Tag: hanukkah

Bondi Beach: The end of these glory days

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I have been writing and talking about the rise of antisemitism and Jew hatred for over a decade. In July of 2016, I co-authoried this article in the Seattle Times calling for people to stand up and speak out against antisemitism. I’ve endured ridicule from those on the far left in the Jewish community and people telling me that this is America and we are safe here.

October 7th and the more than two years following that has changed some of that ridicule as more in the Jewish community are seeing the blatent Jew hatred around the world and in America. Yet, as we as Jews have done for centuries, we continue to see ourselves as members of the society we live in first and Jews second while the rest of the world sees us as Jews first, second, and third. Whether it’s Jews like Peter Beinert and Bernie Sanders or leaders like Zohran Mamdani, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or talking heads like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Joe Rogan, and Nick Fuentes, we are being battered on all sides.

On Sunday, on Bondi Beach in Australia, we reached a breaking point. Two gunman attacked a Hanukkah celebration, murdering at least 15 and wounding at least 40. The death and injury count would have been even higher if not for the bravery of one man, Ahmad Al-Ahmad, a 43-year-old Muslim man, husband and father of two, who risked his life to save others, wrestling the weapon from one of the terrorists. The video is incredible and we can watch a true hero in action.

We’ve seen things like this before. Unfortunately they are too many to even list. There was a school shooting at Brown University earlier that day. Hatred and murder go hand in hand. As a world, we have emboldened hatred of ‘the other’ and this is the result. It happens time and time again. We have seen in the LGBTQ+ community, the African American community, the Muslim community, the Sikh community, with violence against women, and any other group that somebody deems as being ‘different’ or ‘the other.’ That isn’t the breaking point I refer to.

The breaking point I refer to is all the people who chanted, agreed with, failed to condemn, defended slogans like ‘Globalize the intifada’, condemning the attacks they they helped ensure would happen. It’s the leaders of countries who, by their actions and inactions, created the environents that make this type of violence and murder a reality, now condenming it. Public Jew haters like Rashida Tlaib, posting she is ‘heartbroken’ by the very thing that she advocates for on a daily basis. Brianna Wu’s comment is what we all should be feeling.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks out after the shooting while failing to take responsiblity for his inaction despite warnings that Jewish gatherings were going to be attacked. He and the Australian government actively took steps prior to the shooting to encourage Jew hatred, to fuel antisemitism, and to make Australia not safe for Jews. The day before the murderous attack at Bondi Beach, this article was published, highlighting the rise in “unprecedented anti-Jewish violence” while the government does nothing. Nothing but try to play the victim and shirk responsibilitiy after their actions and failure to act resulted in mass murder of Jews.

Comedian Michael Rappaport’s comment on Mayor Elect Mamdani’s post states exactly what I am talking about. Set the stage for violence against Jews and then when it happens, call for peace.

I’m beyond disgusted by these people who actively hate Jews, who do what they can to ensure the death of Jews, and then pretend after it happens that they are sad. I go back to the famous Maya Angelou quote. I’m tired of the two faced liars who want me dead and want me to help them murder me.

Last night was the big, public Hanukkah celebration in my town. I had been excited to go. I was excited to celebrate being Jewish publicly. The past few days, I have been feeling worn out from all my travel the past 10 weeks. North Carolina, Israel, Baltimore, Ft Myers, Tampa, DC, Seattle, Israel, Boca, and Gainesville. It has been an exhausting schedule. Yet after the Jewish massacre on Bondi Beach, after the Jew haters pretending to be sad that what they have advocated for, globalizing the intifada, policies that make Jews unsafe, I was physically ill. I simply couldn’t do it. As my grandparents used to say, ‘it just wasn’t in my kishkes” (translated from Yiddish it means “I don’t have the guts/stomach for it.”) It made me sad. But I also knew that I needed to protect myself. I stayed home, we lit the Hanukkah candles as a family, sang the blessings, and brought in Hanukkah together.

