From The Bimah: Jewish Lessons For Life

This is a Talmud class like no other for a moment like no other. One short story encapsulates the moment. There are tragically so many moments like it. On Sunday, Shira was speaking with her brother Ari and sister-in-law Tziporit who live in Jerusalem. They had just returned from the funeral of a close friend who was a member of their shul in Jerusalem. This man was 44. He had aged out of being required to do miluim. He could have taken a pass. He could have opted out. He is married and has five children. But he, and 360,000 others, believe that Israel’s very existence is at stake. This is Israel’s Second War of Independence. So, he volunteered to fight even though he did not have to fight. His life is about something larger than his life. He died in battle, leaving a widow, five fatherless children, and a grieving nation. My siblings had no words for their heartbreak. Funerals, shivas, sleepless nights (their children are in harm’s way) are how they are spending this war. How are Israelis living through