Why Being There Matters - Chronicle Online/The WORD 02/05/2026

Weekly On-line Rabbi's D'var-Torah

February 5, 2026

18 Shevet 5786

Parashat Yitro

This week, in synagogues around the world, Jews will read the story of the Israelites arriving at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. According to an ancient rabbinic teaching—a Midrash—not only those newly freed slaves stood at Sinai, but every future generation of the Jewish people as well. In some mysterious way, we were all there. 

That idea carries a powerful implication. We are meant to tell the story of receiving the Torah as if we ourselves experienced it. We are meant to feel as though God gave the Torah directly to us—not to distant ancestors long ago—even as we acknowledge that no one alive today could literally have been present at Mount Sinai.  

I feel something very similar about Israel. 

I don’t live there. I have chosen to build my life here in the United States. And yet, Israel feels like my place. I speak about it as if it were my home. I defend it with the same passion and instinct that I reserve for the country where I actually reside. 

Here’s the crucial difference: Israel does not require imagination. We may never know exactly where Mount Sinai was or precisely what happened there, but Israel is real and tangible. We can go there. We can walk its streets, hear its languages, meet its people, and see with our own eyes what an extraordinary place it is. We can experience the profound feeling of being at home in a land that has never technically been our home—and, like Sinai, that experience can be deeply sacred. 

That is why our congregation is planning a trip to Israel this summer, from July 1st to July 10th.Since October 7th, many of us have supported Israel through both the war with Hamas and the parallel war being waged in the media and public discourse. We have lived through moments of anguish and moments of hope. We felt joy and relief when hostages were released from Gaza. From afar, we have stayed as connected as we possibly could.But now it is time to go home. 

It is time to connect physically with the land and with our brothers and sisters in Israel. It is time to remind ourselves—not in theory, but in person—what the IDF has been defending and fighting for. 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed that many of Israel’s loudest critics have never been there. We may not be able to take all of them with us. But if we return home with firsthand, lived experiences—stories rooted in reality rather than slogans—perhaps we can help others see Israel for what it truly is. 

Just as we speak of Sinai as if we stood there ourselves, it’s time to stand in Israel again. You can find more information about the trip here. 

Shalom,

RAF.