I put on my special Hanukkah pajamas – well over the top in outrageousness – but I didn’t care. The shooters on Bondi Beach, the politicians, talking heads, and even the Jews who take positions that make me not safe will not crush my Jewish soul. They won’t stop me from being Jewish, from celebrating being Jewish, and from doing my part to ensure that we continue, L’Dor V’Dor, from one generation to another as Jews.

I’ll be wearing my absurd pajamas every night during Hanukkah. I’m wearing my ridiculous Hanukkah long sleeve t-shirt today and have my absurd Hanukkah sweater to wear when I go outside. Hanukkah is about lighting the darkness. It’s about remembering that miracles do happen so embrace the darkness because we have the power to make it light. So enjoy my ridiculous picture in my ridiculous sweate and may it bring just a little more light into your life.

Be the Light

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

We recently finished with both Christmas and Hanukkah. Both have something in common that we often don’t think about. Light. Christmas lights and lights on the Christmas Tree. The light of the menorah/hanukkiah. Two holidays connected by light.

As we reflect on the year that just passed and think of the year ahead, one think I hope we all consider is light. Helping the world to have more light. Being the light in the world. Bringing the light of joy and happiness, the light of kindness.

It doesn’t take much be the light. I do it regularly with little things like holding the door for the person behind me. It’s a simple thing to do and almost always gets a ‘Thank You’ in response along with a smile. There are so many things we can do, like holding the door, to be the light. Here are a few thoughts and examples.

Help people in the grocery store. Often times people can’t reach what they are trying to get. Offer to help them get it. You may see them looking for an item. Ask what they are looking for and help them find it. Let the person with 3 or 4 items go in front of you in the checkout line. It adds a few seconds to your checkout time and will make their day. It’s likely they will tell everybody about that person with the full cart who let them go in front of them.

When you are talking to people, whether they are service people helping you or people you know, when you finish the conversation, add the words, “have a nice rest of your day.” These six words will put a smile on their face. They aren’t necessary but they do make a difference. It is a small gesture that will often get a smile in return and them wish you a nice rest of the day too. If it’s at night, you can say, “have a great evening” or something like that. It’s being thoughtful in a world that doesn’t have enough of that.

When you are driving and somebody needs to get over, let them get over! Odds are, it’s only going to add a few seconds to your drive and you just made their life a little less stressful. They may give you the ‘wave’ to say thank you and they may not. But I’m sure they will say something to the person in the car with them about it. It adds a little brightness to their day.

Randomly text a friend to say hi and you were thinking about them. It’s easy to do this with a few friends every day. It doesn’t take much time and even if you get into a text conversation with them, it still doesn’t take much time. If you really want to make a difference, actually call them to say hi. Let them know you were thinking about them and just wanted to call to say hello. No other agenda, just to say hello. It makes their day and brings joy to them and to you.

If you see a parent struggling with a child, go over and engage them and offer to help. Sometime just waving at a young child or smiling and making silly faces gets them to stop what they are doing and brings relief to the parent. Often times they don’t really need any help, but just the offer makes them feel better. The same is true if you are traveling and see a parent with children and luggage. Offer to help with the luggage. You will have made their day a little easier whether they accept your help or not.

When I am on an airplane, I always look to see who is struggling with getting their bag into the overhead bin. When I see it, I offer to help. The same is true when we land. I’ll help unload the entire overhead bin on my side and the one opposite me. Sometimes I’ll reach to the one ahead or behind me to get somebody’s bag out for them. It is a small gesture that has big impact.

When people ask for help, be there for them. I have a number of friends who have been or currently are in the job market. I go out of my way to look for things that might be a good fit for them. I share the opportunities with them. Sometimes I know the recruiter for the position, the CEO, or the hiring manager. In those cases, I always offer to reach out to them directly. Most of these opportunities do not pan out. When they do, it’s a big celebration and both my friend and I feel great. When I know the recruiter, CEO, or hiring manager, all three of us feel great. The people looking for the jobs know they are not alone. They have somebody in their corner, somebody who has their back. It is far too easy to be alone in the world today. A little kindness, a little friendship, a little reaching out and going out of your way to help others makes a tremendous difference.

