It was 8:30 am and he was right, time to get up. If I chose to ignore this gentle wake up and "hit the snooze" (that is, roll over and ignore him) then the more insidious, double-dog bark alarm would go off in about 14 minutes which is a terrible way to start the day.
I reached for my phone... come on... you all do it don't you?... and oh... yes... right. My beloved Israel, being defended on Facebook by all my friends and bashed in the real world by pretty much everyone else. Another day of trying to stay away from, but being drawn into the conflict that consumes my heart, my faith and my people. And trying not to take personally the vitriol, the negativity, the biases that I am reading.
And then it hit me. I mean it really hit me.
I was meant to come back to being a religious school director at this time for this reason. To continue the path of peace.
I have always taught peace in my schools, and urged my teachers to do so as well, no matter how we may have felt in our hearts. Every generation MUST be taught peace, and the faith-based classroom is the perfect place to do it. You may think that their parents are teaching their children this lesson at home, but I will challenge you with this: if that is the case, then why are we still seeing kids bully other kids for looking different? For being gay? For praying in a different building? Parents continue to teach their own biases, sometimes deliberately, and sometimes not. It's only with mindful parenting that the cycle stops with the next generations.
But we can challenge it in the classroom. We can send those kids home with a simple question and maybe, just maybe change the conversation at the dinner table. Or at least the language.
It's time for me, and the brilliant teachers and Rabbis I will have by my side, to teach peace while we teach everything else we do. Even if sometimes we feel like we want to have a different discussion. Because that's where peace will really start.
With our children, and then, with theirs.
Not just in Israel, but in the Ukraine. (Did you see the news today?)
And on the playgrounds in the USA.
And in all places where there are people who need this now.
