Day 767 in Gaza - 4 more hostage bodies still to come home!

Lightning from Above

Thank you to Reb Aharon (aka Arthur Fridman) for keeping us updated on the current hostage numbers still not released. We pray that this week hopefully, finally, they will all come home! Still to be brought home for burial are Dror Or, Meny Godard, Ran Gvili, and a Thai worker named Sudi Rinthalak.

There are certain events and occasions in life that speak to you deeply, moments that impact and shake you, even just a little. Each day, as we go about our routines, we try to rattle the cage a bit to create change, to grow personally, to uplift those in our immediate circle of influence: our family, friends, and peers.

Sometimes you can truly feel moved by the power of the moment, a spiritual awakening, an epiphany. In the study of ethics, these moments are called “isarusa dile’ela”- an awakening from above. It’s like a lightning bolt, a divine spark from G-d Himself.

Last Sunday, I was struck by just such a lightning bolt. Before my eyes unfolded an event of such magnitude that it had the power to shake and stir the world. I could not help but feel that I was witnessing the hand of G-d playing out in the destiny of human experience and the story of our lives.

A Chuppah Filled with Light

That day, I had the great fortune to co-officiate at a chuppah (wedding) at the Sefardi Synagogue with Rabbi Michael Chriqui. It wasn’t my first time conducting a wedding there... It truly is a beautiful sanctuary, tastefully maintained in the design and tradition of a Sefardi Bet Knesset.

Rabbi Chriqui conducted a beautiful ceremony for the young couple. The bride and groom, Tessa Bartone and Marcus Rose were radiant, dancing their way to and from the chuppah.

Tessa’s story is as heartbreaking as it is uplifting. She was born to Reuben and Lindsay Philips, who emigrated from New Zealand to Australia in the late 1990s. They joined our Bet Knesset and sent their two daughters, Olivia and Tessa, to the Batory Synagogue Kindergarten. Tragically, on the night of 19 March 2000, in a horrific head-on collision on the Old Hume Highway en route to Melbourne, Reuben and Lindsay were instantly killed. Their daughters, aged three and two at the time, were miraculously unscathed, strapped safely in their toddler car seats.

Our small Coogee community, especially the kindergarten parent group, was shaken to the core. I can hardly recall all the details of the funerals and how we tried to cope with the trauma we were united in collective grief.

In an extraordinary act of love and courage, Lindsay’s sister Joanne and her husband Tony then parents to two young daughters of their own, Alicia and Carla decided to adopt Olivia and Tessa. They became a family of four girls. With boundless compassion and faith, they raised their nieces as their own, instilling strong Jewish values and a deep love of Judaism, despite living outside the larger Jewish community.

They succeeded with much blessing and hard work. Years later, I officiated at Carla’s wedding to Tony and Joanne’s daughter in Koh Samui, Thailand, my favourite destination wedding spot. I was so moved by that experience that we later chose the same location for our own daughter Tirtzah’s wedding.

So when I stood under the chuppah last Sunday for Tessa’s wedding, the moment was filled with conflicting emotions-tears of both joy and sadness. How beautiful it was to see Tessa, vibrant and glowing, living her happily-ever-after. As I evoked the names of her late parents, Reuben and Lindsay, I imagined them descending from a grand heavenly staircase, Reuben in his tuxedo, Lindsay in her heels, taking their honoured place behind their daughter to give her away to Marcus. The scene was almost perfect.

The Finger of G-d

No one is shielded from adversity, pain, or loss. Every person young or old, rich or poor carries their own pekel (burden), their own share of tzoros (troubles). One of the great truths I’ve learned from the rabbinate is this: no one is exempt. What defines us is how we cope with and overcome life’s tests.

Tessa was dealt a severe challenge, growing up without her birth parents, yet she radiated happiness and hope. Her wedding day was a dream fulfilled, a moment of divine beauty and grace.

Last Sunday, I was struck by a bolt of heavenly lightning.

I believe we were all touched by the finger of G-d.

---

Day 767 in Gaza

President Herzog received a letter from President Trump requesting a pardon for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

It appears that around 200 Hamas terrorists remain trapped in tunnels behind Israeli lines and refuse to surrender. Reports also suggest that the United States may build an army base near Gaza.

The remains of IDF officer Hadar Goldin have been returned to Israel.

Israel is still at war.

The price of victory is high.

And it hurts deeply.

---

As always, L’chaim.

See you in shul.

Shabbat Shalom! BRING THEM ALL HOME.

Rabbi Elozer Gestetner