Community Magazine August 2012

A S THE VOICE OF R ABBI Y ONAH Metzger, Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel, echoed throughout the Monmouth University stadium, I surveyed the breathtaking scene taking place around me. Just one week before the fast of Tisha B’Av, the day which commemorates the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash due to the baseless hatred and lack of camaraderie amongst the Jewish people, hundreds of people had come together to raise the level of peace and harmony among Jews. I contemplated the fact that friction and disunity were the cause of our nation’s exile and ongoing suffering for the past two millennia, but the love and friendship that permeated the air on that July afternoon made me feel that our national wounds had begun to mend. At that moment, the differences between those people who stood together with me became unimportant; all I could see were our similarities and how we stood together. And I knew that the unity that we displayed on that day had brought us one step closer to the arrival of Mashiah. It was a moment I made sure to capture in my mind and permanently engrave upon my memory. It was with great excitement and anticipation that I attended the second annual Day of Prayer and CommUNITY on July 22nd. As I made PHOTOS BY MORRIS ANTEBI FRANCES HADDAD Maran Hacham Ovadiah Yosef addresses and blesses the community via video link. “From all of the communities that I have seen in the world, there is not one that can compare to the Syrian community.” Comm UNITY ... and Inspiration 34 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE