This is an important time right now for Jews around the world. We have been paying attention especially to the Jews of Ukraine, in light of the instability and violence there. The Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations have come to a halt this week as well.
Here are a few things I have been reading that help shed some light and wisdom.
Ukraine: statement from chief rabbi of Donetsk as reported in the Jerusalem Post
Israel: reflections from Rabbi Donniel Hartman, "The Day After the Negotiations Fail" in the Times of Israel
Rabbi Hartman and his father, Rabbi David Hartman z"l, have been two of my fundamental guides about what it means to be a religious Zionist today, either in Israel or the Diaspora. A few weeks ago in shul, I picked up on the line of thinking expressed in this latest post. I spoke about the biblical law of the "Hebrew slave", and the responsibilities of a master during a time when a slave cannot be freed in the way that both the slave and the master would want. Rabbi Hartman talks about what it will mean to continue to have authority over the Palestinians in the West Bank without giving up what is essential to our morality as Jews. I think his essay sets the terms for what we all have to think about.
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