October 10, 2025
On Tuesday morning October 7th, I joined the OSU Hillel community at 6:29 AM to walk 1.07 miles to remember the barbaric attacks that took place two years earlier. The somberness of the day and the heaviness of the rain weighed on us as we prayed for the return of the hostages and sang Hatikvah at Mirror Lake. I was invited to be the community rabbinic representative.
Thirty-six hours later, on October 8th, the world received the news that a deal had been finalized to return the hostages and end the war. Such news brings joy and relief as the two years of war, anguish, and suffering can come to an end. The effects of the war will scar our souls for years to come as the pain of the hostages and their families was a focus for Jews all over the world. Every innocent life that was lost in this war will remain in our hearts as well.
For the last two years we have prayed for the return of the hostages as part of our weekly Shabbat prayers. It is my hope that, as we welcome Shabbat this evening, this will be the last time we have to pray these words. These words begin with a word of family, acheinu (our siblings) and then continue to remind us that the whole house of Israel has been brought to pain. When they return, the entire family of Israel rejoices. May it be so.
At the conclusion of the Amidah, we always offer a prayer for peace. In Mishkan Tefilah, our siddur, there is a footnote with teachings from a text called Perek HaShalom. They are a collection of statements about peace from the minor tractate of the Talmud called Derekh Eretz Zuta. One of the teachings reminds us, “Great is peace, for peace is to the world as leaven is to dough.” Peace is an essential component of the world. It is the leaven that causes dough to rise. So too, peace causes humanity to rise in its spirituality, in its ethical demands, in its efforts to help us exist.
In the years ahead there will be many books written about how this deal came to be. Pressures from President Trump and his negotiating team of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner; pressures from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey brought both sides to the table. Peace is fragile, it is something we pray about and something we must work towards.
The entire nation of Israel can breathe again. It is our hope that we are emerging from this narrow place, this mitzrayim, and we are welcomed into a wide expanse. The Psalmist so beautifully captures this sentiment when expressing the words in Psalm 118:6 “Minhameitzar karati yah, anani bamerchav yah…From the narrow places I called to God, from a wide expanse God called to me.” The claustrophobic narrow spaces make it hard to breathe, but entering the vast expanse makes breathe easier.
As we enter this Shabbat on Chol HaMoed Sukkot, we pray that the Sukkah of Shalom, the fragile shelter of peace will bring us comfort and that this agreement will endure.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rick Kellner