Tag: jewish

We don’t live in interesting times, we live in dark times.

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Many things feel differently this year.  October 7th changed everything.  As a Jew, it was a personal Kristallnacht, Pearl Harbor Day, 9/11.  In my life I’ve had a number of days that I thought were like this.  Three Mile Island and the possible meltdown (I lived 10 miles away in Harrisburg, PA at the time).  The day that Ronald Reagan was shot (I watched the news on a small black and white TV at the Harrisburg JCC outside the locker rooms).  September 11th.  None of them were close.

As we approached Passover this year, the term freedom meant something entirely different.  Hostages remain in Gaza.  How many are alive, we do not know.  I have 3 friends that each have a relative that remain a hostage and 3 other friends that have relatives that were hostages that have been released.  For the families where the hostages were released, there is freedom.  For those still kept as hostages and their families, there is no freedom.  For those of us who are a part of the global Jewish community, we have no freedom as long as the hostages remain in Gaza, kept by Hamas.  As we told the story of exodus from Mitzrayim, the dark place often translated as Egypt, I wondered what the story of the exodus of the hostages will be.  When will we be able to tell it? 

I thought of the 1972 Olympics in Munich when the 11 Israeli athletes were murdered.  Israel responded against Black September with Operation Wrath of God to hold those involved accountable.  When the Air France plane was hijacked and taken to Entebbe Airport in Uganda, those passengers not deemed to be Jewish or Israeli were released and those who were thought to be Jewish or Israeli kept, Israel responded with a classic and mythical raid to free them.  The hostages were safe and only one IDF solider, Yoni Netanyahu (Bibi’s older brother) was killed.  Bold action to keep Israelis and Jews safe.

Success – the raid on Entebbe

The world understood vicious terrorism and how to counteract it.  When terrorism began to hit Europe and then the United States on 9/11, I mistakenly thought that both Europe and the US would really understand the impact and how important it is to eliminate evil.  I was hopeful that this would lead to a worldwide effort to eliminate terrorists and make the world a safer place for all.  Boy was I naïve.  The conspiracy theorists began blaming Israel for the attacks on 9/11.  Still, it was a fringe group, and I maintained my hope.  Boy, was I mistaken.

Charlottesville and George Floyd had to show America and the world the danger of hate.  How to get off the path we somehow got on that encouraged hate.  The mainstream middle of the road people had to rise up against the extremism on the right and the left to demand common sense return.  I wanted to believe that the desire to live in a world without extremism existed and there was a large mass of people who would be willing to stand up and speak out.  People would join together because they agreed on far more than they disagreed.  Friendship would win out and people would talk with their friends because relationships matter.  Instead, friendships ended.  People separated even more. 

Covid happened.  Open states vs. closed states.  Vaccines vs. no-vaccines.  At a time when I wondered if we could be divided any more, I learned that yes, we can.  Once again, the antisemites began the ‘Covid was created by the Jews’ campaign.  I saw it firsthand when they protested at the JCC.  When they protested at a local Chabad.  When they wore Nazi uniforms at Disney and by the entrance to the University of Central Florida.  When they hung banners from the overpasses on I-4.  This division enabled the antisemites to be more vocal, bolder, and more visible.

The attack by Hamas on October 7th was traumatizing to most Jews.  In the words of Ambassador Michael Oren, the covenant created between the State of Israel and the Jewish people in 1948 was violated.  Both “Never Again” and “The IDF will always be there” were not true.  Hamas video recorded their atrocities and posted them online.  Surely the world would see terrorism for what it was.  Surely the world would see evil and respond. 

Respond they did.  But not as I expected nor as I hoped.  The blaming of Israel began immediately.  The lies and untruths began almost immediately.  “It was because of the occupation.”  Except Gaza hasn’t been occupied since 2005.  “It was because of the blockade.”  The blockade, by Israel AND EGYPT is to attempt to stop the flow of rockets and explosives and terrorists into Gaza.  Food and medical supplies were plentiful.  When Israel responded with targeted attacks, it became “genocide” even though the number of civilians killed AS REPORTED BY HAMAS was well below the UN and Red Cross’s 9-1 ratio.  Lies, repeated over and over again, become accepted as truth and we began to fight against them. 

