Thinking Torah Blog

As you may know, I am in Israel at the moment, here for about a week as part of my fellowship with the Shalom Hartman Institute. As expected, being here is incredibly complicated. This is my third trip to Israel since October 7th, and each visit has felt profoundly different.

Right now, the mood in the country is layered. There is a sense of elation following the release of eight hostages, with hopes that more will be freed in the coming days. At the same time, there is deep unease. The release of Palestinian prisoners—many with blood on their hands—has left Israelis wondering: Are they freeing the next Yahya Sinwar, who, after being released in a similar deal for Gilad Shalit in 2011, masterminded the atrocities of October 7th? Even with this painful uncertainty, the vast majority of Israelis support the ceasefire and hostage deal, desperate to bring home the remaining 82 captives, many of whom are already known to be dead. And yet, even recovering their bodies would offer a kind of closure, a chance to begin healing from these horrific months.

As a liberal American Jew studying in Jerusalem, I cannot ignore what is happening just 60 miles away, where Palestinians are returning to the ruins of northern Gaza. The proximity makes the contrast all the more jarring—an emotional landscape of relief and devastation, resilience and grief, trauma and exhaustion. I wish I could say the future is clear, but it is anything but. For now, the ceasefire holds, and the borders are mostly quiet. Still, both Israelis and Palestinians are left wondering what the months and years ahead will bring.

In this week’s Torah portion, Bo, the Israelites in Egypt mark their doorposts with lamb’s blood so that the Angel of Death will pass over them. Here in this land, Israelis and Palestinians have shed more than enough human blood to stain every doorway across the region. Let us pray that the slaughter is over.