Just last week, with only words to assume action, a prayer was released by the Israeli Masorti (Conservative) Movement, noting זמן שמחתנו the "time of our rejoicing," a name for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, and praying in thanks to God for seeing to the release of Gilad Shalit, praying for his healing and success, and asking for continued calm and nonviolence in the region.
The Release of Gilad Shalit: A Prayer of Thanks
Posted on Oct 12, 2011
We pray for the opportunity in coming days to recite this tefillah created by our Masorti Movement in Israel:
תפילת הודיה
על שחרורו של גלעד בן אביבה ונעם שליט
אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְאִמּוֹתֵינוּ, בְּיוֹם גָּדוֹל וְקָדוֹשׁ זֶה, זְמַן שִׂמְחָתֵנוּ, אָנוּ נוֹשְׂאִים לְבָבֵנוּ אֶל כַּפַּיִם אֶל אֵל בַּשָּׁמַיִם בְּגִילָה וּבְשִׂמְחָה בִּרְעָדָה וּבְהוֹדָיָה עַל חַסְדְךָ הַגָּדוֹל שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ עִם גִּלְעַד בֶּן אֲבִיבָה וְנֹעַם שֶׁהֲשִׁיבוֹתוֹ בְּשָׁלוֹם מִשִׁבְיוֹ לְמִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ וּלְאַרְצוֹ וּלְעַמּוֹ בִּדְּמֵי חַיָּיו.
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ, יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְאִמּוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁבְּיוֹם זֶה וּבְכָל הַיָּמִים הַבָּאִים יֵדַע הַשָׁבוּי שֶׁנִּפְדָה שִׂמְחָה בַּלֵּב וְשַׁלְוָה בַּנֶּפֶשׁ וְהַצְלָחָה בְּכָל מַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו, יַחַד עִם אִמּוֹ וְאָבִיו, עִם אֶחָיו וְעִם כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל.
רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָמִים, אֵל שִׂמְחַת גִּילֵנוּ, יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ שֶׁעֵקֶב פִּדְיוֹנוֹ לֹא יְאֻנֶּה כָּל פֶּגַע אוֹ רָעָה לִבְנֵי עַמֶּך לֹא בַּשָּׁנָה הַזֹּאת וְלֹא בְּכָל הַשָּׁנִים הַבָּאוֹת עָלֵינוּ לְטוֹבָה, אֶלָּא בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים פְּרוֹשׂ עָלֵינוּ סֻכַּת רַחֲמִים וְחַיִּים וְשָׁלוֹם.
וְכֵן יְהִי רָצוֹן וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן.
Our God and God of our ancestors, on this great and holy day, the season of our rejoicing, we raise our hearts to God in heaven in joy, happiness, trembling and thanksgiving for the great kindness that You have shown Gilad the son of Aviva and Noam Schalit that You have restored him safely from his place of capture to his family, his country and his people. May it be Your pleasure, God and God of our ancestors, that this day and in the future the redeemed prisoner may know joy in his heart, peace of mind and success in all his endeavors together with all his family and all Israel his brethren. Sovereign of the Universe, God of our exultation, may it be Your pleasure that this redemption not bring in its wake any harm or mishap to Your people, neither this year not in years to come; but in Your great compassion spread over us the sukkah of compassion, life and peace. May this be Your pleasure and let us respond Amen.
I found the prayer personally meaningful, especially as I continue looking to Israel a focal point in addressing the future of Jewish life (especially secular Jewish life). There is something very powerful about the ability to apply ancient techniques and language in a contemporary relevant setting. Yet, for all the politics of the prisoner swap deal, and balancing the positives and negatives, the prayer failed to provide an optimism of further dialogue between sides in the conflict. While a religious resource like this could offer sincere language of hope for a peaceful future, the prayer was tempered by political realities.
In my experience, now living in Boston, America, and more specifically, American Jews have a hard time relating to the cultural affection that much of Israel has developed towards Gilad Shalit. While following media regarding the swap, I couldn't help but notice the language just in his name. American and international sites call him Sergeant Shalit, framing his life as an abducted soldier, and being fought for by his campaign managers, Noam and Aviva. Alternatively, Israeli sites, and the Israeli reading is informal and personal. Gilad Shalit, the young boy who, as all loyal Israelis do, served in the army and was kidnapped, is begged for daily in a tent outside of the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem by his family.
Take another example. In this footage, still less than 24 hours old, and meant to be the first footage of Gilad since video proof of his vitality in 2009, the official IDF Spokespersons Unit tries to formalize his return. He's wearing a freshly pressed uniform, and saluting military and political officials. And yet, Bibi the impersonal Prime Minister doesn't salute Gilad, he hugs Gilad. Then Benny Gantz, the Chief of Staff, salutes and offers the same gesture.
Who hugs a soldier? Family.
