Walk Upright and with Dignity

“Kom’miyut”

This concept appears only once in Torah, in Leviticus 26:3. It is translated ” to stand upright with dignity”. It is about God’s promise to us as we go into the promised land. Rabbi Shmuel Fuss, my cousin’s Rabbi from Riverside California, translates it: “God will let you walk with your head held high.”

Was I prepared to walk with my head held high this past Sunday during the walk for Israel? Was I even prepared to walk? How many of us, over the past few weeks, have not been walking with our heads high, have not been walking upright and with dignity, either because of fear or because of really mixed feelings about the war. What is happening in the world, in the Middle East, is horrendous. The loss of lives is horrific on both sides of the conflict! So too is the fate of the hostages. Over 1000 innocents at the Nova event murdered. Hostages tortured, raped, bodies not even returned for burial. And what about the civilians, some 29 or so who may still be alive, still be suffering. They are someone’s child or husband or parent! What is happening so far away is affecting us here in Canada. Antisemitism has increased exponentially. As I read the news headlines today, I am reminded of articles written as the Nazi’s power grew in the 30’s (And we couldn’t blame it on Israel then!)

So, we live, as has been the case for more than 2 millennia, with what has been called the “longest hatred”, being scorned and demeaned and hated and murdered because we are Jews. But we cannot forget “kom’miyut”! We have to be proud of who we are and not live in fear or in the shadows.

I must admit that, prior to the walk, I was seriously considering not attending, even though so many of you supported our Beit Sefer Solel walkers, and Nicole Hansen and I, with your help, raised over $2000. But I had committed to other Solelniks like Linda McKitterick and Ruth McRae, that I would be there, and I convinced my children that I would be safe and not to worry and that definitely a 4 km walk is no problem for me; yet I was scared. The level of security had been raised in response to the murder two young innocents about to be engaged, and their only “crime” was that they were Jewish, and they were attending a Jewish event. They weren’t attacking anybody in Gaza. They were proponents of peace. They hadn’t harmed anybody, but they were shot in cold blood for no reason at all. But I had said I would go, and I did go, and quite honestly, it was absolutely amazing!!! I was one of some 56,000 Jews, whose very presence said: ” I am proud of who I am! If I wish to carry an Israeli a flag or a wear a kippah or a star of David, I will. I will not be ashamed, just as my neighbours who wish to wear a hijab or turban, or any other article of religious identification should do so freely. It was so gratifying to be with 56,000 people with whom I didn’t have to hide who I was, where I could openly and freely show my pride as a Jew and my connection to all my Jewish community. I walked with purpose and dignity and faith and fearlessly, as least for most of the walk. It was like a very crowded Sunday stroll. There were lots and lots of parents wheeling baby carriages or carrying children on their backs or in their backpacks; there were seniors and walkers with walkers or canes; they were flags waving, both Canadian and Israeli. There was lots of music and song and joy and pride, and then, of course, there was a negative side of it.

The amount of security needed surpassed anything I’ve ever seen in Toronto. There were drones and helicopters circling overhead. . . There were rows of policeman on either side of us, narrowing the roads when we might be harassed by protesters, who, by the way, were given another area to protest legitimately, but instead they were right in our faces for a period of time, chanting things like” let the dust of Gaza bury you”. To me, that sounds like a death threat, but they were not arrested. UJA had to hire security snipers on the rooftops protecting us, and as good as being protected is, it was so sad that we needed to be protected to that level. Just the week before, there had been a huge Nakba rally in Toronto which didn’t need that kind of security because there were so many of them in their protest. And, although some of us may have been there yelling, the marchers weren’t worried about any of us attacking, and only when a marcher threw smoke bombs at a group of diners on a patio of a Jewish restaurant was there police involvement.

So, I did the walk with Linda and with Ruth and Cheryl Englander; of course, we met a few other Solelniks on the way – Alexa and Adam and Robin, the Hannon’s, Tina Gareh, missed Noah, but also met some old friends like the Rosenbergs and Kurz family. We chitchatted with one another, but we didn’t engage or challenge the protesters, many of whom, by the way, were masked like those who attacked us on October 7. That, for me, was frightening. At least if you’re going to protest, don’t cover up your face, but that’s my perspective, obviously not theirs. And I am pretty sure that some of the protesters were not of the Islamic faith. It was, for them, just an opportunity to vent their hatred of Jews. Yes, there was a lot of security and yes, I started off reticent, and a little afraid, but not three steps into the midst of all those Jews, I only felt pride and an overwhelming sense of this is who I am, and this is where I belong, and I will walk with Jews and I will support Israel, and I will demand that Israel stand up for the values that it should stand up for, and I will cast my vote for the Reform movement in the upcoming world Zionist election so that the reform concepts of equality and fairness and justice actually are guaranteed in Israel for all. Israel is a part of my Jewish identity and I’m not going to give up on it and I hope you don’t either.

Kom’miyut – Walk upright and with dignity!

Filed under: Educator's Message

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