Give and Take • Parshat Terumah

Abstract

Dear Friends,

•Since I last wrote, we experienced a glimmer of joy. Two hostages, Fernando Marman, 61, and Louis Har, 70, were rescued in a heroic battle against Hamas terrorists and reunited with their families. Louis' two daughters actually came to Stern College to speak so there was extra reason to celebrate here at YU. We heard these sisters facing the terror of uncertainty and could watch from a distance the hugs and the tears when they saw their father again. The depth of this connection challenges much of the pre-war discussion of the rift between Israelis and Diaspora Jews. We are all in this together, if not geographically, then emotionally. We cannot claim to navigate the same dangers, but we can claim a shared heart.

•This past December 4 at 6:31pm, IDF soldier Yoni Heilman wrote in his wartime diary how touched he was by a black and white T-shirt that said simply "Shomer Achi," I am my brother's keeper. It borrows the words of Cain in Genesis 4 but makes it a declarative statement rather than a question. "As we reach two months of war," wrote Heilman then, "and I see the best of us giving ever more attention to the needs of those around them, I realize it's the second word on that shirt that matters most. Not just that we insist on guarding others, but that we see one another as brothers."

This relational feeling of generosity and community and its connection to happiness is developed as an aspect in this week's parsha essay below by Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman. The more loving and giving we are, the more that we feel buoyed by the good fortune of others.

•Welcome home Fernando and Louis. We are all so happy to see you.

•And we'll be happy to see you at the "Maimonides and Medicine" event we are hosting this coming Wednesday along with Yeshiva University Museum. Please join us. See details below. We are also thrilled to have renowned professor of philosophy, Dr. David Shatz, teaching a three-part online course on ethics in March. Register now below. Spaces are limited!

•Shabbat Shalom,

Erica

Dr. Erica Brown Vice Provost, Rabbi Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership