Dear Temple Emanu-El Families,
Over the past few days, I have found myself thinking a lot about miracles.
Maybe it is Sukkot. Maybe it is being surrounded by our children and watching them learn what it means to care for one another. And maybe it is because of something that happened this week that I simply cannot stop thinking about.
During Sukkot, an Israel-bound flight carrying 174 passengers became the scene of an attempted terrorist attack. The captain was stabbed and the plane began a terrifying descent. Israeli passengers Yaniv Hayoun, Zvika Manes, and Asaf Rajuan ran toward the cockpit and helped overpower the attacker.
Rajuan later said, “Life is stronger than everything, and we decided to fight for it.”
Those words have stayed with me. We decided to fight for life. That is our people.
For thousands of years, we have chosen life. When someone falls, we reach for them. When someone is in danger, we run toward them. When the world feels uncertain, we build again.
And what a message for Sukkot, the holiday that reminds us how fragile life can be. We cannot control everything around us. But we can choose how we respond.
That is what I want our children to learn.
This week at Emanu-El, our children learned about Ushpizin, welcoming guests into our sukkah. We asked: Who is standing alone? Who needs an invitation? Who needs someone to make room?
This is אהבה, Ahava, love, and הכרת הטוב, Hakarat HaTov, recognizing the good. It is teaching our children that being Jewish means noticing one another, making room for one another, and standing up for one another.
The miracle this week is not only that 174 people made it home. The miracle is that people chose one another.
And I see that miracle in our children every day. A child making room at a table. A teacher noticing someone who needs care. A new student being invited into a game.
These moments are how we raise children who will know what to do when someone else needs them.
Our tradition gives us Birkat HaGomel, a blessing of gratitude after emerging safely from danger. These are the words on my heart:
God of life and healing, thank You for bringing our people, Am Yisrael, through this terrifying ordeal. We give thanks for the lives spared and the courage of those who helped bring everyone safely to the ground. Bring healing to the injured and comfort to all who were aboard. May all of Israel be held in safety, strengthened by one another, and blessed with peace. Amen.
And now, we move from Sukkot into Simchat Torah. Tonight, we will unroll our Torah and welcome our newest students into a story thousands of years old during Consecration.
This is the story we are handing to our children.
A people who choose life.
A people who show up.
A people who make room.
A people who refuse to give up on one another.
Tonight, we place that story in the hands of our children and say:
Now it belongs to you, too.
I cannot wait to celebrate with all of you tonight.
Moadim L’Simcha,
Mike Witman
Senior Director of Lifelong Learning
