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Shabbat Shalom. One of my rabbis always said that Shabbat comes when we need it most. And in this moment, I need Shabbat, and I imagine you do too. 

This past week has been an emotional rollercoaster for so many of us, as we sit with our despair and our collective pain. Because whether or not we know someone personally in Israel, we are all family, connected as Klal Yisrael, the community of Israel. And that means that if one of us is in pain, we are all in pain.

And so, we sit in our collective sorrow, wondering what to do with that pain; wondering how we who sit halfway across the world can help; looking for something to do. But the truth is, we’re already doing it. 

What can WE do? We can come together in this sanctuary to celebrate Shabbat. We can turn toward each other, our sacred community, for strength when we are brought low. We can look to the teachings of Torah and the beauty of our liturgy to find wisdom and solace in the tradition that has been handed down to us, l’dor vador, from one generation to the next. And we can take pride in the Judaism that has been gifted to us and share it with our children and those who come after us.

We can come together as a Temple Israel family to mark the milestones in our lives – the birthdays and the anniversaries – refusing to allow hatred to diminish our joy. And we can call one of our young people to Torah as a Bar Mitzvah, celebrating the immense joy and the great responsibility that Ari takes on as he holds fast to Torah. 

We can take the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel to heart, who taught us that there are three ways to mourn: The first is with tears; the second is with silence; the third is with song. And so tonight, on this Shabbat, we will lift up our voices and take comfort and solace in singing together as one loving community. 

Just a few moments ago, Ari and his family kindled the lights of Shabbat, which stand as bright pillars of light glimmering amidst the darkness of the world. We are reminded on this Shabbat Bereshit that God created light from the chaos of the dark and spread that light over the earth. 

On this Shabbat, we pray that the light of these Shabbat candles will seep into our souls, giving us the strength that we need for the work ahead. And we pray that our light will reach Israel giving strength and comfort to all those who need a bit of light amidst the darkness.

In the Book of Esther, we read the words: Layehudim hayita ora, v’simcha v’sasson vikar. After the horrors of Haman, the Jewish people enjoyed light and gladness, honor, and joy. 

Kein t’yehi lanu. May we too experience these blessings. Amen.