Category: Uncategorized

Touching my heart

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Last week had two significant interviews that touched my heart. I also had a friend share his opening talk at his business’s conference. Each of them, in their own ways, found their way into my soul. Each of them left me thinking deeply about my family and how blessed I am. Each of them reminded me of what is really important in the world. All three of them filled me with gratitude and taught me multiple lessons about life, values, grief, and community. The video of all three are included in this post. I urge you to watch them all. If you are like me, they will impact you deeply.

Yaron Bibas

Since October 7, 2023, the Bibas family has been front of mind for so many people. The iconic image of Shiri Bibas, holding her sons, 4 year old Ariel and 8 month old Kfir, as Hamas kidnapped them and took them into Gaza as hostages is one everybody has seen. I had their pictures at my Passover Seder on empty chairs to remember them, make sure they could ‘be’ at a Seder, and ensure that we didn’t forget that this beautiful family had been kidnapped, taken into captivity as hostages, and was likely being poorly treated. People wore Batman costumes for Purim since he was Ariel’s favorite superhero. What we didn’t know at the time was that Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir, had already been brutally murdered by Hamas. These two beautiful children were choked to death. A Hamas terrorist put his hands around their neck and squeezed the life out of them.

Yarden Bibas, the husband of Shiri and father of Ariel and Kfir, was also taken hostage. He was kept separate from his family and didn’t know if they were alive or dead. When he was released, he learned the horrible news that he had lost his entire family. His precious wife and his beautiful children. Yarden, unlike other hostages who were released, chose to withdraw. He didn’t write a book, he didn’t give interviews, he wasn’t public. As somebody with a wife and 2 sons, I can’t even imagine the pain Yarden deals with on a daily basis. I don’t ever want to understand what that type of loss is like. Yet Yarden eventually chose to speak. He gave his first interview last week and you can watch it below. It is painful. It is beautiful. It is crushing. Watching videos of him with the Ariel and Kfir breaks my heart. Seeing the love that he and Shiri shared and hearing how much he depended on her broke my heart. Hearing his struggle to be alive was painful. It’s also a reminder to appreciate every single day. To love your family and make sure they know how much you love them. Ensure you don’t waste a single day because you never know when the last day will be. I hope that you watch and that it impacts you the way it impacted me.

Mark Schnurman

Mark is a long time friend and fraternity brother from college. We lost touch over the years. After October 7th, we reconnected. We texted, zoomed, and spoke on the phone. In September of 2024 we met in Israel and got to hang out. Even he will tell you that he is an October 8th Jew – awoken by the horrific events that happened on October 7th. After never visiting Israel in his life, since October 7th he has now been 7 times. It was a transformative experience for him and his wife, Lisbeth. They are passionate and philanthropic. They are generous and giving. They are real and not afraid to share their feelings and what is important to them. They are real inspirations.

As you listen to Mark talk passionately about why he chose to sell The Perfect Franchise (TPF), you will begin to understand his passion for Judiasm and for Israel. You will see how an awakening on October 7th created an opportunity to explore and understand the beauty of both Judaism and Israel. What I love about Mark is that his experience is available to each and every one of us. It is not unique. It is not limited. We all have the opportunity to understand more, to learn more, to get involved and make a difference. Mark and I often talk about how each of us, in our limited way, is working to change the world. How we each have that responsibility to do our part. To learn. To experience. There is nothing like going to Israel and volunteering. Helping to build the only Jewish state. Being in our homeland in the same place that our ancestors were thousands of years ago. Connecting with the Israeli people.

Mark teaches us all a lesson. It’s never too late to make a change. It’s never too late to invest in Jewish identity, connection to Israel and to the Jewish people. We all have the ability to make that decision today. We all have the ability to find a teacher, a mentor and learn. We all have the ability to do a little something Jewish that we haven’t done before. Light Shabbat candles. Have challah on Friday night with your dinner. Ensure that the entire family is together on Friday night to make it a Shabbat dinner, whether you say prayers or not. Growing up, my parents had the requirement that we all be together for Shabbat dinner. We could go out afterwards, but Shabbat dinner was sacred. It created a Jewish connection for my brother, my sister and me.

As you listen to Mark talk, don’t just hear his words. Feel his emotion. Feel that connection. Allow it to create a spark inside you to take that next step, whatever it may be, to get just a little more Jewishly connected. It doesn’t matter what that actually is, just something meaningful to you. And if you aren’t Jewish, let his emotion be an inspiration for you to reach out to your friends who are Jewish to check in on them. To make sure they know you are there. We live in a world that right now isn’t easy to be Jewish. The hate continues to grow and isn’t being hidden. Jews are being stabbed on the streets of London, murdered on the beach in Australia, assaulted in New York. Trust me that your friends see it and feel it.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin

The other interview I referenced was with Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin (z’l) on 60 minutes. Remarkably, since October 7th, I have found that I have multiple ‘one degree of separation’ from Hersh (z’l). Instead of the interview from 60 minutes, I have shared the extended interview. The extended one is age-restricted so you have to click on it and watch it on YouTube. While the 60 minutes interview was cut to 13 minutes, the extended one is 52 minutes. I encourage you to watch the extended version to get the real depth of Rachel, October 7th, the hostages, Hersh, and the pain of Rachel and Jon.

The pain of Anderson Cooper, as the interviewer, is remarkable. His grace and horror at what happened on October 7th and with the hostages stands out among the reporters who have been involved since that day. He was human. He was honest. He was humble. His questions were deep and not easy but also were with intention to get Rachel to share her journey. The emotion was palpable on his face. You could see him seeing his children in Hersh’s story. It gave me hope that perhaps there are mainstream journalists that are more interested in truth than clicks and ratings.

When Rachel explains her mantra of “Hope is mandatory” it hit home. My last post was all about hope. How hard it has been and how critical it is to have. When I hear Rachel, who lost her beloved son to terrorists, who was a leader and the face of the effort to get the hostages returned, state that “Hope is mandatory”, I realized that I have no excuse not to live with hope.

As I watched and listened to Rachel standing at the border with Gaza, screaming Hersh’s name, tears came to my eyes. As she gave him the priestly blessings, my heart ached. When they tell us that he was murdered that same day that they stood on the border of Gaza, my jaw clenched, my heart filled with pain, tears in my eyes. As a parent, I could feel her pain deeply in a way that I never want to understand.

When they talk about Or Levy needed to see them upon being released, before his family and his son, it was powerful. He shared with Rachel and Jon that Hersh’s mantra in captivity, taken from Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning, was “If you have a ‘why’, you can survive any ‘how.'” This was a reminder to me of our collective responsibility. No matter how much antisemitism explodes in the world, no matter how many challenges we face, we have a why. And with our why, we can get through the how. We have done it for centuries and we will do it for centuries in the future. It is precisely because of our why that we survive. What an incredible lesson that Hersh provided us all with his mantra and with Or sharing it with Rachel who shared it with the world.

At the end of the interview, Anderson Cooper asks Rachel about the future and potential peace. Her answer is haunting. She says, ‘we have to figure out how to live near each other, we don’t have to all be best friends, there don’t have to be any unicorns or rainbows, but we either figure out how to live near each other, or we will all die here together.” Those words ring so true to me. They remind me of sitting in the living room of a Palestinian friend of mine as he told us the following. “We aren’t going anywhere. You aren’t going anywhere. So we have to figure out how to live together.” That is where we need to get. Despite the negativity. Despite the hate. Despite the fact that it is hard to believe that will be possible, if we don’t hold out hope for that type of future, I think Rachel is correct. That outcome isn’t one I want nor one that I will accept.

I was deeply touched at the end of the interview when Rachel is asked if she thinks she will see Hersh again. A sparkle came into her eyes that wasn’t there the entire interview. A smile broke out on her face that was missing the entire interview. Her answer, “I’d like to think so” reminded me of how lucky I am to get to see my children. How important it is for me to make time for them. To enjoy every minute that I get with them because the one thing we never get more of is time. When it’s over, it’s over. Rachel and Hersh’s time ended in a tunnel under Rafa due to Hamas terrorists. I want to ensure that I treasure every minute of the time I get with my children, with my mother, with my family. Because we never know when that time is over.

The extended interview. I urge you to watch this one. It’s worth your time. It will touch your heart deeply

Two incredibly powerful interviews of two people who have suffered terrible loss. Three powerful, deeply personal messages shared from the heart. Three people struggling with hope and working to find their own ways to access it. Two people struggling to see a future because of the loss while one working to create a different one because of all the loss.

