CBI Blogs

Friends, just a few weeks ago I wrote a blog about my upcoming trip to Israel. Since then, I went on a powerful and epic journey, returning in time for Thanksgiving with my family. While it will certainly take some time to process the entirety of the trip (and I may never fully process everything I experienced), I am looking at different ways to bring what I learned to our community.

During my week in Israel, I met with dozens of people from various backgrounds. I met with authors and reporters, with professors and rabbis, with survivors of the brutal attack on October 7 and families with loved ones held hostage. I met with security experts and retired high-ranking officers in the IDF (all women, by the way!), as well as displaced evacuees, doctors, and leaders in the protest movement against the current Israeli government. I met with the chairperson of the Aguda, Tel Aviv’s equivalent to the Pride board. I volunteered at the Expo center in Tel Aviv, I sat with a family grieving their loved one who died as a soldier fighting in Gaza. I met with an Israeli-Arab working to break down barriers between Palestinians and Israelis and I met with many rabbinic colleagues from the Reform movement working to keep their communities together.

I cried. A lot. I saw and felt the pain of so many people, pain caused by the death of a loved one, or someone missing, the pain of not knowing the fate of their family member held hostage, the pain of so much death surrounding this small, yet mighty country. I saw the fragility of every single person in this corner of the world, the fragility of Israeli-Arabs who worry every day that they will be victims of hate, and the fragility of Israelis who worry about going to work, leaving the “safety” of their home in case of a rocket attack. I heard the worry in every person’s voice about the people of Gaza who are suffering immensely during this time.

I also saw so much strength and resiliency. I saw a civil society unite and form a working front, ready to feed, clothe, and take in displaced people and evacuees from around the country. I saw thousands of items donated at the Expo center, ready to be sorted and delivered to those who now have nothing. I watched as people packed food for soldiers and families without access. I heard directly from Israelis who drove south to pick crops in the fields of the Kibbutzim that are currently unlivable and without field workers.

My group embraced this new Israel, a place that is traumatized and deeply scarred from Shabbat Shachor, the Black Shabbat of October 7. We heard the gratitude of every person we encountered, people who were dazed and somewhat confused that a group of American rabbis would come to Israel during a war. We heard prayer after prayer for peace and an end to the strife for all people. We collectively held our breath as we waited for news of a possible truce, something that happened as we were departing from Israel.

And now, as we breathe a little better knowing that nearly 100 hostages are back in the loving arms of their family, we still hold back our celebration until every person is returned. We wait with bated breath for each soldier to return safely and completely. We tremble with fear for the people of Gaza, not knowing their fate or how much oppression they will continue to feel, most significantly from Hamas.

Today, I am grateful to have had that sacred time in Israel, to bring back what I learned (and there will be so much to share), to know that I had the opportunity to visit Israel during an unprecedented moment in history. I am grateful for the chance to engage in conversation and dialogue with this community, and I hope you will engage with me. So, for now, stay tuned for future opportunities to learn more in depth about my trip. It was, as I’ve said many times, epic. It was powerful. It was life-changing. And, I hope learning about it will be for you as well.