The New York Times tried to explain the Israeli attachment to Gilad as a product of a society where public and private matters are blurred and people depend on one another like family, while trying to establish a community of shared values. Certainly, if one follows the narrative of Israelis (as the narrative goes, Jewish Israelis) living in the face of constant existential and violent threats, strength would naturally be found in number.
I think far more credit is owed to the Shalit's for translating their emotional loss and longing into a social movement. How did they do it? How could it be that thousands lined the streets of Mitzpe Hila, Gilad's hometown, waving flags and popping champagne bottles, singing עם ישראל חי (the nation of Israel lives) and כל העולם כלו (all the world [is a very narrow bridge, and the important thing is to not be afraid]) to welcome back a total stranger? I would argue by the way the Shalits shared their grief and personalized the incompleteness of their family. Bumper stickers and posters with Gilad's digitized handwriting line bumpers and highway bridges around the country. A silhouette of his young face, not in military greens, but in blue and white, wave from the southern tip of Eilat, to Judean hills, to the coastal strips along the Mediterranean, to the Lebanese border in the Galilee. Protests, moments of silence, and marches were continuous efforts to show collective solidarity, compassion, and memory (I was at the protest tent on Gilad's 1000th day in captivity, and tv channels placed tickers counting his time on their screens). It would appear that while Gilad was captured before the public release of Facebook, his forged profile garnered him a great many friends.
But with this social and public protest for action, there was also a significant showing of media. International sources found Shalit's release to be particularly appealing to worldwide audiences. How did people connect to the story? Was it their interest in seeing the release of Palestinians? Was it an ethical analysis?
In Religious School today, my 7th grade class debated whether or not to negotiate for Shalit's freedom using the terms of the approved plan (they didn't know the plan was approved or the outcome of it). We first discussed who we are obligated to in our lives. Who is our priority? What are we responsible for Jewishly? Then we studied some texts in the corpus of Jewish law, from the Shulkan Aruch to the Mishna and Gemmarah, addressing the concept of פדיון שבויים, or Redeeming Captives. One text states that every moment not spent redeeming a captive results in spilled blood, while another argues never to exchange a greater value than the captive is worth. The practical application of these views is disputed, but often returned to when discussing prisoner swaps in Israel. Students debated for and against Shalit's release. One would argue for example that releasing criminals and terrorists, especially those responsible for murdering others, would increase violence and unrest. Another would respond with the argument that I think defined the Shalit movement, and confused outsiders to Israeli society (like the NY Times) because of the lack of "emotional distance": what if he was your son? I concluded the class asking the students to reflect and write personally about what they learned, how they would value Gilad and why they think he is so important in Israeli society. I did not ask them what they would do.
In Religious School today, my 7th grade class debated whether or not to negotiate for Shalit's freedom using the terms of the approved plan (they didn't know the plan was approved or the outcome of it). We first discussed who we are obligated to in our lives. Who is our priority? What are we responsible for Jewishly? Then we studied some texts in the corpus of Jewish law, from the Shulkan Aruch to the Mishna and Gemmarah, addressing the concept of פדיון שבויים, or Redeeming Captives. One text states that every moment not spent redeeming a captive results in spilled blood, while another argues never to exchange a greater value than the captive is worth. The practical application of these views is disputed, but often returned to when discussing prisoner swaps in Israel. Students debated for and against Shalit's release. One would argue for example that releasing criminals and terrorists, especially those responsible for murdering others, would increase violence and unrest. Another would respond with the argument that I think defined the Shalit movement, and confused outsiders to Israeli society (like the NY Times) because of the lack of "emotional distance": what if he was your son? I concluded the class asking the students to reflect and write personally about what they learned, how they would value Gilad and why they think he is so important in Israeli society. I did not ask them what they would do.
At this point of reflection and reinterpretation of tradition in Jewish liturgy, Jews have just completed ten days of apologizing for actions and thoughts identified as wrong, either within, without, or with others. We now continue to physically express our willingness to submit to the unknown [will of God] by living and eating in eBay purchased wooden huts, rocked by wind and rain, minimally insulated, and, aside from a convenient site to host social events, irrelevant in practicality. No one, not even Gilad, can explain the experience he has had waiting in one or more forms of darkness for five years, unsure of his fate and purpose, unsure whether he had received his final judgment.
It's easy to be cynical, but for a few moments, I think Israel Gaza and the PA, regardless of their attitudes toward one another, can benefit from a moment's realization that lives have been made more complete, given second chances, and rescued from uncertain fate.
Channel 2 in Israel interviewed those in attendance at the Mitzpe Hila celebrating Gilad's return. They used a certain language mentioning a new Israel. Bibi has finally ensured a place in the history books, Rabin was martyred a second time, and kidnapping could become the next big trend in extremist tactic. Whatever state Israel or its neighbors are in, at this moment, the pilgrimage for some is complete, and it deserves a celebration of the values of life and family.
** For anyone interested, I've made a collection of clips and articles relevant to this story.
** For anyone interested, I've made a collection of clips and articles relevant to this story.
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