Speaking of helping others,one of the easy ways to be the light is to thank people. If you see somebody in the military or law enforcement or a first responder, thank them for their service. I recently had some medical procedures and I made sure the thank my nurses repeatedly. I know there is a form to fill out when they do a great job so they get recognized and I made sure to ask for that form and filled it out for my nurses. Today when I picked up my rental car, I was hoping to get upgraded to a much bigger car because I need to take 6 people with me. Having a car that size would save hundreds of dollars in Uber fees to and from the Orange Bowl. The man at the counter didn’t have to upgrade me. But he did. And when we realized the car he upgraded me to only fit 5, he remembered somebody cancelled on a much bigger SUV that seats 7 and he upgraded me to that. I made sure to thank him. To let him know how much he helped me. People appreciate when you recognize them. People appreciate when you thank them. It brings a little light ot their day. It helps us continue to make the world a better place.

When people you know are going through a challenging time, reach out to let them know you care. A friend of mine recently went through some job challenges. He was very down and I understood what he was going through. I made sure to reach out, to check in, to let him know he wasn’t alone. I checked in on him a few weeks later, to make sure he was ‘hanging in there’. When I checked in last week he shared exciting news and the challenges were gone. I didn’t need anything for that. I didn’t do it to be recognized or thanked. I did it because I want to be a good friend, a good human being, and I appreciated it when people reached to me during my challenges over the past 3 years. I want to ‘pay it forward’ as people say by being there for others.

We live in a world filled with darkness. We don’t have to live in that darkness. We can choose to be the light. We can choose to make sure the darkness doesn’t overwhelm us and the people around us. It doesn’t take much. I listed a bunch of little things that can change somebody’s day. Things that change somebody’s attitude. That small thing that you do is like the small pebble in the lake – the rings keep going and going and going. The impact expands well beyond where the pebble enters the lake or where your interaction happened.

On the 8th night of Hanukkah, my Facebook feed was filled with pictures on menorahs fully lit, shining brightly, exhibiting Jewish pride. Enjoy the pictures. I hope the light inspires you as it did me. I hope it reminds you that you can be the light that changes the world. That brightens the lives of those around you, whether you know them or not. This is how we make the world the place we want to live. Be the light.

The Joy of Judaism – Wicked inspired

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

One of my favorite Broadway shows is Wicked. From the first time I saw it, I was captivated by the story, the songs, the music, the production, and the messages and lessons. The main, basic lesson is fairly simple – we only know the story we are told, not the truth. The Wizard of Oz told us a story about the land of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) and the Good Witch of the East (Glinda who we learn was really named Galinda).

History is told by those who are victorious, hence we got the Wizard of Oz. Wicked tells the story before the story of the Wizard of Oz and we learn so much that changes the story, our impression of the characters, and what we think.

This is just like real life. We are told by the media, by the United Nations, by the International Court of Justice, and by leaders around the world one truth about the middle east. With some digging and effort, we can learn the real truth. We can learn the real story. When we learn the real story and the truth, things are very different, just like The Wizard of Oz and Wicked.

One of my favorite things about being Jewish is how we take pop culture and make it not just our own but also how we ensure there is Jewish content to it. The most famous of these is when Adam Sandler created and sang the Hannukah Song on Saturday Night Live. It was incredible to see and listen. It became an instant classic that everybody would sing. We loved knowing that Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock were both Jewish. Paul Newman and Goldie Hawn were half Jewish, so “put them both together, what a fine looking Jew!” It made people famous for being Jewish. It gave us a song to sing we could be proud of, not just the dreidel song. It truly was a game changer.

Since then, there have been additional versions of the Hanukkah song, none as popular as the first (and many of you may not know that there are officially 4 versions of the Hannukah song. There are other songs that have been made by many artists, nowhere close to the quality or fun of Christmas songs, but they exist. It’s basically been the Hanukkah Song and that’s it.

Until now. I discovered this version of songs from Wicked made by Six13. I love the way they use the music from Wicked to tell the Hanukkah story. I love how they made the music that I love into something Jewish. I have watched it multiple times because it gives me joy. Try to watch and not smile. Try to watch and not have your heart warmed. Try to watch and not feel proud to be Jewish.

