I spent Yom Kippur in Raanana with my parents and attended services at a local synagogue. A small group of Jews, mostly elderly, who often struggle to gather ten men for prayer.
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And during Neilah, the final prayer of the holy day, my legs gave out and my head began spinning. It was difficult to pray without having eaten or drunk water.
Then suddenly, the synagogue was filled with masses of worshippers. Masses. From all walks of life. Everyone stood together, without a separation. What united us was that we all just wanted a happy and sweet new year. And all of a sudden I felt much better.
And if we boil it down, we all just want to get along and live in a peaceful place.
I can't deny, the past year has been challenging. When harsh slogans are used against various sectors of our nation, the rift deepens. And that is exactly what I encountered after checking the news after Yom Kippur and seeing the headlines about the commotion during the Dizengoff Square service in Tel Aviv.
I read the words of the minister who just added fuel to the fire instead of calming the winds and about the protesters who threw around baseless accusations.
Is there no middle way?
When it comes to the Dizengoff service, each side was preoccupied with its own truth, and each side provoked the other. The request to remove the separation between male and female worshippers that has always been there, and the fact that organizers created a makeshift barrier anyway, in defiance of a Supreme Court ruling. A protest in the middle of prayer.
So much noise, it is too much to bear. And it is only a minority that fuels hatred instead of engaging in healthy and good debate that would advance us as a society.
I do believe that it's a minority that is ready to set everything on fire. I believe that the sane majority gets on well with each other. I believe that most of us can look at the inflammatory headlines and understand that they are just that – inflammatory, meant to evoke a reaction.
May the voice of sanity get louder in the new year and drown out the noise.
There are disputes, and there always will be, but there is also healthy and respectful discourse that will surely make Israel a peaceful place to live.
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