Hopes for a Shabbat Shalom

Since Wednesday I have been at Camp Hess Kramer and Gindling Hilltop Camp (Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps) in Malibu. This is my 8th summer spending a week with not only our campers from TBS, but with campers from all over Southern California and Arizona. (I’ll share more thoughts later about why it’s so great to send our kids to Jewish camp, but for now, our thoughts are with Israel.)

I spent today with the older campers at CHK engaging in a discussion about the matzav, the situation, in Israel. All of them were aware of it before they came to camp but now, with a no screen rule (meaning, they are not allowed to have their phones or connection to the internet), the campers and staff are disconnected from the news so that we can be fully connected to our own camp community. While it’s good to be disconnected from our devices our thoughts and hearts continue to turn to the east with friends and family who are in Israel.

There is a collective concern in our community for the 50+ campers now in Israel and for the many shlichim, Israeli counselors, who have worked at CHK in years past. The Israeli staff with us this summer are concerned about their own family and friends, some of whom are on the front lines at this time. Everyone has a connection to Israel. And being people of action, they want to know what can they do? A question we all ask.

For this Shabbat, here are a few things for all of us to consider doing:

  1. Join in the efforts by the URJ to bring relief and support to those in Israel by visiting: http://urj.org/israel/ and stay informed locally through our own Jewish Federation of Orange County.
  2. Stay informed, but also know when to take a break. I’m just as addicted as the next person to Social Media, but sometimes the amount of information becomes overwhelming. This Shabbat, rather than spending time reading all the posts about Israel, TALK to your family and friends about what Israel means to you. Rather than connect via the internet, connect personally. I promise, the internet will be there after Shabbat is over.
  3. Add an extra Shabbat candle to bring light to a darkened time and include a prayer for peace. Either the one below or the words of your own heart.

I wish you all a Shabbat Shalom from camp and together, we all pray for peace for all people, in Israel, for those in Gaza and for all people throughout the world.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Heidi Cohen

 

As we gather this Shabbat…

As we gather this Shabbat, each in our own community, we will be united in our grief and pain over the violence this week in Israel. We weep, as our mother Rachel wept: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping! Rachel is weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for them, for they are no more. (Jeremiah 31:15)

To our prayers this Shabbat we add a prayer for Medinat Yisrael – the State of Israel – and for her people, our brothers and sisters.

From Psalm 122:6-9

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may those who love you prosper! Let there be peace in your homes, safety within your borders. For the sake of my people, my friends, I pray you find peace. For the sake of the house of the Eternal our God, I will seek your good.

Eternal God, grant blessing to the State of Israel, created to fulfill an age-old dream and to be a haven for the oppressed. Protect her people with Your grace, shelter them with Your peace, and grant them deliverance from the violence that surrounds them. May they live in harmony with one another and with their neighbors. May the bonds of faith and fate that unite the Jews of all lands be a source of strength to Israel and us all.

 

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