THE UNITY
OF A NATION As we go to press in late October, three weeks into Israel’s war, the outpouring of chesed, ahavat Yisrael and achdut from Jews across the spectrum in Israel, in the US and across the world over is staggering. Working against a tight deadline, our editors were concerned: how can we capture the endless and ongoing stream of chesed—the Chassidic-owned real estate company that housed evacuees from the South for free; the army of volunteers, secular and religious, providing everything from baby formula to mental health counseling; the singers and musicians providing entertainment to soldiers and evacuees, and on and on? We concluded that while we cannot convey even a fraction of the enormous ahavat Yisrael we are witnessing every hour of every day, we can focus on individuals—each individual story representing hundreds and perhaps thousands of others. Mi K’amcha Yisrael!
Above: Young Jewish men dance and sing as they wave the Israeli flag near Machane Yehuda market in Jerusalem, during the Israeli war with Gaza. Photo: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90
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