This past Monday marked the Hebrew yahrtzeit of the death of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
I remember precisely where I was when I heard that Rabin had been shot: right here in Los Angeles at Shabbat morning services. Rabin had been a hero of mine. When I first lived in Israel in 1992, I especially liked hearing him on the radio because he spoke slowly and I could understand every word. I admired his courage and the way he modeled our capacity to grow and change throughout our lives.
Current Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke at a memorial on Monday about some of the lessons of that tragic day 26 years ago when Rabin was assassinated.
“The lesson I took away from Rabin’s murder—under no circumstances, no matter the situation, should the nation be torn apart… We are brothers. The only comfort from this terrible murder is the fact that we managed to flourish, to correct,” he added.
Some Israeli politicians and pundits have argued that the current coalition government, which is unprecedented in its diversity, demonstrates that real progress has been made. Others were less convinced that a course correction has taken place.
I spoke about many of these themes in my Yom Kippur sermon where I quoted the Talmudic text that continually inspires me when it comes to Jewish unity:
כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל עֲרֵבִים זֶה בָּזֶה
“All Israel is responsible for one another.”
No matter our differences, be they ideological, political, or theological, we are sisters and brothers who share a common history and destiny.
Our job is to build each other up, to support one another, to nurture one another—never, God forbid, to tear each other apart.
— Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback
