Monday Morning Musing: Is Anything Really Fair in Love & War?

A few weeks ago I began to write about the places I'd lived as a rather surface level reflection - what it was like in Illinois or Indiana or any of the other places I've hung my proverbial hat. I don't know whether those easy observations were just my own distraction from all of the chaos in the world or whether they were personal observations with merit or whether it matters. But I'm pausing them for a time; there are too many other things that warrant my attention, our attention, our prayers.

Today is the anniversary of the attack on Israel by Hamas. The response of the Israeli government has been brutal and horrific and is largely unsupported by the people of Israel. Questions of just war rise to the top again. It's madness, all of it. I cannot imagine being a family of a hostage or of a young person killed while dancing or the parents of children stalked in their kibbutz by the Hamas terrorists and shot to death. And I cananot imagine being a family in Gaza watching the same thing happen in reverse. Death and destruction in numbers we cannot imagine with waves of grief alongside the tender heartbreak of the death of one beloved.

This anniversary falls in the middle of many celebrations for our Jewish friends; Rosh Hashana is just past and Yom Kippur is just ahead. These communities will gather in places that are holy, set apart, for worship and community. This will also make them a target for violence. They will hire guards for their buildings and their people as they gather.

Good writing usually comes to some conclusive ending, but this reflection does not have one. Like other anniversaries of tragedies, people will remember and reflect and if we are any sort of global citizens, commit themselves anew to working for justice, freedom, and peace.

Here is a beautiful prayer for use in the home on the Jewish New Year, written by Rabbi John L. Rosove, Senior Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Israel in Hollywood.

May we hold lovingly in our thoughts

those who suffer from tyranny, subjection,

cruelty, and injustice,and work every day

toward the alleviation of their suffering.

May we recognize our solidarity

with the stranger, outcast, downtrodden, abused, and deprived,

that no human being be treated as "other,"

that our common humanity weaves us together in one fabric of mutuality,

one garment of destiny.

May we pursue the Biblical prophet's vision of peace,

that we might live harmoniously with each other

and side by side,

respecting differences,

cherishing diversity,

with no one exploiting the weak,

each living without fear of the other,

each revering Divinity in every human soul.

May we struggle against institutional injustice,

free those from oppression and contempt,

act with purity of heart and mind,

despising none, defrauding none, hating none,

cherishing all, honoring every child of God, every creature of the earth.

May the Jewish people, the state of Israel, and all peoples

know peace in this New Year,

and may we nurture kindness and love everywhere.

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