Rabbinic Reflection: Rabbi Samuel Kaye
My little girl is obsessed with birthdays. Her birthday, of course, but also a birthday for the world, her grandmother, and her classmates. Will there be a cake? What will we put in the goody bags?
Recently she realized that I also have a birthday and asked me what would we be doing!? Of course, I told her.
Walking with Israel.
The annual Walk with Israel is on June 9th this year, which also happens to be my birthday. I’ll channel my inner child for a moment and tell you what I want: to see our Holy Blossom Temple community out in force at the walk.
Many of you know the Walk with Israel far better than I do, last year was my first! I was utterly charmed by the scenic stroll through the neighbourhood, surrounded by people I didn’t know but had everything in common with. Playing a game of identifying flags, banners, organizational logos, and Jewish acronyms helped me get to know Toronto. Excitedly running over to our teenagers, as they passed me speed walking with their schools, kept me busy the entire morning. Even taking my daughter past the angry protesters outside the JCC couldn’t dampen the experience.
Maybe last year was just a standout Walk with Israel, but it was the best possible sales pitch for our greater Toronto Jewish community I could imagine.
This year it is going to be different.
Things are much more serious this year. If you want to walk, you’ll need to pre-register. Security will be higher, and you can’t ‘join in’ halfway through. Either you start at Lawrence Plaza, or you join at the end when we get to the JCC.
That’s not the biggest change though.
This year it’s not just a walk. This is a march. A proud, public, and defiant march up Bathurst Street to let our city know that after a tragic year of loss and fear, we are still here. We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated or threatened, not away from a proud 50+ year tradition, nor from our pride in the Jewish state.
In the words of our prophets. “And each shall sit beneath their own vine, their own fig tree. And none shall make them afraid.” Micah 4:4
You’ll see me beneath the Holy Blossom Banner, at the Shoppers on the West Side of Lawrence Plaza, on the morning of June 9th.
Register for the Walk with Israel Here.
Am Yisrael Chai.
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