Praying for Gilad Shalit

 

This week marks the fourth anniversary of the abduction of the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, during a terrorist attack on Kerem Shalom.  Gilad is still held in harsh captivity in Gaza by Hamas.  This Shabbat has been set aside as a time to send support to his family, continue to pressure his captives and their accomplices and make sure to keep Gilad at the center of our prayers. 

 

It may seem jarring to say prayers on behalf of a person whose fate lies in the hands of cruel captors.  How can we call out to the Merciful One to intervene when all evidence points to the biting reality that there is no mercy for Gilad, his family and the nation of Israel that waits for his safe return? 

 

In fact, this disconnect between what we yearn for and what appears to be reality is at the heart of prayer.  In the Torah portion we read this week, enemies of the Israelites hire a great prophet to curse the twelve tribes of Israel.  After a bizarre back and forth with G-d, the prophel, Bil'am is given permission to accept the money and make his pronouncements over the people.  However, the catch is that he must say the words that G-d provides.  The results are that Bil'am not only fails to curse Israel, but provides us with the very words we use to open our prayers -- Ma tovu ohalekha yaakov, mishkenotecha Yisrael.  How goodly are your tents O Jacob, your places of dwelling O Israel. 

 

Is it just a trick of words?  Divine ventriloquism?  Or did the Bil'am episode reveal that at the heart of every powerful blessing there must be the stuff of curses?  Prayer is not living in denial of the bad things in life or refusing to know the odds (as Hans Solo once demanded).  To speak words of hope in the face of despair is to refuse to let the world's darkness overcome even the light of our own souls. 

 

As a child, Gilad made such a light the heart of his own worldview.  At the age of 11 he wrote a story about a fish who learns to befriend a shark.  The parallels and ironic foreshadowing in his story are obvious as are Gilad's simple message of overcoming labels and history.  Despite that his own life story has been so much more tragic, his unrelentingly naive words still resonate as the heart of our most diffricult prayer of all.  The prayer that despite implacable hatred and constantly crushed dreams, we may one day have peace.  So may it be, on us, all Israel and all humankind.

 

Gilad's story is below.  May he be redeemed from captivity, brought from darkness to light and granted a healing of wholeness along with all who suffer in his absence,

 

Shabbat Shalom,

 

Rabbi Michael

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHEN THE SHARK AND THE FISH FIRST MET

Story by Gilad Shalit  

WHEN THE SHARK AND THE FISH FIRST MET

A small and gentle fish was swimming in the middle of a peaceful ocean. All of a sudden, the fish saw a shark that wanted to devour him.

He then began to swim very quickly, but so did the shark.

Suddenly the fish stopped and called to the shark:

"Why do you want to devour me? We can play together!"

The shark thought and thought and said:

"Okay- fine: Let’s play hide and seek".

The shark and fish played all day long, until the sun went down.

In the evening, the shark returned to his home. 

His mother asked:

"How was your day, my dear shark? How many animals did you devour today?"

The shark answered: "Today I didn’t devour any animals, but I played with an animal called FISH".

"That fish is an animal we eat. Don’t play with it!" said the shark’s mother.

At the home of the fish, the same thing happened. "How are you, little fish? How was it today in the sea?" asked the fish’s mother.  

The fish answered: "Today I played with an animal called SHARK".

"That shark is the animal that devoured your father and your brother. Don’t play with that animal", answered the mother.

The next day in the middle of the ocean, neither the shark nor the fish were there.

They didn’t meet for many days, weeks and even months.

Then, one day they met. Each one immediately ran back to his mother and once again they didn’t meet for days, weeks and months.

After a whole year passed, the shark went out for a nice swim and so did the fish. For a third time, they met and then the shark said: "You are my enemy, but maybe we can make peace?".

The little fish said: "Okay."

They played secretly for days, weeks and months, until one day the shark and the fish went to the fish’s mother and spoke together with her. Then they did the same thing with the shark’s mother; and from that same day the sharks and the fish live in peace.

THE END