Hamas has reduced the number to 22,000. Another 4,000 statistically died of natural causes. The ratio is below 1:1 now.

Recently we have seen horrific actions on the campus of Columbia University.  The University President, Minouche Shafik, had just testified in front of Congress.  While she was better than the prior University Presidents who testified before Congress, she wasn’t good.  When the protests began on campus, she showed no leadership.  She eventually called in the NYPD to enforce their rules but then wouldn’t let them back on campus.  An Israeli professor had his access to campus revoked.  Jewish students were advised by a campus Rabbi to go home.  Jewish students are now virtual while the antisemites get to go to class in person.  It is a hot mess of antisemitism.  Luckily some of our Representatives and Senators are calling it out and calling for the removal of their Federal funding.  We are at a tenuous time.  If campuses are not held accountable for their failure to protect Jewish students, we will continue to mirror 1930’s Germany.  At the University of Minnesota, they took down the antisemitic protests within 5 hours!  It can be done.   Our voices must be amplified.  We must speak up loudly against those who claim this is free speech.  Even free speech has limitations and advocating and calling for the murder of Jewish students and Jews in general is not allowed nor should it be acceptable.  It certainly would not be acceptable for any other group.  Alumni are pulling donations.  It’s not enough.  We need to call our Representatives and Senators and demand that Federal funding be withheld as long as they won’t ensure the safety of Jewish students and faculty.  You can’t bar a Jewish professor while inviting a Hamas terrorist onto campus the same day.  Columbia did that.  They need to be held accountable.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued this statement today – that’s how bad it has gotten.  The Israeli Prime Minister, in the middle of a war on multiple fronts, is taking time to address the Jew hatred in the US and on our college campuses.  Civilized people should be embarrassed. 

Today, Hamas released a video of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American taken hostage by Hamas over 200 days ago.  An American who is being left to languish by our government.  He isn’t the only American hostage.   Edan Alexander, Itai Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Omer Neutra,  and Keith Siegel are the others.  We cannot forget their names.  We cannot forget that they are kept in deplorable conditions by terrorists along with the other hostages kidnapped by Hamas.  I hope this video is actually recent.  His reference to ‘the holiday’ concerns me as he doesn’t say Pesach, indicating it could have been filmed anytime.  He says 200 days, but they could have told him that a long time ago.  Being kept underground in awful conditions means it is easy to lose track of time.  My heart breaks for his family.  For the families of all the hostages.    Watch if you want – it’s not easy – and pray for his safety and the safe return of all the hostages.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin before being taken hostage and in the video released today.

Passover is a holiday about freedom.  But more than just freedom.  It’s about action.  Moses didn’t have to kill the Egyptian overseer that was beating a Jew.  He didn’t have to return to Egypt to free the Jews.  Nachshon didn’t have to be the one to unwaveringly walk into the Red Sea, believing in God, showing the faith in God that resulted in the splitting of the sea.  At Mount Sinai, the Jews didn’t have to create the Golden Calf, but they did, and suffered the consequences.  Each year, we tell the story of redemption from slavery, of our exodus from Egypt, or as Mitzrayim mean, from darkness.  We are in a time of darkness now.  We have hostages being held brutally by Hamas in tunnels, receiving no medical care, minimal food, no sunlight.  Who knows what brutality the women hostages are facing – it’s almost too much to even imagine.  The antisemitism Jewish students are facing on many campuses is horrific.  The lack of leadership is atrocious. 

In the Passover Seder we talk about the lessons some of the great Rabbis taught us.  It’s important to think of the lessons we are learning now that our Rabbis will record and will be shared hundreds of years in the future.  We included empty seats at our Seder table for the hostages.  We put up pictures of the Bibas family.  They are a family of 4 with 2 boys.  We are a family of 4 with 2 boys.  My children are about the same age difference as the Bibas boys (3 years apart).  They couldn’t have a Seder in the tunnels so symbolically had them at our Seder.  We talked about the BIbas family.  The age of the children.  How they were all taken together.  How we hoped they were still alive but were afraid they were not.  We are not the timid Jews of the past.  We are not willing to go to the gas chambers willingly.  We will not allow ourselves to be attacked – in Israel by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, or Iran or in the United States on college campuses or in Europe.  We will not stay quiet and hope it goes away.  These are lessons we learned over the past 75 years that won’t go away.  We finish the Seder by saying “L’shana Haba’ah B’Yerushalayim – Next year in Jerusalem.”  For me it’s next month in Jerusalem.  I’ve need to be in Israel since October 7th and next month will be able to return.  Visiting Israel often is also a lesson we have learned in the past 75 years and if you haven’t been, I urge you to go.  And if you have been but haven’t been back recently, I urge you to return. 

