Reb Lisa's Message

Or Chadash, Al Tzion Ta’ir

Let a new light shine over Zion.

May we soon be worthy to share in its radiance.

In these lines from the daily morning liturgy, we pray for three things: light, newness, and the worthiness to experience both.

There is new leadership in Israel. A new light is shining. May we experience the radiance that change brings.

What makes this light particularly radiant is the way in which the change took place. Disparate parties united with a common goal. They vowed to work together.

In a recent New York Times piece, Did Israel Just Have A Constitutional Revolution?, Shmuel Rosner shares an inspiring possibility: "At a time when polarization is such a grave social and political threat, Israel might have awkwardly stumbled into a remedy: an enforced regime of compromise. If this government is a success — as any Israeli would hope — the result may be the civility and consensus we have been waiting for."

Hey global community, take note! This is a hard won lesson for our increasingly polarized world.

Let a new light shine over Zion.

May we soon be worthy to share in its radiance.

May we bask in the radiance that creativity, collaboration, consensus, and compromise bring.

Let a new light shine over humanity.