The tongue of the suckling cleaves
To its palate for thirst.
Little children beg for bread;
None gives them a morsel.
Lamentations 4:4
Dear friends,
This week we approach Tish’ah b’Av, the day that commemorates the destruction of the ancient Temples in Jerusalem and the suffering associated with it, recorded in heart-rending detail in the Book of Lamentations which we will recite on Saturday night. This is the time when we open our hearts to the pain of the world, not only to that ancient pain and to all of the darkest times that the Jewish people have gone through in our history, but also to the suffering of others in our current time.
Our hearts are torn when we think of the hostages still held in Gaza for whom we pray every day, starved and imprisoned underground, enduring unspeakable suffering now for nearly two years. And our hearts are torn when we think of the babies and children in Gaza who are suffering and dying from hunger right now, as well as innocent civilians who are weak from lack of food. Neither of these horrible situations of suffering should exist in a civilized world, and we cry out as Jews and as human beings against both.
The root cause of both of these current cases of suffering is the murderous regime of Hamas. Hamas is the group that attacked Israel on October 7, killed hundreds, and took the hostages away from their families. And Hamas is the group that continues to callously disregard the suffering of the people of Gaza, leaving them without protection or food to eat. Hamas could release the hostages immediately and concentrate its energy on alleviating the suffering of the people of Gaza; its refusal to do so is unconscionable.
While Hamas is at the root of this problem, the current Israeli government also bears some responsibility for the suffering of the people of Gaza, having restricted adequate food aid from reaching the needy there for months as it continues to bombard the territory. The Israeli government has justified these moves as providing pressure on Hamas to negotiate, but starvation as a tactic of war is a violation of Torah and Jewish values that we cannot abide.
We may disagree on how to apportion blame for the terrible situation we find ourselves in, but we should agree that we are obligated to address the suffering we see, no matter its cause. History is replete with examples of those who cause massive suffering refusing to alleviate it and disclaiming any responsibility to do so. But Torah pushes us in the other direction, as it is written, “You shall not stand idly as the blood of your neighbor is spilled” (Leviticus 19:16), and Rashi explains, “You shall not stand by and witness your neighbor’s death when you are able to save them, as when they are drowning in a river, being attacked by a wild beast, or beset by a robber.” Even when suffering is clearly caused by others, we are obligated by Torah and by our humanity to do everything we can to alleviate it.
So especially during this time, we must advocate with everything we have for a deal that releases the hostages and ends their captivity and their suffering. And we must advocate with everything we have for the State of Israel and the international community to end the starvation we see in Gaza and save the lives of the innocent, efforts we are only seeing the beginnings of right now.
May our prayers this week and our fast on Tish’ah b’Av open our hearts to all those who are in pain and push us to alleviate their suffering, whatever its cause. And may our prayers for a great peace that embraces the whole world be answered.