As Rachel said in her interview, “I’m a nothing, a nobody” yet she is changing the world. Each of us are nothings, nobodys, who have the ability to change the world. As one of my close friends often reminds me, we are just these small figures on an insignificant rock, spinning in space amongst hundreds of thousands of other insignficant rocks. Yet each of us has the ability to do amazing things and change our world. Listening to Yarden, Mark and Rachel inspires me to do what I can, whatever that is, and to play my part in making this crazy, often obscene world we live in, just a little bit better. It is why I do the work that I do. It’s why I am choosing to live my life the way I do. I hope it inspires you to do the same.

Hope

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

As I wrote in my last post, I have struggled to write of late. I had a long conversation with a friend and mentor last week where the topic came up. He talked about how hard it was for him to read much of what I was writing because there was so much pain and suffering being highlighted. He was appreciative that I pointed it out and that I was sharing what was happening but also wished there was more hope.

I realized that is what has blocked me from writing. There are so many challenges in the world today and the need to fight against these challenges is so great, that I had been consumed by them. The time I have taken away from writing has enabled me to refocus. While I will continue to fight against the Jew hatred that is growing, while I will continue to call out and fight against the lies being told about Jews and Israel, while I will continue to fight against the many problems coming from both the American political left and right, I will also dive deeper into the things I get to see, do and participate with that give me hope. Without hope, we are lost. There are plenty of things that give me hope so I am going to begin highlighting some of what I see that inspires me and gives me hope for a better future.

I have the privilege of working with Dror Israel, an Israeli organization that focuses on education, leadership, and community building. I have been able to visit their programs in both 2024 and 2025. I want to share two stories that truly inspire me about a better future.

In 2024, we went to visit Kibbutz Eshbal in the Galillee, a Dror Israel community. At Kibbutz Eshbal, they have a boarding school for at-risk youth. Part of the program there is a therapeutic stable where they learn how to take care of and ride horses. The program teaches these at-risk children responsibility. If they don’t feed the horses, they don’t eat. If they don’t clean the stables, the horses are living in filth. If they don’t exercise the horses, they don’t get what they need. Suffice it to say that the stables are clean, the horses both fed and exercised.

While visitng the stables in September of 2024, we met a young girl who was in the boarding school and participating with the program at the stables. We walked over to talk with her and noticed how she looked a little rough. She told us that she was in 11th grade and had just started at the boarding school a few months ago. That explained why she looked a little rough. We asked her what she thought of the boarding school, Kibbutz Eshbal, and Dror Israel. I’ll never forget her reply.

She told us that this place saved her life. She told us before she came here she was spending nights out on the streets, “doing bad things.” It was pretty clear what she meant by “bad things.” The gratitude in her voice, her body language, and her eyes is something I will never forget. While she looked rough on the outside, she was cleaning up and warming up on the inside.

In October of 2025, I was back at Kibbutz Eshbal, seeing different parts of the work of Dror Israel. We, of course, returned to the stables. The stables represent so much about healing. About responsibility. About growing up. About giving children something that is not only theirs but is their responsibility. As we were walking around the stables and talking with the head of the program, I looking over to my right where a young girl waved at me. I turned to my colleagues and said, very softly, “I think that’s the girl we met last year.” Why did I ‘think’ it? Because she looked so different. She was not rough but very put together. There was a calmness about her. A peace. Where the year before I saw a troubled girl trying and hoping to put a life together for herself, the girl standing to my right had put a life together. She had found herself. I walked over and said, “I think we met you here last year.” She smiled and said, “Yes. We did. That’s why I waved to you.” I was blown away. While it was the same girl, it wasn’t the same girl. The transformation in just a year was so unbelievable. We talked about what she was doing, her goals when she graduated high school in the summer of 2026. How much her life had changed. All because of the people and programs of Dror Israel. All because people cared about a random child who needed help. To this day, it warms my heart, puts a smile on my face, and inspires me to make a difference. I never got her name. I didn’t take pictures either time I met her. Both are things I regret. I’d like to be able to follow her journey so I’m trying to find out who she is.

The second story that inspires me comes from my visits to Dror Israel programs in 2024 and 2025 as well. Dror’s affiliated youth movement, HaNaor HaOved VeHaLomed (NOAL), is 102 years old. It’s a Labor Zionist Youth Movement that is in every Druze Village and 58 Arab villages with more than 20,000 Arab children involved in an Israel Zionist Youth Movement. Let that sink in. More than 20,000 Arab children are choosing to be a part of an Israeli, Zionist, Youth Movement.

In 2024 we had the opportunity to visit the youth movement in the Arab Village of Ein Mahel. The Mayor of the village came to talk to us because the youth movement was so important to him that he put his own daughters in it. Think about that deeply. The Mayor of an Arab village thought that an Israeli, Zionist youth movement was so important that he made sure his own daughters participated. We met with leaders of the movement in the village who shared their stories of the impact of this Israeli, Zionist youth movement on their own lives. And then we got to meet some of the kids. They didn’t speak English. I don’t speak Arabic. Yet we connected. We smiled. We laughed. It was wonderful and beautiful.

With the children in NOAL in Ein Mahel – Sept 2024

One of the leaders we met is a man named Shadi. Shadi is in his mid 30s and grew up with the movement. He shared his October 7th story with us. The world doesn’t hear Israeli Arabs’ October 7th story. The impact it had on him. He was out of the village, taking his son for a haircut. When he heard what happened and was happening, he raced home, to the safety of his village. Why? Because he didn’t know who was going to try to kill him. Would it be the terrorists because he is part of an Israeli Zionist Youth movement and has Jewish friends? Would it be Jews because they thought he was a terrorist? Would it be Arabs because they thought he was a terrorist? He asked us who did we think were the ones who checked on him? Who was it that cared enough to make sure that he was ok? It was his Jewish friends from the youth movement. That’s what shared society looks look. Real friendships. Real connections. Real caring.

With the leaders of NOAL in Ein Mahel – September 2024. Shadi is in the blue shirt two people from my left.

A year later, in October 2025, I was with Dror Israel in a different Arab village. This time is was the Arab village of Jisr Al Zarqa. This is one of the poorest Arab villages yet amazingly, is the only one that actually is on the Mediterranean Sea. Beachfront access for one of the poorest Arab villages. We heard about the impact that Dror Israel and NOAL have with the children of this village. How the program they partner with, Surfing for Peace, is actually keeping these children in school. Keeping them out of trouble. Teaching them responsibility. Shadi joined us in the village and as he drove us from the village to our next meeting, we began to have a fascinating conversation. He began sharing with us the challenges he faces being an Arab, Israeli, and Zionist.

First, the world doesn’t think an Arab can be a Zionist. Especially an Israeli Arab because how could an Arab living in Israel believe in Jewish self-determination? In a Jewish state? The media shows us a narrative to generate clicks and views, not to share facts. Secondly, the current Israeli government is problematic for Israeli Arabs. That doesn’t make Israel unique, as the United States has similar issues with our government and different groups. England, France, Spain and Canada have issues with antisemitism and a lack of protection from the government. The conversation with Shadi was long and deep and not long enough. We got to the next meeting and stayed in the car to continue the conversation. It was hard to stop and go to the next meeting. It was the type of conversation that doesn’t happen enough in today’s world. Near the end, Shadi invited me to come back in a few months to join him for the Arab teen leaders retreat. Unfortunately I couldn’t attend in early 2026 but it is now on my bucket list. Think about that – a Jewish guy in America has on his bucket list to go to an Arab teen leadership retreat that is part of an Israeli Zionist Youth movement. I think that could break the internet. People might think it is A.I. It so defies the narrative being pushed.

When I think that things are dark and the future is bleak, these are two things that I can look at that show there is hope. They show that there is a real chance for a brighter future. Instead of listening to the talking heads, those who are filled with hate to get those clicks and views, I choose to look at what’s really happening. The people I have met and that I know who are changing the world. Our future does not have to be bleak, depressing, or dark. Dror Israel reminds me that if we choose to take action ourselves, if we become the change we want to see, the world can be bright.

I hope that I get to see that girl at Kibbutz Eshbal before she graduates. I look forward to my next visit with Shadi and continuing and expanding our conversation. I can’t wait to go to another Arab village and interact with the Arab children who are choosing to partcipate in an Israeli Zionist youth movement and visit my first Druze village where the Druze children are doing the same.

Hope is alive. It’s up to each of us to grab it and expand it.

My struggles

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I have struggled to write for the past few weeks. The rise of Jew hatred, watching so many members of Congress abandon Israel, and watching people I know believe the lies being told by so many has had me deep in contemplation.

I have two new clients who are inspiring me and one that I have been working with for a few years that continue to inspire me. Perhaps I’ll spend some time in the next few weeks writing about the work they are doing because in these crazy times, they are doing holy work to change the world we live in. We can all use some inspiration and hope as we navigate today’s world.

In the meantime, a friend of mine shared this piece by Sarah Tuttle Singer that truly spoke to my heart so I wanted to share it. There are so many things in here that I have had the opportunity to do and experience. They have shaped and changed me. I hope you enjoy what she wrote and think deeply on her words.

