I am not that little girl hiding in the cellar!

This is not another Israel moment; this is one of the most consequential Jewish moments of our lifetime.

The enemy wants every Jew in the world to go into hiding: to hide their identity, to take down any Jewish display, and shutter their doors while internally nervous and afraid to be the Jews.

In a conversation made famous in the recent film “Golda,” Golda Meir tells Henry Kissinger:

“When I was a child in Ukraine… my father would board up the windows of our house to protect us from Cossacks who would get drunk and attack Jews. My father would hide us in the cellar… My father’s face, Henry, I will never forget that look. All he wanted to do was to protect his children. I am not that little girl hiding in the cellar!”

Now more than ever, we must not be that girl hiding in a cellar. We must be proud of our faith and lean into it at this defining moment.

We shall hang a Mezuzah on our door and declare that our space is one in which the message of our Creator resides.

We will put on Tefillin, conscripting our emotions and intelligence to the call of the Shema.

We will light Shabbat candles, bringing spiritual and physical light to the world.

Our mission of being a “light unto the nations” will not cower against this invasion of darkness. We will illuminate it and transform it.

Light will win. Light always does. We will spread light, hope, faith, and confidence.

The Israeli Defense Force is incredibly powerful. Better yet, they are protected by “Hashem, the Lord of all Armies.” We support them in their mission, and we pray for their success.

They are fighting for the Jewish people, and thus we commit to strengthening our Jewish connection.

So:

Be more Jewish. Do another Mitzvah. Light another candle. Every Jewish home is another point of light. Add your Mitzvah to a Million Mitzvas for Israel at https://onemitzvah.org/israel/chabad-sw-portland
Pray for the success of our defenders and support them in every way you can. They are the Maccabees heroically defending our peoplehood with their very lives.
Give Tzedakah. There are so many ways to support the people of Israel right now. One way is https://charidy.com/united4israel