Dear Friend,
It’s not hard to find the relevance to current events of this week’s Torah portion. In Parshat Ki Teitzei, G‑d urges us to remember Amalek’s attack when we left Egypt—the very first act of anti-Semitism that we experienced as a nation.
Between boycotts of Israeli goods, anti-Israel protests throughout the world, hate crimes on the rise, and multiple condemnations by the UN, we are constantly reminded that anti-Semitism is alive and well. Yet there’s a silver lining, argues Rabbi Yossy Goldman in his article, Who Needs Anti-Semites? He contends that they “remind Jews that they are Jewish.”
Of course, xenophobia is evil, and has caused unfathomable suffering for our people over the years. But as Miriam Karp writes in On Prayer, a Stubborn Ego, Ammunition and Peace, “Hamas’s rockets have blasted more than buildings; they’ve blasted through the crust around my soul.”
This Elul, the month in which “I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me,” let’s reach into the deepest parts of our soul to connect to G‑d and our fellow man. Let’s become a stronger, united nation, one that does not need any external reminders to embrace its Jewishness.
Sasha Friedman,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