Yarden and Ariel Bibas – we put them on one chair because Ariel would sit on Yarden’s lap for comfort
Shiri and Kfir Bibas – they had one chair as well as I can’t imagine Shiri would not hold him.

I used to say that these were ‘interesting times’ and we were dealing with the ancient Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.”.  I no longer think that.  We live in dark times.  We live in Mitzrayim.  We have members of the US House of Representatives spreading lies about Israel and the IDF.  We have college campuses not safe for Jews and University Presidents who won’t keep them safe.  A Jewish woman was raped in France this week to ‘Free Palestine’ – how raping a Jewish woman frees Palestine is beyond me.  Jews are being assaulted in Europe and the United States just for being Jewish.  A Jewish man in the UK was threatened with arrest because he looked Jewish and that might incite those supporting Hamas. 

In this dark time, we need to fight for the light.  We need to be Warriors of Light (watch for more about this in the future).  We need to fight for what is good and righteous.  We need to fight evil no matter the cost.  I’m not saying it is easy because it isn’t.  And I am not saying there is no price to be paid for it because there is.  The alternative is death.  The alternative is a return to the gas chambers, to the final solution.  The alternative is unacceptable.  So in these dark times, let me leave you with a little light.  At the University of Florida, where I was the Hillel Director for 15 years, there were more than 1,000 students who attended a Passover Seder held by Chabad in the O’Connell Center (the basketball arena).  The University President, Ben Sasse, was in attendance.  Look at these pictures and smile because campuses don’t have to be the way Columbia is.  University Presidents can lead and protect Jewish students.  We have the proof it can be done, so now let’s go do it. (Pictures from the Gainesville Sun).

UF President Ben Sasse, right, takes a selfie with a student during the annual Passover Seder at The O’Connell Center on Monday night in Gainesville. The event was organized and sponsored by the Chabad UF Jewish Student Center. The Passover Seder was the largest in North America.
UF President Ben Sasse wasn’t there for a photo op. He stayed for the Seder at The O’Connell Center on Monday night in Gainesville.
The crowd at Passover Seder at UF – more than 1,000 students gathering together.
Students call their families and take pictures during the annual Seder at The O’Connell Center in Gainesville.
My friend, Rabbi Berl Goldman speaking during the Seder.
My friend, Chabad Rabbi Berl Goldman and UF President Ben Sasse speaking to the more than 1,000 students at Seder this year.
Rabbi Berl Goldman chants “Its great to be a Jewish Florida Gator” during the Seder. If only other Universities could say the same thing about being Jewish there.
Jewish students at UF lighting candles for Pesach – openly being Jewish is ok at University of Florida.
Students drinking one of the 4 cups of wine at Seder.
Breaking the mazoh for the Afikomen
Seder plate at UF Seder

The power of the mezuzah and the connection to Ethiopian Jewry

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

A friend of mine who is a Rabbi came by today to give me some Shmura matzah for Passover.  It’s a special, hand baked type of matzah.  Since I’m gluten-free, I can’t eat it, but we’ll use it on the Seder plate.  While he was here, I had three new mezuzahs that I had just gotten to hang on my 3 back doorframes.  The ones I had were too big, so I needed new ones.  So I asked him to hang them with me.  I’ve hung my other mezuzahs myself but since he is a friend and a Rabbi, I thought this would be a nice thing to do together.

I have the privilege of working with a program called MyZuzah.  The concept is that the mezuzah is a great Jewish symbol, it provides protection to the home, is easy to put up, is a low barrier entry to something Jewish, and is a visual, daily reminder of being Jewish.  MyZuzzah provides free mezuzah cases and kosher, fair trade scrolls, known as klafs, to anybody who doesn’t have a mezuzah on their front door.  It’s a cool program and helps start a Jewish journey.

