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Our hearts are heavy with grief as we move into this Shabbat. The recovery of the bodies of six hostages over the weekend, murdered at the prime of their lives, brought with it a fresh round of mourning in the ongoing collective grief since October 7. At the same time we hold on to sorrow, we are inspired by the families of hostages who have taught us so much about responding to tragedy by taking action, building community, and bringing people together to work for the greater good. Amid their pain they have continued to advocate for the lives of hostages and limit the damage to innocent civilians in Gaza.

During this week of loss, we began the new Hebrew month of Elul, the month leading to the High Holy Days. In this sacred season of reflection, may we work together to bring true repair to our broken world.

I look forward to spending time with you during this month of Elul and during the High Holy Day season. We hope you will join us this evening at 7:30 pm for our Shabbat service in-person at TBO and streamed online, led by Vicki Schwartz and Shoshana Stombaugh.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Kort