Az Nashir: Echoes of Eicha-
Reflections on the Unfolding of Redemption

Just one Shabbos and we'll all be free? Trump announced this week that American Jews should celebrate a national Shabbat, from sundown on May 15th to nightfall on May 16th, in honor of 250 years of American independence and the contributions of the American Jewish community. The first time I heard this, I found it absolutely bizarre. Hold up, now Trump is trying to get Jews to keep Shabbat? What is that actually about? And like with most things Trump does, I don't fully under

In Israel today, the air tastes wild, like wood ash and melted plastic. The smell lingers on your clothes, in your hair, on your skin. We walk around hungover from whatever is coming next- we watched the children scurry around last night as they celebrated lag baomer, fire reflecting on their faces. We encouraged them to be free while we still could. Go to that party. One more marshmallow. One last dance. We hear the planes thundering overhead in anger. The news shouting at u

There’s a story London keeps telling itself about its Jews. There have been periods of antisemitism and exile. There have also been periods of safe haven and prosperity. After a spate of antisemitic events in the last few months, yesterday, two Jews were stabbed on the street in Golders Green. It happened 300 yards away from where the Hatzalah Ambulances were burned earlier this month. A Somali-born UK national stabbed Moshe Shine, 76, in his throat, and managed to stab Shilo

Here is what people don't understand about living in Israel: Often people assume that living here is just the experience of living in a warzone: violence, fear, stress, and ugliness. I'm not going to pretend that it never exists- we do contend with that from time to time, as you very well know. Additionally, people think that Israeli resilience is just ignoring whats happening when things are not good. But its not that we ignore it- its that we make other choices to focus on

It's been happening slowly through the years, but now, with the loss of Dr. Edith Eger, it feels like we are on the precipice of a new era. A time when the survivors who lived through the atrocities of the Holocaust will no longer be among us in the land of the living. Their first-hand testimony has sometimes been lost to history. Sometimes it was meticulously recorded. Other times, it was burned into the memories and DNA of their loved ones. But with the loss of this generat

The siren rolls in like an avalanche. The wailing fills the streets, so loud it buzzes inside my ears. I can’t see my neighbors, but I know, wherever they are, they are listening too. Past my city, the entire country stands still. There is no one who doesn’t hear this cry. The sound builds quickly and I feel my knees weaken and my spine straighten as I stand in respect. It’s too much. Too many faces in my mind. Too many names on my lips. I don’t know if I breathe through the

The national narrative we have about sacrifice for the sake of our land barely scratches the surface of the grief that lives here, too. The general population weaves in between the soldiers' names released for publication, the terror attacks, and their victims, citizens who have been killed in our existential wars. We are all just a few degrees away from someone: a friend's brother-in-law, someone your husband used to daven with in shul, a kid you watched grow up. Someone you

Here is what people don't understand about the Jewish connection to the land of Israel: When we read our ancient, unchanging texts, they take place in this land. The cities carry many of the same names, and the geography plays a role in the stories of our people. When we think about our matriarchs and patriarchs, we can perfectly envision their environments, because it's the same as our own. The same rolling hills with craggy rocks and vineyards. Sheep with their shepherds on

Here is a message to antisemites who blame Israel for the world's evils on Yom Hashoah: You are ignoring the lessons of the Holocaust. You are ignoring the dangers of extremism, polarization, and dehumanization. The fact that rhetoric can turn into violence, which can lead to genocide. That monsters don't have to have fangs and claws, but can appear to be liberal, cultured people. That you can study literature, science, and psychology, and still carry disgust, abhorrence, and

We’re facing Yom Hashoah as we are waiting for the war to restart, here in Israel. The sun is beginning to set and we’re driving on the highway on the way home. We’re being escorted by flags lining the road, in a display of national pride. Tis the season but it feels strange this year. The thing is for many of us, it’s so hard to have the bandwidth this year to bring our attention to the pain and suffering of the past. Because it hasn’t stayed in the past. We are full swing i