They also have a great store with cool cases that you can buy.  I have an awesome mezuzah on my front door and a very cool one on my office door.  But I didn’t have one on my doors to the back patio or the backyard.  As we worked together and I looked at the store, I saw that they had ones made by the Ethiopian Israeli community.  Not only were they beautiful, but I have a personal connection to this community.

My childhood friend Grace works for the Ethiopian National Project (ENP). 

With Grace when she and ENP visited Orlando earlier this year

This is a project created by the Israeli government to help Ethiopian Israeli children with their education in order to have better success in life.  The original Ethiopian Israeli’s didn’t speak Hebrew and didn’t have formal education so they couldn’t help their children in school.  This mean the first generation of children struggled to have success.  Their children then had similar struggles, resulting in the creation of the ENP.  Since their creation, the ENP has had incredible success helping this community improve their academic effort, get into better military units, and have success in college.  Their results are extraordinary.  I have had the opportunity to visit the ENP sites on two occasions.  The kids were amazing and inspiring.  It was clear the impact the ENP programs were having on these kids.  One of the adults at the site took us to the roof to teach us Ethiopian dancing.  It’s still one of my favorite Israel memories.  I’ve become friends with Roni Akale, the Director General, who made the walk from Ethiopia to Sudan in 1993 when he was 20 years old.  I love hearing his story as it never gets old.  His success is a model for the Ethiopian Israeli children of today as they see somebody like them who is a huge success.

With Roni, the Director General, who made the walk from Ethiopia to Sudan in 1983
Ethiopian Dancing on the roof of the ENP
More Ethiopian dancing on the roof of ENP. It was so much fun

This isn’t my only connection.  When I was in Seattle, I had the privilege of meeting Sid Weiner.  Sid was an amazing man who in the early 1980s began working to ‘Save all Ethiopian Jews” by creating a program by that name, also known as SAEJ.  SAEJ rescued Ethiopian Jews in many ways.  Two of my favorite stories that Sid told me about how they did it were as follows.

Sid Weiner at his birthday party
Sid telling us stories about his life at his birthday party

First, they met with Secretary of State George Shultz.  They advocated to issue visas for the Ethiopian Jews to come to the United States.  After much conversation, Secretary Shultz agreed to allow them make fake visas so that the Ethiopian Jews could escape Ethiopia and come to the US under the condition that they only stay 24 hours in the US before flying to Israel.  So that’s what Sid and his team did.  They made fake visas, flew Ethiopian Jews to New York using them, put them up in a hotel for the night, and put them back on a plane to Israel the next day.  It’s truly an amazing story of ingenuity and daring. 

The second story was about how they would create fake adoptions so the new adopted children could come to the US to live with their new parents and family.  These adopted children would arrive in New York and promptly board a plane to Israel where they would make Aliyah and become citizens.  Sid didn’t know how many children he ‘adopted’ this way.  He said that one time in Israel, he was with a group of Ethiopian Israelis eating dinner when he realized that at his table were four of the children he had ‘adopted’!  He hadn’t seen them since they were in New York years earlier. 

Needless to say, the Ethiopian Israeli community has personal meaning to me.  So the opportunity to buy the three mezuzah cases and kosher, fair trade klafs that I needed for my doors AND have them be made by the Ethiopian-Israeli community AND be beautiful Ethiopian art was something I couldn’t pass up.  So I bought them and today they were hung.  Every time I look at those doors, I have a smile on my face.  Not only have these mezuzahs made the door frames more beautiful, I did a mitzvah in putting them up, they offer protection to the home, and they are a tie to the Ethiopian-Israeli community.  What a win for me!

The 3 mezuzahs I bought that were designed by Ethiopian Israelis

That’s the thing about Israel – there is incredible diversity and amazing different cultures to explore.  In Tzfat I always get food from the Yemenite place.  It’s delicious and they even have a gluten free option now.  I’ve been getting food from the same place and from the same Yemenite Israeli man since my first trip in 1989.  I love getting Hummus from Abu Ghosh, an Arab town, 10 kilometers west of Jerusalem.  While others may disagree, I think the hummus from Abu Ghosh is the best in the world.  I’ve spent time with the Druze and had lunch with them.  It’s fun learning about their culture, sharing a Druze meal, and talking.  There is nothing like visiting Haifa and the Bha’i Gardens.  Learning about the Bha’i religion and the Bab is interesting.  The only way to tour the entire gardens is with a member of the Bha’I faith who gives you the tour.  It’s truly spectacular and never gets old.

