As we prepare to receive the Torah together, as individuals and as a community, I am moved to write out of a deep sense of hakarat hatov to our kehilla.
Roughly 18 months ago, at the suggestion of Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon, shlita, our community adopted Kerem Shalom, Israel’s most southwestern town, which had been brutally attacked on Oct. 7. At the time, the residents of Kerem Shalom were living in hotel rooms in Eilat, enduring internal displacement with no end in sight.
Over these last 18 months, our community has defied 6,000 miles of geographic distance to build the most profound bonds of love and achdut I have ever seen.
The sense of support that you, the exceptional members of our kehilla, have provided to our brothers and sisters who have endured so much, is the embodiment of Chazal’s assessment of klal Yisrael as rachmanim and gomlei chasadim.
The three missions we have taken to Kerem Shalom, and the three return missions they have taken here, represents, to the best of my knowledge, the finest example of community to community partnership between any of the terror stricken communities of the Gaza envelope and any Diaspora community. This must be an incredible source of pride for our kehilla.
In addition, the exceptional generosity of our kehilla has shown through. We have raised over $1.1 million to rebuild Kerem Shalom’s medical, children’s recreational and security infrastructure to ensure the safest possible return of Kerem Shalom’s residents to their homes. It is a clear message to those who seek our destruction that they will never break our will, nor diminish our commitment to yishuv Eretz Yisrael.
As our brothers and sisters finally begin to return home, we look forward to continuing our partnership with them. Stay tuned for opportunities to do mitzvot together which we will be sharing in the weeks and months ahead.
For now, let me simply say to my incredible rabbinic colleagues, without whom none of this would be possible, Rav Rimon and the entire team at Sulamot, and, above all, the members of our extraordinary kehilla, Todah rabbah.
