This past Sunday, my three sons were excited to share a special day with me. It was Fathers' Day. We started with cards and pancakes. Then we made our way to the beach.
As my three sons built sand castles and gathered sea shells, my thoughts were with Eyal, Naftali, and Gilad. My sons stood on the beach ready to share smiles and joy. But, I could not bring myself to enjoy their innocence. Each laugh and shout with glee caused me to think of Eyal, Naftali, and Gilad, and their families.
Later that night my wife observed that I wasn't fully present during our family time. I told her: "Three boys-- just like ours; they could have been ours."
Then my wife corrected me, and with her correction I recognized why we all feel such anguish. My wife reminded me, "It is not that they could have been ours. They are ours." She was right. They are ours. They are our boys. Bring back our boys.
Throughout the course of the week, like many of you, it has been hard to think of anything else except our boys. Eyal, Naftali, and Gilad. Their pictures have been swirling around in my thoughts; such sweet pictures teeming with innocence and youth.
But, now in addition to their picture, the picture of our boys, my thoughts have been littered with visions of other pictures. We have all seen them. Pictures of indoctrinated Palestinian children swept up in a culture hate. Their innocence and humanity compromised by a gesture of their hand. These children all are holding up three fingers. A sign designed to celebrate the kidnappings of our three boys; frightening displays of a radicalized society and their embrace of hate. Ironically, this three fingered salute of hate made me think of another very different hand signal.
Several weeks ago on Shabbat we read of the Preistly Blessing, Birkat Cohanim. Its words have been recited in our synagogues and at our Shabbat tables for thousands of years. And the words of this blessing are accompanied by a hand gesture. About it our tradition teaches that when the Cohanim recite this prayer they keep several of their fingers apart to create conduits for the holy light of God.
During a week that we have seen a three fingered salute -- callous and cruel; a deranged celebration of the suffering of our boys. My prayer is that the hateful salute of three can be stretched into the holy sign of our Birkat Cohanim. The hateful salute of three requires one to bend over two fingers closing a portion of the hand. And it requires one to fully close their heart to the humanity of our boys. The hand gesture of Birkat Cohanim, in contrast, requires fully open hands, and even more importantly an open heart.
May we all soon see a world with the hands of Birkat Cohanim-- with open hands and hearts, moving from darkness and evil to light and godliness. May we all -- Palestinian, Israeli, American, European, Jew, Christian, and Muslim restore the world from dark evil to holy light. It is a small shift of the muscles in the hand, but it requires a transformation of the soul.
While this societal transformation does not seem likely today, or even likely in our lifetime. The path from hate to holiness begins with Eyal, Naftali, and Gilad. Our boys. Bring back our boys.
Let us pray that in a coming Shabbat that Eyal, Naftali, and Gilad's parents have the chance to gather around a Shabbat table and off the words of Birkat Cohanim as a blessing over our boys. Until then:
May God guard over our boys and bless them.
May God show them favor and help them hold onto the light of hope.
May the light of Godliness fill their beings, bringing them peace and bringing our boys home.
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