On Kal Nidre I spoke about the choices each of us make in our lives. I reflected on the Yom Kippur war and how Golda Meir and others made choices good and bad. All too often people let humans off the hook by claiming all is in God’s hands, but the reality is people are always making choices that impact the world at all levels.
On Friday Israelis chose to have Shabbat and Yom Tov dinners and to celebrate the Torah. Other Israelis took advantage of the holiday weekend and spent time with families and friends and others went to a music festival with friends. On Friday a group of Palestinians chose to be a part of Hamas and to prepare themselves to invade a country by land, sea and air. They chose to load their guns and to prepare their methods of infiltration. Some grabbed handcuffs and some chose to obscure their faces with masks.
On Shabbat/Saturday morning the Israelis chose life and joy. Those Palestinians chose to murder people who had done nothing to them. I wonder at how many junctures those people could have made other choices. I wonder how many times this could’ve been avoided, and yet, they didn’t choose to sanctify life. They chose to be murderers and pure unadulterated evil. They chose to shoot people at close range. They chose to kidnap infants, children, teens, women, men and seniors. They chose to celebrate the murders and proclaim God is great. They chose to fire rockets, not at military targets, but everywhere and anywhere to destroy lives.
Israelis chose to not commit blasphemy and to truly state God is great not merely with words but with actions. Israelis ran to save lives. Israelis ran to donate blood. Israelis ran to be in harm’s way to try and sanctify God’s name and creation by safeguarding life.
I choose now to stand proudly as a Jew and as an unabashed Zionist and supporter of Israel. I stand on the right side of history. I stand on the side that understands nobody wants to see innocent Palestinians die, but at the same time, I refuse to accept any statements of equivalency. I’m sorry Hamas uses fellow Palestinians as shields. I’m sorry they’ve started a war. I’m sorry they were cowardly and sent others to fight and protect them while they stay safe. I’m sorry that in order for safety to be achieved, our soldiers need to put them down because they started a war with us. I’m sorry Mahmoud Abbas can’t find the dictionary to learn the word “condemn.” If you want to find the person to blame, perhaps you should look at him as a target as well. I’m not sorry Israel exists… I am proud and filled with joy that it exists. I’m not sorry the Jewish people have a sliver of land they’ve always lived in. I’m just sorry immoral terrorists cannot learn to accept we’re there and will never leave.
Last year, I was horrified when Ukraine was attacked. I marched against police brutality when George Floyd was viciously murdered. I donated money to the relief work of the tsunami in the pacific. I flew to Puerto Rico after the hurricane to help with relief work. I’ve slept outside to raise money and awareness about homelessness. I’ve stood with people in need my whole life because we are all created in God’s image. The Jewish people will never solve anti-Semitism or hatred of Israel. We need you to stand with us and recognize our humanity and our inherent right to be treated with as much care and dignity as the next person.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Hearshen
As we enter fall and the sun goes down earlier, we'll be adjusting Erev Shabbat and Saturday Evening Service times accordingly starting tomorrow, October 13.
Erev Shabbat Services on Zoom will begin 1 hour before candlelighting. Candlelighting time on October 13 is 6:48 pm.
Support for Israel Shabbat
BIRTHDAYS
Shabbat Robert M. Franco
Sunday Dodik Badalbayev Samuel Kleiman
Monday Hayes Arogeti Ila Galanti Jackie Krainin Jeanie Marx Kamyar Simian
Tuesday Michelle Stribling
Thursday Ernestene Dreyer
Friday Geoffrey Gross Ilan Reisman
ANNIVERSARIES Sunday Russell and Corinne Falkenstein
Monday David and Pearline Franco
Meldados
Shabbat Linda Maslia Regina Tourial Juana Habib
Sunday Rachel Saul Franco
Monday Helen Apsel Maria Sallerson-Joyner Lena Penso Julia Habib Soriano Luisa Cohen Joseph Pieniek
Tuesday Lauren Amato Hyman Auerbach Enid Apseloff Russell Falkenstein Joe B. Arogeti
Shabbat Together Shabbat, Apr 12th 10:30a to 11:30a Join us for our new Kavanagh Minyan & Children's Services the second Saturday each month. Following these services, we'll join the group in the Sanctuary for Rabbi Hearshen's sermon followed by Kiddush lunch.
It’s as easy as:
Inviting your friends and family for Shabbat Dinner, Taking a few photos, Sharing the photos with OVS & One Table And... Receiving a stipend for each person at your dinner.
Passover Picnic & a Walk in the Park Tuesday, Apr 15th 11:30a to 1:00p Bring your own picnic lunch and catch up your OVS friends. Join us for a walk along the boardwalk after we eat.
Exact location will be emailed prior to the picnic. Free of charge.
Chesed Team Three B'S April Sunday, Apr 27th 3:00p to 4:00p Join us as we take our Three B's program to Berman Commons. Do a Mitzvah and spend time with the residents. We’ll bring them a taste of OVS and play bingo.
Children are welcome when accompanied by an adult.
Sephardic Dinner to Go Thursday, May 8th 2:00p to 4:00p Dinner To Go includes 1 dozen burekas (potato, spinach or rice, while supplies last), 1 quart Avas (tomato based white bean soup), 1 quart rice, tossed garden salad and 6 biscochos. Pre-orders only by Monday, May 5.
Boyos Class Sunday, May 25th 1:00p to 3:00p Join Dan Maslia for his famous Boyos Class. One person per household only. First come, first served. Maximum 20 participants. Don't miss this opportunity to learn how to make this special Sephardic dish.
Building Blocks Sunday School 2025-2026 Sunday, Aug 17th 9:00a to 12:00p Building Blocks Sunday School at Congregation Or VeShalom is for children ages 2 - 12. Areas of focus include prayer, Jewish holidays, Jewish values, modern Hebrew, Hebrew reading, Israel, and Sephardic Jewish culture.
