It is Friday in America

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

On my recent trip to Israel, we were in the Lower Galilee on a jeep ride. It was beautiful to ride through the lush area, climbing the mountain in the jeeps, until we reached an amazing view.

In the background, you see the Golan Heights. The Golan is a strategic area as whoever holds it has complete control of the valley below. Prior to 1967, Syria would sit there and shoot at the people living in the villages in the valley. In the 1973 war, the Golan was almost lost. The story of the tank unit in the 188th armored battallion is legendary. I first heard it a few years ago when we visited the unit as they proudly told the story of their unit. Totally outmanned, they managed to hold off the Syrians as the cost of their lives until support could arrive to fight and eventually win.

What I didn’t know is that my friend David’s cousin, Benny Katzin, was one of the leaders of that unit in 1973. While looking at that view, David told us his story. As he was preparing to leave for the weekend to spend both Shabbat and Yom Kippur with his family, Benny sensed that something was going on and there was something wrong. His overall commander told him not to worry and to go home and enjoy Shabbat and celebrate Yom Kippur with his family. He told him he had earned it.

Benny Katzin

The uneasy feeling wouldn’t leave him. As much as he wanted to see his family and spend the holiday with them, Benny couldn’t leave. His responsibility was too great. Instead of leaving that Friday afternoon to go home, he stayed on base just in case something happened. Something happened all right.

On Saturday October 6, 1973, the armies of Syria and Egypt attacked. Not only was it Shabbat, it was Yom Kippur. Israel was not prepared. On the Syrian-Israeli border, the Syrian army made incredible progress. They were so successful, so quickly, that they thought it was a plot to trick them into going to far so they stopped. This gave Bennie and his immediate commander, Yitzchak Ben Shosham the time to move any tanks that still worked to try to delay the Syrian army. They managed to hold off for another day while reinforcements were sent north, ultimately defeating Syria on the border. Bennie and his commander were fighting in the last 2 operating tanks against a Syrian force of 177. When only one tank worked, they both jumped into it to continue to fight. The were found dead together in that last tank. It had stopped being able to move so they used whatever ammunition they had until they ran out and were then killed.

Yitzchak Ben Shosham

What makes this story any different from hundreds of other acts of heroism at that time? Why bother with this specific story? Benny was a hero, not for what he did when the war began on October 6 or for what he did to defend Israel on October 7, 1973 when he died. It isn’t for taking on 177 Syrian tanks with just two Israeli tanks. If itsn’t because they were successful in delaying the Syrian army until reinforcements could arrive. Benny is a hero for what he did on October 5th. For choosing to stay. For listening to his gut and deciding it was more important to be there in case he was right rather than go home and hope he was wrong.

How many times have we been faced with that type of situation? We have a feeling something is going to happen. We know deep down that we should stay but we want to go home. We want to see our spouse, our children, our parents. We want to relax, eat a good meal, and not deal with the ongoing stress. How many of us do that instead of listening to our gut and doing the hard thing, staying.

Here in America, many of us have that feeling in our gut. Something is wrong. Something bad is going to happen. Whether it is something with women’s rights, individual rights, assassination attempts of leaders, school shootings, the rise of antisemitism, or many other things, we feel it deep within ourselves. The question is what are WE going to do? Are we going to ignore the signs that we see, the feeling in our gut, go home and hope it doesn’t happen? Are we going to sit at home and ignore the feeling, hoping if it happens, it is not to us or those we love? Are we going to leave the responsibility to somebody else because we can? Or are we going to be like Benny? Are we going to act? Are we going to say, “Not on my watch! I refuse to allow this to happen without doing what I can to stop it.”

We have the choice. Nobody would have faulted Benny for going home that Friday to spend Shabbat and Yom Kippur with his family. He would have been recalled on Saturday and been fighting against Syria on Sunday. He would have known. He would have to live with the fact that he knew in his bones that something was going to happen and left. He would have known that he could have made a difference on Saturday and didn’t.

The truth about Hamas, UNRWA, and Gaza is slowly coming out. The UN has already cut in half the number of women and children that have been killed in the war. If you take the numbers reported by Hamas/Gaza Health Ministry/UNRWA (they are all the same terrorists), in the UNRWA report from Tuesday July 9, 2024, they reported that 38,193 people have been killed. They don’t discern between terrorists and civilians. They don’t include anybody dying of natural causes. The same report estimated that 50,000 babies have been born in the past 9 months. This means that in this so called ‘genocide’, the population of Gaza has actually INCREASED even including the terrorists who have been killed and those who died of natural causes! While Israel is amazing in so many ways, they sure are terrible at genocide.

Yet the cries of genocide and apartheid remain. We’ve already seen how this ‘genocide’ is the only one in history where the victims have seen their population increase. If you go to Israel, you will soon realize so are the claims of apartheid. On my most recent trip, one of the participants got sick. I took her to the medical clinic that morning where she was treated by an Arab-Israeli doctor and nurse. When I got her prescription filled, it was by an Arab-Israeli pharmacist. The wonderful man who cleaned my hotel room every day, who I talked to multiple times a day and built a friendship with (and tipped him well for an awesome job done) is an Arab-Israel. Our medic and security guard one day was an Ethiopian-Israeli. One of our speakers shared with us that the number of Arab-Israelis choosing to serve in the IDF continues to grow significantly as are those who are choosing national service as an option.

Yet here in America and around the world, we are faced with these lies. We are faced with growing anti-semitism – I choose to call it Jew hatred because that’s what it really is. What are we going to do about it? How are we going to respond? Are we going to respond? Should we just sit back and hope it goes away? I have heard the arguments about Jews staying on the campuses where they are facing daily hatred both in and out of the classroom because we can’t abandon them. I disagree. Abandon them we must. Protecting ourselves is more important. Imagine a Jew-free Ivy league. How much would their prestige fall? How many Nobel Prize winners would now come from other Universities? How many innovators and business creators would now come from other Universities? The brain drain will affect them tremendously and our students stay safe. Imagine the amazing Jewish professors leaving the Ivy League hatred and improving the quality of education elsewhere. Rabbi David Wolpe writes about his year at Harvard and why he left. Imagine the talent leaving these hate filled institutions and going elsewhere.

It’s Friday in America now. The question is who are you going to be? Are you going to be Benny Katzin who chose to stay because he knew something was coming? Are you going to be like Benny and instead of going home to see family and celebrate the holiday, make the sacrifice to stay and fight? To be there because you know it is coming? It’s Friday in America. Are you going to look back with pride that you took action and didn’t let others face it without you or are you going to look back with regret because you could have made difference and didn’t. When your grandchildren ask what you did and where you were when it was Friday in America, how are you going to answer them? I know how I am going to answer them. My children already know the answer to tell their grandchildren about what I have done and what I am doing when it is Friday in America. What about yours?

How my dog Bella (z’l) is like Israel

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Our 13 ½ year old chocolate labrador, Bella, crossed the Rainbow Bridge last month.  We got her as a Hanukkah present on December 1, 2010, and she has been a constant in our life and our family ever since.  She taught us about unconditional love, how important playing is in life, the joy of treats, and the joy in just being together. 

Bella as a puppy when we first got her and took her for her first checkup

Almost exactly a year ago, she almost died.  While being boarded, something we hadn’t done in many years, she developed 3 major infections and had 3 major open wounds.  She couldn’t eat, walk, or do much of anything.  We were preparing to say goodbye and tried one last Hail Mary attempt before saying goodbye.  That last attempt miraculously worked and for the last year Bella fought every day to be with us and to do whatever she could do.  She went on walks.  She climbed the stairs.  She did some physical therapy in a swimming pool.  She would climb up in my lap.

The last few months she would come upstairs at 2 am to wake me up and make me go downstairs and sleep on the couch next to her.  She liked sleeping on the travertine tile floor but didn’t want to be alone, so it was my job to be close to her.  Most of the time, as soon as we got downstairs together, she would lay on the floor and be content and sleep through the night.  Every so often she would let me spend the entire night sleeping in bed, but it was a rare occurrence.  I didn’t mind (much) because I knew how important it was to her.

Bella reminds me in many ways of Israel.  Israel is 76 years old.  When the US was 76, we hadn’t even fought the civil war yet.  Israel is still a baby, or maybe a middle school student.  It is start-up nation.  It is innovation.  We joke that the national bird is the crane because when you are in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, there is so much construction that you see so many cranes all over the place.  My relationship with Israel is similar to the relationship I had with Bella.  It is one of mutual love.  It is one where we learn from each other every day.  It is unconditional love.  It doesn’t mean that I was happy when Bella stole the challah or that I am happy when the Israeli government makes what I consider to be a bad decision.  It does mean that I love Bella no matter what she does, just like I love Israel even when the government or some of the people make very poor decisions.

My relationship with Bella started the day I picked her up, December 1, 2010, and brought her to our home and our family.  While she is physically gone, it is a relationship that will last forever.  My relationship with Israel began as a child, shaped by my grandparents and parents.  It deepened when I made my first trip there in the summer of 1989 and has continued to grow on each of my 21 subsequent trips since that first one.  Just as my relationship with Bella deepened as she got older and we spent more time together, so has my relationship with Israel.  Each visit takes me deeper into my own Jewish identity.  Each visit helps me explore who I am, who I want to be, what my values are, how do I want to spend my life, and answer the question I have previously written about, “What would I die for?”, which tells me what I am living for. 