After watching Six13 do this for Hanukkah, I decided to play around a little bit with AI artwork. I’ve never done it before so I figured, why not? I used a few different programs (you will see the quality differences) to make some pictures of Elphaba and Glinda/Galinda if they were Jewish and celebrating Hanukkah. It’s fun to explore Judaism and Jewish holidays with pop culture, technology and creativity. I wish when I was in Hebrew school many years ago, we had the opportunity to do this type of Jewish exploration. It would have made learning about Judasim so much more fun.

Here is Elphaba and Glinda/Galinda if they were Jewish and celebrating Hanukkah. Imagine them at your Hanukkah party. Imagine them lighting the menorah with you. How much fun would that be? Imagine a Hillel or Chabad Hanukkah with the Wicked theme. Making Judaism fun and cool isn’t that difficult as we saw with Adam Sandler and we see with Six13 and a little bit of AI graphic work.

I had the AI art generator put Elphaba and Glinda/Galinda fighting along with Judah Macabee against the Hasmonians. Imagine this in a comic book weaving Wicked into Hanukkah. How many of our Jewish children would fall in love with Judaism and Hanukkah without the presents? How many Purim costumes would this generate? How much better would Hebrew school be with this type of creativity?

Generate an image displaying two formidable women, one with emerald green skin and black raven-like hair, the other with lustrous golden tresses and a contagious smile. They are locked in an epic battle scene alongside a historic Jewish warrior, not unlike Judah Maccabee, valiantly confronting Greek adversaries to liberate their Jewish compatriots.

I asked a different AI art program to create an image of Elphaba and Glinda/Galinda celebrating Hanukkah. It came out like Disney Princesses. How many little girls would fall in love with being jewish because they had Jewish Princesses celebrating Hanukkah? Lighting the menorah together? Sufganyot in front of them.

Imagine an entire kids movie with Elphaba and Glinda/Galinda being Jewish and celebrating Jewish holidays. Imagine a cartoon with them also being Jewish and including that in with what they are doing. Shabbat and Shabbat dinner. Inviting the Wizard to join them. Baking Challah (Elphaba’s could be a green Challah). How many children would fall in love with Judaism with this type of creativity?

Using a different AI image generator, I asked it to make Glinda/Galinda and Elphaba cook latkes. Unlike the Disney princess look above, it gave me an image that could belong with the Smurf cartoon. Look how much fun they are having. Imagine our children and grandchildren understanding how much fun being Jewish can be. I remember Hebrew school being boring and dry. My friends and I had fun with each other but the actual experience was not fun. Playing sports and doing theater at the JCC was fun. Bowling and swimming lessons and swim teams at the JCC was fun. Getting involved with BBYO was fun. We can change the narrative. We can make Judaism fun for our children and have it be desirable. Jewish smurfs and smurfettes!

Judaism is a religion based on food. Imagine, as I did with AI image generation, that Elphaba and Glinda/Galinda were eating sufganyot at Hanukkah. The hanukkiah is lit. The delicious fried jelly donuts, sufganyot, are in their hands and on their plates. How many children would want to hear the story of Hanukkah and the miracle of oil so they could eat their delicious sufganyot/jelly donuts? How much fun would they have making them with their parents?

It’s time for us to be creative in what we are using to inspire that love for Judaism in our children. It’s time to think like Adam Sandler or Six13. It’s time for us to be like Cantor Azi Schwartz of Park Avenue Synagogue, who used the tune of ‘You’ll be Back’ from Hamilton to create an unforgettable version of Adon Olam that many of you have seen and loved.

He didn’t stop there though. With the popularity of Wicked, he took advantage of the opportunity to create yet another memorable version of Adon Olam to the tune of “You’ll be popular” from Wicked. I can only imagine how excited people are to hear him sing this, to join along with him, and to fully engage Jewishly. His creativity works. We all can be that creative in what we do to make Judaism fun and inspiring.

