As I prepared for Shabbat this week, I was drawn to the wisdom of the late Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z”l. He highlighted two verses from this week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitzei: “Do not despise an Edomite, because he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you were a stranger in his land” (Deuteronomy 23:8). Despite all the suffering the people of Israel endured, the Torah calls us not to remain trapped in hate.
Rabbi Sacks reminded us: “To be free, you have to let go of hate. To answer hate with hate is to be dragged down to the level of your opponent… Hate the sin but not the sinner. Do not forget the past but do not be held captive by it. Learn to love and forgive.” (Rabbi Sacks, Covenant & Conversation, Ki Teitzei, 2014).
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. expressed the same truth when he said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
These words feel particularly relevant and urgent as antisemitism continues to rise in so many corners of the world. Last Friday evening, shortly after Erev Shabbat services began at Central Synagogue in Manhattan, a man entered the synagogue in an act of antisemitic hate: he violently disrupted the service, damaged the Shabbat candlesticks, assaulted a congregant, and attacked a member of the synagogue’s security team.
What happened next was deeply moving. The clergy, security team, and leadership responded immediately with calm, courage, and a restorative sense of sacred purpose. The rabbis created space to acknowledge what had happened, helped the congregation breathe, reignited the Shabbat candles and found the words to respond to the moment. Then the community returned to the spirit of Shabbat. The cantor and musicians continued the music. Rather than allowing an act of hate to define their community or their worship, they reclaimed the sacredness of the moment. They transformed disruption into resilience, fear into courage, and despair into hope. Hatred and violence would not, could not, prevent them from remaining a community who gathers together to welcome Shabbat in joy, prayer, and song.
As word of what had taken place quickly spread around the globe, so too did expressions of support, outreach, and blessing. This is our Jewish way.
Again and again, our tradition calls us not to shrink back in fear, but to stand tall with courage. Judaism urges us to be proud of our Jewish identity, to live openly as Jews, to strengthen community, to reach out in friendship to others beyond ourselves, and to keep choosing life, hope, and love.
This is how we demonstrate courage in difficult times. Courage leads to resilience. Resilience is not simply endurance: it is the ability to transform hardship into strength and to draw from our past in order to keep building our future.
Every Shabbat we celebrate is an act of resilience. Every act of chesed (kindness), every word of Torah, every meal delivered to a neighbor is an act of defiance against hate and a powerful affirmation of life. Every time we speak out for justice, ring a bell for freedom, or raise a hand to volunteer, we turn faith into action and courage into light.
Each of us carries within us the capacity for courage. Sometimes it is bold and visible: standing up for what is right, challenging injustice, protecting the vulnerable. At other times it is quieter: offering compassion, showing up again and again, refusing to give in to despair. Each act, large or small, affirms our commitment to ourselves, to our community, and to the world.
We are Am Yisrael, the People of Israel. For thousands of years we have wrestled with adversity, endured, and thrived. We are proud of who we are, and we will continue to live with strength, resilience, faith, and courage. We will confront hatred, but we will not allow hatred to define us.
As Rabbi Sacks taught, “Acknowledge the evil men do, but stay focused on the good that is in our power to do.” This is our sacred task in this season of reflection and renewal: to rise above hate with love, to transform curses into blessings, and to help redeem the world we share.
May we always have the courage to choose hope over despair, light over darkness, and love over hate.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Sharon L. Sobel