Rabbi Howard Morrison

This morning we said goodbye to  "Israel 365", a Christians for Israel group. From all over the U.S., their motto is "With faith not fear." How moving - we would say "B'Emunah v'lo B'Yirah."

In the morning, we attended the home of all the Israel based Ramah programs. We heard from Rachel Goldberg Polin, whose son Hersh is one of the 132 hostages. Rachel has served on the staff of Ramah Israel. She has spoken out for her son and all the hostages. For as much as we wanted to give her strength, she actually strengthened us.

Among the attendees were high school students from the Gan Academy, a school like CHAT, housed in the Boston area. They were here on a 10 day mission, similar to ours.

Also present were high schoolers from all over North America, here for four months studying in the Jerusalem Ramah high school, known as T.R.Y. My own son and others from Beth Emeth have studied here over the years. Usually 30-40 participate annually. This year, the enrollment is 14 due to the war. We are proud of these students.

At a vineyard outside of Jerusalem, we spent an hour and a half pruning grapevines. Most of their regular Palestinian workers are no longer appearing due to the war. The necessary physical labor depends on visiting volunteers. We learned that every little bit we do counts.

At the Supreme Court, we learned about the controversies over proposed judicial reforms which were well known before October 7. We also sat in for part of an actual court case and saw the passion of the two lawyers and the judge. The judge himself was an Arab Israeli.

Finally, we visited a Haredi elementary and high school, called Netzach, which is a pioneer in the Ultra Orthodox world integrating students with the broader Israeli society on many levels.

This was a day for witnessing unity within diversity amidst the sorrow and pain from October 7 to the present.

Sincerely, 
Rabbi Howard Morrison