At a time when being Jewish is a challenge. When Jew hatred and antisemitism is incredibly prevalent. When the question of why be Jewish is a real one for many people, let’s remember how Adam Sandler, Six13, and Cantor Azi Schwartz used their creativity to show us why to be Jewish. Let’s all take a step back and think what we can do to highlight not just the beauty of Judaism but also the fun and joy.

It’s almost Hanukkah, one of the most fun holidays (along with Purim) in Judaism. I have my Hanukkah PJs from last year and my new Hanukkah shirt, sweatpants, and sweater should arrive this week. I’m committed to bringing the joy to Judaism. How about you?

Hypocrisy much?

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

In the Syrian Civil War that began in 2011, President Bashar Assad was responsible for murdering over 500,000 civilians. He used chemical weapons on his own people in order to stay in power. Despite the massive unrest, both Russia and Iran lent their support and he was able to remain in power. The UN was silent. The International Court of Justice was silent.

Assad continued to abuse the Syrian people. He enabled weapons to come into Lebanon for Hezbollah to attack and terrorize Israel. He was a pawn of Russia and Iran. There were no protests on college campuses. No riots in the street. No calls of genocide, despite half a million people being murdered by him. Despite his use of chemical weapons on his own people.

Then an amazing thing happened. Rebels in Syria rose up against Assad this week. Because of the war with Ukraine, Russia did not help. Because of war with Israel through their proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as the impact of the Israeli attacks responding to Iran, Iran did not help. Within a week, the Assad government fell. He and his family are now in Russia.

It is amazing what happens when you take on the bullies. With Russia and Iran out of the picture, the evil Assad regime is over. There are many different rebel forces now in charge of different parts of Syria. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Abu Muhammad al-Julani (Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a) are aligned with Al Qaeda. Some are more moderate and Israel has talked with them about the border. Nobody knows what Syria will look like moving forward. What we do know is that the influence of Russia and Iran in Syria has been greatly reduced to eliminated. The people of Syria have freed themselves from the tyranny of Syria when given the opportunity. Where are the talking heads, using this as an example for the Iranian people and the Iranian regime? Where are the talking heads for the Gazan people and Hamas? Where are those same people for the Lebanese people and Hezbollah? They are nowhere to be found. Just like on the college campuses. If you can’t use it to blame the Jews, we will ignore it.

With the upheaval in Syria, Israel has gone ahead to secure the border. The IDF has secured the eastern part of the Golan Heights and the demilitarized zone to ensure the safety of Israeli’s living on the border. The map below shows it well. I fully expect that next week the Jew hating talking heads along with those on college campuses will blame Israel and accuse them of trying to colonize Syria. The hypocrisy is brutal. Israel has publicly stated they are merely securing the border. Israel has communicated with the Syrian rebels that they are not trying to invade Syria and are securing the border. Israel has let the rebels know that as long as they leave the border alone, there will be no attacks. Israel is destroying military stores to ensure the border remains safe. The facts won’t matter, just like they didn’t matter when Assad was murdering his own people. No Jews, No News.

Is what happened with the Assad regime in Syria a model for Iran? Reports out of Iran are saying that the fall of the Assad regime has created significant internal tensions within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as younger, radical members criticize senior leadership over the handling of the Syrian conflict. President Trump is expected to return U.S. “maximum pressure” sanctions on Iran, this means the regime faces an increasingly precarious situation. Internal divisions within the IRGC risk undermining their ability to suppress unrest and project power abroad. We have seen the people of Iran rise up int eh past and the world ignore them and leave them to face the wrath of the regime. The world has changed, placing the regime in its most vulnerable position in decades. Will we finally see Iranian regime change, freeing the Iranian people from their tyranny? Will we see a new government that won’t be a state sponsor of terror? Will we see the return of the Persian people instead of religious zealots?

Early in the morning of December 4th, Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare’s insurance business, was assassinated in public on the streets of New York. While the business practices of insurance companies is reprehensible to many (they deny coverage, don’t listen to what doctors say, and are more interested in profit than healthcare), a public execution of a business leader is not acceptable. It creates a slippery slope where it is ok to murder anybody in a business you don’t like or think has harmed you. Not just insurance companies. A restaurant where you get food poisoning or a bad meal means the owner, chef, or even server becomes fair game. A dry cleaner that ruins your clothes is now a target to be killed.