The Baha’i Gardens during the day – it’s beautiful to see and walk through
The Baha’i Gardens at night – it’s simply spectacular

So how does this all tie back to the mezuzah and hanging it with my friend Amram today?  When we purchased our house, the first thing I wanted to do was hang a mezuzah on the front door to mark it as ours.  When I created my home office, the first thing I wanted to do was put up a mezuzah to mark the special change in the room.  A mezuzah marks your home as a Jewish home.  In these times it may be scary to clearly mark your home as Jewish, but as we approach Passover, lets remember that marking our homes as Jewish is what saved the Jewish first born from the angel of death when they ‘passed over’ the homes that had the marking on it.  It’s a symbol of pride and of commitment.  When I was in Havana a number of years ago, we visited the Hotel Raquel in Old Havana.  This Jewish inspired hotel not only had Jewish art throughout and matzo ball soup on the menu in the restaurant, it had a mezuzah on each hotel room door.  As we toured the hotel, it was the mezuzah on each door that struck me the most. 

Each room at the Hotel Raquel has a Jewish biblical name and a mezuzah on the door

In these crazy times when antisemitism is rising and all around us, Israel is fighting the evil of Hamas and Hezbollah, Iran attacked Israel with drones, cruise, and ballistic missiles, and we see hate all around us, the simple act of putting up a mezuzah is a simple, yet powerful statement.   Every time I see the mezuzah on my front door, on my office door, and now on my back doors, it puts a smile on my face.  It’s a reminder of what being Jewish means.  It’s a reminder that I am part of a mishpacha, a family, that goes back thousands of years and is worldwide.  Jewish homes all over the world and for centuries have had a mezuzah on their front door.  It is truly l’dor v’dor, generation to generation, strength to strength, that we are here, we aren’t going anywhere, and we will not only survive, but we will thrive.

So if you don’t have a mezuzah on your door and want one, there is now no excuse.  MyZuzah will send you one for free and show you how to hang it.  You can easily mark your home as a Jewish home and tie it with generations of Jewish homes along with Jewish homes all over the world.  Each time you walk past it, you will be reminded of being part of the Jewish people.  It’s a pretty amazing little thing that can change your life.  Hanging those three mezuzahs today brought me great joy.  I hope you choose to hang one and that it brings you great joy too. 

They are always watching

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Some people get inspired by poetry.  Others by art such paintings or sculptures.  For some it is the beauty of dance.  Still another group it’s the theater.  That’s the great thing about the arts.  Different people can find inspiration in different things at different times.  For me, it has always been through music and the lyrics, or poetry, that make up the song. For years I would quote my favorite poet, Bruce Springsteen.

Recently, I have been listening to a lot of country music.  I think it’s because my oldest son likes it and listens to it (along with hip-hop) in his car or when he would take over the music in my car.  Since I tend to do most of the long-distance driving, I began listening.  After our 10+ hour drive to Tennessee to move him to graduate school I was fully hooked and even had some favorite ‘new’ songs. 

The lyrics to country music truly speak to life.  I have found many artists that I like and even more songs that speak to me.  As my children are now in their 20s, I found it a little odd that the song ‘Watching You’ by Rodney Atkins became a favorite as it’s about a father and his 4-year-old son.  As I listened to it over many days, I finally realized that it’s not just about our children watching and learning from us.  Children are sponges and soak up whatever we put out.  What speaks to me now is the impact of this.  As we see worldwide hatred continue to grow, as we have seen the incredible expression of Jew hatred since October 7th, it really does come down to the lyrics of this song and people watching us.

“So I said ‘son, where did you learn to talk like that?’  He said, ‘I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool? I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you.  And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are. We got cowboy boots and camo pants.  Yeah, we’re just alike, hey, ain’t we dad?  I wanna do everything you do.  So I’ve been watching you.’”

