Last night, 1,000 people gathered in front of Beverly Hills City Hall for a powerful vigil to both bring memory to the six hostages murdered by Hamas, in the shiva period for those precious families, and a reminder that we must continue to use our voices and our actions to ensure the remaining hostages come home.
While I was honored in sharing words of comfort with our greater community, I was most impressed with the speaker at the podium before me.
Her name is Sarah Idan. She is 34-years-old, born in Iraq, was crowned Miss Universe in 2017, and represented her home country of Iraq.
Sarah was born in Baghdad and in 2003, moved to Syria, only to return to Iraq a few years later. Today, she lives in the United States but visited Israel in 2018 and again in December of 2023, witnessing the effects of the massacre at Kfar Aza.
As she stood before us last night, she said these words: “I stand before you as an Arab and a Muslim. But tonight, we are all Israel.”
This Shabbat, we read of the most well known line promoting justice in the Torah. Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof: justice justice you shall pursue.
Rabbi Marc Angel tells the story of Rabbi Akabia ben Mahalel who lived in the Roman period before the destruction of the Temple. He is most famous for his disputes with other Rabbis on Jewish law. His colleagues asked him to be the head of the rabbinical court and withdraw his strong opinions.
His answer was this: “It would be better for me to be called a fool all my life rather than to be wicked in the eyes of God for even one moment.” Yes, the speeches at the rallies were inspirational and moving. But what has moved me most is not the words but the people who are sharing the words.
I consistently observe the younger generation becoming more active, searching for truth, discovering justice. These young people are closer in age to my own children than they are to me. They are able to seek out what Rabbi Akabia was looking for all along. These signs of hope remind us all that Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof, is not just a Jewish bumper sticker, but it is a teaching that must be alive and well.