Israel is not a tourist attraction that you go to once and that’s it.  It is a fine wine.  A good bourbon or scotch.  Incredible music.  It is to be savored.  That first taste is exactly that, a taste.  It’s wonderful and exciting and exhilarating.  Floating in the Dead Sea, climbing Masada (or taking the cable car), going to the Kotel, touring the old city of Jerusalem.  Exploring Tzfat and spirituality.  Visiting the Kinneret.  Rafting down the Jordan river.  Hearing the Muslim call to prayer from the minarets, as you are in the middle Jewish or Christian prayers. Exploring Haifa and the Baha’i Gardens.  I could go on and on and on.  Yet it’s just a taste.  A first sip.  Your toe in the ocean.  There is so much to explore, so much to invest, so much to learn and grow.  Just like every relationship.  Just like my relationship with Bella.  The day I brought her home, I was in love.  She was adorable and cute and fun.  The day before she died, we were sitting outside together, she way laying the grass, happy as can be, a totally different and deeper experience.  My first trip to Israel was exciting and exhilarating.  I soaked it all up and have vivid memories from that trip, 35 years ago.  My trip to Israel last month was also powerful and deep in a very different and more mature way.  My trip this month was a deeper exploration into what Israel stands for, what she means, what her values are, and my personal connection that as a Jew, started when Abraham listened when he was told by God to “Lech Lecha”, go forth, and was guided to this land.  Just like sitting outside with Bella during her last weeks as she laid in the grass instead of playing frisbee or chasing a ball, it was even more special despite the vast difference.

Bella in the yard just before she died. She was happy until the end and gave us love her entire life

As we toured the old city of Jerusalem this time, our guide challenged us to view it very differently.  He urged us not to see buildings, walls, rocks, and rubble.  Instead, take a look at what happened. What are the stories?  What does it all mean?  When he took us through the tunnels under the Kotel, he posed the same questions.  It was a remarkable two tours with Eytan.  He spent three hours each time with us, pushing us to keep moving with him as he made the old city come alive in a completely different way.  I felt like I was there in the 1948 war for the old city.  My love for Jerusalem was captured during the tour as I asked myself what I would do to defend Jerusalem.  The old city will never be the same for me as I turn every corner and there is deeper meaning.

As he took us through the City of David, we stood where King David’s palace likely was.  There is enough archeological evidence to show this is where it would have been.  You could imagine what happened in that area.  The poetry of King David being written.  The decisions he had to make, both good and poor.  As we moved to the current excavation site, you could imagine the city that once existed there, more than 3,000 years ago.  The vibrancy of the people.  We walked through the drainage system, designed to capture the rainwater from the mountain to bring fresh water to the cisterns of the city below.  The system was small and narrow.  I couldn’t stand straight up and banged my head a few times.  It felt tight and constricted.  All I could think of as I walked through this tight place was the hostages and how they live like this every day.  A 3,000-year-old water collection system teaching me about life today.  I’m not sure there is anything more Jewish than that. 

I miss Bella every day, just like I miss Israel.  There are a few images that will stay with me from this trip for a long time. 

Our hotel is where the residents of Shlomi, a town in the north of Israel, have lived since October 7th.  They are right on the border with Lebanon and were bombed by Hezbollah and had to evacuate.  Throughout the hotel, we had families living their lives.  Kids running around, riding tricycles, women doing laundry at the specially installed washing machines because this was now their home.  A Gan (kindergarten) still functioning as the other children are now enrolled in local schools.  The hotel lobby had become a community center. Shlomi is a religious community and as we prayed each day, said the Birkat Hamazon (grace after meals), and learned Torah, they watched.  They came up to one of our leaders and spoke to him in Hebrew, telling him how much we inspired them.  How proud they were because of what we were doing and because we were there.  Imagine being forced from your home and living far away in a single hotel room with your 5-7 children for over 9 months.  And young people, choosing to come to Israel during the war, doing Jewish traditions, inspire you. 

You see how close Shlomi is to the Lebanese border

I watched as their Gan began the day.  The children were adorable.  The teacher filled with excitement and passion.  The joy in the room at the hotel was palpable.  These 4-year-old children who have had their life turned upside down had normalcy.  I was inspired.  I watched and smiled.  Life doesn’t just go on.  It flourishes.  That is Israel.  Even in the worst of times, there is joy and plans for a better future.  As we visited the Kotel before leaving Israel, what did we see?  Another group of children, dressed in costume, learning at the Kotel. It was a beautiful site. No matter how much people try to kill us, try to villify us, try to isolate us, try to mock us, try to eliminate us, we will not give up. We will not forget who we are.

The joy of being at Machane Yehuda in the day, as a bustling shuk (market) and then in the evening as a crazy fun group of nightclubs is amazing. The energy, the passion for Judaism and Israel expressed at both times is amazing. When in Jerusalem at the shuk, the singing is loud, the passion is raised, and there is a strong and powerful pride in being Jewish. Why can’t we keep this when we return? Why do our voices suddenly get quiet? As you watch this video of the shuk, feel the energy, the passion, the joy and make sure you bring it with you every day when it comes to being Jewish.

Can we always sing Am Yisrael Chai with this passion and love?

I have been to Israel 22 times now and will be back at least once more this calendar year. As I walked and talked with one of our participants who was on her first trip to Israel, she talked about how surprised she was at how she felt in Israel. She talked about how much she wished we had an extra week or two on the trip, with the group, to continue learning and having the experience. She talked about how much she wanted to come back and maybe next summer would work. Once you have been to Israel this will make sense to you. Until you go, you can’t really understand it. It brings up the existential question, how to do we maintain this connection to Judaism, to our history, to our family and community, and to God, when we aren’t in Israel? How do we bring it home with us so that it lives within us all the time, not just when we are in Israel?

Many people and organizations have tried to answer this question over the years, some with some success, others not so much. What I do know is that as long as those of us who aren’t super religious can inspire the religous people of Shlomi with our effort, we are doing ok. As long as we continue to make the effort to do it, we are having success. It truly is a journey, not a destination.

P.S. – Here is a little something to put a smile on your face – the Jerusalem Youth Choir with Arab and Jewish youth singing on America’s Got Talent.

What a response! Thank you Dina.

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Every so often there is something written by somebody else that is so amazing that I want to share it with others. The last one before this was by Yotam Berger. This time, it is an incredible response by Russian-Israeli author Dina Rubina. Her summation is concise, brilliant, and one I firmly agree with. Please read and know that we can stand up for ourselves, we don’t have to accept the lies and narrative, and we don’t have to play defense any longer. It is time for us to play offense both as Jews and Zionists.

Enjoy her words.

Russian Israeli author Dina Rubina was scheduled for an event to discuss her books at Pushkin House in London in collaboration with the University of London.

Before she was “allowed” to speak, however, event moderator Nataliva Rulvova demanded she clarify “her position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” saying other invited participants needed to “understand your position on this issue before responding.”

Here is the note Rubina received from Rulyova:

Hello, Dina!

The Pushkin House announced our upcoming conference on social media and immediately received critical messages regarding your position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They wanted to understand your position on this issue before responding. Could you formulate your position and send it to me as soon as possible?

– Natasha

Here is Dina’s blistering response to the ridiculous request.

Dear Natalia!

You’ve written beautifully about my novels, and I’m so sorry for the time you’ve wasted, because apparently we have to cancel our meeting.

The universities of Warsaw and Torun have just canceled lectures by the wonderful Russian-speaking Israeli writer Yakov Shechter on the life of Galicia’s Jews in the 17th and 19th centuries “to avoid making the situation worse.” I suspected that this would affect me too, since academia is now the main breeding ground for the most disgusting and virulent anti-Semitism, disguised as so-called “criticism of Israel.” I was expecting something like this, and I even decided to write you an email about it… but I put it aside. It’s time for me to publish it.

This is what I want to say to all those who expect from me a quick and obsequious report on my position regarding my beloved country, which currently lives (and always has) surrounded by ferocious enemies who seek to destroy it. My country which is waging a just war today against a rabid, ruthless, deceptive and cunning enemy. The last time I apologized was in elementary school, in the principal’s office, I was 9 years old. Since then, I have been doing what I think is right, listening only to my conscience and expressing exclusively my understanding of the world order and human laws of justice.

Natalia, thank you for your efforts, and I personally ask you to send my answer to all those who are wondering.

On October 7, Saturday, the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, the ruthless, well-trained, well-prepared and well-equipped Hamas terrorist regime of Iran, Hamas, which rules in the Gaza enclave (which Israel left about twenty years ago) attacked dozens of peaceful kibbutzim and bombarded my country with tens of thousands of rockets. Hamas has committed atrocities that even the Bible cannot describe, atrocities that rival the crimes of Sodom and Gomorrah. Atrocities filmed by the way, by GoPro cameras, the murders having taken the horror to the point of sending the images to their families or on social networks in real time.

