I had cued up a newsletter for today that was, on its surface, about me getting attached to a particular Ken doll—later revealing that the article was also about how much I'll miss Emmett when he goes to college (in 1.75 years). I couldn't put that newsletter here. Not today. There's too much else going on. And, to ignore what's going on feels wrong.
💙rB
Beloved,
This is not the article Jenn, my editor, proofread last week.
(Please excuse typos.)
—–
Israel is at war, and I’m a Jew, a rabbi, no less.
It’s something like what my buddy James, who decided to leave LA gang life while in prison, learned.
There was only one problem: former members of his own and current members of other gangs didn’t all instantly understand.
I’m in this. That’s just how it is.
I don’t like feeling scared because I’m wearing my hat.
And, I’m too scared of what it would mean if I stopped.
—–
Please, do me a favor.
Please listen compassionately to people who say, “I know what they should be doing.”
My friend Rosa works in the governor’s office.
Rosa says, “If there were a simple solution, the issue wouldn’t be at the governor’s office.”
Anyone telling you they have a solution to what’s going on in the Middle East is projecting both their desire for easy answers and their fantasy they have some magic to cause it to happen.
Be compassionate.
They are scared.
—–
Many Jews have just watched our mental “threat level until the Jews are blamed” clocks advance.
We hear a large wave of anti-Semitism off in the distance.
How far from here?
I don’t know.
I’ve been having some difficulty concentrating these past days.
Intergenerational trauma (and trauma responses) are real.
—–
My buddy Al is wise.
He said this about now:
Put another way:
We are uncomfortable with what is happening.
And we can’t keep the evil from hurting so many.
This might not be a good week to start a new diet.
Just saying.
—–
I send you peace, beloved.
-💙rB