The simple truth about Israel and the thing you may not know is this: It’s complicated.

It can’t be reduced to a news story on CNN or MSNBC or FOX News or Times of Israel. Israel is not a soundbite.

Israel is more than a place on the map in a religious school classroom, or the photos on the calendars that the mortuaries send out before the High Holidays.

Sure, there IS the Israel of abstraction, and it is truly beautiful — The Israel we think about when we pray. The one that the poets write about, and the one we dream about and the one we hold in the highest regard. The Israel that can do no wrong. The Israel of the sky above.

And yes, there’s ALSO the Israel we argue about with our friends and strangers, maybe with our kids, or maybe with our parents or partners. The Israel that frustrates us sometimes, and worries us often. The Israel capable of breaking our hearts.

But there’s more to us than our policies or our politics, or even our psalms. We aren’t just an academic exercise or a political litmus test or words written on an ancient scroll or a direction we face when we pray.

And I want to take you there now, with me, to the Israel I know, where I live and love — what I see, and hear, and taste, and smell, and feel, and maybe you’ll feel it, too.

This is Israel of the earth, of the market, of each color in each thread in the fabrics we wear, and the laundry drying on clotheslines in the noonday sun. We are the bounty of each passing season — mangoes in the summer, pomegranates in the autumn, clementines in the winter, and apricots in the spring and the people who sell them in the open stalls of the shuk — we are the shifts in the shape of the moon. We are the Israel of spices and songs, of cats yowling and babies crying, of ambulances wailing, of doors slamming, and windows opening, and the thrum of our own hopeful, hungry hearts beating like wings in our chests.

Israel of the earth is messy. And that’s what makes it so spectacularly beautiful.

It is the beggar with the tin cup outside the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem, and the clatter of loose change as people pass. Israel is a plume of smoke rising as the ashes fall from the last cigarette before you quit forever. Israel is the hungry child with her hand outstretched and the one who feeds her, and the way the sunlight cuts through every shadow to illuminate each face.

It’s the woman who owns the plant nursery and gives away free flowers and herbs to people injured in terror attacks.

Israel is the hiss of the tea kettles, the gurgle of the cappuccino makers, and the sound the spoon makes when tapping the rim of your favorite coffee cup handpainted by Armenian artisans. It’s the conversation between two friends from opposite ends of the political spectrum who never agree on anything — least of all who should be the Prime Minister — but who served together in the army and love each other like brothers.

Israel of the earth is the moment the sun crests over the horizon — it’s that feeling of waking up, as the city shuffles to life. It is the sound that worn fingers make when they turn the newspaper pages. Israel is the scraping of metal on metal as doors open onto the busy street, and the thwunk of the crates and barrels on the streets as the vendors arrange their tchotchkes, their books, or their fresh fruits and vegetables — mangoes, pomegranates, clementines, and apricots. It’s the growl of the jackhammer breaking ground for a new school in the Negev desert, the plumber sighing as he bends down to unclog a drain. It’s the tune he whistles — something his grandmother sang to him in Yiddish when he was a baby, that he remembers even now half a century later.

Israel of the earth is the life in our streets — it’s the lurch of the buses as they rumble through the city. It’s the grandmother on the bus who sees a random soldier across the aisle and thrusts a Tupperware container of chicken and rice at him and tells him he looks too skinny and he needs to eat. It’s the bus driver singing along to Taylor Swift on the radio, and the yeshiva student trying not to hum along. It’s the taxi drivers with the best stories and the advice (“Listen to your wife! Whatever she says, just do it, do it quickly and do it with a smile!”). It’s the barista who is studying art at Bezalel and will write your name on the foam, no extra charge, the chef who’s opening his first restaurant featuring a modern Israeli twist on his grandmother’s recipes from Morocco.

Israel of the earth are the alarm clocks going off every morning, and kids grumbling in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, Amharic, English and Armenian: “Noooo, I don’t wanna go to school.” It’s their parents answering, “Too bad, it’s time to get up, you just might learn something.” It’s the jangle of metal keys locking doors, and unlatching bicycles, the Greek Orthodox priest and the Catholic priest both trying to out-pray the other in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Waqf officials throwing stale bread for the birds and cats on Temple Mount, and the rabbi’s wife weeping against the Western Wall for their son to return safe and unharmed from his military service.

It’s the teacher who pays extra attention to the student in the back of the classroom with his head down. The student who says he doesn’t know. The student too overwhelmed to even ask the right question. Israel is her steady voice as she helps guide him through the words jumbled on the page, untangling the sentence until it suddenly makes sense, and he looks at her with shining eyes and a smile stretched ear to ear. Israel is that ah-ha moment when you cut through the clamor and the clatter, and the pieces fall into place. It’s that moment when the person who cut you off in line at Aroma pays for your coffee when you’re five shekels short, or the overtired nurse who stays late to make sure you get a doctor’s appointment because she can hear the fear in your voice. It’s the bus driver who makes a quick detour to buy fresh strawberries to give to his passengers before Shabbat. It’s a conversation on the train between two strangers — a man covered in tattoos and a man wearing a kippah about whether or not God exists.

Israel of the earth is innovation — it’s the punk kid who barely finished high school but gets his act together to form a startup that works to end world hunger because he remembers what it was like to grow up poor without enough to eat. It’s the single mother working two jobs and studying to be a pharmacist, but who still makes it home before bedtime to read to her kids and tuck them in. It’s the artist in Jaffa who finds old pieces of junk — scrap metal, bicycle chains, broken watches, rusty bottle caps, and softened shards of sea glass washed up on the shore — and takes these old, broken and discarded things and uses them to make something magnificent. It’s the group of teenagers who spend their weekends at the beach picking up cigarette butts, empty bottles, and old styrofoam containers, who protest against global warming, who implement recycling programs at their schools because they care about Tikkun Olam — repairing the world.

Israel of the earth are the protectors and the survivors — the border police on their patrols through the streets, standing guard at the intersections, the sound of their boots scuffing the stones, the static from their radios, the shriek of an ambulance, followed by another and another after a terror attack. It is the first responders, the people on the street running toward a terror attack instead of away from it because their first instinct is to help and heal and save lives… even when it sometimes means putting their lives at risk. It’s the wail of the family left behind, the choice they make to keep on living despite the anguish, despite the overwhelming loss.

It’s the two Holocaust survivors who saw their families murdered, who somehow made it out of Hitler’s maw alive, and came to Israel and met and fell in love and had four children, and fifteen grandchildren — a strong and thriving answer to the worst horrors imaginable, and a promise to the world: Never Again.

Israel of the earth are the healers — the doctors who use their vacation time to fly to provide disaster relief around the world in far flung places. They are the first ones in and the last ones out. They’re the ones who bring Syrians across the border to treat their wounds in Israeli hospitals, or volunteer in Palestinian villages because despite the tensions between our communities, at the end of the day we are all human and vulnerable and capable of both terrible suffering, and spectacular empathy. It is the healthcare workers who showed up every day during those terrifying first weeks and months of the COVID-19 pandemic — the Arabs and the Jews who were united by a common enemy, and worked tirelessly together. Israel of the earth are the people who will nearly come to blows over politics, but will stand united by the tens of thousands on their balconies and porches and applaud our healthcare workers for their bravery. Israel of the  earth are the volunteers from United Hatzallah who leave the Shabbos table to put out a fire in the Armenian Quartet. 

Israel of the earth never stopped wearing yellow until every hostage came home.

Israel of the earth embraces life — it is a joyful celebration by the Western Wall when with tambourines and timbrels family and friends accompany the Bar Mitzvah boy. It is the sound of breaking glass at a wedding, and a jubilant MAZAL TOV shouted in hundreds of voices! It is a woman’s hand trembling when she holds a pregnancy test, and the sparkle in her eyes when she discovers she is carrying new life, and recites the Shehecheyanu: “Thank you Hashem for granting us life, for sustaining us, and for bringing us to this moment in time.”

Israel of the earth is possibility — it is a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim who walk into a cafe — and no, it isn’t the beginning of a joke. It’s the beginning of a conversation about God and faith and the future between our communities. It is the families who go to the Pride Parade in Jerusalem to celebrate love and diversity, the people who volunteer with Holocaust survivors who live alone, the ones who plant olive trees, and drive for hours in the middle of a frigid winter to bring hot tureens of soup and hot chocolate to the soldiers defending our home. It is the human rights workers, and the protestors, too, who envision a more just and equal shared society for all who share the land, and are willing to work for it. It’s the two girls who meet on the  street — a secular girl from a kibbutz with a belly button  ring and a dragonfly tattoo and a Haredi  girl covered from ankle to collarbone — and decide to have coffee together to try to understand the other. 