For hours, thousands of happy, blood-drunk beasts raped women, children and men, shooting their victims in the crotch and heads, cutting off the women’s breasts and playing football with them, cutting off the babies from the wombs of pregnant women and immediately decapitating them, tying up and burning the small children. There were so many charred bodies that, for many weeks, forensic pathologists could not cope with the enormous workload of identifying individuals.

A friend of mine, who worked in the emergency room of a New York hospital for 20 years, then in Israel for 15 years, was one of the first to arrive in the kibbutzim, as part of a team of rescuers and of doctors. She still hasn’t been abe to sleep since.

While she is an emergency specialist, accustomed to dissected bodies and corpses, she fainted when she saw the macabre sight and vomited all the way back in the car. Among the Hamas militants, Palestinian civilians rushed in, participating in pogroms of unprecedented scale, pillaging, killing, dragging everything they could get their hands on. Among these “Palestinian civilians” were 450 members of this highly regarded organization UNRWA (United Nations Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East).

Judging by the utter joy of the population (also captured by thousands of mobile cameras), Hamas is supported by almost the entire population of Gaza. But the essential is there for us: More than two hundred Israelis, including women, children, the elderly, and foreign workers, were dragged into the beast’s den. A hundred of them are still rotting and dying in Hamas dungeons.

It goes without saying that these victims, who continue to be mocked, are of little concern to the “academic community”. But that’s not what I’m talking about right now. I am not writing this so that anyone will sympathize with the tragedy of my people.

During all these years, while the international community has literally poured hundreds of millions of dollars into this piece of land (the Gaza Strip) – UNRWA’s annual budget alone is equivalent to a billion dollars! – During all these years, Hamas used this money to build an empire with a complex system of underground tunnels, stockpile weapons, teach schoolchildren from primary school to disassemble and assemble Kalsashnikov assault rifles, print texbooks in which hatred of Israel is indescribable, in which even math problems look like this calling for the murder of Jews with every word:

There were ten Jews, the Shahid killed four, how many are left?

And now, when finally shocked by the monstrous crime of these bastargs, Israel is waging a war of annihilation against the Hamas terrorists who so carefully prepared this war, who placed thousands of shells in al the hospitals, the schools, kindergartens…

The academic community, which was not concerned about the massacres in Syria, nor the massacre in Somalia, nor the mistreatment inflicted on the Uighurs, nor the millions of Kurds persecuted by the Turkish regime for decades, this very worried community, which wears “arafatkas” [keffiyes], the trademark of murderes, around their necks at rallies under the slogan “Liberate Palestine from the river to the sea”, which means the total destruction of Israel (and Israelis). “Academics”, as polls show, have no idea where this river is, what it is called, where certain borders are located.

And it is the same public which asks me “to express a position cear on the issue”. Are you really serious!

As you know, I have been a professional write for over 50 years. My novels have been translated into 40 languages, including Albanian, Turkish, Chinese, Esperanto, and many more.

Now, with great pleasure, without choosing my expressions too much, I sincerely and with all the strength of my soul send to all the brainless “intellectuals” who are interested in my position to go fuck themselves.

— Dina Rubina

Russian-Israeli author Dina Rubina

Visiting Israel during war time

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

As I reflect on this last trip to Israel, the war with Hamas in Gaza is deep in my thoughts.  The potential war in the north with Hezbollah.  All backed by the Iranian regime.  Spending time in May and July in a post-October 7th Israel, visiting the Nova site twice, Kfar Aza twice, hearing from and having a barbecue dinner with the people from Kibbutz Alumim, displaced since October 7th to a hotel in Netanya, and then eating lunch at the Kibbutz with those who returned, hearing from and spending time with my friend Lt. Col. (retired) Yaron Buskila and meeting with Brigadier Gen (Ret) Amir Avivi, hearing and seeing the bombing of Jabaliya and hearing the jets and rockets over Gaza while hearing explosions and gunfire, and spending a weekend in the Lower Galilee while Hezbollah was firing rockets into the upper Galilee has given me a very personal and deeper understanding of what Israel has been going through since October 7th and the changes in the country.

People think they know what is going on, but they really don’t.  They think Israel wants to conquer Gaza and take it over, a land grab, and expel the people living there.  They don’t.  They want the hostages returned.  There wasn’t a day I have spent in Israel in the past two months where returning the hostages was not a primary topic of conversation, where I didn’t see signs calling for their return.  It is a palpable undercurrent throughout the country.  Every hostage is a brother or sister, a son or daughter, a grandchild of the country. 

There is anger at the government, the IDF, Hamas and Iran for what happened on October 7th.  The massacre.  The hostages.  The delay of the IDF in responding.  Major change is coming both in the government and the IDF once Hamas is defeated, and the hostages returned.  There is no national desire to conquer and hold Gaza.  There is a demand that the security between Israel and Gaza be strengthened.  The events of October 7 demand that.  Those who think a full IDF retreat from Gaza is required simply don’t understand October 7, the trauma of the country, and security risk.  If that means those of us in the diaspora have to continue to educate and advocate for Israel, then we will do so.  The end of the war won’t end the Jew hatred we are experiencing because Israel will never allow what happened on October 7 to occur again, regardless of the political cost.  Unlike the past where Israel would have an incursion to Gaza to reduce their military ability and then give them the keys back, Israel will not give up the security control after October 7.  We value human life too much to take that risk again.

There is no desire for war in the north.  Nobody wants the war to last a day longer than needed to get the hostages returned, capture or kill the leaders of Hamas, and end their ability to do anything militarily.  The tunnels in Gaza are actually being dug out so they won’t exist to be used or rebuilt.  Israel is not built for long wars.  The war in the Sinai was 100 days.  In 1967 it was 6 days.  1973 was 19 days.  This is now over 9 months.  In my first 20 trips to Israel, I had never heard the word melowim.  The past two, melowim, being called up for reserves, is common.  Everybody talks about it.  When they were last called up.  When their next call up will be.  They are in and out of active duty after having a chance to rest a little.  I’ve watched speakers finish, go change into their army uniform, come back to say goodbye to us, and then report for duty.  Tour guides who are preparing for their return to active duty in the next day, few days, or the next week. 

Iran and Hamas’s goal on October 7 was to start a regional war.  They wanted the brutal murders, rapes, kidnapping and terror to create the chaos of a regional war.  They hoped that like Al Queda did with 9/11, they would be able to get America to respond, then getting other major powers involved as well.  When that failed, they wanted the death of their own people to be what would create this regional war.  Their ultimate goal was to create a war between Islam and the West.  To date they have failed.  Despite what we see on college campuses and in major cities, the governments have not responded with military action. 

Where they have succeeded is in making the people of Gaza the victim.  They make sure the people of Gaza die and then blame Israel.  They make sure the people of Gaza starve and blame Israel.  Even when the UN, an antisemitic organization who is no friend to Israel, reports that there is more than enough food being brought into Gaza, Hamas makes sure the people don’t get the food.  The news makes sure to highlight the latter and ignore the former.  UNRWA uses their offices, schools, medical clinics and hospitals as Hamas bases and the world ignores it. 

As we have seen in the past week, the leaders of Hamas in Gaza and some of the leaders of Hezbollah in Lebanon are being targeted.  Israel, despite the international criticism, is winning the war.  I believe the day will come when Sinwar will either come out of hiding with his hands up or will be killed.  The question that will be critical on that day is what will the world do?  The world that has been crying for the people of Gaza have two choices.  They can step in and help rebuild or they can pretend it is now ok and go back to hating Jews in quiet.  With the current world leadership, I am concerned they will do nothing, go quiet, and allow Iran and Qatar to be who funds the rebuilding.  They will continue to make the same mistake over and over again. 

The United States often calls the World War II veterans the Greatest Generation.   The more time I spend in Israel, the more I am convinced that for Israel, THIS is the Greatest Generation.  Talking with these 18–22-year-old IDF soldiers, those who have come back to serve in reserves, those who put their lives on hold because of the need of Israel for them to serve is incredible.  The sacrifices they make every single day is awe inspiring.  It makes me wish I was 30 years younger and could join them.  There is a political earthquake coming in Israel.  There is a rising political leadership that will take over and not accept the status quo.  They are not interested in repeating the mistakes of the past but rather learning from them and moving Israel forward.  I went to meet a young current MK at the Knesset this trip.  I was excited to talk with her, learn from her, and left wanting her to have a bigger role in the future.  I spent a few hours with a friend who has been in leadership for the past 7 years and is preparing to run for the Knesset in the next election.  Hearing her talk about the future of a 1 state solution, a 2-state solution, the Haredi serving in the military, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran inspired me with hope.  Unlike in the US where I wonder where our future leaders are and have real concerns as the far left and far right seem to continue to secure more and more strength and control, I am excited for Israel’s future.  This generation is truly putting the country first. They are putting the safety and security of all Israeli citizens first.  They want to move to a bright and united future.

