Standing Strong

This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant between Me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations....
–Genesis 17:10-12

כשם שנכנס לברית כן יכנס לתורה ולחופה ולמעשים טובים
In the manner that he entered the brit, so shall he enter for Torah (learning and knowledge) the marriage ceremony, and the performance of good deeds.
–From the circumcision ceremony

A person, closely related to me, recently had a baby boy. While the birth was not a surprise – the mother was, after all, 41 weeks pregnant and I had known about the pregnancy for about 30 or so of those weeks – I was taken aback by my reaction, in that I barely had one. However, about an hour after receiving the news, overtaken by utter exhaustion, I found that my face was soaked with tears, but with no memory of having shed them. By evening of that day, many wonderful people, having heard our joyous news, sent me messages, via email, WhatsApp, messenger, of congratulations. I just stared at them, too tired to respond. 

I have no real explanation for that (lack of) response. Of course, not sleeping more than four or five hours a night for the past I have no idea how long might have had something to do with it, but it was more than that. I think it was an utter depletion of reserves—one emotion too many (in this case, joy) just took me over the edge. That joy had stiff competition: grief, anger, rage, worry, fear, confusion, pride, honor, more grief were all battling for attention inside of me. The joy just had to wait its turn. 

The next day, we went to visit that baby and his parents at the hospital that is situated much closer to the Front. On the way, a siren sounded, and we were forced to pull over, jump out of the car and crouch in a ditch next to the highway. Thankfully, (miraculously) Iron Dome shot the rocket down, more or less above our heads. We were saved. Again. While it was the ultimate Israeli experience, it did not fill me with joy. 

The white speck is the explosion

A week later, we ventured out again, this time for a brit milah, the ancient Covenant of Abraham. For days before, there were discussions who from the family was going to come. One person in reserves was very confident he would get out of the army for the day (he did), but another, serving much farther away would not know until the last minute if he could get out (he couldn't). Some people were nervous of getting caught in a rocket attack as we did the week before, and still others were scared there wouldn't be room in a safe area in case of an attack at the event itself. 

Nonetheless, the brit was planned, cookies were baked, and whoever would come, well, they would be welcome. 

When we arrived, most of the components necessary for a brit milah were in place: a stack of prayer books on a shelf; a special chair (known as the Chair of the Prophet Eliyahu) on which the Godfather (no relation to Marlon) sits holding the baby for the ceremony; tables and chairs for the meal, food (so much food!!) the mother and the father; family and close friends; and one very small baby sleeping peacefully. The Mohel (the person who actually performs the procedure) had not yet arrived.

There were also the components that made the brit so Israeli: guests from across the country; the sound of a half dozen different accents all speaking Hebrew; guests who came late; guests wearing jeans and T-shirts (which, it was proudly proclaimed, were clean!); guests wearing high heels; guests arriving laden with plates of vegetables, salads, a pot of soup, and date cookies; and about 20 million children under the age of ten. 

In addition, to make it so very special, at this brit were the components that made sure nobody could forget we were at war; a safe room, which usually serves as the children's bedroom, that had been emptied out of all the beds and toys so that there would be enough room for the guests in case of a siren indicating a rocket attack; a guest (who also happens to be closely related to me), released from the army for the day so that he could celebrate his nephew's brit, who arrived with his wife, four small children, and a very big gun; another guest in army uniform who arrived directly from his base; and F-16s continually screaming over our heads. 

An F16

The ceremony proceeded; the baby cried, I cried, pictures were taken, and a name was given. 

Full as I still was with so many competing emotions, I couldn't actually choke down any of the amazing food that was served, but at the table after, I found myself sitting next to the soldier who had come directly from his base, still dressed in his uniform. He and the father had been in pre-army Yeshiva together. "Where are you based?" I asked him, an unfortunately far too normal question. "I'm in the Rabbanut", he answered, "We're now in Ramle".  I looked at him. "Oh", I said. He nodded, "Oh."

(In normal times, the Army Rabbanut oversees the kashrut at the bases, organizes holiday meals and prayers, and other similar religious duties. These days, the army Rabbanut is the primary institution responsible for the identification and preparation of bodies for burial. They have been working non-stop for 40 days and are just over half done.)

There was yet another soldier at the brit, also a close relative of the baby, but not of mine. He didn't come in uniform, and he didn't have a gun. Rather, he is in a distinguished Intelligence unit, and has also been working non-stop, even if it's in an air-conditioned room. 

And I sat there, counting on my fingers if I had celebrated more brit mila ceremonies of direct descendants or experienced more wars. It's a close race. 

The ceremony of the brit milah is a symbol of the covenant – or contractual agreement, if you will – between God and our Forefather Abraham. God promised Abraham two things: 1. that from Abraham would come a great nation (And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you will be a blessing [Genesis 12:2]), and 2. that He would give the Land (of Canaan) as a possession to that nation (And the LORD appeared unto Abram and said: 'Unto your seed will I give this land' [Genesis 12:7]). On his part, Abraham, and his descendants (us), (have) promised to circumcise his (our) sons and keep the commandments and honor the Land. 

I know that, despite what has happened and what is happening to our People and to our Land (and to our people outside the Land), the Nation of Israel is more united, stronger, and more blessed that it was before, and that soon, joy will once again be in the forefront. 

We are an eternal people with an eternal Covenant and we will stand strong.  

And if you could spare a moment, pray; for our Country and Nation, our holy soldiers, and for our hostages, may they all return safely and quickly. 

Amen.