8 | OCTOBER 12 • 2023 
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essay
What Can We Do? 
T

hese past two days 
have been the most 
difficult for our peo-
ple in the last 50 years. It was 
Simchat Torah, a time for 
rejoicing, yet it 
was a time of 
horror. Nearly 
a thousand 
members of our 
family were bru-
tally murdered, 
more than a 
hundred were 
taken hostage, 
and thousands more were 
injured. After the Holocaust, 
we vowed, “Never Again.” Yet, 
since the Holocaust, we have 
never lost so many in a sin-
gle day. And still, the danger 
continues: The war lies ahead. 
Yes, we mustered a brave face 
these last two days and forced 
ourselves to dance, but it was 
with heavy hearts.

At this moment, thousands 
of Jews are streaming to Israel 
from around the world to con-
tribute to the coming war. We 
pray for their safety and for 
a miraculous unprecedented 
victory that will save our hos-
tages and eliminate the terror 
organizations. But make no 
mistake about this. They are 
not the only fighters. We are 
each a fighter in this cause.
King David famously wrote, 
“These come by chariots and 

those come by horses, but 
we invoke the name of God.” 
David was a warrior who 
fought and won many battles. 
But he was also a deep fount of 
inspiration and faith as reflect-
ed in his poetry, the book of 
Psalms. His worldview is the 
quintessential Jewish worl-
dview. Wars are fought with 
weapons, but their outcomes 
are up to God.
Many among us are won-
dering what we can do to 
help. There is much that we 
can do. When David’s war-
riors went to fight, he always 
drafted a contingent of Jews 
to study and pray. We are this 
vital contingent. Our role is to 
appeal to God to rescind what 
is clearly a terrible decree.
Here are some examples:

SOLIDARITY AND 
OPTIMISM:
Join your fellows in prayer with 
faith and optimism in the best 
possible outcome. Hard as it 
might be, try to park your real-
ism and pessimism at the door. 
Our fighters need our opti-
mism. Positive energy begets 
positive energy; as our beloved 
teachers have said, “Think 
good, and it will be good.”

PRAYER:
Start your day with a prayer 
from King David’s Psalms 

because he said it best. He 
spoke from life experience 
and from a deep well of faith. 
Read Psalms 20, 23, 122, 
or 150.

MITZVAH:
I’ve offered examples of tiny 
steps we can take to increase 
our observance of God’s 
mitzvah. Take on a resolution 
along those lines. It can be 
extra charity, an increase in 
Shabbat observance, lighting 
Shabbat candles on time, 
Torah study, Kashrut, putting 
up a new mezuzah, etc. When 
you do these mitzvot, dedi-
cate them to the safety of our 
brethren around the world, 
especially in Israel.
Mezuzah and tefilin are two 
mitzvot especially conducive 
to enhancing Jewish safety. A 
mezuzah protects not only your 
home but all Jewish homes 
around the world and in Israel. 
Our sages declared when we 
wear tefilin, our enemies are 
weakened and become fearful. 
Ask yourself if there is a door-
way in your home, office or 
cottage that can use a mezuzah. 
Ask yourself if you can fit tefilin 
into your daily routine. Do it for 
Israel.

SUPPORT
Israel needs our support. 
Moral, emotional and finan-

cial. The vilification of Israel 
in the media and city squares 
has already begun. How 
the victim can be blamed is 
beyond me. Yet, we won’t 
get into arguments with our 
colleagues and neighbors. 
We will, however, help them 
see that right and wrong are 
not relative. Moreover, if you 
know someone in Israel, call 
them to express your emotion-
al and moral support.
There are countless ways 
to offer financial support at 
a time like this. Choose your 
charity and direct your funds 
or useful supplies to where 
they can be used best.
Above all, let us remember 
that our contribution is vital. 
The outcome of wars is in 
God’s hands. While our brave 
soldiers place themselves 
in harm’s way to fight, our 
contribution will help them 
achieve victory and keep them 
safe.
[I write this] with tears and 
a breaking heart, and yet a 
heart filled with faith and trust 
in God. 

Rabbi Lazer Gurkow, a renowned lec-

turer, serves as Rabbi to Congregation 

Beth Tefilah in London, Ontario. He is 

a member of the curriculum develop-

ment team at Rohr Jewish Learning 

Institute and is the author of two 

books and many online essays. You 

can find his work at innerstream.org.

Lazer 
Gurkow
Times of 
Israel

PURELY COMMENTARY

STATEMENTS from page 5

The Jewish community and the world woke 
up on Shabbat and the Jewish holiday of 
Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah — and the 
50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War 
— to the horrible news from Israel that the 
country was under attack.
Dozens of Hamas terrorists infiltrated 
Israel early Saturday by air and land. They 

attacked communities and homes, horrifical-
ly kidnapping and murdering civilians. 
 “We stand with our friends and family in 
Israel,” said Sam Dubin, JCRC/AJC’s assistant 
director/director of media relations. 
“Israel has a right to defend itself, and we 
are here to support the country we love,” 
Dubin said. 

From 
JCRC/AJC