People watch what we do.  Our children are exposed the most and we have the most impact on them.  I think of the messages I got from my parents and my grandparents about what really matters and what to invest in.  About the messages I have sent and continue to send to my children. 

Sitting in Grandpa Len’s lap. He never stopped teaching
Grandpa Si was always teaching us as we watched him
I was lucky to have all 4 grandparents alive and teaching me until I was 26

I want to focus on 5. 

1. Family is everything.  It’s something my parents and grandparents always believed in.  Whether that meant ensuring we spent time together as a nuclear family, extended family, or with those who are just considered family, there was never a question about this in our house.  Growing up, we attended every family celebration.  We spent vacations at my grandparent’s beach house in Connecticut which meant we spent that time with most of our cousins.  Holidays were family events and I have fond memories of Thanksgiving and Passover with my cousins.  This is something I have continued with my children.  It’s essential they understand that when it comes to family, that always comes first.   

The family celebrating Ali’s 50th birthday
One of our memorable family vacations
My parents with their 7 grandchildren on their 50th anniversary cruise
The Dvorchik family all together
Even without my dad, when there is a family event we show up

2. Judaism matters.  I spent most of my childhood at the synagogue or JCC.  Hebrew school was 3 days a week.  We went on Shabbat morning for services.  My parents were involved so there was usually an event at least one other day a week.  4-5 days a week, 10 months a year, I was there for something.  The JCC was a couple of blocks away and easy to walk between the two.  I learned to swim at the JCC.  I played basketball, floor hockey, did community theater and was on the swim team at the JCC.  As I got older, the public school had a bus that stopped there so it was common for my friends and I to go there after school and then, at 5 pm, figure out which of our mom’s would be able to pick us up.  Using the phone at the reception desk, eventually we would find one of them at home or before they left work to get us.  At least most of the time.  Being Jewish and a part of the Jewish community was ingrained in me from the beginning by what my parents did and invested in.  I went to Jewish summer camp.  I was involved with a Jewish youth group. 

My synagogue confirmation class. We still keep in touch and many of us are in Facebook chat. There is even a big time future Rabbi in our group!

Every Friday night we had Shabbat dinner.  We all sat down at the table after lighting candles.  My dad said the kiddush.  One of the kids said Hamotzi.  Every week.  We could invite friends if we wanted.  As we got older, we were allowed to go out with friends on Friday night only AFTER Shabbat dinner.  It was tradition.  It was special.  As my kids got older and my oldest started playing high school football, during football season, our Shabbat dinner changed.  Instead of being at the table, it was in the stands, usually a hot dog and soda as we watched him play.  It wasn’t the same quality of meal, but it was the same quality of time together.  Even today, we are talking about Shabbat dinner and while I don’t bake Challah like I used to before becoming gluten free, I’m trying to find a good recipe so it will be part of the weekly ritual.  Family time is special and a value to my grandparents, parents, myself, and our children. The investment my parents and grandparents put into infusing being Jewish into my core remains today.

As little kids, lighting the menorah with my dad
As a little kid, saying Hamotzi with my Grandpa Si on Shabbat
Kiddush with Grandpa Si. I got a sip of wine.

3. Talk is cheap.  This was one of my dad’s favorite statements to me (or maybe most often used).  Anybody can say anything.  It’s not what you say but what you do that matters.  As a child, I would always have an excuse.  My dad taught me that it didn’t matter what you said, it mattered what you did.  “Show me, don’t tell me.” was a common theme.  My parents showed love.  They showed responsibility.  They showed what a marriage looked like.  They showed what raising a family is like.  They showed sacrifice.  They showed commitment.  They gave the example of what to do, not what to say.  At work. With each other. With us. Basically, they showed how to do this in life.

4. The best gift you can give your children is to love their mother.  This came from my dad and his father.  I heard this growing up.  I saw it in action with my grandparents and my parents.  Both sets of grandparents were married for over 55 years.  My parents were married for over 55 years.  They set the example for their children about love, commitment, and respect. 