Outside our hotel a few days after we arrived there was a large protest against the government, against Bibi, in favor of the Haredi serving in the military, and demanding the return of the hostages.  It was beautiful to watch.  People were joined together, peacefully advocating their positions.  There was no violence.  No arrests.  Nobody was a paid agitator.  There was a strong police presence, yet no laws were broken, and no arrests made.  The contrast between Israel and the United States was so strong. 

I traveled from the United States to Israel, from a supposed country at peace to a country at war, and yet it is Israel I feel most optimistic about long term.  As I head home, it is a strange feeling.  I’m more concerned about being attacked in the United States as a Jew than being less than a mile from Gaza, a war zone or in the lower Galilee, 20 kilometers from where Hezbollah was shooting rockets while we slept.  What does that say about us?  What does that say about our future?  What are we going to do to change this reality?

I have lots of questions but no answers.  I do know that Israel will win the war.  They will survive and thrive.  They have their greatest generation now. 

Am Yisrael Chai

Here are two podcasts by friends of mine that I recommend if you want to learn about Israel and Judaism

https://www.saulblinkoff.com/podcast

Temptation and the real lesson from Adam and Eve

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

It’s always interesting learning Jewish things in Israel, especially in Jerusalem.  Aryeh Ben David explored Chapter 3 of the beginning of the Torah with us.   We talked about Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden.  The midrash (story from Rabbi’s) is that after being forbidden by God to eat from the tree of knowledge, it took them about 20 minutes to eat the apple.  It is about temptation. 

So why would God tempt Adam and Eve, knowing that they would fail the test and be expelled from the Garden of Eden?  How do we do when told we can’t do something, especially something that sounds interesting, fun or would be totally awesome?  A friend parks their Lamborghini in your driveway, gives you the keys, tells you they will be back in a month and that you CANNOT drive it.  How long would it take before the temptation to just take it for a little spin would win out?  He won’t know – it’s just a couple of miles.   Temptation is all around us and our goal is to do the best we can to not fall into it.

It is easy to fall into temptation.  We do it every day.  Too much food.  Delicious desserts.  Some people it’s with sexual activity.  Alcohol.  Drugs.  Buying expensive things that we can’t really afford.  Temptation feels good.  It’s immediate gratification.  The consequences happen down the road and we don’t think about them when we are in the middle of enjoying the fruits of temptation.  Adam and Eve didn’t think about what God would do if they ate the fruit they were told not to.  The consequences came after. 

How do we avoid temptation?  What can we do to be more aware?  That’s where structure comes in.  That’s where gratitude comes in.  Adam and Eve had everything, yet they still couldn’t appreciate what they had and risked everything because of temptation.  The desire for more.  They lost.  Often times we do the same.  We risk everything.  Our health by eating too much, the wrong type of foods, or too many sweets.  Our lives with drugs or alcohol.  Our marriage and families with sexual desires and behavior.  Sometimes we see the consequences and they are devastating, like Adam and Eve.  Sometimes we get away with them, which only reinforces the behavior.  It is like Las Vegas, and we are gambling with our lives.  Just like in Vegas, we forget that the house ALWAYS WINS. 

The second lesson we learned from Adam and Eve was to dream.  It sounds strange to think of that since the story doesn’t seem to focus on dreams at all.  Nobody ever told me that having dreams was part of Adam and Eve’s story.  It was about obeying God and the consequences when you don’t.  It was about being created in the image of God.  But dreaming?

After being kicked out of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve dreamed of finding a way back.  When they realized they could never get back, they began to dream about how to make the world they now lived in as perfect as they could to resemble the Garden of Eden.  That is the beginning of the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world.  Adam and Eve tasted the perfect world and lost it.  They, and their ancestors for thousands of years, would spend their time trying to recreate it. 

Each of us has the ability to make the world a little more perfect.  It’s not our job to make the whole world perfect.  That’s too much for any of us.  However, we do have the ability to do little things to make the world better.  That’s the essence of the story of Adam and Eve.  It’s not about how the snake convinced Eve or how Eve tempted Adam.  It’s not about how God took Adam’s rib to make Eve.  It’s about each of us doing our part to make the world a little bit more like the Garden of Eden.

It can sound overwhelming but it’s not.  It is the little things.  At our hotel in Jerusalem, I say hi and good morning to all of the people who work here.  The man who cleans my room is a nice guy, we talk throughout the day when I see him.  Instead of thinking of him as less than or pretending not to see him, I recognize him and treat him nicely.  He does the same to me.  Treating everybody as an equal human being makes the world a better place.  That’s an easy thing for us all to do if we simply pay attention and make the effort.

Adam and Eve had a big dream to make the world resemble the Garden of Eden.  Bigger dreams have bigger impacts.  We know one thing for sure, we cannot achieve a dream that we don’t have.  Dreamers in today’s world often get shut down.  There are too many challenges, too many risks to dream.  Yet it is dreamers who change the world.  Steve Jobs used to dream about making devices that you didn’t even know you needed.  The iPhone.  The iPad.  I remember the Thanksgiving discussion with my grandfather and my father about desktop computers.  My grandfather was 100% certain that there was no way that every house would want, need, afford, or have a computer.  In the end, he was right.  In my house we don’t have one computer. We have 6 or 7 computers (including laptops) and that doesn’t include iPads, iPhones, Apple Watches, etc.  Steve Jobs’ dream changed the world.

It isn’t just Steve Jobs though.  I remember a few years ago reading about a man named Rodney Smith Jr.  I’m sure you have all heard of him.  What?  You haven’t?  Rodney Smith Jr. came up with an amazing idea.  He wanted to raise boys into men, girls into women AND help those in need.  How does he do this?  He created a nonprofit called Raising Men and Women Lawn Care Service that encourages them to take the 50-yard challenge.  They are challenged to cut 50 lawns FREE for the elderly, disabled, single parents, veterans, & anyone in need of help in your town.  At each level of 10 they receive a new t-shirt of a different color and when they reach 50 lawns, the come to visit the boy or girl and present them both their black shirt to mark 50 lawns and give them a brand-new lawn mower, weed eater & blower!  How cool is that?  They are now in all 50 states, 8 countries, and have thousands of kids mowing lawns for people who need help.  In the winter, they shovel snow, and, in the fall, they rake leaves.  They are truly making a difference in the world.  Rodney Smith Jr. has made the world better for the thousands of children who are giving back, for their parents, and for the tens of thousands of people who get their services. 

Steve Jobs had another important quote for this context.  He said, “We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise, why else even be here?”  Each of us has the ability to put a dent in the universe.  As it says in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of our Fathers), Chapter 2:16; “(Rabbi Tarfon) used to say… It is not up to you to finish the task, but you are not free to avoid it.”  Our job is to participate in the job that Adam and Eve started.  Making the world as close to the Garden of Eden as possible.  What are you going to do today to make the world a better place?  What are your random acts of kindness going to be?  What impact will you make today.  We all have the opportunity to change the world a little bit every day.  The questions is are you going to do your part?

The trading of time

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I’m here in Israel for two weeks with a group of young adults on a leadership program.  The Jewish Leadership Institute (JLI) was created by Rabbi Mayer Abramowitz more than 30 years ago.  He was a visionary.  He understood in the early 1990s that the future was on the college campus and that providing answers to the WHY of Judaism was critical to developing Jewish leaders.  I was introduced to the program in 1998 and have been a fan ever since.  Now I get to work with my friend David, Rabbi Abramowitz’s son, on JLI and the future of JLI.

While the focus of the trip is on the young adults, it is impossible not to be inspired by both them and the content.  I find myself thinking deeply throughout the different experiences and while I am not the intended target of the program (nor are you) the impact is felt.

Yesterday we had an amazing tour guide, Eytan Rund, take us on a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem.  I’ve been on many tours of the Old City.  Too many to count.  I love the Old City.  Last month, our guide gave a totally different view of the Old City that I wrote about.  Eytan spent two hours with us giving one of the most amazing tours I have ever experienced of the Old City. 

Eytan’s focus was on the difference between seeing old stuff and seeing stories, history, and memory.  The Old City was his muse to talk about peoplehood.  To talk about the Jewish collective.  To talk about what being Jewish means – being part of a mishpacha, a family, that is thousands of years old.  As we looked down into the ruins of Jerusalem from the time of the first Temple, he explained this was this built 3,000 years ago by Jews.  Well before Christianity.  Well before Islam. This is our homeland that we built.  He talked about how after the destruction of the first Temple, Jerusalem was filled in with sand to make an entirely new ground, well above the prior city.  It is always amazing to look at the areas from the time of the first Temple however this was different.  He tied it to us.  We built the first Jerusalem.  We built the second Jerusalem.  And we built the current Jerusalem.  It was powerful.

As we walked through the Old City, he focused on 1948 and the battle for the Old City as well as the battles with the Assyrians, Persians, and Romans.  The stories were vivid.  They were personal.  On my trip last month, Saul Blinken, our trip leader, talked about what a miracle it is that we get to wake up in Jerusalem.  We walk the streets of Jerusalem.  We breathe the air of Jerusalem.  That was incredibly impactful for me.  I am fulfilling the dreams of my ancestors from 2,000 years ago and I can never forget that.  Eytan reiterated that in his own way.  The modern state of Israel is truly a miracle that our ancestors who were conquered by the Romans could never imagine. 

