Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
To bring down the poor and needy,
To slay those whose way is upright;
Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.

Psalm 37:14-15

Last week’s parsha resonated with us as few do. In it we read that Abraham’s nephew Lot is kidnapped during the War of the Five Kings against Four Kings. Abraham gathers a small army and rides north to rescue his nephew. Attacking Lot’s captors by night, Abraham succeeds in his mission and brings Lot, those kidnapped along with him and all their possessions back home. Melchizedek, King of Salem and Priest of “El Elyon” blesses Abraham. The King of Sodom steps forth to offer Abraham a reward for his efforts, but Abraham raises his hand and swears, “to God most High, maker of Heaven and Earth, ‘I will not take a thread or a sandal strap from you, lest you should say, ‘It is I who made Abraham rich’….” One, of course, cannot read this passage today without recalling the 200 plus souls kidnapped and held in captivity by Hamas in Gaza. Would that someone will rescue them.

רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר כָּל הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ מֵעֵבֶר אֶחָד וְהוּא מֵעֵבֶר אֶחָד

In the above story Abraham is called “Avram the Hebrew”. [Avram ha-ivri] This is the very first time in the Bible that the word “Hebrew” is used. The word for “hebrew” in Hebrew is עברי. The word for “over” in Hebrew is עבר. The spellings are almost the same but for one letter. This similarity in spelling led the second century sage Rabbi Yehudah to explain, “All of the world is over on one side, and Abraham is over on the other.” (Braisheet Rabah 42:8)

That teaching captures the sense of loneliness and isolation that many of us feel at this particular time. Israel and the Jewish people stand on one side of history, the world on the other. It is the feeling that nobody understands your pain, and that nobody is there to help, that you have only yourself to depend on. Some are unconcerned, oblivious to what is happening in the world. Some are sympathetic, but you know their sympathy will not last. And some simply hate Jews, wherever we live. Witness those who are downright jubilant about Hamas’ massacre, not in spite of the brutality, but because of the brutality.

There is no “coalition of the willing “to help Israel to defeat Hamas. Israel will have to go it alone, to defend herself. And if Israel is hindered, or if Israel fails, we have already seen what will happen.