Rabbi Hillel Skolnik, President, MERCAZ USA
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
This past Monday morning, as our country marked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, his almost prophetic words expressed in February 1968, two months before his assassination, rang particularly true. “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” Reading through the Book of Exodus, as we continue to do this week in Parashat Va’era, we can see clearly how our ancestors endured the challenges, pains and disappointments of slavery over and over. They even struggled with the idea of accepting finite disappointment while never losing infinite hope. But ultimately, that hope was realized for them when they finally marched out of Egypt as a free people.
That very spirit has been present in all those who have longed for the realization of “Bring Them Home Now!” with the return of the hostages held in Gaza and yearned for an end to the war. For too many, the pain and loss suffered is permanent, and the disappointments over these 473 days have felt infinite in nature. But this past Sunday, we were given renewed strength in our own endeavor to maintain infinite hope. Watching with bated breath we saw Romi Gonen, Emil Damari and Doron Steinbrecher reunite with their loved ones and we cried tears of joy for their return to the loving embrace of their families and country.
And still, maintaining of the ceasefire deal and continued release of the hostages remains a matter for our prayers and desperate hopes. We express our gratitude to those who have finally brought us to the precipice of peace, our prayers that the ceasefire hold and that the remain hostages be brought home, and our request of God that we have the strength to accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Hillel Skolnik, President, Mercaz USA