Israel of the earth is the beating of doves’ wings when they take flight way, way up into the sky.

It is that moment when life transcends the ordinary because the people who are part of this place are nothing less than extraordinary.

And sometimes, the Israel of the earth is frustrating. It’s loud, and chaotic. It struggles. It’s constantly on the defensive — after all, the Israel of the earth has never known a day of peace since we came into being. But just as the biblical Jacob wrestled with God to become Israel, so, we, too wrestle in Israel with our own identity. After all, we are still a very, very young country, while always rooted in history and ancient dreams.

And above all, the Israel of the earth is a glorious work in progress — and all these things about it are true, made more beautiful still by the people in it who are helping shape it. And all who visit get to be part of that — not just experiencing the Israel of the earth — but sharing it, and creating it too.

So come visit us. Come see it. Have tea with us — or a coffee — and sit for a while with your eyes and ears and hearts wide open. Shalom Aleichem. Salaam Aleikum. Peace be upon you. And welcome, to you, and you, and you.

Sarah Tuttle Singer

An Open Letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

The following open letter was published in the Times of Israel. I share it here as well

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/an-open-letter-to-nba-commissioner-adam-silver/

Dear NBA Commissioner Adam Silver,

In light of Spike Lee’s antisemitic attire at the NBA and the NBA’s failure to follow their own Fan Code of Conduct in this incident, I am writing this open letter to you about the NBA’s failure to follow your own fan code of conduct and choice to be silent in the face of blatant Jew hatred at your 2026 NBA All Star Game.

Your league’s code of fan conduct states, “The National Basketball Association seeks to foster a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable sports and entertainment experience in which:

  • Obscene or indecent messages on signs or clothing will not be permitted.”

There are those who will make the argument that wearing the signs and symbols of Hamas are not obscene or indecent.  Your choice to allow Spike Lee to wear this at the game is a clear indication that you agree with them.  So let’s take a look at some actual examples of what you and the NBA does deem to be obscene or indecent based on your actions.

Last month, your league forced a fan to remove a shirt with a Pro-ICE message on it.

In January 2025, the Toronto Raptors forced a young fan to remove his Steph Curry Golden State Warriors Jersey after inviting him to the floor to participate in a pre-game competition.

Also in January 2025, the Dallas Mavericks removed two fans for wearing “Fire Nico” shirts and holding signs saying the same, in reference to the then General Manager of the team who had just traded star player Luka Doncic.

In 2018, a Philadelphia 76ers fan was stopped from entering the arena because of her attire.  She was wearing fishnet stockings, a leotard and a leather jacket.

In 2021, the Knicks removed a fan for wearing a “Ban Dolan’ shirt (referring to the owner of the team, James Dolan).

Yet wearing clothing and pins that glorify the massacre of 1,200 Israelis, the kidnapping of 252 people and them being held hostage, the rape of women, some repeatedly for more than 400-500 days, the murder of children and the elderly while the league ‘celebrates’ the first Israeli player in their all star game is totally acceptable.  No consequences for Spike Lee.  He wasn’t removed, he wasn’t asked to change his clothes.

Even worse, after the outrage from NBA fans and members of the Jewish community, you and your league continue to remain silent.  No statement issued.  No mea culpa.  No apology to Deni Advija, the Israeli NBA all star.

Even Spike Lee, with his long history of Jew hatred and antisemitism, realized he went too far because of the public outrage.  While his clarification isn’t really an apology or believable, he (or his publicist) knew he couldn’t stay silent.  To think that an NBA superfan, which Mr. Lee is, wouldn’t know Advija is Israeli, especially with the PR about him being the 1st Israeli NBA all-star and knowing that Mr. Lee attended a NY Knicks game against Advija’s Trailblazers is beyond the pale.  Yet he still had to make some statement, no matter how unbelievable it is.

Yet you and the NBA remain silent.  Perhaps you think we will forget.  Perhaps you think the game is so good that people won’t walk away.  I have bad news for you.  I’ve been an NBA fan since 1975.  I have followed the 76ers since that Dr. J, George McGinnis, and Darryl Dawkins team.  I grew up imitating the voice of Sixers PA announcer Dave Zinkoff.  I watched the tape delayed coverage of the 1977 NBA finals against the Trailblazers (yes, the NBA was so popular then that the finals were on tape delay).  I loved shouting out, “Julius Errrrrrrrrrrrving’ and still sing the classic 76ers theme song from the 70s and 80s.  Acquiring Moses Malone and winning the NBA championship is a signature moment in my fandom and Charles Barkley remains one of my all-time favorite athletes.  Allen Iverson was a can’t miss player. I ‘trusted the process’ and the horrible years of tanking.  I had season tickets to the then Washington Bullets when I lived in the DC area just to go to NBA games and now that I live in Orlando, attend Magic games including the playoffs against the hated Celtics last season.

No longer.  The NBA has showed me your true colors.  You have showed me what you really value.  You stand up for every minority except the Jews.  Despite having a Jewish commissioner.  Despite many Jewish owners.  And despite the first Israeli NBA All Star.

I am no longer an NBA fan.  I will no longer go to games, buy merchandise, or watch games on TV.  The NBA is Dead to Me.

There is a chance that perhaps the NBA isn’t dead to me and just on life support.  The ball is in your and the NBA’s court.  Do you stand for freedom or for hatred?  Do you stand for murderers, kidnappers, and racists or do you stand for those who value life?  Do you even care about your own players?

I look forward to your response.  I look forward to seeing the NBA’s response.  I look forward to seeing a response from the NBA Players Association.

Spike Lee and the death of the NBA

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

This weekend was the NBA all star game. I grew up as a fan of the NBA watching Dr. J and the Philadelphia 76ers. Then came Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. As a Sixers fan, I hated them and loved their game. The Bad Boy Pistons. The Jordan Bulls. Some incredible teams and fun to watch.

Over the past two decades, the NBA stopped being about basketball and became about individual player talent. Other than following the Sixers, I’ve mostly lost interest in the NBA as the style of basketball doesn’t really interest me. I’d rather watch college basketball or the WNBA where the style is more to my liking.

The NBA all star game has become something that I have no interest in. They play no defense. The stars don’t engage in the dunk contest. The 3 point shooting contest is fun to watch but I’ll see the highlights instead. This year was no different. I wasn’t going to watch any of it and saw the highlights of Damion Lillaird winning only because he is injured and can’t play but is healthy enough to shoot.

This morning, I officially ended my NBA involvment. What happened? A racist and bigoted man, Spike Lee, chose to wear ‘Free Palestine’ clothing to the game and was permitted to sit courtside by the league wearing that attire. If somebody had shown up in white robes of the KKK, would the NBA have allowed them to sit courtside? I certainly hope not and don’t believe they would have. Spike Lee is an antisemite, a Jew hater. He has shown this in his films and with his statements over decades. There is no question about this. Yet the NBA allowed him to sit courtside, wearing this hateful outfit including the red triangle pin which is specifically associated with the al-Qassam Brigades, a militant wing of the terrorist organization, Hamas.

With the story coming out last week about Arbel Yehoud, an Israeli woman taken hostage by Hamas and sexually assaulted by them for almost every one of her 482 days of captivity, Spike Lee’s endorsement of Hamas and the NBAs allowing him to do so has crossed a line. It wasn’t enough when Romi Gonen, another Israeli woman taken hostage and sexually abused for most of her 471 days captivity, spoke out. The NBA is tone deaf. They chose to sit silently and allow the equivilent of a member of the KKK to sit courtside, in their white robe, for the world to see.

Spike Lee chose to be silent as tens of thousands of Iranians were murdered by the regime. He and the other Jew hating celebrities showed they don’t care about the people, they care about hating and killing Jews. By allowing him to sit courtside at the NBA all star game wearing that outfit, the NBA endorsed him.

The NBA official fan code of conduct states:

Obscene or indecent messages on signs or clothing will not be permitted.

It is clear that supporting Hamas, who kidnapped and raped women, who held hostages, who murdered innocent women and children with glee, and who uses their own civilians as human shields, clearly is not considered obscent or indecent by the NBA.

You can disagree with the actions of the Israeli government, Bibi Netanyahu, and grieve for the innocent people killed in the war that Hamas started. You can want there to peace and an end to hostilities. However supporting Hamas, a terrorist organization who attacked innocent people on October 7th, murdering more than 1,200 civilians, taking hostage 252 more, recording themselves celebrating the murder and raping of Jews, goes well beyond this. As a result of their choice, I find the NBA obscene and indecent. They are now in the same group as Spike Lee, Roger Waters, Mark Ruffalo, Mel Gibson, Susan Sarandan, Cynthia Nixon, John Cusak, and more who have publicly declared their Jew hatred. I don’t support any of them and won’t support the NBA any longer either. No more attending games, watching games on TV, buying any their jerseys or other items. They made their position clear. I am making mine clear as well.

