וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֶֽת־כׇּל־עֲדַ֛ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לAnd Moses gathered the kol adat yisrael, the whole house of Israel, and spoke to them…. Ex.35:1
You shall build a mishkan (Tabernacle) for us to dwell….. Ex. 35:10
In these past weeks, the leaders of the free world gathered and spoke strongly to an aggressive dictator bent on satisfying his personal need for power. He ignored their pleas, caring nothing for the hardships he would be inflicting on his own citizens, innocent Ukrainians, and the entire region and the world. Yesterday, we watched beautiful cities, like Kyiv, being bombed, and people hiding in subway stations, or trying to flee. It is tragic to watch one man’s dark desires for power cause so much harm.
We also fear for the Jewish communities in Ukraine. The house of Israel has been gathering together to provide support and aid to our communities there. We are working hard to get the rabbis and congregants out of the endangered areas.
It is as if the parashah this week is speaking directly to us. Build a place where kol adat yisrael can gather, in safety. The sedra tells us how to build it, step by step, cubit by cubit. Over the past weeks, European rabbis and communities have been creating paths out of Ukraine, step by step, for our fellow Jews to find a place of safety–searching for visas, temporary housing, and community centers where they can gather to comfort and support each other. We will continue to be there for them, because that is what we do: after five thousand years, we continue to follow our parasha–build places of safety for our people.
It is not enough just to look after our own, of course. We support all efforts to end this aggression, and return the region to stability.
Tonight, we will gather our kol adat yisrael, all of us together, all our voices together, as we pray for peace.
Below are links to two funds that are helping to provide places of safety for the Ukrainian Jewish community.
Click here to donate through World Jewish Relief Click here to donate to CJP's Ukraine Emergency Fund This Shabbat, may the world find its most precious shelter: peace. We wish the world a Shabbat Shalom, a shabbat that brings peace to all.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Marcia Plumb