It made me think of a story that my friend Harry Rothenberg told me a few years ago as we were climbing Masada.  I challenged him to do some on the spot Torah teaching about climbing a mountain.  He said that when God told Moses he would not be permitted to enter the land of Israel, Moses begged God thousands of times to be allowed to enter.  God refused every time.  God finally told Moses that if he climbed this mountain, he would be able to look into Israel and see the entire land.  Moses climbed the mountain, saw the land, and his love for the land he saw but could not entered is a part of all of us.  That is why we love Israel.  It’s a great teaching about how our love for this land goes back thousands of years.  It’s not since 1948.  It’s not since the late 1800s and Theodore Herzl and the creation of modern Zionism.  It goes back to Abraham.  To Moses.  To King David and King Solomon.  It is a part of who we are. 

One of the things I love about JLI is our morning services.  As somebody who does not like services, that is an interesting statement to make.  The reason I enjoy these services so much is because they focus on the WHY not the WHAT.  As we continued to discuss the prayers about thanking God for restoring our soul and for the rooster knowing the difference between day and night, we talked about time.  Previously I wrote about how Judaism marks the passage of time, so we don’t lose our focus.  Today we talked about how we are always trading time.

It is a fascinating concept that most people don’t really think about until they are older.  That is when we begin to realize that time is our most precious commodity.  We can always make more money, get a new car, a new house, new clothes, TVs, computers, etc.  What we can never get back is time.  Life is about the value of time and what we are willing to trade time for.

For many years, I was willing to trade time for money.  For career.  For ego and for title.  For status.  For the nicer house and the better car.  I wouldn’t trade time with my children – I took them to doctors appointments, went to their sporting events and music performances. I specifically remember having a small counseing practice and when I did the analysis of what insurance was paying me, realized that I would rather have dinner with my family than make money. Until I got a bigger job.

The bigger job, for some reason, changed the equation. I began to trade time more freely. I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing. I knew I didn’t like it but I continued to do it. After a few years, I realized that among many things, I wasn’t willing to trade that time for the money, title, and prestige of that job. So I left. My new job was still demanding but not in the same way. The trading of time was different. Perhaps it was because my children were a little older.

The question to ask ourselves is what is each experience worth? What would I trade it for? As one of our teachers here in Israel asked, ‘Would you trade your elbow for a million dollars? How about both elbows for ten million dollars?’ Over the past almost year, my equation for trading time has changed. I am eternally grateful for the last three weeks of my father’s life when I was able to be there for him and my mom. It is time I can never get back and I’m glad I didn’t trade that time for money, prestige, power, or anything else. I am not willing to trade time with my children the way I used to be. I won’t trade the time with my wife the way I used to be. My job today requires travel and it is not always balanced (July is a month of almost entire travel) but I built in time for a trip with my wife.

As we evaluate our lives, time is the ultimate measuring stick. Not money. Not titles. Not power nor prestige. At the end of the day, it is the time I spent with my family, with my wife, my children, my parents, that matter the most. It’s a lesson I continue to learn and I’m far from where I want to be with my willingness to trade time but I am much better than I was just a year ago.

Maybe this comes with age. Maybe it comes with losing a parent. I’m excited to take trips this fall to watch my older son coach college football. Sure it’s a 10 hour drive each way but who cares. It is likely either my wife or younger son or both will be in the car with me. Plus I get to watch him do what he loves. I’m excited to take trips with my younger son to sporting events, concerts, and other things. I look forward to planning the things my wife and I will do together and when not traveling for work, the time we just spend together as I get to work from my home office those days.

Life is far too short to give away our most valuable possession. Time.

How do you value your time? What are you willing to trade for time with your spouse, your children, your parents, your friends? Once you trade that time away, you can never get it back.

Who am I? Find for yourself a teacher.

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

As I have said many times, I am not a religious person.  I don’t go to synagogue often.  In fact, a monthly Sunday morning service is all I do right now.  And I only go because of the way it is done.  It is done in a meaningful and intentional way.  It is done not only for the ‘how’ of praying but more importantly for me, the ‘why’.  I began learning Torah with a Rabbi a few years ago because I valued the discussion and questions that came out of the process.  Studying Torah became about how I choose to live my life today rather than learning some stories verbatim and being able to repeat them back.

I often think that the challenge people have with religion and services, both in the Jewish and non-Jewish communities, is that we are taught only the HOW.  We are never taught the WHY.  One of my favorite parts of being Jewish has been that I have begun to ask the WHY question and don’t really care that much about the HOW.  The WHY is what matters. 

Simon Sinek’s amazing Ted Talk about Start with Why. The Why matters.

It’s interesting that for a guy who isn’t religious, doesn’t really like going to synagogue, doesn’t keep kosher, has his own definition of keeping Shabbat (I don’t do work but I drive, cook, drive a car, turn on the TV, etc.  I just don’t do professional work (most of the time)) that I find wisdom in the Torah.  As a few friends and teachers have told me, “The Torah is the instruction manual for life.”  I think it’s because of the teachers that I have found and the way they teach, how they explain the WHY of things rather than the literal story, that I find meaning and inspiration to be a better person.

I was excited that on this trip, the young adults and I were going to have the opportunity to learn some of the WHY from my longtime colleague and friend, Aryeh Ben-David.  From my experiences with him over the past 15 or so years, I knew that he would get to the WHY and boy did he.  He did in a brilliant and simple way, using only the first verse of the Torah. 

Genesis verse 1 talks about the creation of the earth.  Most of know the story of the six days of creation and the 7th day God rested.  None of this was what Aryeh discussed.  Instead, we focused on THE major life question.  WHO AM I?

Three words.  None more than 3 letters.  Yet it is perhaps the most asked and the most challenging question for all of us.  We start the Torah with the big question.  Judaism doesn’t mess around.  Let’s get right to it. 

As we discussed the question first in chevruta (pairs of two) and then as a big group, we were able to bring it together with Aryeh’s guidance to two things.  First, we are made in God’s image so that we are all perfectly as God intended.  This also means we have to strive to be more Godlike in life.  Secondly, we are both dust and soul.  The two don’t get along.  They fight constantly over us.  Are we focused on the here and now and pleasures of the body?  Or are we going to be focused on delayed gratification, making things have meaning, going deeper into what we are doing and why we are doing it?  Every choice we make is between the immediate pleasure or the delayed gratification.  The shallow or the deep.  One thing became very clear.  While there are people only for the dust (immediate pleasure), they are few and far between and typically easy to identify because they look like a caricature.  There are very few who are all about the soul (delayed gratification) and they are also easy to identify.  They are monks.  They deny the physical entirely, never marrying, living in isolation, depriving themselves of everything but the basics.  The challenge is the balance between the two.

There is a place for the dust.  We want nice things and there is nothing wrong with having nice things.  Good food.  Good wine.  A nice house.  A nice car.  Good clothes.  An enjoyable sex life.   Money in the bank.  The ability to travel.  The question is always, “at what cost?”  Where is the balance?  At what point are we only serving ourselves and not serving the larger community or God (and if you don’t believe in God, replace the word with nature or civilization or whatever you want).  Do we want to be like the wealthy attorney who owns the huge fields in Israel that we picked apples at and who donates all the food to those who are in need, or do we want to be the person who owns large parcels of land and lets them sit empty because they merely want to make a profit on the resale of the property?  Do we want to keep all our money, time, and talent for our benefit or do we want to give our money, time and talent to help others and improve the world.  These are the questions we need to ask.

In these crazy times that we currently live, this first verse of the Torah is more important than ever.  Do we want to fight hate or make money off it?  Do we want to hide and stay quiet, hoping it will pass us by or do we want to do the right thing and stand up against it?  Do we want to spend the time to get educated and understand the nuance or believe the soundbites and move on?  What are our morals?  What are our ethics?  What do we stand for?  The old saying, “If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything” has never been truer.

We can even take this into the United State political arena.  Do you want to be part of the country that hates the other part of the country?  Do you want to live in hating the other political party and their candidates?  Would you rather work to solve our society problems?  These are choices we get to make every day.  Do we want to be spending more of our time on the dust, the physical plane or the soul, the spiritual plane.  Note that none of this has to do with religion or even being Jewish although the thought and questions come from the Torah. 

Each day we get to ask ourselves these questions.  Each day, when we wake up, we have the opportunity to make new choices.  In a different session, as we discussed a few of the prayers, there were two that jumped out at me.  The first, Modeh Ani, is what we are supposed to say every morning.  It is a simple thank you to God for letting us wake up.  It also ties into the dust and soul issue.  Our soul leaves us at night and returns in the morning.  Sleep is for the physical, the dust.  While I don’t usually say the Modeh Ani when I wake up, I do thank God every morning when I wake up.  It’s the first think that I do (maybe the second after using the bathroom).  I thank God for giving me the day ahead and everything that comes with it.  It takes me a minute or two and it’s really very simple.  “Thank you, God, for the day ahead and everything that comes with it.  I am excited to be alive today and grateful that you gave me the gift of life today.”  That’s the entire prayer.  Each morning when I say it, it inspires me to take action in the day, no matter what the day entails.  Sometimes I say it out loud, sometimes in my head.  I say it every day.

