וְכִתְּת֨וּ חַרְבוֹתָ֜ם לְאִתִּ֗ים וַחֲנִיתֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙ לְמַזְמֵר֔וֹת לֹא־יִשָּׂ֨א ג֤וֹי אֶל־גּוֹי֙ חֶ֔רֶב וְלֹֽא־יִלְמְד֥וּ ע֖וֹד מִלְחָמָֽה׃
(4) ...they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks: Nation shall not take up sword against nation; They shall never again know war.
(4) But every person shall sit under their grapevine or fig tree and no one will make them afraid.
1) What is the vision of the future we as Jews hold based on these texts?
2) Are we there yet?
3) How do we get there?
(19) When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city? (20) Only trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed; you may cut them down for constructing siegeworks against the city that is waging war on you, until it has been reduced.
What would you guess the rabbis said God expects regarding treatment of people during war if this is what God expects regarding treatment of trees during war?
(2) Speak to the Israelite people, and say to them: When any individual of you brings near a sacrifice from yourselves an offering to יהוה from the beheima or from the bakar or from the tzon you all will bring near your sacrifice.
What are the people of Ukraine willing to sacrifice? What are they sacrificing for?
What are you willing to sacrifice? For what purpose?
Deeper text work: What is going on with the switch from the singular to the plural?
(17) You shall not subvert the rights of the stranger or the parent-less; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pawn.
(9) In all of My sacred mount-eNothing evil or vile shall be done; For the land shall be filled with awareness of YHVH as water covers the sea.
JCF’s Ukraine Emergency Fund
Jewish Family and Children’s Services
IsrAID Emergency Response Fund
HIAS
World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ)