Message from BBYO HQ

Dear BBYO Community,

The news emerging from Israel brings with it a mixture of emotions: hope, anticipation, and uncertainty. It seems that at any moment, Israel and Hamas may embark on a new chapter, one in which, at the very least, the living hostages will be returned to the warm embrace of their families and friends. We hope that a ceasefire will open the door to something lasting and peaceful.

This moment comes in the shadow of ongoing pain; from the horrific attack at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, to the steady stream of antisemitism we have faced over the past months and years. On the surface, this should be a time of joy, a turning of the page. But we all know differently. Since the days of Tanakh, we have learned that joy and hope must walk hand in hand with comfort, reflection, and healing.

The Book of Eicha (Lamentations), read on Tisha B’Av, ends with the words “Chadesh yameinu k’kedem” renew our days as they were long ago. But perhaps this phrase can also mean renew our days as they were renewed once before. Each moment of renewal in Jewish history, after Egypt, after the destruction of Jerusalem, after exile, after the Inquisition, and after the Shoah - was not immediate joy, but a process of coming together, of collective care and courage.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of Hersh z”l, reminds us that repair is possible even if wholeness is not. Healing does not mean forgetting, it means holding each other through pain and allowing joy to coexist with memory.

When we bless the wine on Sukkot and Simchat Torah, we say “zman simchateinu, mikra kodesh, zecher l’yetziat mitzrayim”  a time of joy, a sacred gathering, a remembrance of our Exodus from Egypt. Even in our happiest moments, we recall our hardest journeys. On Sukkot, we sit together in fragile, leaky sukkot - uncomfortable perhaps, but together. That is what makes it joyous.

As we pray for the hostages’ safe return and for peace to take root, let us also allow ourselves to feel everything this moment holds: relief, pain, exhaustion, and hope. Let us comfort one another, dance when we can, cry when we must, and continue to build community through it all.

Today, Israel experienced the first rain of the season: the yoreh, a sign of new beginnings and growth after a long, dry summer.

Chadesh yameinu k’kedem.May our days be renewed, as they have been time and again, with strength, peace, and healing.