Special edition of the Weekly Verse
while Rabbi Rotenberg is at Camp Ramah Darom

Few people know exactly what an Eruv is, and fewer know that Camp Ramah Darom has one. An Eruv is an enclosure made up of different finds of materials that take a public space, and encloses it so that according to Jewish law, one can carry within it on Shabbat. Sparing you from the details about the prohibition of carrying in a public space on Shabbat, I’d like to share a short history of the camp eruv.

In the year 2000, the eruv was set up by a few prominent Rabbis. As the camp grew, the eruv had to grow too. Over time it was expanded, until about five years ago when a major renovation was done. Parts of the old eruv were not incorporated into the new one, leaving it to erode with the elements. On the one hand, this is a bit sad. The original eruv is a reminder of the early years of camp; a memento of the years when Ramah Darom was just getting off the ground. To see it in ruins feels like that time is truly lost. On the other hand, the new eruv is much improved. The quality both materially and halachically is far better than the old one.

Thinking about this gives me some hope for the material loss we have seen in Israel this week. I’ll never forget the videos of that beautiful hospital in Beersheva destroyed by an Iranian missile. Some have homes now destroyed, and even a sweet day care is now in ruins from a missile strike. So much destruction is difficult to watch.

I believe we will build back better and stronger than before. This period of destruction is not the end, but merely a painful chapter that will one day give way to renewal. Just like the old eruv, the homes, schools, and hospitals that have been lost held memories and meaning. Their absence is heartbreaking. But the Jewish people have never been strangers to rebuilding. We know how to carry the past with us as we shape a stronger future.

The eruv at Ramah Darom reminds us that sacred space can be reimagined, and that from brokenness, something even more resilient can emerge. It offers a vision: that what we build next can be even more beautiful and more enduring. May we pray for the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel, and may we each do our part to take the broken pieces around us and rebuild a world of peace, wholeness, and love.