Amazingly, there is a large group of people who don’t understand this. They are celebrating his murder. They even held a shooter look-a-like contest.

It makes me wonder where we are going as a country. It’s perfectly ok to not like Brian Thompson and what he stands for. It’s perfectly ok to not like United Healthcare or all insurance companies. If you want to wish bad things on those running these companies or the company itself, you can do that. I had a terrible experience at a specific restaurant and vowed to never give them any of my money ever again.

Greta Thunburg became a star on the world stage because of her care for the planet. She was outspoken about climate change and got the world’s attention. She has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year from 2019-2023. Many found her a voice of reason in an unreasonable world. It is clear that all this fame has gone to her head. Thankfully, she never won the Nobel Peace Prize as she now advocates publicly for the elimination of Israel. Her Jew hatred is public and she has become a hate filled person who loves herself and her fame more than anything else. It’s sad to watch somebody who seemed to genuinely care about the world and making it a better place, devolve into hate and bigotry. It’s sad when being famous is more important than anything else and drives you into hate. Using Greta’s own words, “F**k you Greta”.

We often think we have it bad. There is stress in our life. Pressure. We forget how lucky we are. I was talking with a friend in Israel this morning who apologized for his delay in responding because he was back in milium (reserves) once again. Then he shared that his wife’s nephew was an IDF soldier killed in Gaza last week and he had to deal with that. Yet he was apologizing to me for taking time to respond. He has stress. He has pressure. I needed no apology and told him that. Then I read this story from Shaquille O’Neal and it reinforced how lucky we are. How we take so much for granted. How these spoiled, elitist college students spew hatred because they don’t know anything. How these college professors and administrators enable and often encourage Jew hatred because they don’t know anything about life or reality. My friend taught me a lesson in gratitude. Shaquille O’Neal reinforced it.

Shaquille O’Neal said, “My stepdad was a sergeant in the army-a serious, strong man of character. We had an excellent relationship. I once played at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks in my first season in the NBA. I had a terrible game. Afterward, he called me and asked why I played so badly. He wondered if it was the pressure of facing Patrick Ewing and the Knicks. I told him I felt pressure. He said, ‘Tomorrow, I want you home at 7:00 AM. Pick me up-we’re going to see a family that has no home.’ On the way, we encountered a family in need. My stepdad stopped, gave them money for their next meal, and said, ‘That’s pressure. You have everything; you’re weak. There’s no pressure in playing basketball and earning millions of dollars. Real pressure is felt by those who don’t know when or where their next meal will come from! He told me to get out and help that family. I got out and saw a man with his wife and two children who had just lost their home. The man was looking for work. He told me he was cutting grass. I called a friend and asked him to get this man a job. I called another friend and said I needed an apartment for a family of four, promising to send a check the next day. They needed help. After that, I never felt pressure in a basketball game again because that family had real pressure.”

The entitled college students who believe the Hamas lies, who express publicly their Jew hatred, and who show they are terrible human beings don’t understand the world. They live in a mindset of blame and hate. Their entitlement shows itself in their expectations that everything should be given to them, that other people should work hard so they get things for free, and that not taking responsiblity is the way to success. They could use a lesson from Shaquille O’Neal’s father.

Hanukkah is late this year. It begins on Christmas. Just like many people, the only gift I really want is the return of the hostages. The end of Hamas and Hezbollah so there can be peace. I saw dreidel image and it expresses visually what I am feeling. No matter where it lands, the hostages get freed. That is not hypocritical. That’s what we are about. Freedom. Hanukkah is a holiday about freedom. This war is about freedom from terrorism. Freedom from Jew hatred and antisemitism. Freedom from Hamas and Hezbollah. Freedom from Iran. Freedom for the Syrian people. Freedom from hate and bigotry.

