This week was loaded with ironies. Today marks the end of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. Sadly, in Israel, instead of celebrating the miracle of the oil and the light that lasted 8 nights, we have been praying during and in the aftermath of Her worst forest fire, that ravaged 12,300 acres of land, for the flames to be extinguished.
Israel is usually the very first country to respond to other nations like the United States, Kenya, Haiti, Turkey, Thailand and a host of other places when they face disasters; both natural and human made. Israel found itself in the strange and compromising place of requesting help from its neighbors and allies to speedily extinguish this fire.
Countries including Bulgaria, Turkey, the United States, Egypt, Great Britain, France, Jordan, Russia, Romania, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Spain and Greece (the first country to respond and ironically- the very country that battles the Maccabees and destroyed the Temple in 165 BCE during the very holiday we were commemorating and celebrating), responded with fire fighters, materials, financial and personnel support. Even the Palistinian Authority provided some support.
These countries - some staunch allies and some with strained relationships - came to Israel's aid immediately and without question. Some of these nations share borders with Israel and others are more than 5,000 miles away. However, when Israel is engaged in a military conflict or one of its soldiers is taken captive and his whereabouts is not known, like in the case of Gilad Shalit, most of these countries that ran to help with the fire are silent making Israel feel lonely and often, abandoned.
In this week's Torah portion of Vayiggash, the very brothers that sought to throw Joseph in a pit and eventually sell him to slavery for his haughtiness and arrogance pleaded with him for their lives and safety when they were reunited with their brother, not knowing he was the viceroy in Pharaoh's empire. With deep humility Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and with open arms and no grudges.
The world can sometimes be an ironic place where Tuesday's wishes are Thursday's forgotten requests. Just today I heard two songs, one after the next that stoked this theme for me further. The first was in Hebrew and it is called Eyn Lee Eretz Acheret - written about 20 years ago it translates to, I have no other country, even when my country is in flames. The second was a song titled, Ironic by Alanis Morisette. It speaks of receiving the things we want but not in time to need or appreciate them.
Perhaps our lesson for this week and holiday is to thank God for our gifts this Hanukkah; of life, health and friendship and to realize our role in helping those in need so that should we find ourselves in the ironic situation of needing the favor returned, we never have to wait to learn the verdict.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David Kirshner
