Shabbat shalom, may this week bring us rest and rejuvenation as individuals, as a nation, and as one world.
Thursday saw President Donald Trump announce a “10-day ceasefire” between Lebanon and Israel. While this sounds positive, we must be cautiously optimistic. The “war with Lebanon” is actually not with Lebanon; it is with Hezbollah, and the Lebanese government has shown it cannot stop Hezbollah within its own borders. Hopefully, this beginning of a dialogue with Lebanon will lead to Hezbollah’s destruction; to Lebanon again becoming a beautiful nation (Beirut was once considered the “Paris of the Middle East”), and to Israel being safe and in a good relationship with a peaceful neighbor.
But we must all be conscious of the words and analysis of Moshe Davidovich, head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council and chairman of the Confrontation Line Forum. “Agreements are signed with a tie in Washington, but the price is paid in blood, in destroyed homes, and in dismantled communities here. A ceasefire that does not include lethal enforcement against Hezbollah for every violation and a security zone clear of terror up to the Litani is not a diplomatic achievement; it is a death sentence of waiting for the next massacre. The residents of the north are not extras in an international public relations show.”
Let us pray that Davidovich’s warnings are considered; that Hezbollah is purged from Lebanon and not just defeated, but destroyed; and that peace springs and is reborn in the desert.
Trump again spoke about his expectations of a quick peace with Iran, even suggesting a potential negotiation meeting this weekend. But he was also clear that, “if there is no deal, the fighting will resume,” he said. “It has agreed not to possess nuclear weapons and has agreed to hand over the enriched material.” But Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that “officials in Gulf states and Europe estimate that a deal between the United States and Iran will take about six months to finalize.”
And each month, week, day, and hour of delay is more time for Iran and its proxies to rearm.
This week’s Torah portion (the double portion of Tazria-Metzora – Lev. 12:1-15:33) deals with different causes and treatments for a skin condition that is generally understood as leprosy. But if each week’s portion relates to the conditions in the world, how can leprosy, which has basically been eradicated, integrate with what is happening today?
In Judaism, leprosy is associated with gossip, “lashon hara” (“the evil tongue”). Miriam gets leprosy after gossiping about Moses’ wife (Numbers 12), and like leprosy, gossip is easily spread. Both create damage easily, and both leprosy and gossip are difficult to heal from. And gossip, both on personal and macrocosmic levels, is a challenge today.
So many people, led by corrupt social influencers, have spread the gossip of fallacious antisemitic myths about Israel. As the war with Iran intensified, these hate-filled lies increased, and everywhere we turn, Israel is being attacked as an evil nation filled with hate. Nothing is further from the truth, as anyone who has ever been to Israel can tell you.
In the Torah, the healing of leprosy comes from prayer and God. I offer up this video of Israeli Christians and their musical prayer as a way of us all remembering the beauty and love that permeates Israel. A beauty that is felt by Jews, Christians, and all people who are willing to trust their hearts rather than social media.
May this Shabbat show the beauty of Israel, and inspire people around the globe to support the people, land, and State of Israel.
Shabbat Shalom and Chazak u’Baruch
Rabbi Michael Barclay
April 17, 2026
30th of Nisan, 5786
15th day of the Omer
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