The war in Israel has been emotional for so many of us. There have been numerous occasions where I have felt incredibly hopeless, scared and confused. There have been days when the hatred in our world was so palpable I felt like I was suffocating. Then, one day, I came across an Israel-related Instagram post with six simple words: “Our love is stronger than their hate.”
For so long, I let the loud, cruel voices I was seeing online consume my thoughts. This quote, however, helped me reframe the narrative and alleviate a lot of the hopelessness that I was experiencing. Yes, their hate could be loud, but our love for Israel and Judaism could be even louder.
One Monday, after another weekend had brought more news of antisemitic attacks, I remember walking into the eighth grade Zman Kodesh where I am an Ozeret feeling deflated about the state of the world. My weekend had been filled with fear about living as a Jew in a world that seemed to hate me simply because of my religion.
However, as my rowdy eighth grade students settled down and began Shacharit, the fear in my chest started to dissolve. I realized that this was the epitome of letting our Jewish pride be louder than any hate. As a class, we banged on the table and spiritedly sang Ahava Rabah and closed our eyes to chant the Shema together.
As a people, we Jews have faced so much adversity. But we’re still here, reciting the Ashrei at 8:10 in the morning. We must continue to recite these prayers that have connected us to fellow Jews as well as our ancestors as loudly as we can.
This new philosophy gave me a way to take action in a seemingly uncontrollable situation. I could spread love. I could continue to practice Judaism and demonstrate pride for my religion. Finally, I was able to find a way to claw myself out of the darkness and focus on the immense light that this community brings me.
Outside of my Jewish life, I’ve tried to incorporate this ideology into how I approach everyday situations. It’s easy to get wrapped up in negativity. It’s natural to give more energy to those who spill our cup rather than fill it. But if you make a conscious effort to focus on the good in your life, the world will seem a lot less scary.
I’m not going to lie; it’s not easy. Even as a generally positive person, I’ve had to practice focusing my energy on the good, and I still struggle. In reality, this happens. Nobody’s perfect, and it’s impossible to be positive all the time. It is important, however, to allow ourselves to embrace the bad without getting stuck in the negative emotions that come with it. We must remember the legitimacy of the good.
