Shabbat Shalom,

With Harris traveling, he asked me to share a few words for this week's Shabbat message.

It felt strange to celebrate Purim this year. We are called to embody the spirit of Adar — a month of abundant joy — even as our family and friends in Israel shelter in safe rooms and bomb shelters. And yet, the celebrations carried on.

My brother-in-law in Israel organized a megillah reading in his apartment for the family. Another friend shared photos of the decorations and treats she and her children made during yet another night spent in their safe room, grasping for some semblance of normalcy. As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote, “The people that can know the full darkness of history and yet rejoice is a people whose spirit no power on earth can ever break.”

We know how difficult it can be to be Jewish right now, and yet we still gather and celebrate. As we read in the Megillah this week, in the face of great threat to the Jewish people, Mordechai says, “Go, assemble all the Jews” (Esther 4:16).

Rising antisemitism, turmoil at home and in Israel, and uncertainty about so much we hold dear as Americans — the weight of it all is real. We are exhausted. We may not know what the future holds. And yet, once again, we read the story of a time far darker for our people — a time when community overcame evil. With real and palpable fear in the air, all the more reason we must gather together and find unity despite our differences.

My hope for our entire community is this: that even amid the chaos, you can find an ounce of joy, a sliver of blessing, a morsel of gratitude — and remember that part of our activism, too, is making time to rejoice and celebrate.

Shabbat Shalom, 
Stephanie Hague 
Chief Strategy Officer