As the world continues to enable and give a platform to the Jew haters who want us all dead, it’s beyond time to take a stand. The NBA understand money. They won’t get any more of mine. I hope Adam Silver is happy with the decision of his league. I hoped for better. That was my mistake. Let’s see if he speaks out or hides. I’m betting on him hiding. Goodbye NBA – I won’t miss you.

Counter culture

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I wrote about Bret Stephen’s recent State of World Jewry speech at length. One part of his speech that I did not discuss in that post was when he said,

The Jew haters have a certain point because Judaism and Jewish values and Jewish habits of mind are indeed in many ways subversive to many social orders.

We are most successful when we are holding to our values, ethics, and morals, not those of the dominant society. Ever since the Romans took control of Israel, we have been under the control of dominant societies. It wasn’t until 1948 and the creation of the modern State of Israel, that we were the dominant culture anywhere in the world. For more than 2,000 years we survived because we lived within the dominant society but refused to give up who we are, what we believe, our morals and our ethics. Stephens was very clear about what this means.

The Jewish people are a counter-cultural nation. To make matters even worse, our counter-cultural convictions have generally helped us to flourish nearly everywhere we have put down roots.

What are some of those convictions? We believe there is one God, not many, not none, and therefore a common moral universe with a common moral code that applies to all people everywhere. We believe that human beings are made in the image of God and therefore that human life is inherently precious and that the lowest among us is equal in basic dignity to the highest. We believe in freedom and the quest for freedom and therefore we pose fundamental challenges to every tyrant who would deny that freedom.

We believe the Messiah has not come and therefore we are not beguiled by any self-declared redeemer. We believe in the word and in the text and therefore in literacy as a foundation for faith, not a threat to faith. We believe that questions are of equal if not greater importance than answers and therefore that curiosity, second guessing, and the quest for knowledge are social goods.

We believe in argument for the sake of heaven and therefore in disagreement that is not impudence and heterodoxy that isn’t heresy. Above all, we believe in the word no. No to the sun gods and graven images and child sacrifice.

No to pharaoh and Caesar, the inquisition and the reformation, the czar and the commissar. No to emancipation from our peoplehood by the French Revolution or to the erasure of our faith by the Russian Revolution or to the destruction of our statehood through the siren song of bi-nationalism. No to the erasure of God by reason or of moral judgment by moral relativism.

No to the seductive offer of eternal salvation at the cost of our covenant with God. I don’t mean to suggest by any of this that Jews are incapable of making our peace with our political and cultural surroundings. Obviously, we can, we have, and we do.

Powerful words and a lot to unpack. The more I read these words, the more I think about them and the impact of these beliefs, the more clarity I get. The belief in one God isn’t so controversial in today’s world. It’s not what drives Jew hatred today. However a common moral code is something has driven and continues to drive Jew hatred. People assume it means we think we are better than them. They misunderstand what ‘The Chosen People’ means. Instead of understanding that it means we chose to accept the Torah and the laws of the Torah, they think it means that we think we are better than them. Living by a moral code is not only difficult, when you choose to do so, you set yourelf apart. We value education and our signature coming of age ceremony is standing in front of the community and showing to them that we can read. It’s not a physical challenge like most coming of age ceremonies, but a statement of our values. Bnai Mitzvah is about showing the community that we have values, we understand our values, and we are accepting to live by these morals and values.

For those who don’t want to live by morals and values – dictators, bigots, power hungry individuals – the thought of a people who rejects that is a slap to their face. Everytime they see us, they see the reflection of their lack of values and morals. They can’t stand that reflection and so their hatred grows. As Stephens said, we believe people are created in the image of God which means that every human being has godly virtues and is of immense value. For those who hate ‘the other’ – be it based on age, race, gender, sexual orientation, income level, or anything else – the Jewish people are a reflection of their hatred and how they believe that all people are NOT made in the image of God. That somehow God made mistakes in creating those people who are different from them. Rather than change their beliefs, it’s easier to hate the Jews and blame us for anything they can.

As Jews we believe in freedom. Individual freedom and group freedom. We don’t try to make anybody become Jewish. In fact, if somebody asks to convert, we are supposed to tell them no three times before allowing them to begin the conversion process. This leads us to claims of exclusivity and once again, the false belief that we think we are better than anybody else. Our belief in freedom scares and intimidates the dictators and despots. There is no ‘King of the Jews’, no “Jewish Pope”. The fact that there are so many ways to be Jewish, so many different ways to interpret the teachings of the Torah scares those who rule by fear. The Gemmara is a compilation of hundreds of years of arguments about the meanings of Jewish texts. It’s Rabbis arguing with each other over centuries. As Stephens stated, we believe in argument and debate. Not just for the sake of argument and debate for the sake of heaven – for the greater good. There is no final word from any human being, it is always up for debate and discussion. I often wonder how Jewish identity would change if instead of the current supplemental religious school education, we taught our children to argue and debate. To learn in chevruta (groups) and debate with each other. We assume they aren’t capable but I’d make the argument that they are more than capable, that it’s what is missing. Challenge them, inspire them, and let them learn with and from each other. It is time for us stop following the same playbook that has gotten us to where we are – divided, uneducated, disunified, fearful, and threatened. It’s time for us to be raising a generation of proud and knowledgable Jews.

Finally, as Stephens clearly stated, Judaism has a core focus on the power of ‘No’. From the 10 commandments which clearly state many things we are prohibited from doing – murder, adultery, stealing, lying, coveting what others have, and taking God’s name in vain. 7 of the 10 are telling us what we must say no to; what behavior is not acceptable. Our Jewish norms and acceptable behavior is clear and from the beginning has been different from those of the general world. We don’t attempt to impose our beliefs on them, just on ourselves. We manage to be true to ourselves and respect the culture we live in at the same time. It isn’t us that has the problem with the differences, it’s them. We don’t demand everybody observe Shabbat. We don’t mandate the world keep kosher. We don’t demand perfection, as Jews we simply ask everybody to be the best version of themselves that they can be. There is a great midrash about Rabbi Zusha that demonstates this.

The great Reb Zusha was found agitated and upset as he lay on deathbed. His students asked, “Rebbe, why are you so sad? After all the great things you have accomplished, your place in heaven is assured!” “I’m afraid!” Zusha replied, “Because when I get to heaven, God won’t ask me ‘Why weren’t you more like Moses?’ or ‘Why weren’t you more like King David?’ God will ask ‘Zusha, why weren’t you more like Zusha?’ And then what will I say!?”

Bret Stephens challenged all of us to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. We don’t need to be perfect. We don’t need to be afraid. We need to learn, to grow, to live moral lives. We have control of our own actions. Our ancestors chose to live as Jews despite hardships. For thousands of years we have had to deal with Jew hatred and have successfully weathered it because we stayed true to who we are, to what we believe and what we stand for. Neither Stephens nor I am saying everybody needs to be religious, needs to follow every commandment or be a torah scholar. Both of us are saying that we need to learn what being Jewish really means and then act upon what we learn. Be proud of who we are and what it means to be a Jew.

If you belong to a synagogue, use Bret Stephens’ State of World Jewry as a starting point for a discussion with your Rabbi or in your men’s club or sisterhood. If you don’t, bring it up with Jewish friends and start a conversation. Challenge each other. Do something different. The future of World Jewry depends on what each of us will choose to do right here, right now.

Bret Stephens – The State of World Jewry

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

For the past 3 years, the 92nd Street Y has hosted Bari Weiss, Dan Senor, and most recently Bret Stephens, to give their take on the State of World Jewry. Mr. Stephens gave his talk on February 1, 2026, and the reports of what he said were stunning. I wanted to listen to the speech myself before commenting and today, in Dan Senor’s “Call Me Back” podcast, I finally saw a video available.

I have been a fan of Bret Stephens for a long time and have had the pleasure of hearing him speak at events and conferences a number of times. He is thoughtful and direct. He gets to the point in a clear and concise manner. He doesn’t pull punches and is willing to share what’s on his mind regardless of what other may think. While I don’t always agree with what he says or writes, I do find it thought provoking and interesting. That’s more than I can say about most of what the media provides us with today.

I watched the video and was captivated by his words. He so clearly and bluntly said so much of what I have been feeling and working to address. He took on the existing norms of the organized Jewish community with a vengeance, not afraid to speak the truth. He started with one of the hottest topics and most well funded of our current Jewish issues. Antisemitism. When it comes to stopping antisemitism and Jew hatred, Stephens stated:

“We can’t, because for as long as there have been Jews, there have been Jew haters, and for as long as there will be Jews, there will be Jew haters. What’s been going on for over 3,000 years is not about to end anytime soon.”