The second prayer that jumped out at me was the first prayer of the morning service.  It is a strange one.  We thank God for giving “the rooster understanding to differentiate between day and night.”  What a weird thing to say as the very first prayer of the service. We all sat there thinking about why we would say that.  What makes that so important to have it be the first prayer of the morning service.  Our teacher talked to us about how the most precious thing we have in life is time.  On a trip with a group of young adults, all under 26, that’s an interesting concept to discuss.  Time is endless for them.  They are in the beginning of living as adults.  We talked about how Judaism ensures we mark time to remember how important it is.  A bris or baby naming.  Bar/Bat Mitzvah.  Wedding/chuppah.  Yahrzeit (anniversary of somebody’s death).  We constantly mark the passage of time to not forget how important it is.  We say this prayer so that we notice not just the passage of time but also that we pay attention to all the little things that happen every single day that we take for granted.  The sun rising.  Food to eat.  Clothes to wear.  Shelter.  Loved ones in our life.  The rooster knowing the difference between day and night is to symbolize nature and all the things we take for granted.  We start each day with gratitude by saying Modeh Ani or our own thank you to God for the day ahead.  Then we thank God again for all the things we take for granted. 

What a way to start every day.  As most of you know, I’m not very religious so saying the Hebrew prayers isn’t something that I do regularly.  Every day, I do thank God for the gift of the day and now I have the opportunity to thank God for all the things I take for granted.  Maybe that will help me notice them during the day and not take them for granted. 

On my trip to Israel last month, we learned about what a miracle it is to wake up in Jerusalem.  To breathe the air in Jerusalem.  To walk the streets.  This morning, I woke up in the Southern Galilee to beautiful views.  God as an artist.  We rode jeeps around the area, looking at the fields growing fruit and vegetables.  At the mountains and the sky.  At the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).  When we are in a different place and see the beauty around us, it is very easy to notice it.  What about in our own daily life?  What about in our own homes, looking at our own backyards? 

View of the lower Galilee. The Kinneret n the distance. Israel, Syria, and Jordan in the background.

As I spend two weeks of July in a country at war after spending 10 days here in May and planning another 10 days in August, I am so grateful for many things.  Grateful for the existence of the State of Israel.  Grateful to the IDF who protect this country.  Grateful that I have the ability to come to Israel as often as I have in my life.  Grateful for the pioneers who made the desert bloom.  Grateful to the leaders like David Ben Gurion, Moshe Dayan, Golda Meir, Shimon Peres, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, Ariel Sharon, and many more who created this country.  I have the opportunity to live in the dust, enjoy being able to come here and enjoy the food, the people, the beach, and everything it has to offer.  More importantly, I have the opportunity to live in the soul as well, fighting on Israel’s behalf to educated and inform people about what it is really like and what is really happening.  I have the opportunity to let my soul open up while here and make sure it stays open when I return home. 

A short video from the lower Galilee with Israel, Syria, and Jordan in the background. It highlights how close everything is and is a way for me to educate and speak out on Israel’s behalf.

In Pirkei Avot 1:6, there is a famous line that I have chosen to live by.  To paraphrase it, we are charged to find ourselves a teacher, make them our friend, and judge others with grace and giving them the benefit of the doubt.  While all three are important, I sometimes struggle with the third and it is the first two that I am living by.  I have found myself not just a teacher but a few teachers.  They have become my friends.  They provide me guidance to be a better person.  They explain things and I ask lots of questions.  They make it relatable to my life today, in 2024.  One of my teachers, who I have been learning with and from for more than 20 years, told me a few weeks ago that I was now a yogi.  That was high praise from him and I’m not sure that I really believe that, but I have come a long way.  They all continue to inspire me.  I learn from all of them. 

So, who are you?  Where do you stand in the balance of dust and soul?  If you don’t know, that is totally ok.  Most people do not know.  Find yourself a teacher.  Make them your friend.  Learn.  It is not about being more religious.  It is about learning life lessons and how to apply them.  It is about finding meaning for you in what you choose to do.  It is a deeply personal journey and a powerful one.  I encourage you to begin the journey.  From my experience, it is one you will really enjoy.

My favorite band. One of their great songs. Who are you? That’s the key question.
In case you want to listen. Watching Keith Moon on drums is always a joy.

The Israel of today, the world of tomorrow

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I’m back in Israel and have been for two full days.  They have been exhausting days, physically, mentally, and spiritually.  They have been uplifting days.  They have been challenging days.  Days filled with emotion and gratitude.  Days filled with joy and sadness.  Days that end in exhaustion and an inability to think any longer, let alone write.  It is Friday here and that means Shabbat.  Rest.  Recharge.  Gratitude.  Life.  Love.  Happiness.  Joy. 

I have been struck by a number of things on this trip so far.  Having just been here last month, coming back has felt different.  Normally there is a longing to return after 6 months, a year, or two years.  This trip, just a month later, has felt much more like really being home.  Not just a spiritual home or a Jewish home, but a real home.  The streets of Jerusalem are familiar because I was just walking them.  It’s a different feeling and very comforting.  Despite all that is going on here in Israel and in the world, there is both a feeling of being safe and a feeling of being where I belong.  It is a special feeling that is difficult to describe, especially in the crazy world we live in now. 

When we landed, we changed clothes and went to an orchard to pick apples.  Sammy, the man who owns the massive agricultural area is a patent lawyer who bought the land and cultivates it purely to feed those in needs.  Every bit of produce grown is donated to those in need.  Sometimes it is the IDF.  Sometimes it is families or even communities.  If you are hungry and want/need produce, you get it for free from these fields.  Volunteers like us do a great deal of the harvesting however he also hires at risk youth, those from challenging homes, those who need to earn money to help support their families, to come work the fields after school and in the summer.  Not only does he not make any money on this massive investment, it costs him money to pay the people to work.  It struck me that this is so Israel and is also the way to solve so many of our problems in the world.  Imagine if people like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, etc. used just a part of their immense wealth to follow this model.  Imagine if they took just a fraction of their fortune and dedicated it to both feeding those in need and helping provide an income for those who need it.  What would our country look like?  What would our world look like?

I write a lot about how we all have the ability to change the world.  This Israeli patent attorney is doing just that.  He took a fraction of his wealth and invested in people.  He invested in the future.  He invested in humanity.  As we filled up these two huge bins with apples, it was clear that his vision and passion had rubbed off on all of us.  We were working hard to pick the apples.  We were excited to see the bins filled.  It was hot and buggy, but we didn’t care because we were doing something that was meaningful and would feed people.  We were working the land of Israel.  We were making a difference.  I truly believe that people want to make a difference and want to give of themselves.  We need to do better on all level in making this possible.  This means people with the economic ability to invest like Sammy did.  It means the rest of us need to invest our time and effort like we and many others do.  It is possible with inspiration and commitment.  Are we willing to be inspired, to share the inspiration, and committed to doing our part in making the world better?

We finished the afternoon by going to the Kotel, the Western Wall, in the old city of Jerusalem.  Being in Jerusalem is always a miracle.  It is always special.  The place that King David built, thousands of years ago, as the center of the home of the Jews is incredible.  As we walked to the Kotel, we came upon an IDF unit being inducted at the Kotel. It was amazing to watch these young soldiers finish their training and take the oath as official IDF soldiers. Many will be sent to Gaza. Many will be sent to the north to prepare for a possible war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. There stood, proud to serve their country, proud to serve the Jewish people. It was powerful to see and be a part of.

I had 20+ prayers/notes from friends to put in the Kotel, to get them directly to God.  Each one I read, folded, kissed, and placed in the wall.  One after another.  The prayers were beautiful.  They were selfless.  It was all for the betterment of others or of the world.  It struck me that if we actually lived this way, our world would be so much better.  If our leaders truly were concerned about the betterment of others, the betterment of the world, doing the right thing no matter what, we would live in a magical place.  Is it too much to ask?  Maybe.  Or maybe we need to ask and hope, just not to expect.  Or maybe we need to ask, demand, and expect.  I don’t have the answer, I only know that if that was how we acted, we’d have the world we want.  When I finished with the notes, I placed my head against the Kotel, closed eyes, and thanked God for the life he has given me.  For my family, my friends, and the many gifts I get every single day.  I asked him to continue to do so and help me live in gratitude each and every day.  I asked him to take care of my family, friends, and the world.  I spent more time with the notes than I did with own prayers which felt right.  As we left, I couldn’t wait to return next week.

Yesterday we went to the Nova music festival site and Kibbutz Kfar Aza.  I was at both last month.  Nova was powerful and felt healing last month after visiting Kfar Aza.  We were doing it in reverse this time and I wondered how it would be different.  It was different.  We started with some music that would have been played at the festival.  Then we talked about what happened.  It was a powerful contradiction that we both felt and discussed.  Rami Davidian, a true hero of Octobetr 7th who spoke to us last month also spoke to us.  I recorded him so you can not only understand that we can all be heroes but also to see how this simple farmer changed 750+ worlds by saving 750 people on October 7th.  The risks he took.  The situations he put himself in to save people he didn’t know.  You can get a small understanding of what October 7th was like through his words. 

