VAYERA 5784 The Tale of Two: The Sand and the Stars Rabbi Andrew Shaw Chief Executive, Mizrachi UK To paraphrase Charles Dickens:
It is the best of times, it is the worst of times. It is the best of times. Never in my life have I seen our people more united, more connected and more proud. I have seen so many videos of incredible scenes in Israel. The rescue of Ori Megidish, one of the hostages, was remarkable in itself, but to witness the scenes around her house in Bat Yam was something else. The house was filled with flags and balloons and people from every section of Israeli society. There were kippot, black hats, sheitals, tichels, hats and uncovered heads! Outside on the street there was a wonderful atmosphere dancing, singing, a sense of one nation celebrating the safe return of one of her children. Chassidim dancing hand in hand with Secular and Religious Zionist Jews – just Am Yisrael thanking Hashem for Ori’s homecoming. Across the world the prayers, the charity, the donations of everything – there is truly a sense of one family. So many remarkable stories, like the work of Shai Graucher and his team who formed ‘ B Yachad Nenatzeach’ built a logistic headquarters in 48 hrs which then stocked tens of thousands of fighting gear for the soldiers, clothing, toiletries, printed thousands of gemaras, hundreds of pairs of tefillin, ipads for hundreds of patients in 10 different hospitals, thousands of games for kids, tens of thousands of hot meals and bbq’s for soldiers, financial support for bereaved families and families of hostages, live performances for soldiers – it’s just incredible, the kindness, the unity, the generosity. One story that summed up the spirit we are seeing in Israel is the following: There was a soldier who is a combat medic in an infantry unit. He has been on the border of and in Gaza for weeks now, without showering or coming home. He wears contacts and got an eye infection. He was told to take a cab to Beer Sheva last week to see a doctor. The cab driver refused to let him pay. He then waited for him to finish his appointment, took him to his own home, fed him, let him shower, washed his uniform, told him to nap for an hour. Then he took him back to his base.