You are standing today, all of you, before God your
Lord – your leaders, your tribal chiefs, your elders, and your officers, all
men of Israel, your children, your women, and your proselyte who is in the
midst of your camp, from your wood cutters to your drawers of water. (Deuteronomy
29:9-10)
Why does Moses detail different types of Jews when the phrase "all of you" already encompasses them all?
"Israel is one before G-d when, and only when, each Jew
fulfills the mission which is his alone."
Days of Teshuvah following Rosh Hashanah are days of
"return" rather than "repentance." They are a time to return to one's essential
self. The beloved Reb Zusia, an early leader of Hassidism, expressed his fear of appearing before the Almighty at the end of his days.
I am not afraid to be asked: “Reb Zusia, why have you not
been like Abraham, the patriarch, or like Moses, our great teacher?”
The question I truly fear is: “Reb Zusia, have you truly
been Reb Zusia?"
We watched the President Shimon Peres awarding the Wolf
Prize standing below Moses woven into Chagall's grand tapestry at the Knesset.
Since Mel was appointed to the Wolf Foundation Council by
Israel’s president, we participate in the Knesset ceremony each year.
On Pesach, we enjoyed the fervent singing of Mordechai
Ben-David, the elder statesman of Jewish performers.
Our pitcher son Ari and Ken Holtzman coach a Petah Tikvah Pioneers batter. The roles of the players complement each other to create a team.
Playing together, our grandchildren Razel, Meitav, Elianne and Tagel, express their wonderfully different personalities
We marveled at dog trainers working at the Israel Guide Dog
Center for the Blind. A tractor driver passed
us as we ate at a sidewalk café.
The Jewish people is not formed through a static unity of
the uniform, but through the great dynamic unity of the multiform. (Martin
Buber) 