Jews have been hated for thousands of years. Why do we think that now, we can change this, with marketing and PR? We think we must continue to try. We think that wearing a pin, ads during the superbowl, or using slogans with well liked Jewish foods will change people’s minds. Highlighting the gifts that Jews have brought to our world. Putting names on building are a solution to Jew hatred. The reality is that none of that works We continue to look to solve the outside instead of addressing the inside. Our Jewish communities are broken. The lack of Jewish knowledge is incredible. The quality of much of our Jewish education is low. Far too few children go to a Jewish school, be it a day-school or religious school. We don’t teach our children the facts they need to know. They don’t learn Jewish history, they learn bible stories without context. I often mock the religious school education that I received up to my Bar Mitzvah because it lacked any depth. It was ceremonial. It was performative. What we need, as Stephens’ points out, is not to attempt to change the minds of those who hate us with our good works but instead,

“It is to lean into our Jewishness as far as each of us can, irrespective of what anyone else thinks of it. If the price of being our fullest selves as Jews is to be the perennially unpopular kids, it’s a price well worth paying,”

Jews have survived and thrived for thousands of years, not by trying to make other people like us, but by undestanding who we are, what we value, what we believe, and then living that way. Ask most Jews what that is today and you are likely to get answers like, “We believe in one God” or “Keeping kosher, which I don’t” or “We don’t believe Jesus is the messiah”. Or you’ll get the most overused and misunderstood part of Judaism, “It is about Tikkun Olam, repairing the world.” While all these things are true, it’s not the essence of Judaism. Listen to Stephens as he not only says that Judaism is counter-culture but then explains exactly what it is and how it is counter culture. And how this counter-cultural nature of Judaism ensures we are hated as we challenge the status quo.

Perhaps the right way to fight antisemitism is to make sure we are educated about what being a Jew means. Perhaps it’s ensuring those involved with Jew hatred are held accountable for their actions rather than trying to enlighten them. Perhaps it is about being publicly Jewish, proud of our Jewish identity, and not bowing to fear. Stephens states powerfully,

The goal of Jewish life is not to ingratiate ourselves with others so that they might dislike us somewhat less. The goal of Jewish life is Jewish thriving.

And by Jewish thriving, I don’t mean thriving Jews individually speaking. I mean a community in which Jewish learning, Jewish culture, Jewish ritual, Jewish concerns, Jewish aspiration, and Jewish identification, exactly what goes on in these rooms every day of the week, nearly every day of the week, are central to every member’s sense of him or herself. How we choose to invest in our Jewishness, whether more religiously or more culturally or more politically or whatever, is up to each of us to decide.

It’s time for a massive shift in our efforts. It’s time for visionary leaders and philanthropists to reject the status quo. To admit the failure of the last 75 years. To remember that it is not about educating the Jew haters but educating the Jews. To stop trying to be loved or at least liked. To stop trying to have the Jew haters see us as equals. To stop thinking that if we only could educate the uneducated, things would be different. Stephens reminds us,

“From Martin Luther to T.S. Eliot to Sally Rooney, the world has never suffered a shortage of educated antisemites. Jew hatred is the product of a psychological reflex, and that kind of reflex can never be educated out of existence, even if for a time it may be sublimated or shamed into quiescence. Antisemitism, in other words, isn’t a prejudice or just a prejudice and a belief.  It’s a neurosis.”

We aren’t going to change those who hate us. There is a reason that organizations like the KKK still exist today. Hate i spowerful and not rational. Hate doesn’t go away because we prove ourselves worthy. It’s buried deep int he hearts of those who hate. It’s up to them to change themselves, not for us to change them. We are so focused on showing we don’t deserve to be hated and trying to encourage them to love us that we don’t even know who we are or what we stand for. If the Jewish people were to be in therapy, we would be told focus on ourselves, not other people. We would be guided to find the solutions within ourselves. Stephens serves that role for us all, stating,

“It should go without saying that there’s nothing Jews can do to cure the Jew haters of their hate. They can hire their own psychiatrists and there is nothing that we should want to do either.”

Bret Stephens gave us a master class in how to deal with today’s world as a Jew. What to focus on and what to ignore. What matters and what doesn’t. What we can control and what we can’t. His ‘State of World Jewry” speech was powerful. Blunt. Direct. Clear. Thought provoking. So much that I agreed with. So much of what I believe. Inspiring. A must watch for anybody who cares about the Jewish people. We could have discussion groups about so many of the topics he brings up. I hope the formal leaders of the Jewish organizations, both national and local, choose to use this as a teaching guide. A manual for conversations about where we are, where we want to be, and creating a pathway to get there. Unfortunately, I don’t think that will happen. Unfortunately, I think those who most need to hear what he has to say and use it as a starting point, will choose to do nothing. I urge you to at least watch and listen to his speech below and then do something with it. If you want a transcript of it, send me a note and I’ll share it with you. Share it with your friends and discuss the points he makes. Dig deep into what being Jewish means. Bret Stephens is who coined the phrase, “October 8th Jew’ and he uses this speech to even better define that term.

I said at the time that the October 8th Jew was the Jew who, quote, woke up to discover who our friends are not. What I should have said was that the October 8th Jew was the one who woke up trying to remember who he or she truly is.

If October 7th brought up questions about who you are, what it means to be a Jew, and a lack of understanding the world we live in now, watch and listen to Bret Stephens’ speech and then, go learn. Find yourself a teacher and a group of people who want to ask questions and learn together. It will help you understand why, in the words of Bret Stephens, we will,

“Endure the honor of being hated as we continue to work towards a thriving Jewish future.”

Bret Stephens’ State of World Jewry talk at the 92nd Street Y on February 1, 2026 (with Dan Senor before and after). Please watch, listen, and learn.

What have we lost, what have we gained?

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I read an incredibly powerful piece by Chagi Luber, an actor, playwright, theater director, acting teacher, founder and artistic director of the Aspeklaria Theater and School of Acting. Chagi’s son, Yehonatan (z’l), was murdered in Gaza in December 2023, while battling terrorists. It was a beautiful piece, each sentence more powerful and impactful than the next. The title intimindated me, and I was hesitant to read it, but the more I read, the deeper I felt.

Today at Your Wife’s Wedding

And we will wash and dress up and wear that same festive garment.
And we will travel as we did then, the whole family, to the wedding.
And we will enter a familiar hall decorated with flowers.
And we will shake hands again with acquaintances and strangers,
And we will say, as people always do, “Mazal Tov” a hundred times.
And we will stand once more beside the bride’s chair.
And we will sing by heart that song of longing,
When her head, crowned with a white veil, will be wrapped once again in a veil.

And under the chuppah that melody will be played.
And the bride will circle that same circle.
And again ‘Behold, you are consecrated unto me.’
And a ring will be placed on her finger.

And the glass will be shattered, just like our hearts,
And together with our son under the wedding canopy,
We will play ‘If I forget thee, O Jerusalem.’

And everything is new and everything is as it was.
And great joy.
And Jerusalem is being built,
And with it a new family.
And there is a husband for the widow.
And a father for the orphans.
And rebirth for our nation.

And high, high above our tears
And above our torn heart,
You hover,
And smile a silent smile,
And whisper in a clear and pure voice,
“Mazal Tov to you, my wife.”

—–Chagi Luber

I have read this many times. The deepness of the words, of what it means, continues to effect me. We have lost so much. Wives, husbands, and children. Sons and daughters. We’ve lost our innocence. October 7th changed everything. For those living in Israel. For those of us in the diaspora.

The rise of antisemitism throughout the world is frightening. The murder of Yaron Lischinsky (z’l) and Sarah Milgrim (z’l) as they left a Jewish event in Washington, DC, shook us all to the core. How many Jewish events have each of us walked out of, not even thinking we were in danger. Those days are over. The belief that it could never happen in the United States is gone. Growing up in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, I felt safe. Since October 7, 2023, that is no longer the case. Each attack on Jews and Jewish spaces in the United States and around the world is a reminder that as a Jew, I am never safe. It’s a fallacy, a dream.

Yaron Lischinsky (z’l) and Sarah Milgrim (z’l)

As a proud Jew, I wear my Magen David (Star of David) proudly. I have clearly Jewish tatoos that I don’t choose to hide – often wearing short sleeve shirts intentionally to make sure they are seen. My car has a ‘Florida Stands with Israel’ license plate.

Despite not feeling safe, I refuse to hide. We saw what hiding did during the Shoah. They find us anyway and we are powerless to do anything to protect ourselves. The answer isn’t to be less publicly Jewish, it’s to be more publicly Jewish. US Representative Randy Fine (R-FL) chose to start wearing a kippah after his son challenged him about living up to his public persona as ‘The Hebrew Hammer’. Like his politics or not, he chose to make a big public statement about being Jewish.

