“Blessed are you, L-rd our G-d, king of the universe, who has not made me a gentile.” These words, recited every morning as part of the Shacharit service, are troubling. Why must we pass judgement on gentiles? Are we saying we’re better?
Last week, an overwhelming feeling I’ve had since Oct. 7 crystallized for me in that blessing. For 14 months, as I witness one barbaric spectacle worse than the last, I find myself thinking, thank G-d I’m not like them. Thank G-d I see the Bibas family and I am filled with love, not hate. Thank G-d that instead of spending my energy hating Hamas and its many heinous supporters, I try to spend my energy loving all of Hamas’ victims, Jewish and other. Thank G-d I am part of a people who step up and support each other. Thank G-d I am part of a people who value life, not death.
Seeing the depraved Hamas parade of Feb. 20, this morning blessing came to mind. I suddenly understood its true meaning: “Blessed are you, L-rd our G-d, king of the universe, who has made me a Jew.”
• • •
I can’t stop looking at the photograph of Tal Shoham reunited with his son. As I have previously shared, Tal is a cousin of a relative of mine through marriage.
On Sunday, I shared with the Run For Their Lives group: “For 505 days you all believed. None of you ever gave up. After 505 days Tal returned home to his family. I spent almost all day staring at the picture of Tal reunited with his son. As I wrote to my relative, Tal’s smile brings so much joy to the world. You helped return his smile to us. Today we are at 506 days and I know that you will continue. You will never give up, until the last hostage comes home!”
Another morning blessing: “Blessed are you, L-rd our G-d, king of the universe, who frees captives.”
• • •
“Drop a nuclear bomb on it and start from scratch.” It’s a phrase an Italian friend of mine uses about his home country. He had emigrated long before, and when he returned after marrying my friend, he was dismayed at the corruption that still governed much of Italy.
It’s a tempting approach when one sees problems so deep-rooted they feel impossible to solve without starting anew. But we are seeing in real-time the folly of that approach as the Trump administration under Elon Musk is going scorched earth on the federal government.
Who of us isn’t tired of the post office, the IRS, TSA, etc.? Reform of government institutions is essential, but it requires an understanding of what function an institution is intended to serve, how it is currently operating and how it should best operate to fulfill its purpose.
Musk doesn’t seem interested in any of that. He reminds me of a hype man, the attention-getting guy on stage whose only job is to pump up the audience. It’s heartening to see a number of federal agencies pushing back.
Shana Goldberg may be reached at shana@ijn.com.
© IJN 2025
