An Update from Sia’h Shalom Cofounder and Codirector Dr. Alick Isaacs
Dear Friends of Sia’h Shalom,
This time last year, amidst all the disagreements and strife of the legal reform, we all wryly recited the traditional phrase from the prayer Achot Ketana “may the curses of the last year come to an end and the blessings of the new one begin.”
There is a play on words in the original Hebrew because the word for “come to an end” and “begin” are in fact homophones (i.e. they have the same phonetic sound but different spellings).
We thought we were getting close to rock bottom and greeted each other with the knowing hope that soon this strife must end. Alas, not one of us imagined that so soon after the prayers of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur—so soon after waving our lulavs and sitting joyfully in our sukkahs—our lives would be turned upside down.
Who envisioned that we could possibly find ourselves—as a country and as a people—so devastated and unsettled by the ruthless attacks of Simchat Torah. So many of us have lost loved ones and/or pine for those held hostage in unimaginable conditions. Hundreds of thousands are still displaced from their homes in both the northern and southern borders, and we cannot help but fear that the “curses of the year” are a bottomless pit.
None of this has passed us by in Sia’h Shalom. We have all been affected and changed by this unforgettable year. As an organization, we have also been profoundly challenged to recover from the stunning blow that brought all our plans crashing down. We have sought to find a new balance between the holy work that we already do and the new reality to which we must find a meaningful response. Nothing is stagnant and our reactions and adaptations are ongoing.
It is both moving and tragic to report that, today, Sia’h Shalom is working harder than ever before. We are reaching new heights and innovating all the time to make our contribution as meaningful, profound and effective as we can. This is perhaps an opportunity to share some highlights and outline the general direction that our work has taken, to give you a sense of what we are doing and of the kinds of groups we are facilitating.
- President’s Office—We are currently running three groups on behalf of the President of the State of Israel. One of these is geared toward changing the tone of discourse in the Knesset. Two others are bringing together leaders from every community in Israel to assist the President’s efforts to unite the country.
- Ministry of Education—Sia’h Shalom is running groups with the national leadership of the Education Ministry. These groups will help design new approaches in the education system to strengthen the ties between different groups in Israel.
- Spiritual Leaders—This group is focused on helping spiritual leaders in Israel from different communities come together to try to understand the deeper meaning of what has happened to us this year and what our new purpose as a nation needs to be.
- Hilltop Youth and Peace Activists—The tension between these communities has been a flashpoint of violence in recent months that has weakened support for Israel around the world. We have managed to create a group that brings these extremes in dialogue with the hope of creating spaces for listening and building understanding.
- Hatufim—Sia’h Shalom is engaged in confidential but groundbreaking work with the families of the hostages.
- Premilitary Academies—We have an ongoing relationship with the premilitary academies (Mechinot) in Israel in which thousands of young people of all backgrounds participate and are currently running three groups with directors and senior staff members in academies from all over the country.
- Haredim—We are operating several groups concurrently within Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community to help them come to terms with the demands from the outside that they integrate into Israel’s military and economy.
- Otef Azza—We are working with communities in the Gaza Envelope and Ashqelon area, helping the different sectors of society there to deepen the conversation among themselves and work together to rebuild the region.
- Arabs/Muslims—Though this is not a group per se, Sia’h Shalom is reaching out to meet partners in the Arab/Muslim world who wish to disassociate themselves from Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, and who are genuinely dreaming of a peace in the Middle East where the State of Israel can prosper safely as the national homeland of the Jewish people.
This is just a taste of what we are doing. But, it is my hope that it will give you a sense of just how deeply embedded the work of Sia’h Shalom is in the effort to rehabilitate and heal our beloved State and the Jewish people.
I wish you all a Shana Tova. May all our names be inscribed in the book of life and may we meet (whether in Zoom or in person) in friendship in the coming year.
Alick