His story was even more powerful than before and inspired me to ask myself, what more can I do?  If Rami was willing to do what he did, put his life at risk for people he didn’t know, honor the dead, what am I willing to do?  One thing that he said that I want to add some context to.  When he talks about the dead women tied to the trees, they were naked, at least from the waist down.  They had been sexually abused.  Rami not only untied them, he honored them by covering them up, by respecting their bodies, and by saying the Shema over each body.  In a world with too many October 7th deniers, it is important to understand what Rami saw and hear his story.

We had a chance to wander the site.  Look at the posters of those murdered or kidnapped.  Put faces to names.  Some had stories about them as well to remind us of the person they were.  It was incredibly powerful.  As one of the students said, “I tried to find this one person’s poster but there were so many posters I couldn’t find it.  I kept going in circles until I finally gave up.”  The feelings were powerful and deep.  Not just the loss of life but the loss of the future.  Who among them was destined to cure cancer?  Who was going to solve our societal issues?  Who was going to write the song that inspired millions, the book that took the world by storm?  Who was the artist that was going to provide inspiration to millions?  The loss of future is immense.

Our final stop of the day was Kibbutz Kfar Aza.  Last month, as I toured Kfar Aza, I was filled with anger and rage.  The inhumanity infuriated me.  The way the world wants to forget or minimize October 7th fueled a deep rage as I went from house to house to house.  As I saw the houses ruined, burned, and the signs on the house that indicated how many people were killed in the house.  The stories we heard were painful.  In the young adult neighborhood of the Kibbutz the loss of life and future was palpable.  Last month my friend Ben was on his 7th visit to Kfar Aza when I was there for the first time.  As I told him how painful he was, he said, “This was my 7th time here and it gets worse every single time.”  I wasn’t sure what to expect this time.

This time our guide was a resident of Kfar Aza.  It was much more personal.  Shachar took us to his house to begin his story.  His next-door neighbor was away and his wife home alone.  The neighbor called Shachar and asked him to check on his wife.  He braved the risk of the terrorists to check on her and found her murdered.  He got back to his house and hid in his safe room with his wife, knowing that the terrorists came in next door and could come into his house at any time.  We sat on Shachar’s front deck under shade as he told us his story.  When he told us that the terrorists loved his deck and used it as a place to sit, plan, eat and drink, it was hard to believe that the chair I was sitting in right then was a chair the terrorists used to plan more murder and rape on October 7th.  It was personal.

Shachar highlighted how the Kibbutz defense team of 12 was decimated in the first hour, leaving them without any defense for 3 hours until a group of 9 soldiers showed up.  They were soon injured or killed, once again leaving them defenseless.  There were an estimated 1,000-armed terrorists that entered Kfar Aza against a defense force of 12 and then 9.  You don’t have to be a military expert to know those are bad odds.  It took the army many hours to finally reach the Kibbutz and, in Shachar’s words, “retake Kfar Aza”.  Powerful words. 

The armory where many of the Kibbutz’s defense force were killed

We toured the Kibbutz and saw the houses that were burned with people inside.  We saw the border and how close Jabaliya is to the Kibbutz (less than a mile from where we stood).  We saw the street that is still closed, and pictures are forbidden because they are still working to identify some human remains there.  Every person on that street was either murdered or kidnapped and taken hostage in Gaza.  Every single person.  And entire street.  Imagine your street having every single person murdered or kidnapped and taken hostage.  It is beyond inhumanity.   We saw the youth area with the pictures of those murdered.  Banners with pictures of the hostages taken from the Kibbutz.  We got to enter two of the apartments where Hamas murdered people.  Their personal items are still there.  Outside of the massive damage due to grenades and bullets, it was a home.  Yet the person who lived there was brutally murdered by terrorists. 

Sivan’s house was one that we could tour. The holes in the wall and the ceiling were unbelievable. Her bathroom was as she left it.

As I listened to Shachar and toured the Kibbutz, my stomach was in pain.  It was a deep gut pain.  My insides were twisting with each story.  The more Shachar talked, the more it hurt.  When he finally went back to work, he told us that in the middle of a dangerous job, he just froze.  People noticed and asked if he was ok.  When he told them no, they came to take over for him.  He hasn’t tried to work since then. 

Yet at the end, Shachar stunned me.  He told us that he still hopes for peace.  After all that he has seen and experienced, he still wants peace.  He isn’t sure when it will come but he believes and hopes that it will.  He invited us all to come back and visit him.  To stay at his house.  He loves Kfar Aza.  He doesn’t want to ever move and won’t leave.  He wants us to come visit and really experience it.  Most of all, he still wants peace.

Shachar talking to us

Last month, I wrote about how the bombs going off in Jabaliya were the only thing that gave me comfort during the visit.  It bothered me then and it bothers me now.  It’s not who I am yet is was who I was at that time.  This trip was different.  While we heard jets above us, saw missiles fired, heard explosions and gunfire, it wasn’t comforting.  It felt necessary.  Hearing the personal story of Shachar reinforced the evilness of Hamas.  He had told us how after Hamas had murdered, raped, and kidnapped people, the civilians of Jabaliya came across the border into the Kibbutz, looting homes and stealing whatever they could.  He saw a man with a crutch tying a TV to his back to take back to Gaza.  While I am sure there are some innocent civilians in Gaza, the behavior of civilians on October 7th shows that most are not.  From the celebrations on October 7th, the civilians who joined in the murdering, and those who came to loot and steal, the evidence is clear. 

As we come closer to the end of the war in Gaza and elimination of the last battalion, it is clear that Hamas cannot remain.  The textbooks provided by UNRWA cannot remain.  UNRWA itself cannot remain.  For there to be any peace, there needs to be both a change in leadership as well as a change in the taught hatred.  Without that, we will continue to have ongoing attacks and repeated wars. 

Shachar showed us that the desire for peace from Israelis remain.  There are serious conditions that must happen before that can occur.  The hostages must be returned.  Hamas must be eliminated from any type of power structure.  Gaza needs to be rebuilt with leaders who want to build a civil society with their neighbor, the Jewish State of Israel.  Anything less is unacceptable.  If people tell you Israel should accept anything less, tell them the truth.  Anything less is not acceptable.  It is not feasible.  It is not acceptable.  And it will not happen.

The Jewish people will not go away.  We will not allow our extermination.  If it becomes ‘us or them’ we will ensure it us.  Am Yisrael Chai.

The path back from the cliff isn’t easy but it is there. Will you take it?

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I boarded the flight to Israel today around 11 am.  We took off at noon for the 11 ½ hour flight from Miami to Tel Aviv.  This is my least favorite flight to take as it’s very difficult to sleep during the daytime after a good night’s sleep and when we land, it’s the start of a brand-new day.  It’s great to land and have the full day in front of you, but when you are tired and it feels like midnight, it’s not always so easy.

On the flight, I chose to get the internet package. Knowing it was daytime and I’d be awake for most, if not all, of the flight, I thought it was a good investment.  As I spent the flight checking emails and responding to texts, I realized that when we landed in Israel, not only were we going to start by volunteering to help by picking fruits and vegetables, but we were also going to spend the afternoon at the Kotel, the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism.  One of the traditions is to write prayers and put them into the wall so they are close to God.  Since I had such a long flight, I went on social media and offered to put prayers into the Kotel for whoever wanted one.  All they had to do was message me what they wanted the prayer to be.

I didn’t think much of it and expected a few people would respond.  I was overwhelmed as the requests kept coming in.  Without sharing any specific people or what they requested, I will say that a great deal of them were related to health issues.  It is a reminder that there is a reason the saying is, “healthy, wealthy, and wise.”  Health comes first.  Without health, we have nothing.  There were requests for a better world.  Requests to help loved ones who are struggling.  Nobody was asking for the ‘wealthy and wise’ part of the saying.  All the requests were truly selfless.  A few people thanked me for offering to do this for them.  I often take going to Israel for granted.  This is my 22nd trip and the 23rd is already on the books this year.  Israel is truly a core part of my soul and my personal identity.  Today, on the flight, these requests were a reminder of how lucky I am to go to Israel once, let alone 22 times. 

These requests also got me thinking about the world we live in today and the world it appears most people want to live in.  They are not the same place.  The world we live in is filled with selfishness.  It is filled with ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’.  It is filled with people who desperately want to obtain and keep power.  It is a world filled with ego.  When half of the United States hates the other half, we are not living in the world that most people want. 

These requests made me think about the world we would like to live in.  A world where we cared about other people.  A world in which doing the greatest good really mattered, whether it helped the individual or not.  A world filled with love, not hate.  A world in which we were more concerned with giving than getting, with doing rather than taking.  What would it look like to live in a world where kindness was the most valued commodity? 

