by Rabbi Adina Lewittes

A RABBI’S REFLECTIONS IN THE JUDEAN DESERT
By Rabbi Adina Lewittes
Rabbi Adina Lewittes right with her sisters Malka Lewittes left and Lori Lewittes centre
All my life I have been told, and since becoming a rabbi 18 years ago have been telling people
myself, that the Jewish people are one, that we are a single family united by a common past
and a shared destiny. But sermons, campaign slogans and posters came to life for me last
week like never before in a most unlikely place: the remote, empty and sun-soaked trails of
the Judean desert.
For five days my two sisters and I and 80 others hiked up extreme ascents, down treacherous
cliffs and through deep canyons in one of the world's most breathtaking settings, with the Dead
Sea's luscious yet lifeless blue waters keeping watch over us. If you had come upon us in the
desert you would have assumed we were yet another group of North American Jews exploring
our homeland and building ties to Israel through nature, fitness and history. But you would
only be half right. Let me introduce you to some of my fellow hikers.
Tzur had been shot in the head by terrorists and told he would never walk or talk again. He
and his father Oren hiked with us in the advanced group all week. Cheryl's son Daniel was
murdered when serving as a captain in the Israeli Defense Forces as he attempted to arrest
members of a terrorist cell. Ron lost his 17 year-old daughter Tal in 2003 when the bus she
was riding on in Haifa exploded. Ettie's son Edan was killed by terrorists on the last day of the
Second Lebanon War. Mikey takes a month off from work every year to travel with and
supervise a group of young victims of terror who are brought to summer camp in Canada.

The rest of us were mostly from Toronto, a couple from Boston, and me from Bergen County,
NJ. We had come to Israel to embrace these Israelis and share with them and the over 17,000
others whose lives have been changed forever by terrorism the more than $300,000 we had
raised this year for the One Family Fund -- a remarkable organization that provides
psychological, medical, social and recreational support to victims of terrorism and the families
of those murdered (www.onefamilyfund.org). And yes, we had come to hike.
Ironically, our hike got started as 100 kilometers away rockets rained down on Ashkelon and
Ashdod where my brothers-in-law were starting a five-day bike ride in support of disabled IDF
veterans through Beit HaLochem. The theme for this fourth annual Cross Israel Hike,
organized by One Family Canada, was memory -- remembering those who had perished at the
hands of terrorists. Each hiker was given a small picture and bio of someone in whose memory
we were to hike that we were to attach to our backpacks. They were not all strangers. As I
looked through the pile I was struck by a familiar face -- my cousin's (by marriage) brother Ro'i
Arbel who had been killed by snipers driving home from work one evening in 2004. He left his
young wife Hagit and their 1 year-old triplets. I still have his picture clipped onto my pack.
Each day we were out in the desert awed by its rugged beauty, and each night we gathered
under the stars overwhelmed by the rugged courage of our Israeli brothers
and sisters -- listening to their stories, watching home movies of their gorgeous, now dead
children, witnessing their pain and their suffering, their strength and their spirit.
One night the One Family Bereaved Men’s Choir came to sing for us. We gathered on the
mosaic floor of a 1500 year-old synagogue in Ein Gedi, covered only by a canopy blowing in
the desert night wind, to listen to the heartfelt voices of fathers who had buried sons and
daughters murdered because they are Jews living in Israel. How embarrassing to have been
unable to restrain my tears as these fathers found the courage to sing-- to sing!!-- in the wake
of their children's deaths. Speaking to one of them after the concert, he explained to me why
he loves to perform. Not only is singing healing to him, but since his son Ofir no longer has a
voice, he believes that when he sings he brings forth the beautiful and melodious soul of his
child.
The nightly experience of immersing myself in the stories of these parents whose children had
been so violently taken from them was emotionally overwhelming. At some point in the evening
my cell phone would ring and on the other end would be the voice of one of my four precious
children calling from the States to check in, say "I love you" or "I miss you" and promise to call
again the next day. The juxtaposition was humbling, to say the least. How blessed, and how
vulnerable, I felt.
Each night's presentation inevitably ended with profuse thanks from the Israeli participants to
all of us who raised money to enable the One Family Fund to comfort and support them in the
many important ways that they do. It often felt like the awkward stereotypical Jewish story: the
rich cousins from America bring some fruits of our freedom and privilege in the Diaspora to our
struggling cousins in Israel. That is, until I spoke to Cheryl.
After a lengthy conversation during which she told me of her and her husband's decision to
move to Israel from Toronto with their five children now some 20 years ago and of their tragic
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and devastating loss of their son Daniel, I asked her what message she would want me and
my fellow hikers to bring home to our communities in Canada and the U.S. She paused for a
moment, gathered herself, and then calmly said the following: "I am not angry about what
happened to Daniel. I understand that there are responsibilities that come with living in Israel,
one of which is participating in her defense. And along with that comes great risk. But I want
people to know that Daniel didn't serve in the Israeli army and risk and ultimately lose his life
only out of his loyalty to the State of Israel or out of his strong personal convictions." She
looked me straight in the eyes and continued, "He did it for you."
The message that the freedom and security enjoyed by Jews around the world is largely
dependent upon a strong and secure State of Israel is one we have heard many times. And it
is true. Equally important is the strength and vitality of the United States of America to the
wellbeing of Israel. But to have the mother of a murdered soldier stare straight into my eyes
and declare that her son risked and lost his life in part for me -- for my safety and freedom as a
Jew in the Diaspora -- affected me deeply. What I had always known in my head seared its
way into my heart.
When asked to offer some closing remarks that night, I made sure that the expressions of
profound and humbling gratitude from us to all those who not only serve in the IDF but who
build lives, families, careers and communities in Israel were heard loudly and clearly. For
ultimately, what defines a family is not simply the provisions one member supplies to the other.
What defines a family is the sense of responsibility each member feels for the other. We were
there with our sponsorships, our compassion, our commitment and our hiking boots, for which
our Israeli family expressed deep thanks. They were there with their scars, their memories,
their courage and their resolve, for which we expressed immeasurable indebtedness. Kol
Yisrael Arevim Ze Bazeh-- the Jewish people are all responsible one for the other. How tragic
that too often it takes tragedy to remind us all.
At the closing celebration at the end of the hike, we clasped hands and danced to the
irrepressible music and spirit of life. Jews from different backgrounds, countries, religious
philosophies and political orientations all rallied around the singular truth that at the end of the
day, we are One Family.
Perhaps one day humanity will come to recognize that beyond the distinctions of race, religion
and culture we too are one human family, will start to truly accept responsibility for one
another, and will allow such extraordinary organizations like the One Family Fund to shift their
efforts from consoling people in the wake of terror and death to celebrating with people the
beauty and sacredness of life.
Rabbi Adina Lewittes is the founder of Sha’ar Communities in Bergen County,
NJ. www.shaarcommunities.org
For more information on One Family Fund Canada please visit www.onefamilyfund.ca