When we were invited to Shabbat lunch at our Rabbi’s house, I expected I would learn something new that day: an insight into the weekly Torah reading perhaps, or a custom I wasn’t aware of. Maybe I would learn a new blessing or a song, and I would definitely learn more about the Rabbi and his lovely family, who moved to our community less than a year ago.
I describe the lesson I did not expect on Kveller.com. Spoiler alert: the teacher was not the Rabbi!
Operation Protective Edge enters its 16th day today. Over two weeks of sirens and rockets and cease-fires that weren’t. Twenty-nine Israeli soldiers have been killed, and one is MIA. Children in the southern cities of Israel hear the relentless wail of sirens instead of the wind in their hair. They sit against the cold, hard, protective wall of the bomb shelter instead of lying in the green grass and imagining shapes in the clouds.
We read and watch the war and anti-Semitism unfold throughout the world, and feel blindsided, helpless, despairing. Both outside of Israel and in.
Socks, underwear and deodorant are at the top of the list for the soldiers on the front lines. Pizza. Support for reserves. And lone soldiers. Kids in the south. Prayers. Here are 21 Ways to Help Israel, all very concrete and impactful.
And I have a close friend here who is purchasing and collecting donations of underwear, deodorant, toothpaste for the soldiers and delivering it directly to the bases. If you’d like to contribute (any currency, any amount) email, comment, or tweet me. And pray for peace.
Red Boots 