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Adina Frydman

Coming Home

Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher, Romi Gonen
Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher, Romi Gonen

As I sit in my comfortable El AL airplane seat, counting down the hours of my arrival to my second home, Israel, it is also hours from the release of the first three hostages, Romi, Emily and Doron. For them it will be a different homecoming.

For me, I will travel from Ben Gurion airport to my hotel, where I will recover from mild jet lag after a few hours of sleep. For them, they will be brought back in cars over the very border they were taken hostage 15 months ago. They will be examined for signs of physical, mental, and emotional trauma, reunite with their families, and then spend the rest of their lives recovering and healing.

But still, we will both be finally home.

As a Jew currently living in the diaspora, the experience of coming back to Israel, is a deeply emotional one. From the minute I step on the plane I feel my heartbeat hasten and my anticipation grow as I get closer and closer. As the wheels touch the tarmac, I feel overtaken with emotion and shed a few tears. And that first breath I take when I step out of Ben Gurion and roll down my window in the taxi, I know I am home.

In this week’s parsha, Va’eira, we start with God hearing the cries of the people and remembering his covenant.

וְגַ֣ם | אֲנִ֣י שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי אֶת־נַֽאֲקַת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִצְרַ֖יִם מַֽעֲבִדִ֣ים אֹתָ֑ם וָֽאֶזְכֹּ֖ר אֶת־בְּרִיתִֽי

I have also heard the Israelites’ groaning, complaining that the Egyptians are enslaving them, and I have recalled My covenant.

And what is this covenant? To redeem them and to bring them home.

Regardless of the extent to which Torah is present in your daily lives, it is impossible not to notice the alignment to our present-day events with the parshiot in the coming weeks leading up to the Israelites ultimate Exodus from Mitzrayim and eventual arrival to the Promised Land. Obviously, the analogy ends there. But, for the hostage families, all Israelis, and Jews around the world, the days and weeks to come will be filled with emotion and angst. For while we believe some of the hostages are coming home, we don’t know for certain, and we don’t know whether they will be dead or alive. We are also keenly aware of the price we are paying for each life. Over 1900 prisoners will be released in this exchange. And yet, without a negotiation and ceasefire, the bloodshed, of both Israelis and Palestinians, will not end.

When our kids were little and they had tantrums, we would look at them and say, “we don’t negotiate with terrorists.” Of course, this was long before any of this transpired and they understood the idea of a real terrorist, and the harsh reality that sometimes we do negotiate, because if we don’t, the price we will pay is simply too big.

It is much more complicated than that, as many of us know. The question of what a life is worth? Why does it seem that Jews value Jewish life so much more than Palestinians value Palestinian life? The ratios in the prisoner/hostage exchange show that clearly. I think about the young men and women who are making the commitment today to serve in the Israeli army knowing that it is a calculated risk, a risk for their country. How much strength does it give them to know that Israel will not abandon them. With each hostage that is returned there is a boost to morale, a morale that creates resiliency and the courage to remain on the front lines. Let us never forget that it is on their backs that we continue to have a place to call home.

As Chaim Weizman famously said and then Nathan Alterman turned into the famous poem, we all know, “A state is not handed down on a silver platter.”

Thank you to all those responsible for maintaining and perfecting our precious Israel, that we have the privilege to call home.

About the Author
Adina H. Frydman is the CEO of Young Judaea Global. Having spent 12 years at UJA-Federation of New York, first spearheading the synagogue department, SYNERGY and then as executive director of Community Resources, Adina focused on strengthening the NY Jewish community and its organizations through Talent Development, Synagogue and Day School Initiatives, Community Volunteerism, and Crisis Mobilization. In addition, she contributed to thought leadership in the area of synagogue change by producing leading research in areas such as Voluntary Dues, Data Driven Decision Making, Synagogue Engagement of Young Adults, Russian Speaking Jews, and Empty Nesters, as well as developing key attributes for a thriving synagogue. Before coming to New York in 2008, Adina was the Director of Focus Israel at the St. Louis Jewish Federation, where she worked to foster engagement between synagogues and Israel. In addition, Adina received a Bachelor of Music from Stetson University and Cantorial Investiture from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute for Religion. Adina founded the music program at the Brandeis Institute for Music and Art (BIMA), directed several choirs through HaZamir: The International Jewish Teen Choir. Adina is the proud mother of four children.
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