Leo Baeck Temple

“When Words Run Out,” a message from Rabbi Ken Chasen this morning following the devastating news of last night:

Dear friends,

For 331 days, we have walked with each other along a road of horror, anger, dread, compassion, outrage, and repeatedly dashed hopes. For the great majority of us, who are not old enough to have lived through the era of the Shoah, it has been the hardest walk of our lives as members of the Jewish community.

The news from last night, detailing the circumstances of the deaths of Israeli hostages Ori Danino, Carmel G*t, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Eden Yerushalmi, has summoned a collective outcry from across the world. The Secretary-General of the United Nations has called for the unconditional release of the remaining hostages languishing in captivity under the grip of Hamas and an end to the war in Gaza. And yet it has become difficult to allow ourselves to believe in such outcomes, desperate as we are to protect our souls amid the unrelenting cynicism and evil that has permitted the agony to continue for so long.

If you are finding yourself at a loss for words on this day, I encourage you to sit with the discomfort of the silence. This is a silence that will enable us to grieve the unimaginable loss of life we have witnessed for nearly a year, to feel the weight of each world shattered by the death of each innocent soul, to hold the pain of all the brokenness and destruction, and to join our hearts with the families of the hostages, both living and dead, who will endure an unfathomable kind of suffering for the remainder of their days. Sometimes, the silence is where we need to reside.

And from within that silence, let our prayers be joined with those all over the world for an end to the madness, for the reuniting of families, for the opportunity of loved ones to grieve their dead, and for the Israeli and Palestinian peoples someday to be able once again to rebuild the broken dream of living in peace.

Oseh shalom bim’romav, hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu, v’al kol Yisrael, v’al kol yoshvei tevel, v’imru: Amen.

May the One who makes peace in the highest places renew our determination to build peace – for us, for all the People Israel, and for all who dwell on Earth, and let us say: Amen.

And….we’re back! So much fun to begin a new school year with Religious School Welcome Back Shabbat! Can’t wait for another year of learning and community.

LBTers came together to by sending 450 postcards to encourage voters to safeguard reproductive freedom in Florida.

Rabbi Chasen and Cantor Kates spent a few days together in Portugal!

Our LBT squad is ready for !

Mazel Tov Rabbi Julia Berg and Rabbi Max Antman on their Rabbinic ordination today. We have been blessed to have them as our Leo Baeck Temple Rabbinic interns this year!