Shabbat Greetings
There is a quiet irony in the Jewish calendar. Just a little more than a week after we mourn the destruction of the Temples on Tisha B’Av, we begin reading Ekev (Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25), a portion filled not with despair but with promise. Moses reminds the Israelites that God has sustained them through forty years in the wilderness, not because the journey was easy, but because it was necessary. “Remember the entire journey,” he says, “that Adonai your God has made you travel these forty years in the wilderness” (8:2).
Memory is at the heart of Ekev. Moses asks the people not to remember only the miracles, but also the hardships. Hunger, uncertainty, and wandering all became opportunities to discover that “a person does not live by bread alone, but by everything that proceeds from the mouth of God” (8:3). Faith was forged not in moments of comfort but in moments of challenge. Those words speak powerfully to us today.
We are living through a difficult moment for the Jewish people. Around the world and here at home we have witnessed a disturbing rise in antisemitism. Jewish students wonder if it is safe to wear a Magen David(Jewish star) on campus. Jewish institutions have strengthened security. Too many Jews find themselves explaining, defending, or simply hiding parts of their identity. These realities are painful, and they cannot be dismissed.
Yet Ekev reminds us that the Jewish response to adversity has never been fear alone. Our tradition calls us to remember who we are. Throughout our history, from the wilderness to exile, from persecution to renewal, we have endured because we understood that our identity is rooted not merely in circumstances but in covenant.
This Shabbat also marks another important milestone. We stand a little more than forty days before Rosh Hashanah. The rabbis teach that forty is never simply a number. Forty days of rain transformed the world in Noah’s time. Moses spent forty days atop Mount Sinai receiving the Torah. Forty years in the wilderness transformed a generation of slaves into a free people. Forty days represent the possibility of transformation.
As we begin this journey toward the High Holy Days, Ekevinvites us to ask not only what we fear, but who we are becoming. We cannot control the hatred of others, but we can choose how we respond. Will fear cause us to retreat from Jewish life, or will it inspire us to deepen our commitment? Will hostility weaken our sense of belonging, or strengthen our resolve to build vibrant Jewish communities rooted in Torah, prayer, acts of loving-kindness, and mutual responsibility? The Torah repeatedly reminds us not to allow hardship to harden our hearts. In this very portion, Moses warns against believing that our strength alone sustains us. Instead, he teaches humility, gratitude, and responsibility. These are precisely the qualities our world so desperately needs.
The answer to antisemitism is not only stronger security, important as that is. It is also stronger Jewish living. Every Shabbat table filled with song, every child learning Torah, every act of tzedakah, every synagogue gathering in prayer, every moment of kindness and justice proclaims that Jewish life continues with purpose and hope.
The forty days before Rosh Hashanah offer us an opportunity to prepare not only for God’s judgment, but for our own renewal. They invite us to examine where we have become discouraged and where we have lost hope. They challenge us to rediscover the resilience that has sustained our people for generations.
May these forty days lead us toward deeper faith, renewed purpose, and hearts prepared to welcome a new year with courage, compassion, and hope. And may the One who has sustained our people through every wilderness continue to watch over Israel and the Jewish people wherever we dwell, granting us peace, security, and the strength to be a blessing to the world.
SHABBAT SHALOM