“I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.”
Hope For Sderot is not necessarily about giving out food to those injured by Kassams or clothing those who are in need. We are not even about paying that occasional utility bill, buying school books for children, gift baskets or the parties for the biblical feast days we hold, and yet we do all those things.
In a meeting this past week, I frustrated the Hope For Sderot staff and volunteers with my answer to why we don’t “promote” Hope For Sderot more aggressively. The answer is quite simple.
The only “promoting” Hope For Sderot has to do is to promote the L-RD G-D of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, the L-RD G-D of Israel, nothing more and nothing less. In Deuteronomy 6 you find the Sh’ma; that passage of Torah every Jew knows. In verse 5 it says, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Unfortunately, like the children of Israel, you and I don’t always love the L-RD our G-D with all our hearts. We all pray our prayers which we have learned, we give Him our lip service but our hearts are often far away from Him. Ha’Shem tells Isaiah, “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me.”
The message of Hope For Sderot…“love the L-RD your G-D with all your heart” not only with your lips. And don’t put your trust in man but rather in G-D; for He truly is the only “Hope” for Sderot as well as our only hope.
Today I need to make mention of G-D and His righteousness, His faithfulness, His forgiveness. Of the hope we have only in Him, the trust we need to put in Him, our hearts that need to be turned to Him and the love we need to love Him with.