My heart is in Israel. My family is in Israel. My daughter is in Israel. She was supposed to fly home next week—but now Ben Gurion is shut down. This is not just another war. This is not just another news cycle. This is a moment that will be written in the blood and hope of our people, a moment that will echo through history for generations.
In an unprecedented operation, Israel struck deep inside Iran—the very nation that has vowed to wipe us off the map. The same Iran that, through its proxies, launched a brutal surprise attack on October 7th. The same Iran that has waged a 600-day war of terror and threatened to annihilate us with nuclear weapons.
And now? History is unfolding before our eyes. In a hundred years, students in colleges and schools will study this moment. They’ll learn how a nation surrounded by enemies, under constant threat, rose up and shook the world.
And while the headlines talk about fighter jets, Mossad agents embedded in Tehran, drones smuggled across borders, and nuclear reactors being destroyed… We’re talking about something else entirely. We’re talking about miracles. Because as missiles flew, as death hovered overhead, as the world held its breath—Hashem revealed Himself.
They’re calling it Operation Rousing Like a Lion. But it’s not just a military operation. It’s a fulfillment of ancient prophecy: “He crouches, he lies like a lion… who dares rouse him?” (Bamidbar 24:9)
For too long, the Jewish people have seemed asleep. Divided. Distracted. Disconnected. But the lion wasn’t gone. He was crouching. Waiting. And when the moment came, when we were pushed to the edge—we rose. And we rose like a lion.
You can slander us. You can fight us. But you can never, ever break us.
In the land of our ancestors, rabbis in Israel have made a heartbreaking call: Do not gather in synagogues this Shabbat. The threat of retaliation is too real. The risk is too great.
So now I turn to you. Wherever you are—Melbourne, Sydney, London, Paris, Johannesburg, Toronto, Brooklyn and Los Angeles.
If Jews in Jerusalem cannot pray…Then you must pray in their place. If Tel Aviv is under siege, then the world must rise up in tefillah.
This is a cry from the soul of Israel. A thunderous, ancient roar that echoes across oceans and generations. And every Jew, everywhere, must answer.
- Not leather and straps—eternity on your arm.
- Not wax and flame—light in a world of darkness.
- Not for ritual—for redemption.
Let this Shabbat be louder than sirens. Let your prayers be fiercer than rockets. Let your unity shake the gates of Heaven. The lion has risen. Now rise with it.
As Bilaam prophesied: “A star will emerge from Jacob…” (Bamidbar 24:17)
Moshiach, come now.