A Message from Sia’h Shalom Cofounder and Codirector Professor Avinoam Rosenak
Dear Friends of Talking Peace,
We are concluding a difficult year and entering once again into the month of Elul and the Days of
Awe, which demand from us an accounting for what has transpired. This year, more than ever, it is
hard to ignore the ונתנה תוקף—Unetaneh Tokef prayer, each word striking with deep pain:
| On Rosh Hashanah it is written,
and on Yom Kippur it is sealed: How many shall pass away, and how many shall be born, Who shall live and who shall die, Who in their time and who not in their time, Who by water and who by fire, Who by sword and who by beast, Who by hunger and who by thirst, Who by earthquake and who by plague, Who by strangling and who by stoning, Who shall rest and who shall wander, Who shall be tranquil and who shall be tormented, Who shall be at peace and who shall be troubled…” |
בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה יִכָּתֵבוּן וּבְיוֹם צוֹם כִּפּוּר יֵחָתֵמוּןכַּמָּה יַעַבְרוּן וְכַמָּה יִבָּרֵאוּןמִי יִחְיֶה וּמִי יָמוּתמִי בְקִצּוֹ וּמִי לֹא בְּקִצּוֹ מִי בַמַּיִם וּמִי בָאֵשׁ מִי בַחֶרֶב וּמִי בַחַיָּה מִי בָרָעָב וּמִי בַצָּמָא מִי בָרַעַשׁ וּמִי בַמַּגֵּפָה מִי בַחֲנִיקָה וּמִי בַסְּקִילָה מִי יָנוּחַ וּמִי יָנוּעַ מִי יִשָּׁקֵט וּמִי יְטֹּרֵף מִי יִשָּׁלֵו וּמִי יִתְיַסָּר |
We are living in a time when canonical texts come alive. They seem to need no interpretation. They demand from us kindness and compassion, justice and righteousness, leadership and fairness, identity and distinctiveness, connection and love for humanity. They remind us of what may happen if we fail to remain connected and engaged in dialogue—dialogue with the generations that came before us, with the deep memory of who we are and with what that obligates us to do in relation to our surroundings, to our brothers and sisters across the seas and to all humankind. It is a shaking, unsettling feeling—so unpredictable—that at times you feel as if you are living through it as an external story, like a difficult, painful dream.
We in Talking Peace are experiencing the intensity of these days both through moments of reflection and thought, as well as in the whirlwind of daily activity, working with dozens of new groups and engaging in intensive action at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
We turn to you in the United States as well, with the deep understanding that without you, we would be greatly diminished. As Joseph said to the angel he met on the road: “את אחי אנוכי מבקש“—“I am seeking my brothers”; a crucial encounter that, in the Torah’s story, ended with the salvation of the entire ancient world from famine, including the tribes of Israel.
I will close with the “golden words” of Rabbi Avraham Hazan, who wrote a stirring journal throughout the “Yom Kippur War” when “the heavens fell” upon the people of Israel in an unexpected war that carried an existential threat:
I sit in my sukkah, studying, reading about peace and contemplating it!? To what end? What good does it serve? Even in times of war, peace is necessary, as it is written: “And proclaim peace to it.” You must call upon the inhabitants of the city to avoid war and surrender peacefully.
—Maharal of Prague, “The Path of Peace”
This means: Peace is priceless, because it is something that should never be removed entirely. Do not think that during war there is no peace, and that war is the opposite of peace. This is not the case. Even in times of war, peace should not be dismissed. From this, you can see that peace is never completely removed, and, therefore, it is said that even the dead require peace.
—Avraham Hazan
Be well, sending to you blessings and a warm embrace from Jerusalem,
Avinoam Rosenak