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Every year I offer a brutally condensed version of my Jewish High Holiday sermon along with my wishes for a happy and healthy new year to all my readers, Jewish and not, because such wishes are needed by us all. Shana Tova!

One of the very best questions I ever heard was from a young Jewish woman. She asked this question, “Who will shelter us?”

This question was not asked by a Jewish woman during past tribulations but two years ago after the rise in antisemitism on college campuses around the country following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. She was worried that this great country would no longer be safe for the Jews. Here is my answer.

The first answer to who will shelter us is America.

The first thing I learned about the news business from my years with Tommy on "Good Morning America" was, “If it bleeds it leads.” However, bloody news is not all the news. Even during a year of rising antisemitism, there were people out there like Charlie Kirk who sat in a chair on campus with no news coverage and patiently explained to all comers that support for Israel was a moral and Christian and American obligation. The tent under which the friends of Jews and Israel are standing is a very large tent, even though news of it often does not make the news.

It is time for us to speak out in patriotic love for a land that has been our safe harbor since the day George Washington wrote to the Jews of the Touro Synagogue and eased their fears about who will shelter us. America will shelter us.

The second answer to who will shelter us is Israel.

When I took one of our first temple trips to Israel, I met Moshe, a Black Ethiopian Jew saved from genocide who was drawing a picture of a smiling dog. When I asked Moshe why the dog in his picture was smiling, he said, “Because I do not have to eat him.” These are Israel’s hardest days and in these days Israel needs friends.

Israel is in the midst of tough times that will pass. Our job it seems to me is to try not to make these times even tougher for Israel because of our criticism.

We must all understand that in the fog of war some decisions are made that are unfortunately befogged. Israel has admitted mistakes, but the stark fact remains. Israel’s transgressions were mistakes. Hamas’ transgressions were intended acts of barbarism.

Israel’s case for existence is morally, politically, economically and militarily strong and rests upon what Israel has built. Israel has built a tech giant that is responsible for more startup companies than any country on earth. Israel has built a bastion of democracy in a sea of authoritarian fundamentalism. Israel has revived a dead language and watered a parched desert and has sent foreign aid to every developing state in Africa and Asia. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where a gay person has nothing to fear, and you never hear any of this on the evening news.

I believe with all my heart that Israel will shelter us.

The third answer to who will shelter us is our covenant with God.

Isaiah calls God, “The safe harbor in the storm.” We must believe that no matter how terrible the storm. We will reach that safe harbor because of our covenant with God.

The haftorah for Yom Kippur is Isaiah 58 and it is a passage meant to remind us that though we may have to live through times when we are besieged, we will never have to live through times when we are abandoned by God. The great short word that encapsulates God’s covenantal promise to us is heneini. It simply means “I am here” but it means so much more. It means I am always here. Listen to the promise of heneini and pray that by next year all the Jewish people will have reached the safe harbor together and the storm will have passed,

“Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.” Isaiah 58:8-9

AMEN.

(Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including “Religion for Dummies,” co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman. Also, the new God Squad podcast is now available.)

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