Lessons from Israel for the American Jewish community
Rabbi Shoshana Feferman’s Sermon for Erev Rosh Hashanah 2025 at Temple Israel in Valparaiso
It’s hard to believe that next month we will mark the 2nd anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023. This past year, just when we thought things would get easier for the people of Israel, they got even harder with ballistic missile attacks from Iran and its proxies.
Through their amazing example, we have important lessons to learn from the people of Israel and their incredible courage, strength, and resilience. These lessons can help shape the future of the American-Jewish community.
Last spring, the Houthis in Yemen began to fire missiles at Israel in the middle of the night. The sirens would wake up millions of Israelis and send them to seek shelter.
Then, on June 13th, came the surprise attack of the Israel Air Force on Iran’s nuclear program. The attack was hailed as largely successful in helping to significantly delay a serious threat to the existence of Israel. Yet these were extremely difficult days for the people of Israel.
In what became known as the 12-day war, Iran retaliated by launching 550 ballistic missiles at Israel. The heavy warheads on these missiles were very dangerous.
Despite Israel’s excellent missile defense system, 31 of these missiles evaded interception and struck civilian apartment buildings and a hospital. During these 12 days, 28 Israeli civilians were killed and more than 3,000 were wounded.
Our son’s family, including our daughter-in-law and three grandchildren, who live in Rehovot, spent even more sleepless nights running to shelter. Our ten-year-old grandson didn’t want to go to sleep because he knew there would be a siren. As you will hear shortly, our son was stuck in Cypress after returning from an American speaking tour.
On one night, a missile struck an apartment building less than a mile from their home wounding dozens and causing serious damage. Needless to say, Bob and I spent many hours watching live Israeli television and communicating with our family to make sure everyone was ok.
Although we know that the people of Israel are strong and resilient, what does this actually look like in time of war?
During this 12-day war with Iran, our congregants Ashley and Eric Jacobsen happened to be in Israel on vacation with their two children. When they planned the trip, they knew they were going to a country already at war in Gaza. Little did they know they would find themselves in the middle of a much bigger war.
Ashley wrote this about their experiences.
“As we sat in the bomb shelter, particularly for the first time, I saw absolutely no fear in the eyes of the parents or their young children, who trusted in Hashem that we would be safe. This was nothing new for them. They were selfless in their attitudes, showing more concern for making sure everyone in the building made it to the shelter, than for the fact that we could hear the echoes of missiles outside.”
As I mentioned, on June 13th our son Dan was returning to Israel from a speaking tour in America. Little did he know that a few hours before landing, Israel had launched the attack on Iran. Just 20 minutes before landing, his plane was suddenly diverted to Cyprus out of fear over an Iranian missile attack. He was stuck there for a week.
Along with more than 100,000 Israelis who were on vacation in Europe, Dan was desperate to find a way to return home to be with his family. Then, the government of Israel jumped into action. For the first time in history, they organized rescue flights, not to leave Israel, but to return to Israel.
The Israeli comedian Yohay Sponder explained it like this. “I love us. We are the only people in the world who will rescue themselves into a war zone.”
Finally, one week later, Dan landed in Israel on one of the first El Al rescue flights.
When he came into the airport, he said this on his Facebook page: “Just landed in Ben Gurion Airport. We landed one plane at a time. It’s incredible the length this country has gone through to repatriate its citizens. And it says something about our citizens that in time of war we don’t want to run away from our country. We want to come home. This is an all-hands-on deck country.”
The question is this: where do Israelis draw their strength from?
On May 15th, in a powerful speech titled, “The State of World Jewry,” the popular podcast host Dan Senor, was able to draw upon lessons from Israelis during this war that can inspire us all.
He said: “We—the Jewish people—should look to Israel not simply for its defense innovation or health care advances. We should look to Israelis for their clarity, their purpose, their deep sense of identity.”
He retold the story of the American Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, of blessed memory, who was kidnapped on October 7th, 2023, and murdered by Hamas in captivity.
Senor said: “Hersh spent just three days with a fellow hostage named Eli Sharabi in the tunnels of Gaza.
In that time, Hersh taught Eli a lesson that would change his life. He quoted the psychologist and Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl who wrote: He who has a “why” will find the “how.”
As Dan Senor said: “Israelis have a why.”
He then retold the story of Agam Berger, another captive of Hamas.
“Agam Berger, held in captivity for 450 days, had a why. After her release, she said: “As my ancestors did, I learned that imprisonment can’t overwhelm the inner spiritual life. Our faith and covenant with God—the story we remember on Passover—is more powerful than any cruel captor.
“Even as Hamas tried to coerce me into converting to Islam—at times, forcing a hijab on my head—they couldn’t take my soul.” Her friend, Liri Albag, fashioned a Hagadah out of whatever materials she could find in captivity, and they marked the Passover Seder together, yearning for redemption.”
Senor asks a profound question: “What is our why? Why are we here? Are we truly owning the story we’re living in? These are not theoretical questions. They are practical and will determine the future of our families and our communities.”
The speech given by Dan Senor is truly inspiring, and I highly recommend taking time to watch it on YouTube.
That brings me to the question I want to pose to you tonight: Do you have a Jewish “why”? How would you answer the question: Why is Judaism important to you and your family?
As a Rabbi, I can give many answers. Maybe the most important one has to do with our children and grandchildren.
As we all know, in this new age of artificial intelligence, we are entering unchartered territory. While this technology has many benefits, it also has many dangers.
So, I ask the question: where would you like your children and grandchildren to receive their values: from a smart phone? From ChatGPT? Or would you want them to learn values from the scrolls of the Torah behind me that have inspired and guided our people for over three thousand years.
And where would you like to find a sense of community? Will you find it on Facebook, or in the synagogue by coming together with other Jews to worship?
If you have a “Jewish why” that guides you in your lives, I have no doubt that you will find answers to these and other questions by seeking a stronger connection to our faith, our community and to the Jewish people.
Now more than ever, we need Judaism in our lives.
The philosopher Micah Goodman wrote, “Participation in religious rituals creates balance in our intense Western lives. It provides intimacy in a world that has lost its intimacy and community in a world that has eroded community.
Over the past two years, Israelis have shown us the immense power of having a “why” to guide them in their lives and give them a sense of purpose. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, let us learn from their examples.
I’ll finish by sharing the words of Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of Hersh of blessed memory. She shared this prayer for the new year saying: “May we all be inscribed in the book of hope, the book of life, the book of miracles and the book of freedom.”
Shanah tova,
Rabbi Shoshana Feferman
Temple Israel, Valparaiso, Indiana