Like It's 5786

Children Of Israel Are Never Alone

Hey, beloved tribe.

I’m so happy to be back with you.

Thank you for abiding my absence — I just returned from bringing my daughter to college, the most bittersweet milestone imaginable. I’m so excited for this next chapter of her life, but oh, I will miss her so much. The house already feels terribly different. I’m halfway to an empty nest, and I’d be lying if I said this carries no sting. My daughter is my best friend, and during her time in our home, we walked together daily and cooked together daily and shared so much of our lives with each other on a daily basis as well. My son has a year left with us and then he too will fly the coop. Coming to grips with this is a process and I’m still in the midst of it.

Our drive to her new campus residence followed directly after my week in NYC, where I went for the annual Artists Against Antisemitism mifgash (meeting, or conference).

And I have to tell you: my week in The City felt like the best money I ever spent.

I’ll be real: the two years since October 7, 2023 have worn me down on every level. The massacre, the world’s response to it, the ongoing and excruciating pain of our hostages in captivity, the agony of all that’s gone down in Gaza, the tsunami of global antisemitism, Trump’s re-election and full-throttle destruction of every political good, the daily grind of defamation, the social costs of standing with Israel and the worldwide Jewish community: it has felt like a steady IV drip of poison, day in and day out, from the moment I wake up until the hour I fall into bed.

But NYC filled my cup again to overflowing, as it always, always does.

First, I got to meet dozens of you at the Jewish events I attended during the week, and I can’t tell you what a balm that was to my spirit. It is inexpressibly gratifying to know that my work here has provided emotional sustenance to members of this community. Your warm and generous words left me high as a kite and feeling refueled. If you came up to me and gave me life during the Unapologetically Jewish event in Philadelphia, the Artists Against Antisemitism event in NYC, or at any other time during my week on the east coast, please know that I could not be more grateful.

I also had the most wonderful Shabbat dinner with Vanessa Hidary, Shai Davidai, Yardenne Greenspan and Luai Ahmed.

Shai Davidai first rose to national and even global prominence in the days after October 7th as a Columbia professor sounding an alarm over the fact that the school was failing to protect its Jewish students. It seems to me that his public image is that of a combative figure filled with righteous indignation. Which is why it’s been such a delightful and endearing surprise that in person, he could not be more easygoing, unassuming and good-humored. Over Shabbat dinner, he and his wife were describing a couple of sites dedicated to mocking him and both of them found the content at his expense to be so genuinely hilarious that they kept dissolving into laughter when recalling it and they even pulled up some clips to show their guests.

Truly, if you can laugh at yourself, you are bulletproof.

It was also amazing to meet the wildly popular influencer Laui Ahmed, a journalist from Yemen who turned away from the antisemitism he absorbed during his formative years and now regularly receives death threats for his outspoken Zionism. In person, he is thoughtful, gentle, brimming over with bravery and integrity and it felt like a true honor to break bread with him.

In the coming year, I will be bringing you content from all these great folks as well as dozens of other Jewish luminaries I was able to connect with over the past week.

Since we are coming up on Shabbat and I believe this will be the last full-blown newsletter of the Jewish year of 5785, I’d like to touch on just a few of my plans for 5786 and give you an idea of some of the wonderful and exciting offerings that are currently in the pipeline.

While at the mifgash, I had the chance to connect with Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, who is my favorite rabbi in the world. Rabbi Buchdahl is a scholar, a cantor, a blazing intellect and a luminous heart and soul. I listen to her sermons on a regular basis and I never stop being amazed by the dazzling perfection of her words. She seems to always know exactly what to say in any situation and she never fails to be wise, compassionate, insightful and profound.

So I could not possibly be more excited that she has agreed to join Never Alone’s book club for a conversation about her forthcoming memoir Heart Of A Stranger. As we speak, we are working on finding a date and I will let you know about that the moment I know myself. The publication date is October 21, so it’s likely that our zoom will take place in November. If it’s toward the end of the month, I’ll announce another book pick in the interim. Again, you’ll know the moment that I do.

Toward the end of my week in NYC, I also connected with Einat Wilf, whom I admire so deeply.

Einat is a former Knesset member who’s written several phenomenal books on the topic of Israel and Zionism. On Facebook, I joked (quite seriously) that she’s who I want to be when I grow up.

I attended a lecture she gave at Baruch college on my last night in the city, and afterward we shared a Lyft to her hotel. She is as warm and generous as she is brilliant and incisive, and she agreed to be profiled as a Jew Of The Universe and to also join the Never Alone book club when the time is right.

In the immediate future, as I mentioned not long ago, I will be leading a workshop during the Days of Awe. Every day, those who sign up for this will receive a special email just for participants. The purpose of the workshop is twofold:

1. It will strive to provide a guided journey through the Days of Awe, incorporating all the themes we are meant to meditate on and put into practice during this time, with the goal of creating a sweet and spiritually enhanced year;

2. It will also strive to provide ways to stay sane and maintain our equanimity in the face of unrelenting antisemitism, censure and adversity.

Those who sign up for this workshop will be subscribed to a new substack that will only exist temporarily. You will NOT incur recurring payments. When the workshop is over, payments will be suspended indefinitely so no one will be charged more than once. The reason I’m creating a separate substack for this workshop is to create a private subcommunity where conversation can happen in the comment section, which will be enabled for all. The alternative was to launch a secret Facebook group, but I know not everyone here is on Facebook. So a separate substack seemed the best option.

Every day, workshop participants will receive an essay and exercises to complete. None of these will require a daunting amount of time and they can be done at any point during your day. You’ll have the option of sharing yours with the workshop community, or keeping it entirely private.

The suggested donation for this supplementary offering is $18 - $72. And if you need the workshop to be free, just write to me privately at elissa_karen@msn.com with FREE WORKSHOP as the heading and let me know that, and you will be added at no cost. As always, I don’t want money struggles to be a reason that anyone in this community can’t benefit from anything I’m offering. If you’re in a place where you’re financially comfortable, and you’d like to give at the higher end for the purpose of sponsoring someone else who’s going through a lean time, that would be a beautiful way to offer tzedakah.

On Sunday, I’ll send out the info that will let you sign up. I so hope to see you there!

In the meantime, I’m wishing you all the loveliest and most nourishing Sabbath. I’ll be back with you Sunday — again, with the workshop registration info.

It’s within our power to have a beautiful year in 5786, regardless of what the world sends our way. Let’s resolve to do that together.

Shabbat shalom.

Am Yisrael Chai.