I am deeply grateful to bear witness to the important stories coming from my mission to the JCC of Krakow in support of Poland and Ukraine and to bear witness.
Thank you to Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt of Temple Ohav Shalom in Allison Park outside Pittsburgh and to Rabbi David Ackerman of Beth Am Israel of Penn Valley, PA outside Philadelphia for graciously opening your shuls to me.
Help us help them. Please invite me to share this very Jewish and very human story with your community.
Acharei Mot
God’s Miracle is not in the thunder and lightning but in people sheltering others from the storm. ~The Radmal
Our recent Hineini Mission to help Ukrainian refugees in Poland gave me a new perspective on Parshah Acharei Mot, teaching me how to help people move forward in the wake of catastrophe. Acharei Mot opens with God telling Moses to instruct his brother. Moses serves as the compassionate human connection so that Aaron can serve as the High Priest of the community, the children of Israel. For those of us watching the Ukraine tragedy unfold, we play the part of Moses, and the refugees are in the role of Aaron. We are like the loving brother who carries the message of moving forward and offering caring support. Helping the mothers and the children is our role.
The Parshah opens with God directing Moses, after the death of Aaron’s two sons, to tell Aaron to abide by the detailed instructions to follow. Moses shares what Aaron must do to fulfill his responsibilities as the High Priest. Many interpret this as a way to get Aaron’s full attention lest he suffers the same fate as his sons. But there is more here than that. Moses brings humanity to the otherwise stark directives and comforts his brother by serving as the carrier of the message. As a result, Aaron can begin to focus on how to move forward with his life so brutally and irreversibly changed by the death of his sons.
Aaron’s loss is a harrowing event. We witness similar excruciating anguish in the war on Ukraine. The brutality of the country’s destruction; the torture and murder of its civilians, including the elderly, babies, and children; the depravity of routinized rape and torture practiced by the Russian invaders are staggering. In our time in Krakow and at the border, we witnessed women and children coming to Poland to escape the horrors of this war, seeking asylum and leaving everything behind, including their men left to defend the homeland, knowing they too might be slaughtered. Such is the Ukrainian reality. These women and children refugees are like Aaron.
Aaron receives specific instructions on doing his job as the High Priest. These continued instructions coming after the deaths of Nadav and Abihu tell Aaron, and us too, that life must continue even after a catastrophe. Responsibilities to the children do not cease because of personal loss, even the most challenging kind. Our work and our lives remain in front of us. We must move forward. But it is almost impossible to do that alone.
Moving forward is complicated and often overwhelming. Moreover, the loss brings a sense of isolation. Aloneness makes us feel cut off from the community, from life itself. But Moses’ presence informs Aaron that he is not alone. And the instructions Moses carries help Aaron move forward.
Moses informs Aaron that he may enter the Shrine only with a specific offering, and he must appear dressed appropriately. In other words, moving forward is deliberate, done with forethought and intention. It requires structure and resolution and others to help you through the fog of loss.
We support our brothers and sisters of Ukraine. In our rabbinic mission to help the Ukrainians, we brought needed supplies to heal the physical needs and our presence as rabbis to heal the emotional and spiritual needs. We did this sacred work with the support of our communities and congregations. But the task is barely begun. The people of Ukraine continue to need everything- food, shelter, clothing, and a place to make their forever changed lives. After death, life must continue, but only with the help of us, their loving brothers and sisters, will the victims find a path forward. May this be our continued mission.
God’s Miracle is not in the thunder and lightning but in people sheltering others from the storm. ~The Radmal
Rabbi David Levin focuses on bringing Jewish wisdom to seekers of meaning. He is the Founder and Director of Jewish Relationships Initiative, a 501(c)3 focused on human relationships, end-of-life challenges, and outreach. Rabbi Levin’s teachings include “The Ethical Legacy Will, Jewish Wisdom Reimagined“- a new approach to the Ethical Will, “Gleanings of a Wandering Jew,” the lessons of our history and personal travel, “Kavod v’Nichum, Understanding Jewish end-of-life rituals,” exploring the ‘why’ underlying our practice,” Resilience” a mash-up of Jewish Wisdom and Disaster Spiritual Care training.
Rabbi Levin is the co-editor of the acclaimed book Jewish End-of-Life Care in a Virtual Age: Our Traditions Reimagined.
My nametag in English, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian.
Preparing for a very special visit.
Please support the people in need by giving to these or other humanitarian aid groups.
The JCC in Krakow will be our base of operations when we arrive.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/04/06/world/ukraine-russia-war-news/jewish-center-krakow
Friends,
As many of you know, I am heading to Poland as part of a humanitarian mission with 25 other rabbis. The Hineini mission, as it is being called, is coordinated by Rabbi Jonathan Orenstein, executive director of the Jewish Community Center in Krakow. We will use the JCC in Krakow as our hub and go to the border helping in whichever ways we can.
My primary purpose is to support Ukrainian refugees and bear witness, listening to their stories and learning from them. I will bring these stories back home so we will all remain aware and committed to the ongoing needed support.
We continue to raise funds and supplies. We are approaching 2 tons of aid in our duffel bags and have $500k in financial donations so far.
The Mishkan was built with the donations of those who desired to give. If you are moved to help the refugees, donate to the JCC in Krakow, https://www.friendsofjcckrakow.org/, and let me know so we can add your contributions to the tally. Donations sent to me at Jewish Relationships Initiative will be forwarded to the JCC Krakow or the JDC.
L’Shalom,
Rabbi David Levin
Friends of JCC Krakow is a 501c3.
It is overwhelmingly hard to watch others suffer. This anguish drives some to act, while others feel helpless, turn their heads, and walk away. But this response to inhuman suffering diminishes their humanity by ignoring what they see with their eyes and walking away. None of us can walk away. But what can we do?
I am going to Poland next week. I will bring everything I can muster, my chaplaincy skills, rabbinic skills, and mainly my humanity. I, and my colleagues, will each be carrying bags of supplies-food, clothing, medicine, toiletries. We will do what we can, knowing we cannot stop the suffering but helping those suffering through compassion and empathy. You can help too.
Contribute what you can to the humanitarian organizations on the ground, both here and there. The JCC in Krakow, Poland, Joint Distribution Committee, World Central Kitchen, and Doctors without Borders; are the places I support. Give what you can; the need is great.
I will come home with stories of all kinds, sad and heartbreaking, grateful. I want to share what I learn to help us better understand what is happening there and also to us. It is about humanity and our future. So invite me to your communities to share these stories so we remain aware and committed to helping others in need for their sake and ours.
The United States must be a haven to asylum seekers. People fleeing war and violence must be provided safe harbor here. My people, the Jews, were turned away and the consequences were devastating. 100,000 Ukrainians is a start. The bureaucratic red tape must give way to an open door to give immediate refuge.
We must help those wretched huddled masses yearning to breathe free. This is more than a slogan on the base of a statue, it is the aspiration of our land. We must be color blind, sensitive to the desperate plight of these people whether they come here from the war-torn streets of Ukraine, Honduras, or Guatemala.
If America is the leader of the free world, then President Zelenskiy is correct; we must be the leader of peace.
The preparation continues. Many of us bring duffle bags. It is a beautiful way to deliver needed supplies and an excellent way for a community to come together and help others.
However, please donate money to the humanitarian organizations on the ground. Then they can leverage your money to get more supplies over there. It sounds like the beginning of a joke, but buying wholesale works!
And there are domestic ways to help. Rabbi Shmuley Yaklowitz is assisting refugees in Arizona, and HIAS is helping people too. So, find a way for you to connect meaningfully, and please give.
Thank you for everything so far!