One of my favorite pictures of my parents showing their love
Their faces show their love
Their wedding picture has always been a favorite
My dad’s favorite picture of my mom – he always had it in his office
Ali and me enjoying a night out

5. Get involved and make a difference.  My parents and grandparents were always involved in the community, particularly the Jewish community.  Presidents of their synagogue.  Involved with the men’s clubs, sisterhoods.  Volunteering at the Jewish Home for the Aged as I grew up.  The Masons, Kiwanis, Hadassah, National Council of Jewish Women, and B’nai Brith are just some of the organizations they were involved with.  My grandmother knitted slippers and hats for people in the hospital.  Growing up, I saw what commitment was like and as I got involved with my youth group, I took on leadership roles.  In college, I was a leader in my fraternity.  Throughout my adult life, getting involved has been important to me whether it was in the workplace or the things I do for fun.  It’s something I have infused into my children as well.  Just showing up isn’t enough.  We have an obligation to get involved and make a difference.

My dad’s last big volunteer effort was a Nefesh Mountain concert to raise money for Jewish summer camps scholarships. Everybody said he was crazy. They made about 10k to help send kids to camp. He was so excited and so proud.

When I listen to Rodney Atkins sing those lyrics, I see myself as a little boy looking up at my dad.  I see my boys looking up to me as their dad.  And I think about the final chorus when he sings:

My dad with me and my brother when we were little
I’m sure I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to
The time I took my kids to dinner with Eli Weisel

“But when I’m big I’ll still know what to do.  Cause I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool?  I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you.  And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are.  By then I’ll be strong as superman.  We’ll be just alike, hey, won’t we dad?  When I can do everything you do.  ‘Cause I’ve been watching you.“

Our kids are watching us and learning.  Their friends are watching us and learning.  The world is looking at us and watching and learning.  What are we committed to showing and teaching them?  For me, I know.  Do you?

My favorite picture of me and my dad. This is from Evan’s Bar Mitzvah party. We were both filled with so much joy.

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.

Survival of the Jewish people

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

Over the past 3 months, I have discovered substack and the amazing wealth of great writing that is there.  Bari Weiss’s The Free Press and Kareem Abdul Jabbar are my two favorites so far and I have paid subscriptions to both.  I am currently exploring Daniel Gordis’s Israel From the Inside with a free subscription to decide if it’s worth paying for as well.  His piece on Friday moves me closer to paying for the content.

In Friday’s piece, he writes about the letters left by IDF soldiers for their families in case they are killed in combat, highlighting two that have been publicly released and discussing the number of IDF soldiers who have them either on their bodies or left in their rooms at their home.  In his words, these letters “reveal a young Israeli generation astounding in the depth of its commitment to the Jewish people.”  And more importantly to me, he states, “If the West is to survive, its young women and men will need to emulate them.”

Those statements and the article itself made me think deeply about the future of Judaism, of Jewish life in America, the future for my children and future grandchildren.  It brought me back to my childhood and talking with my grandparents about Jewish life when it was so different than today.  I also thought about my own Jewish identity, both what it means to me and how I express it.  I thought about the way I grew up and how I live now, both the similarities and the clear differences. 

For many people, what it means to be Jewish changed in the aftermath of October 7th.  For some, it was because of the murder, rape, kidnapping, and other atrocities that were reported.  For others, it was watching their ‘friends, colleagues, and allies’ abandon them.  Others watched or experienced the increase in antisemitism and Jew hatred around the country, in their backyard or on their alma mater’s campus.  They were shaken by the hatred they saw or experienced.  Many people, for the first time in their lives, realized that they were Jews first and that every other identity was secondary.  It was similar to the revelation the Jews of Germany experienced in the 1930s. 

I have wondered about the future of Jewish life in America for most of my 25-year career in the Jewish world.  I have watched as Jews of all ages have drifted away from Jewish life and spent more time and resources in the non-Jewish world.  I have seen both in my personal life and with my friends and others, the lack of synagogue affiliation, fewer and fewer people keeping kosher (I grew up in kosher home but haven’t kept kosher since I left for college), and more and more people choosing secular life over any form of Jewish life.  I wondered if after thousands of years of hatred trying to eliminate the Jewish people, would it finally be their love and acceptance that did it.