A friend of mine in Orlando, a physician, chose to wear a kippah after the loss of his son, to honor his memory. Every patient he sees, every nurse and doctor that he works with, every tech and orderly, every visitor to the hospital, all see a public Jew. That matters. We may have lost our innocence but we have gained more Jewish pride.

January 18, 2026 was Kfir Bibas’s 3rd birthday. Beautiful Kfir, a baby on October 7, 2023, was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists and then murdered, strangled, by those same terrorists. Less than a year old, he was convicted of the crime of being a living Jew and sentenced to death.

Yarden and Kfir (z’l) Bibas

His father, former hostage Yarden Bibas, acknowledged this painful day on Instagram, writing, “I’m sorry for bringing you into such a cruel world,” he wrote. “You were forced to evacuate your home because of a round of fighting in Gaza just a few months after you were born. You managed to taste solid food, you started to crawl, you reached your brother’s fourth birthday. You didn’t reach your first birthday, so how can I acknowledge your third?” The pain and love is obvious in his words. He concluded by writing, “I’m sure that Mom, Ariel, and Tony are celebrating for you in the Garden of Eden. I’m sure that Mom is giving you the best and happiest birthday possible, just like she knows how to do. I love you the most in the world, always.”

Yarden’s words mirror the words of Chagi Luber. The love, the pain, the loss, and yet life must move on. As I read both their words, I felt the deep pain of loss. I felt the tears well in my eyes and a tear in my soul. When I think about those who deny that any of it happened, who justify the abhorrent actions of the Hamas terrorists, and who support those who kidnap and murder innocent children, I am filled with rage. 

Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote, “Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth or power…Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that the world will be at least be a little bit different for our having passed through it.”   Post October 7th this is even more clear.  When I read the words of Chagi and Yarden, I think deeply about that search for meaning, that need to know what I do matters and that I make a difference.  Perhaps that is what we have all gained.  The recognition of just how important it is do things with meaning.

When people say or write that they can't believe what it is happening or that things are unbelievable, I find myself thinking of this quote by Rabbi Kushner.  It is because of us that things are happening the way they are.  It's because of us that these things are not unbelievable.  Our action, often times our inaction, is what causes this.  If we want to live a life of meaning, we have a responsibility to act.  We have a responsibiity to Chagi Luger and his entire family, to his son Yehonatan (z'l), to Yaron Lischinsky (z'l), Sarah Milgrim (z'l) and their families, to Yarden Bibas, to Kfir (z'l), Ariel (z'l), and Shiri (z'l) to live with meaning.  To change to world.  To do our best to make what happened to them never happen to anybody else again.  

My father died just over a year before October 7th.  I often think of the conversations we would be having now about the state of the world and our obligation and responsibility to make it better.  The things he would inspire me to do. While I can't hear his voice with my ears, I certainly hear his voice in my mind and in my soul.

We have lost so much.  We have gained responsibility.  Awareness.  Obligation.  What are you going to do about it?

Hope

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

As we come to the end of 2025, I have found myself spending a lot of time in contemplation about the year we are finishing. It’s been a very difficult year. The rise of Jew hatred around the world is overwhelming. The violence against Jews is frightening. The continued lies of Israeli genocide boil my blood. I watch as the extremes on the left and the right in the United States continue to blame Israel and the Jews for everything. There are too many on both sides to begin naming them, as I’m sure I would forget somebody.

The job market is tough. The number of friends that I have who are looking for work and getting discouraged is yet another frightening reality. Talented, qualified professionals. I speak to at least one of them almost every day, being a friend, being supportive, and helping any way that I can. One of them asked me today, “Was I bothering you asking about a job?” That upset me more than I expected it would, as I asked myself, “why would it bother me to help a friend?”. The I realized that for them, it must feel like an imposition. For them, it’s a critical need. For them, they don’t want to be a bother but also want and need all the help they can get. I replied, “No. It’s rough out there so helping when I can is meaningful.”

Years ago, I stopped making New Year’s resolutions. The last New Year’s resolution I ever made is the one that I have been able to keep the longest. It was to stop making New Year’s resolutions. I felt it was time to focus on action, not wishes. Change, not empty promises. As we approach 2026, I found myself getting depressed as things seem to be sinking deeper and deeper with no way out. No light ahead, just different paths of darkness. Change seems so unlikely to happen and there are so many roadblocks to it.

And then, as I was looking through LinkedIn today, I saw something that made me stop and pause. It was from an organization who stated that their mission was “helping to build the spiritual foundation of a loving world.” It grabbed my attention and made me look at them even more. In their vision, they state that, “We believe that social transformation must fundamentally include spiritual ways of understanding the world in addition to scientific ways of knowing. Our goal is to prove that viewing the world as inherently sacred…” It felt like jolt as I read it. What would our world look like if our leaders viewed the world as inherently sacred? We live in a time where building a spiritual foundation and desiring a loving world seems impossible. Yet if we can find a way to understand both the spiritual and the scientific, perhaps we can then view the world as inherently sacred and begin to act that way. In their FAQ section, when answering what spiritual solutions are, they write, “we believe that many of the challenges facing our world — division, disconnect, injustice — are not only political or economic, but deeply spiritual. Spiritual solutions begin by shifting how we see: from separation to connection, from fear to love, from transactional to relational, from tactical to transformational.” I began thinking of what our world might look like if we focused on spiritual solutions and began to live as connected, loving, relational and transformational people.

Figuring out where to take that awareness left me struggling a bit. As I walked my dog, listening to country music, talking to her as we walked, I realized that I needed inspiration. I needed to find something that could restore my hope, that would inspire me to continue fighting for what I believe in – a better, kinder, and more just world. I also realized I can’t do it alone. After getting home from our walk, I went to one thing that has always inspired me. I returned to watching The West Wing. It is one of my favorite all time television shows. It makes me think. It brings up important topics. It has deeply flawed characters that all want the common good. It shows struggles, decisions by the characters in the show that they regret, honor, and are passionate about. It shows patriotism, caring for others, civilized debate and discussion, and has characters that truly lead. I don’t always agree with the characters but I respect them. The last time I began watching it, I had stopped at the end of season 3, so I began watching again at the start of season 4.

There was so much that applies to today. An election that matters. Conflict in the Middle East with Israel being wrongly cast as a villian. Not enough teachers in the schools. The high cost of college and the challenges of affordable college education. Credit card debt. High college loans. A government out of touch with what is happening on the ground to regular people. A divided country. A need to come together with a challenge of how to do it and who will lead it. Rising antisemitism.

Yes, in late 2002 The West Wing was addressing the rise of antisemistism. If only we’d listen. This dialogue between Josh and Toby was brilliant and could be something we hear amongs Jews today.

Josh: “You have an inadvertent habit of putting down my Judaism by implying that you have a sharper anti-Semitism meter than I do.”

Toby: “You know the ancient Hebrews had a word for Jews from Westport; they pronounced it ‘Presbyterian.’”

As I watched show after show, my downcast spirit began to rise. How could a show about fictional leaders from 23 years ago improve my outlook from this dismal time? It reminded me that there is a better option. There are people who care more about the country than power, influence and money. For every Senator Bernie Sanders who stops children with cancer from having a chance at lifesaving treatment because he didn’t get everything he wanted in the deal, there is a Senator Howard Stackhouse on the West Wing who only runs for President only to make sure the imporant issues are discussed. For every Representative Thomas Massie or Marjorie Taylor Green, there is an Ainsley Hayes from the West Wing who puts country and the people before party.

As I listened to President Bartlett give his speech during the Red Mass service, after terrorists killed 44 people on a college campus, I thought about October 7, 2023 and what happened in Israel. I thought about what leadership could have looked like at that moment. The message that could have been sent by American leaders and leaders around the world and the message that was actually sent. The civilians and people in reserves who ran into the fight with Hamas terrorists. Imagine if world leaders had said something like what President Bartlett said, “The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight. They’re our students and our teachers and our parents and our friends. The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels, but every time we think we have measured our capacity to meet a challenge, we look up and we’re reminded that that capacity may well be limitless. this is a time for American heroes. We will do what is hard We will achieve what is great. This is a time for American heroes and we reach for the stars.”

The West Wing is a reminder of what leadership CAN be. It’s a reminder that we bear responsibilty to elect the leaders that will inspire us, that will work for the betterment of all, that won’t be stuck on ego, power, and money. That’s on us. We, the people, have allowed our Congress not to work for decades. We, the people, have continued to nominate and elect those in power. It’s time we stop trying to blame others and take personal responsibility.

