Torah Yerushalayim: Opening Remarks | Rabbi Sam Shor & Rabbi Avi Berman

Okay, everyone. My name is Rabbi Sam Shore. I'm the director of Torah initiatives at OU Israel. It is my great scoot to welcome you to our annual pre- rash leun shalai leun. I want to thank in particular first I want to thank our many many dedicated U Israel volunteers who are here today to help set up this event and to assist us to make this event happen. I want to thank my incredible OUS colleagues who as usual not only are there with emotional support but roll up their sleeves to help us make these events happen. And I also particularly want to thank our friends, the fund family who have dedicated once again these beautiful programs in loving memory of their of their beloved parents. That's a great to be able to partner with you to bring these events to the Seabour every year. So, thank you to the fund family. In just a moment, I'll introduce uh my OUS colleague, our fearless leader, Rabbi Avi Burman, the executive director of OE Israel. We know that we uh this Russash Shana in many ways is very different than other uh rashas we've experienced. Our reality, we are not the same people as we were a year ago. And uh we we continue to nav obviously for not only a good new year ahead of us but a a sweet new year ahead of us. And for all I'll just remind everyone please to please check our cell phones that they're on silent or off completely. And it's my distinct pleasure to introduce Rabbi Burman. Just before I introduce Rabbi Buring, I also want to thank our friends Ailanim who as usual turned their schedule upside down to accommodate this beautiful event. So Roshai, you'll send you'll send who we're here from in a moment, but you'll send please our love to everybody to Larry and the whole team and thank them for and to Talia and S and the whole team please. All right. All right. So without further ado, Rabbi Abi, [Applause] we stood here a year ago. What a year. Deul a year and a week ago was a day that unfortunately was one of those many days that had to be out of the land of Israel. And I was at a senior staff conference at the OU in America. a day that I saw the people standing in the morning and just a couple hours later I saw that they were people with different color. We were standing in New York and like the rest of the world we heard that beepers were going off in Lebanon. And after a few minutes of us understanding what happened, suddenly every Jew in the world got their color back. And what a year it has been since then. We stood two years ago and we stood last year in Russiper. And we pleaded with And what a year we have seen a year that clearly a has been listening to our it's not that we have not had tough moments this past year and we still are hoping and davening and know that our 48 brothers and sisters are going to come home hopefully very soon. But we have seen so many mech zon leave this world. We can come and say it was Syria that did it to themselves. We can come and say it was we could say that it was Sah. We could say it was the musad. We could say it was the Iranian people. We could say it was Msad. You name it. But we'll all agree that they were all of a And when we stand here today once again dedicating an evening to prepare ourselves for the of Shah preparing ourselves to be in the right mental the right emotional place to make sure we walk into Shah in a place that our going to be so much more meaningful that the day that we are going to we're going to turn into our king once again that we are ready for that position that if we have to blow a trumpet we're learning how to blow the trumpet first and if we have to den from our heart we're learning how to den from our heart first that we are walking into ready that's what this evening is about we're going to read in two days Each and every one of us is going to be standing not just the rabbi of that are here and thank you both being and other I'm sure here but each and every Jew for whoever we are whether we're the child of the parent of the sibling of the grandparent of we are part of and there's no such thing as saying oh the of only half the is going to count it's the of each and every one of us that is sitting here today and every other Jew around the country that is what's going to determine how many Mormon zon we're going to pass from this world this coming year how much success we're going to have in our battles that we should wake up every single morning and only hear good news. >> Amen. >> And the fact that we're preparing ourselves and taking it seriously and not last moment waking up and saying, "Oh, Rashashana is here fast. Go buy some apples and honey." But we're taking rash and understanding that it's a day that's going to determine the way the rest of the year is going to look. and hundreds of people are sitting here and saying I understand that I understand the responsibility and I'm taking it seriously. So thank you. Thank you for all all of you for taking it seriously. Those that are watching it online and those that are watching it physically here because that sense of is what is all about. understand that that we're responsible for one another that we're not walking into rash and diving for ourselves but with ding for I had this of knowing David and Normaf I had this of v visiting them numerous times every year many times before to bring them a little gift and thank them for all they do for the oo And the fact that this evening, the evening in the evening here in Miniv hopefully more places are in their memory is so meaningful because there are people that literally had the of and they met I was telling my son as I walked in here. Yeah, it's terrible I talked to him in Hebrew. Um I want to thank uh Mr. Shashana, Rabbari Zev Schwarz, Rabbi Ashi Dick, Rabbi Joa Kingsburg, uh, Zatara Star, Rabbi Sam Shores, Zimra Garfigel, Rabbi Sam McCartney, uh, Yel Haman, the camera crew who's making sure that you can follow up on these all online and so many others. Nina Broer who's uh director of our social media the extended OU Israel staff that ma have been working so hard on this volunteers uh and also there are a bunch of teenagers here that are working behind the scenes to make sure that during the break you have refreshments and that everything's running and the uh signs are being put up and the books are being put out etc. So met to think that an evening like this happens it doesn't happen people work hard on it so uh this evening and we should be able to leave here so much more prepared and so much more for this.