The dreidel letters The letters on a dreidel are an acronym for the Hebrew phrase “Nes gadol haya sham”, which translates to “a great miracle happened there.” In Israel, the dreidel replaces the letter Shin (Sham) with the letter Pay for Po (here). May this Hanukkah be one where we can say both – a great miracle happened there (return of the hostages, end of the war) and a great miracle happened here (a stop to the rampant Jew hatred).

Change the world one small thing at a time

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

October 7th and the aftermath is very personal to me and to many other people.  I have friends who had family members murdered at the music festival.  I have friends that had relatives kidnapped by Hamas and taken to Gaza as hostages.  I have friends who raced into danger to fight the terrorists.  I have met with people who were attacked on October 7th and fought back.  I have spoken with people who were at Kfar Aza two days later and saw the massacre in person.  I have friends on the front lines in Gaza and in the north of Israel.  I have friends who have their children on the front lines as well.  Every day when the casualty report comes out, I take a deep breath and read the names of those who lost their lives, hoping and praying that I don’t know any of them.

I don’t know that I can adequately express the impact this has had on me.  The deep pain.  The feelings of loss.  Watching the 47-minute Hamas video of their atrocities was difficult and there are images burned into my brain that will never leave.  I check on family and friends in Israel regularly.  The time they spend in bomb shelters remains shocking.  I message and audio message with a friend who was in the reserves and is now in charge of logistics in Gaza.  The gratitude in his voice that I reached out was both heartbreaking and heartwarming.  When the war is over, he plans to come to visit and I look forward to seeing him and hearing what he is able and willing to share.

   A beautiful piece of art by the amazing Joanne Fink

With all of this going on, it’s hard to find positive things to focus on.  But not impossible.  And when I do, it’s incredibly uplifting.  During the short ceasefire when hostages were released, the four hostages that are related to my friends were released.  One of them, Hila, turned 13 the day after she was released.  Her mother Raaya was released two days after Hila.  My friend who is related to Raaya and Hila began raising money to purchase birthday and Hanukkah gifts for Hila after she was released while her mother was still held in Gaza.  When I saw this, I reached out to see how I could help.

  Hila and Raaya

We ended up creating an Amazon wish list for Hila and sharing it.  People began purchasing the items so quickly that more and more were added.  And people kept purchasing them.  So we added more and more.  And people kept purchasing them.  Everything that was added was purchased. The list was empty at the end. 

One of the things Hila loves is Rare Beauty.  A friend works for them and so I reached out.  She was happy to help and the response from them was amazing. An amazing package was put together by them for Hila.  Another friend reached out to help.  Hila loves closes from Gary V’s and he has a contact there.  They also put together a great package for Hila.  She also loves lululemon clothes.  I get a nice discount there and we used it to buy her the clothes she wanted.  People and companies stepped up to help this 13-year-old girl who had been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.  It felt good to do something to help her.

Today my friend sent me pictures and video of Hila with the gifts we got for her.  The joy on her face is palpable.  It’s infectious.  The videos are in Hebrew, but you can understand her joy and excitement.  On a day when Israel eliminated significant leadership of Hamas and an escalation from Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran is expected, this joy was unexpected and appreciated. 

Hila opening her birthday and Hanukkah gifts from her worldwide Jewish family. Her excitement is infectious.
More gifts for Hila. Listen to the excitement in her voice.

It doesn’t take much to change the world.  We do it one step at a time.  Random acts of kindness.  Being there for friends.  Doing just a little more than is required.  Today’s world is filled with challenges.  Your small effort has rippling and long-lasting effects.  If you don’t believe me, listen to Hila’s excited voice.  Look at the joy on her face.  A lot of people did a little bit to make a difference for this 13-year-old girl who was held hostage by terrorists.  We made her birthday and Hanukkah special this year.  You can do the same for others.

The look on her face melts my heart

That smile for the makeup is precious

How can you not fall in love with her?

You can feel her excitement and awe at the gifts

The gifts from Rare Beauty with the note to her from them. Such a class act.

It’s hard to imagine this sweet child kept in captivity by Hamas. Those are the sneakers she wanted so much and got for her birthday/Hanukkah because of our collective generousity.