We are honored to welcome Dr. Rachel Korazim of the Hartman Institute to teach a Zoom class for our community called "Poems for Our Days." Here is her description of the class:

The calamity of October 7 and the war that followed left Israel and the Jewish world in shock and despair. The unimaginable became our reality. As more details of the horror unfold, as we are facing the painful daily losses in battle and the plight of the hostages and their families. Not less troubling are the terrible losses and devastation in Gaza. We find ourselves less and less able to talk about it. The expression most commonly used in Israel is אין מילים ein milim – No Words!

And yet – there are those who struggle and find words to express pain and anger, despair and abandonment.

In our session we will read and discuss (Israeli) poetry written these very days. The poems are often raw and painful, while at the same time full of love and even hope. Some are written in forms of prayers such as a new “Kadish”, many reference biblical motifs such as the Akeida or Joseph. Others address the new “correct” language, since one cannot say any more simple things like “I am Okay”, or the two most horrible words in Hebrew nowadays: הותר לפרסום “released for publication” that precede the names of the fallen soldiers on Israeli media. The poems come from different parts of Israeli society and reflect a large variety of voices.