific acts of terror, and their release likely puts lives in danger. But the Israeli government made a nearly unanimous choice based on the Jewish value of Pidyon Shevuyim, the redeeming of captives, living up to the promise Israel has made to the young men and women who are compelled to serve and defend their country.
The Israeli and international news over the past few days has been filled with stories about the upcoming release of Shalit and discussions of whether the price is “too high.” This debate plays itself out in traditional Jewish sources as well. But even at such a high cost, there is a sense of relief across the Jewish people that this young man will, God willing, be returning home. We all hope and pray that these events will ultimately lead to peace, and not to more bloodshed.
Below is a letter written from an Israeli mother named Robi Damelin whose son David was killed by a Palestinian sniper in 2002. The mother is a part of the Parents-Circle family forum, a group of Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost family members in the ongoing conflict. The letter is long, but worth reading as it adds a personal dimension to the story. For more articles on the situation check out the following links: www.haaretz.com, www.jpost.com, www.ynetnews.com
What a day:
I am sitting here next to my computer listening to all the pearls of wisdom on the radio. All the fear mongers, all those who will sacrifice the life of Gilad so easily. Who overnight know all the statistics, know just how many more families will be attacked by the prisoners who will be freed.
I think to myself, do they have any idea what it is like to not know where your child is, if he suffers, if he knows that you are doing everything possible under the sun to save his life. Or is he in some dark room, friendless and without hope. Does he imagine that his parents are living in a tent outside the house of the Prime Minister, exposed to all the advice , sometimes the support and sometimes the abuse of those who are always in the right and are the continuous voices of doom and gloom.
I think of my beloved David, if he had not been killed by a sniper, he would probably have been at the tent supporting the Shalit family. He would have understood the value of human life. He would have understood that in the conflict in Ireland and in South Africa, prisoners with no less blood on their hands than the Palestinian prisoners were freed so that an impetus for negotiations could be created. Some of the greatest peace makers in those two countries came out of dark cells.
And now I am thinking, if they free the man who killed David, what would I honestly feel, and I search inside and come up with the answer that that the life of Gilad and the peace for his family is worth everything. Besides what petty satisfaction and revenge would I feel if he stayed in jail for the rest of his life, would that fill the void which is always in my heart. There is no revenge for a lost loved one. And then I think of the pain of the Palestinian mothers in our group, this may be difficult for some to swallow, but the pain is the same as mine and the tears are the same color. Would the children and grandchildren of some of these prisoners not be encouraged to go on a path of revenge to release their anger. And so the cycle of violence goes on.
We have discovered in the Parents Circle – Families Forum, both the Palestinian and the Israeli members, who have all lost immediate family members, that without understanding the narrative of the other, without understanding the needs, and the fears, there can only be a cease fire until the next time. We must find a way to reconciliation, with the deep realization that “No man is free, until all men are Free. And that without acknowledging the rights of each other we will become victims of those doom and gloom voices I hear on the radio. Let us allow the Shalit Family some dignity and grace and solace. How much longer should they spend in that sad tent waiting for news, and hoping for compassion.