A Call to Inner Renewal as Israel and Iran Clash and Jews Everywhere Feel the Shockwaves

“HaChodesh hazeh lachem rosh chadashim…” “This month shall be for you the beginning of months.” (Exodus 12:2)

This Shabbat we read the special Torah portion for Shabbat HaChodesh, the moment in the Jewish calendar when we welcome the month of Nissan, the month of redemption.

The command appears simple. God tells the Israelites that time itself will begin anew. The first mitzvah given to the Jewish people is not ritual sacrifice, not dietary law, not even prayer. It is the sanctification of the moon.

But this year, the new moon rises under a tense and uncertain sky.

Over the past several days, the Middle East has entered one of its most volatile moments in decades. The United States and Israel have carried out coordinated strikes deep inside Iran in what has become a widening military confrontation. Iranian retaliation has followed across the region. Leaders warn that the conflict could spread further.

No one knows where this will end.

And the shockwaves are not confined to the Middle East.

The Anxiety of a Global Jewish Moment

Jewish history has taught us that when Israel is under fire, Jews everywhere feel it.

American Jews are watching this conflict unfold with a complicated mixture of concern, solidarity, pride, and fear. Surveys show that a strong majority – 68% — of engaged American Jews support the joint United States and Israeli military response to Iran. Yet many also worry that the war could intensify antisemitism at home.

That fear........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)