Annus Horribilis – Farewell

The late Queen Elizabeth II used the phrase Annus Horribilis to describe the events of her life for the year 1992. She was saddened and bereaved because of the discord which resulted in the marital separation of three of her four children, the scandals that ensued therefrom, and the fire that destroyed her beloved home. Yes, she suffered some family tragedies.

So what can we Jews say individually, and collectively to the year 5784? That not a day has gone by since Simchat Torah that has not been filled with grief, shock, and sadness over the losses we suffered in our beloved Eretz Yisrael. We have gone to funerals, to shivas, to visit and assist those who have lost loved ones, those that have been brutally captured, or murdered, or lost as valiant soldiers against our cruel and brutal enemies. And we know fires- we have lost so many homes in the Gaza envelope and now in the north and the Galil.

And what can we say for our families in the Galut? It has been no better. Perhaps we thought our fears would be assuaged here. We believed governments, educational institutions, and police forces would stand firmly and unequivocally with us against the barrage of violence, and hatred that was unleashed. Instead, the rug has been lifted and what lay festering beneath reared its ugly and despicable head. Antisemitism, Anti -Israel actions, on campuses, on city streets, calling for the death of Israel and of Jews. The failure to mourn the brutal capture of innocents. Young students fearful of attending classes, segregation, ostracism of Jewish medical students, city councils reiterating anti-Israel rhetoric and wanting to put them on the record. THIS has been an Annus Horribilis for the Jewish people.

And yet, I wonder what our parents’ generation would say to the pounding we have taken this year ? Those who managed to survive the Shoah, in concentration camps, in the woods as partisans, or in hiding. Those that fought courageously against the Nazis and their collaborators in Allied armies. Those who struggled through the Depression and suffered deprivation. All of whom suffered for far more than one year. If they still lived, we could go to them, “ the greatest generation” and ask them for their counsel. And what would they say to us?

I can only imagine what my father ZL, a Russian Officer who survived the Battle of Leningrad would have said.” Be determined, be relentless, be brave, and fight. There will be sacrifice, there will be deprivation, there will be loss, and it will take time. But ultimately we will be victorious”. So it was for “the greatest generation”. For us Baby Boomers and for our children, we grew up accustomed to instantaneous gratification, financially, economically, and politically. We were witness to the miracle of the Six Day War. But things have changed, in ways which we did not anticipate, and for which we probably bear some responsibility. We must guard ourselves for the difficulties which we will experience both in Israel and in the Galut.

Yet, we have been witness to the unprecedented bravery of our soldiers in Israel. We have seen miraculous episodes in this battle. We have seen the overwhelming generosity of monies, goods and services from both from the citizens of Israel, and the world wide Jewish community pouring into Israel. Suddenly, there has been an awakening among Jews, and our Gentile friends that all is not as it seemed in our Western democracies, and that action must be taken to protect and advocate for Jews and for the State of Israel. We have seen the determination of Jews and our Gentile friends, to fight legally and politically to protect the rights of Jews in Western democracies, to defend the State of Israel in the streets, in the press, and in the courts. And irrespective of what happens on the ground in Israel, this advocacy will not end with the coming of the New Year, only a few days hence.

We too have the opportunity to become “the greatest generation” of Jews. But we must be relentless, generous, brave, and willing to sacrifice. We must accept that there are no quick answers, no immediate solutions. We must look back, and gain strength from those who came before us, and provide us with the example of what true bravery is- what staying the course means, and what it means to be both generous, and determined. Let us hope that generations that come after us should look back at us and say- yes- they too were “the greatest generation”.