Imagine a world where we didn’t hate but rather worked to understand each other.  Our differences were celebrated rather than used to create a reason to hate.  As I watched this video, I couldn’t help smiling when he said, “Babka is my middle name” or when he called rugelach, “roo ga losch”.  He is filled with curiosity.  He wants to explore a different culture. I want to watch him try gefilte fish, kasha varnishkas, shakshuka, cholent, and so much more.  How much fun would it be to watch people of different cultures explore the unique foods of another culture?

On this trip to Israel, we have 12 young adults.  6 males, 6 females.  Twelve very different people, who come from different backgrounds, with one similarity. As I met most of them for the first time, I loved their differences.  I can’t wait to spend two weeks exploring a post October 7th Israel, leadership, and Jewish thought with them.  I can’t wait to hear their thoughts, their impressions, their opinions, and their ideas.  As I write that, I can’t imagine our world leaders saying the same thing about each other.  I can’t imagine our country’s leaders saying that about each other.  It shows me that there is a path back from the cliff we are on, if we want to take it.  It’s not easy.  It’s not comfortable. 

A perfect example of how close to the cliff we are is the text exchange between Deans at Columbia University that was released by the Department of Education.  The texts are bigoted.  They are hateful.  They are unbecoming a leader and an educational institution.  Three of the Deans are currently suspended pending an investigation while one, Joseph Sorett, has falled on his sword and not only won’t be suspended, he is guaranteed to keep his job.  Normally, with evidence this damning, you could count on them getting fired.  Yet in the world we live in, with what we have seen in the past 3 months on college campuses, there remains a good chance they will all return to their positions with merely a slap on the wrist and by making an insincere apology.  As you read the text thread, your blood may boil the way mine did.

Instead of approaching this with empathy, care and concern for Jewish students at Columbia, these four Deans, Susan Chang-Kim, the Vice Dean and Chief Administrative Officer, Matthew Patashnick, the Associate Dean for Student and Family Support, Cristen Kromm, the Dean of Undergraduate Student Life, and Josef Sorett, the Dean of Columbia College, utilize stereotypes, antisemitism, hate, racism, and everything they are supposed to fight against to mock Jewish students, Jewish professional leadership, and antisemitism. Their titles show how powerful the positions they hold are.

The 3 Columbia Deans that have been suspended

We all have a choice. Do we want to be like the Deans of Columbia University or do we want to work to change the world, seek to understand rather than to be understood, strive for the best for humanity, be kind, and treat others with dignity and respect. It seems like a simple choice, however in the world we currently live, it isn’t.

I choose the latter. I choose to do things like meet with my Palestinian friend in East Jerusalem to have meaningful and respectful discussions. I choose to listen and learn both with and from the twelve young adults on this trip. I choose the harder path, one that leads to a better world but isn’t easy. When I go to the Kotel later today with all these notes from other people, detailing their prayers, their hopes, their dreams, I choose to be an instrument of good, placing each one carefully into the wall. With each one I place, I will ask God to grant them their prayer, their wish.

We are not stuck in the world we live in. We have the ability to change the world one step at a time, one day at a time, one action at a time. I hope you will join me.

Jewish blood is no longer cheap

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I’m on my way to Miami today so that I can fly to Israel on Tuesday at noon.  It’s one of my least favorite times to fly because you fly all day long and then it’s 7 am in the morning and you start a whole new day.  The good news is that by doing it this way, we will get a full extra day in Israel.

This trip is with the Jewish Leadership Institute (JLI), a program I am proud to have worked with for over 25 years.  Targeting 19-26 year olds for a 2 week leadership experience in Israel, JLI has had an incredible impact on the lives of those who participate.  Heavily subsidized, the program is available to everybody interested in developing their leadership in a Jewish context. 

It is amazing that post October 7th, in the middle of a war, with things heating up in the north of Israel with Hezbollah, we have a group of young adults who want to go to Israel for two weeks, volunteer, visit Kibbutz Kfar Aza and the Nova Festival site, learn, and connect Jewishly.  It is the essence of Jewish community.  It is hope for our future.

Standing at the Nova site

This will be my 22nd trip to Israel.  I began going after graduating college in 1989 and didn’t return for a decade.  Since then, I go as often as I can.  Israel is home.  There is a special feeling being there that you can’t explain to somebody who hasn’t been and that once somebody has been, you don’t have to explain.  I have been there during the first intifada, the second intifada, just as the country was about to reopen from Covid, and during this war.  I have been there during times of quiet and during bombings.  I have always felt safe in Israel.  Just last month, I walked from Ben Yehuda Street to East Jerusalem through Arab neighborhoods and felt safe.  The news tells one story and when you are there, you realize the media lies.

I am proud of the men who I went to Israel with last month.  You can watch a 23 minute video of our trip and feel the emotions we felt, experience the power of the trip and of Israel below.

An incredible video made by Saul Blinken of our trip. Like #23 Michael Jordan, this 23 minute video is great.

I am proud of the young adults I am going with now.  Years from now, my grandchildren and great grandchildren will ask what I did during this time.  My children will tell them that I went to Washington DC for the March for Israel rally after October 7th, joining nearly 300,000 other people on the National Mall in support of Israel.  I went to Israel multiple times.  I helped get the IDF supplies that they need and got them the mezuzahs they needed due to all the reserves called up and the battlefield housing.  (If you want to participate in the Mezuzah project, click here.)  I took young adults to Israel and worked with organizations that helped displaced Israelis because of the attack on October 7th and the war in the north.  I showed up and hope that my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will use that as inspiration to do the same.

In the movie, Independence Day, just like Israel currently faces incredible challenges in Gaza, from Hezbollah in the north, from Iran, from the Houthis, and from the international community, the world faced a threat from aliens that was seen as overwhelming.  Just like Israel, in the movie, the people didn’t give up and rose to the challenge.  The President gave a powerful speech before the attack.  It reminds me exactly of what Israel is facing and how we need to rise up and do what we can to support Israel and the Jewish people.

I used to say that I didn’t understand why the German Jews stayed in Germany as long as they did.  So many stayed until it was too late.  When I am in Israel and when I talk to my friends in Israel, they all ask me the same question.  Why are you staying in the US?  I hope you don’t stay until it is too late to get out.  You need to move to Israel.  This is not the Aliyah recruitment that I have experienced since my first trip to Israel in 1989.  This is not an effort to get more Jews to Israel.  This is true concern for our safety.  I find myself wondering if they are right.  Like most, I think this is a small minority with a loud voice creating chaos that the media love to cover because people watch, read, and click on it.  It’s good business for the media.  But what if I am wrong?  When will we know that it is time?  Will it be when it is too late?  I already have the person that will hide my family and me if it comes to that.  Does that mean I expect I won’t know it is time to leave until it is too late?

As Jews, spending most of our 3500-year history in exile and under the rule of others, we are used to trying to fit in.  We do our best to integrate into the culture of the country we live in and follow their rules.  We fool ourselves into thinking that we are just like them.  We have seen the consequences over and over and over again.  Are we doing it again?  The big difference this time is that we have the State of Israel.  We have the IDF.  We don’t have to fit in.  We don’t have to hide and hope they don’t harm us.  We fight back.  We defend ourselves.  We won’t be victims again.  For nearly 3400 years, we played defense.  We protected ourselves and tried to be invisible.  We tried to not be a target and always failed.  For the past 76 years that dynamic has changed.  Since the creation of the modern State of Israel, we now play offense.  When attacked, whether it was 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, or on October 7th, we fight back.  It’s a dynamic the world doesn’t like.  Israelis don’t care.  Zionists don’t care.  Those who care are stuck in the past and would recreate the horrors of our past in order to be liked and to fit in.  They refuse to learn the lessons of the past.

As I head back to Israel for the second time in just over 7 weeks, this message resonates strongly with me.  I have seen the carnage at Kibbutz Kfar Aza.  I have heard from survivors of the Nova Music Festival.  I have seen the Hamas 47-minute video.  I have been to the Nova site and felt the loss of the souls there.  I have met with a hero of Nova who rescued 750 people that day (a truly remarkable number for a farmer in the area to do.)   I heard from the woman who had to identify the women’s bodies that were murdered on October 7th, then prepare them for burial.  I have spoken to friends who are serving in the IDF, called up from reserves and leaving their families behind.  I have heard from those who have lost their children fighting for Israel and the Jewish people and from fathers who have children that are still hostages in Gaza.  We are victims no more.  We refuse to allow harm to come to the Jewish people without defending ourselves. 

Kfar Aza – one of the most powerful and moving experiences of my life.

I don’t know what the future will bring.  War with Hezbollah and potentially Iran will be devastating but may be necessary.  Israel is already a different country since October 7th.  What will it be like after a war in the north?  How many people will die?  How much damage will be done?  Will the United States and NATO step in should Iran get involved?  Will this be the start of World War III (WWIII)?  There is much that is unknown.  What I do know is that Jewish blood will not be cheap.  Jewish safety matters.  No matter what the ICC, the UN, or other countries say, Israel will defend herself and the Jewish people. 

I also know that I have done, am doing, and will continue to do my part.  Will you?