Rabbinic Reflection: Rabbi Yael Splansky

Joseph’s Cry

Since Canada’s UN vote, Jewish Canadians are reeling.  Here are two recent letters in response – one from ARZA Canada, the Reform Zionist organization and one from the Reform Rabbis of Canada. And here is CIJA’s recent press release in response to the vote.

I urge you to draw inspiration from these resources, to use your own voice, and to write to elected leadership to express your concerns.

This week our Torah scroll is set to the Joseph story.  He was a lone and lowly Israelite in Egypt, a slave who through hard work and with God’s blessing became second-in-command to Pharoah and was responsible for successfully and ethically guiding Egypt out of years of famine.  When he is reunited with his brothers who come down from Israel, “Joseph’s cries were so loud, all of Egypt could hear; his cries were heard in Pharoah’s Palace.” (Genesis 45:2)  

Like Joseph, we live in the Jewish Diaspora, contributing steadfastly to the country we are proud to call home.  And like Joseph, we never forget our strong ties to Israel, our homeland, and to our brothers and sisters who live there.  We are bound to them by the unbreakable bonds of a shared history and a shared future.

Write to our elected leadership now so that our cries can be heard by all of Canada and even in the Palace of Parliament.  Here is the link to reach them:  https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/search?province=ON&fbclid=IwAR34DM1d6-KELrzc_BhsaEGvzdKTIWrw4s9QQVSZ9rfxwCNG6sCox3GOsAM