"What is our Task?"
The world feels so upside down.
The news reports the release of terrorists in exchange for the return of the holy bodies of a mother, her two babies, and an elderly grandfather—violently and savagely snatched from their homes—as if this were normal, as if this were acceptable.
How can such horror be normalized?
Where is the moral outrage?
Where is the cry for justice?
The entire Jewish nation is weeping—one heart, one voice—crying out:
For our broken hearts.
For the evil perpetrated against our people.
For our souls that scream for justice, for acknowledgment, for the world to witness our suffering—and do something about it.
But the world has turned its back on us.
The world is deaf to injustice.
The world is blind to all that we hold holy and pure.
I learned that Shiri, the mother who shielded her babies as they were stolen by evil, was buried in the same holy casket as her children.
Locked in an eternal embrace, they were returned to the earth together—just as they were taken.
What a heartbreaking image: two cherubs held in their mother’s loving, protective arms.
Is there any peace to be found in this?
Is there solace in knowing that she and her baby angels now bask in Divine light?That those who die as Jews—only because they are Jews—reach the highest realms of heaven?
Where do we find comfort in these dark and difficult days?
Perhaps it is in each other’s embrace, in the knowledge that we stand together—one heart, one soul, one people.
This week’s parsha teaches us our task:
to create a dwelling place for God in this broken world.
To build homes, communities, and societies rooted in love, compassion, and peace. To make space for God’s light to shine so brightly that none can deny His presence, His love, and His Divine plan.
May our efforts be successful. May all come to see the truth.
May this new month of Adar bring unfiltered joy and an end to suffering.
And may redemption come in the blink of an eye—just as it did for the Jews of Shushan.
Shabbat shalom and Chodesh tov
Elissa
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