The post October 7th world shows me that I may have been right.  The increase of Jew hatred has seemed to generate interest in Jews exploring Jewish life and finding out what being Jewish means for them.  In many ways it reminds of me of what happened on September 11th on college campuses when it became ok to ask spiritual questions and students were very much asking about God.**

As Jews begin to question what it means to be Jewish, they are finding all sorts of different answers.  For me, I have found a few things that answer that and are meaningful. 

I have chosen to get involved in Jewish rituals.  This includes things like putting on tefillin, lighting candles on Shabbat, and I am preparing to bake challah once again with a new gluten free recipe so I can enjoy it as well. 

I am spending an hour a week learning Torah with a Rabbi and meet with another Rabbi friend of mine for an hour a week to talk and begin doing some Jewish learning.  I enjoy these deep conversations and how each week we take ancient Jewish text and convert it into a lesson for the 21st century and my daily life.  Unlike Hebrew School as a child, the time flies by as we discuss, argue, debate, and question each other.  It’s intellectual, spiritual, and fun. 

I wear very little jewelry.  It’s not who I am.  After October 7th, I decided that I wanted to wear a piece of Judaica, so I searched and found a beautiful Magen David (star of David) made by an Israeli artist that has Israel at the center of it.  I wear it proudly outside of my shirt, publicly displaying my Jewish identity and my love of Israel. 

I hung a new, special mezuzah made from the plastic removed from the water by Tikkun HaYam (Repair the Seas) on my new home office.  You can purchase one of these mezuzahs or the other cool things they make from recycled plastic here. 

I continue to watch the inspirational messages that my friends Harry Rothenberg and Ari Shabat send each week based on the Torah portion.  The 3-4 minutes I spend to watch each of them inspires me and gets me thinking about something I can do in my life.  I look forward to getting them each week.

As you see, it’s not a lot.  Yet it is meaningful and makes my day better because I take the time to do something Jewish on a regular basis. 

It brings me back to the two statements above from Daniel Gordis:

“reveal a young Israeli generation astounding in the depth of its commitment to the Jewish people.” 

The IDF called up 300,000 reserves and expected 250,000 at most to actually report for duty.  Instead, 360,000 showed up.  This was due to their commitment to the Jewish people.  The bitter political divides in Israel were put aside after October 7th as the commitment to Israel and to the Jewish people took precedence.  Watching the Haredi (groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to halakha (Jewish law) and traditions) sign up for the army when they were exempt was extremely moving for me.  I was also incredibly moved by Mia Schem, held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for 55 days. Not long after her release, she got a tattoo that reads, “We will dance again”. Her commitment to not allow Hamas to define her future shows me that I can’t allow anybody to determine my future either. This is the commitment of the Maccabees, of those on Masada, of Ruth and Queen Esther. It is what has allowed the Jewish people to continue to survive.

 “If the West is to survive, its young women and men will need to emulate them.”

This is the important point for those of us in the United States and in the diaspora.  Our young men and women need to emulate this commitment.  I watch the divide among our youth about Israel and Judaism and fear for the survival of Jewish life in the diaspora.  We fight amongst ourselves and give those who want us to not exist the ammunition they need.  We defend those who exhibit Jew hatred, antisemitism, through intellectual statements, qualifying what they said, blaming others, or using things like race, religion, history of being in a persecuted or minimized group as the reason they have these beliefs and that they don’t really mean it.  It’s time for our Jewish young women and men to accept that when people say they want to kill us, they really want to kill us.  When people defend those who promise to kill us and are actively killing Jews, they want the Jews to be killed by these people. 

We need a radical new approach to Jewish life.  We need to inspire people with the beauty and power and meaning of Jewish life.  We need to help people understand it’s not ‘all or nothing’ as they may have been taught growing up.  Instead, it’s take something, anything, and do it, use it, live it, love it, and maybe it grows into something a little more. 

  Wearing my Hanukkah PJs – that one thing can be fun!

I saw a meme this Hanukkah that said the miracle of Hannukah is not that the oil lasted 8 days.  The miracle of Hanukkah is that it has sustained the Jewish people for over 2,000 years.  Let’s not let that miracle burn out when a little effort will make the flames of Judaism grow exponentially.

** I know many people choose to write G-d to not write God’s name but since that isn’t really the name, I choose to just write it.