Dear Rodeph Sholom Family,
In a world where terror is too often tolerated and nuclear ambition ignored, Israel’s strike on Iran’s ICBM and nuclear infrastructure stands as a sobering reminder of what global responsibility demands.
The Iranian regime, which has long been recognized by our own government as the leading state sponsor of terrorism, has relentlessly pursued the means to amplify its threats with nuclear force. A nuclear-empowered terror state is not a distant danger; it is an existential threat to us all.
This strike was precise, strategic, and necessary. And still, every innocent life lost is a heartbreak.
Even in a time of profound internal strife within Israel—when trust in its leaders is fractured and its society deeply divided—we center our gratitude on those who had the courage, clarity, and conviction to act before catastrophe became inevitable.
For some of us, acknowledging and embracing decisive military action is not comfortable. And yet I hold gratitude for the moral clarity it reflects: that the world must not stand idly by as terror arms itself with the power to annihilate.
Tonight, as we light our Shabbat candles, we will pray:
וּפְרוֹשׂ עָלֵֽינוּ סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמֶךָ:
Ufros aleinu sukkat shlomecha
We ask the Holy One to spread over Israel a shelter of peace, and indeed over all of us here in North America and around the world.
Rabbi Ben Spratt
Senior Rabbi
