נ וּ ד וּ ת נ וּ פְ שֵַׁנ עַ ל פְְּו אֻ לּ ָ תְֵגּ לַע Toward Our Redemption and Salvation
Prayer for Guidance and Help
Rabbi Dr . Jo David
What does it mean to feel a personal experience of the exodus from Egypt ? Throughout history , all mass migrations have been composed of a “ mixed multitude .” Who were the people who left their homes ? What truly motivated them ? What were their hopes and dreams as they traveled toward the Promised Land ?
The modern state of Israel is not just a symbol of the biblically promised Jewish homeland . It is the literal home of the world-wide Jewish community created against the backdrop of the Holocaust . The state of Israel is a guarantee that the Jewish people will never be homeless again . The threat that the October 7 War represents is not “ merely ” that of pain and suffering , but of a return to homelessness for the Jewish people . It is a terrifying thought — that Jews living today might have to undergo an exodus from our homeland in our lifetime .
How can we respond to this threat ? Few of us are able to pick up a weapon and fight on the front lines . The scope of suffering goes beyond nationalistic ideologies and challenges our compassion and our resources . Feelings of fear , helplessness and hopelessness are overwhelming and disabling . What are we to do ?
In times of trouble , Psalm 121 urges us to turn for strength and guidance to the One who is the maker of heaven and earth . A famous teaching of the great spiritual master , Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav , is that one should make time each day to commune with
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