In the beginning of season 4 of the West Wing, Toby and Josh meet a man bringing his daughter to visit colleges. She is excited. He is excited. Yet he left her in the hotel room to go to the hotel bar because he’s worried about how he will be able to pay for it. The interaction had a profound impact on Toby and Josh. When back in Washington, they work to find a solution. Their excitement as they think they have found a way is infectious. They convince others that this is something they can accomplish. That it’s not just something we should do but find a way to fund it. When President Bartlett gives his speech about education after the shooting on campus, he starts with a line from scripture. “Joy cometh in the morning.” It’s an exceptional speech that reminds us how we find the spiritual solutions to economic and social problems. The West Wing, 23 years ago, was teaching us the lesson we need to learn today. There are things we can’t do anything about and we can’t worry about them. There are things we can do something about and it is our obligation to take action and do something. To make a difference. To change the world.

Taking the inspiration from the West Wing and the different way to look at things through a spiritual solution focus highlighted by this organization, they outline a few important things as to how effective spiritual solutions often follow a simple but powerful pattern. Their model is:

  1. Diagnose the Problem Differently: Instead of only seeking and exploring what’s broken, we ask “What’s sacred?” This reframes the issue from one of scarcity and division to connection and potential.
  2. Center the Sacred: Whether through relationship-building, contemplative practices, ritual, or cultivating shared meaning, spiritual solutions reconnect people to what matters most — Spirit and the full community of life.
  3. Shift the Culture: When hearts and imaginations are engaged, systems can begin to evolve. Policy, practice, and even data become tools for deeper, more compassionate outcomes.
  4. Nurture Ongoing Transformation: Spiritual solutions are not one-time interventions. They are ongoing commitments that require sustained reflection, humility, courage, and love over time.

It’s time we stop hating the political party that isn’t ours. It’s time we stop hating those on the opposite political spectrum. It’s time to focus on love and communication, on kindness and faith. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and do the work required together with those who have different opinions.

As we move into 2026, my goal is to use their model, continue my Jewish learning to understand more of how Judaism encourages us to look at the world, and further build relationships so that I can do my part. I did my part today, following the lead of Hillel Fuld who ‘meets with the CEO’ every morning. I made sure to start today by meeting with the CEO just like Hillel does.

Little things matter. Having a spiritual connection matters. Building relationships with others matter. If we want to live in a world filled with hope, have leaders who work towards building a better world, and care about others, there is a path.

The West Wing reminded me of that path. We don’t all have to be Jed Bartlett. We can be Toby or Josh. We can be Sam, CJ or Donna. There are many different roles that bring us hope and watching The West Wing brought me back to hope. Hope alone is just the beginning. Now it requires action. 2026 is going to be an action packed year for me. How about you?

Approaching the end of a quarter century

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

There is just over a week left in 2025. It’s hard to believe we are a quarter of the way through the century. 1985 seems like yesterday. Y2K seems like it was just a thing. Time is flying by and yet, each day seems to be a struggle with the rise of Jew hatred.

I’ve found myself reading a lot and listening to a lot of music lately. There are a number of things I’ve read and heard in song lyrics that have spoken to me, so I thought I’d use them as some inspiration as we not only prepare to end the year but also the first quarter of the century.

One of my favorite songs is by Tim McGraw called “Live like you are dying.” It’s the story of a man who is diagnosed with a serious illness, one that might kill him. As a result, he decides to live the type of life he always wanted to. Some of the lyrics of the chorus hit home as they remind me, as the song instructs us, that we don’t have to wait until it’s too late to live the life we want. We can do that now – we can choose to ‘live like we are dying’. Those lyrics are:

And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I watched an eagle as it was flyin’
And he said someday I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dyin’

As a Jew, I don’t need to wait to embrace the gifts of Judaism until it is too late. There are so many lessons about how to live our lives to the fullest. To be proud of who we are and what our heritage is. To celebrate the joy of holidays and the lessons they teach us. Hanukkah, which just ended, isn’t about the 8 days of presents. It isn’t Jewish Christmas. It’s a reminder that in the darkness of the world, we have the ability to bring light. Each night, as we light one additional candle, we physically bring more light into the world. Our actions can do this too. We can choose to be kind, to be polite, and to bring light into what has become a very dark world.

I recently helped lead a trip to Israel for 30-45 year olds focused entirely on leadership. Through a combination of being in Israel, working the land, volunteering to help others, text study, listening to speakers including those who lived through the horror of October 7th, we explored a deep connection to Judaism and what our role can be in terms of not just ensuring continuity but building a stronger world. L’Dvor V’Dor, from generation to generation, is not just a motto but a way to live. Picking oranges that were donated to those who were hungry and making sandwiches and giving them out to those defending Israel and the Jewish people were powerful connections not just to Jewish identity but to our history and heritage. Listen and sign along – it’s infectious.

I read a story this week about a high school kicker who missed the extra point that would have tied the state championship game with under a minute left. With only 2 time outs, he figured the game was lost. He hung his head – he cost the team the state championship and missed the last kick of his career.

All of a sudden, his teammates ran over to him, urging him to get ready. He didn’t understand. What could have happened? One of the other team’s players took off his helmet and raised it in the air after their first snap, a personal foul which stopped the clock. They used their time outs and were going to get the ball back. He went to start practicing but everything was put away. Dads of players held up the net and held the ball for him so he could practice before the kick. When he finally took the field, it was a 44 yard field goal – a yard longer than the longest he had ever made.

In his own words, he “started praying to God: Please help me forget about that. Please help me forget about that.” Before he had a chance to attempt the game winning kick, once again in his own words he thought, “I’m glad I get a chance to kick this again because otherwise that was going to be the last time I kicked a football in a game. It can’t get much worse than what just happened.“”

He made the kick, the team won, and he went from losing the state championship on an easy missed extra point to winning it on a career long kick.

This describes Judaism in a nutshell. We’re never as bad as our worst moment nor are we as good as our best. We don’t succeed on our own, we do it as a community. He needed the defense to step up. He needed a bad punt by the other team. He needed help warming up. He got it all. He was never alone. As Jews, we are never alone, we have each other. We have the Jewish community.

October 7th was one of the lowest moments in recent Jewish history. At the critical moment, we failed. 1200 people were murdered. 251 were taken hostage. Since then, the rise of antisemitism is frightening. On December 14, 2025, at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Australia, a father and son murdered 15 people for the crime of being Jewish. Many more were injured. As we learn more about what they had planned, we got lucky that their IEDs didn’t go off, that the homemade bombs they threw before opening fire didn’t explode. We weren’t alone.

I’ve been to Israel five (5) times since October 7th. I’ve witnessed what happened at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Kibbutz Alumim, the Nova site. I’ve spent time with regular people who have spent most of the past two (2) years in reserves, defending Israel and the Jewish people. They left their jobs and their families. Their children didn’t know when, or if, they were coming home. They did it for Am Yisrael, the nation of Israel. They did it for Klal Yisrael, the entire people of Israel.

It is a reminder that we all have greatness inside of us. The question is what are we going to do with it. A quarter of the 21st century is about to be behind us. What have we done with that 25 years? Do we want to be a part of greatness? Do we want to help change the world?

The kicker said, “I didn’t get in my own head. The first thing that helped me with that was after I missed the extra point, I didn’t hear anything bad from my teammates. And when I warmed up, everyone told me: “You’re good, bro. You’ve got this. We trust you.” That helped my mindset.”

That’s also Judaism. We don’t believe in L’shan Hara, Hebrew meaning “evil tongue” or “evil speech.” This includes any negative, derogatory, or harmful talk about someone, even if true, that damages their reputation or causes pain. We believe in building each other up, not tearing each other down. In today’s world, with so much divisiveness in the Jewish community, we can take a lesson from this football team and this kicker. If we build each other up, even when angry, frustrated, or disappointed, we can have a bright future. If they had bad mouthed him, talked badly about him and his ability to kick, who knows if he would have made that game winning field goal. The Jewish people are too small to rip ourselves apart. It’s too important to build each other up. We can disagree about anything – even everything – and not engage in L’shon Hara, evil speech.

On our trip to Israel earlier this month, we all had a profound experience. It changed us all in various ways. The picture below, captioned by one of the participants, says it best. “The trip that changed us.” That what Judaism does – it changes us. It helps us be better people. It helps us build a better community, a better world. As we prepare for a new year and the start of the 2nd quarter of the 21st century, this each of our opportunity to make a commitment to being better people helping to build a better world.

As I walked the dog tonight, the lights of the houses across the lake and the moon in the sky were captivating. It showed me the beauty in the world, even with all the ugliness that people create. It reminded me that there is beauty in the world and we, as people, have the opportunity to appreciate and build on the beauty or create ugliness.

Near the end of Live like you are dyin’, Tim McGraw sings,

Like tomorrow was a gift and you’ve got eternity
To think about what to do with it
What did you do with it
What did I do with with it
What would I do with it

As we finish 2025 and start the 2nd quarter of the century, what will you do with the gift of tomorrow?