Bulgaria, July 18, 2000:
As a young yeshiva student, exactly twelve years ago I was dispatched by Chabad headquarters to spend the summer in Bulgaria. A friend and I were to travel thousands of miles across the ocean to bring Judaism and friendship to Bulgarian Jewry. We were young, energetic, excited and on a clear mission: hunt down as many Jews as possible and bring them love. We would teach them Torah, give them Jewish books, put on tefillin with them, and forge meaningful connections.
We would travel to the cities of Varna, Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas and Ruse, and stop in smaller areas in between. We would find those Jews and give them the spiritual and emotional support they may need. We were determined.
I kept a diary throughout my travels, and my entry for July 18, 2000, reads:
“In an attempt to track down some Jews we traveled to the Vitosha Mountains, a popular tourist destination. In one building we went door to door searching but no Jews lived there. Feeling slightly disheartened we were about to leave, only to discover that the building manager was Jewish and happy to chat with us. Before we left he agreed to put on tefillin and say shema. A successful day!”
Fast forward 12 years.
July 18th 2012:
Another group headed to Bulgaria, also charged with a mission. They were also hunting down Jews, but for a very different reason. They considered Turkey, Greece, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Thailand and Kenya, and finally settled on Bulgaria.
But these people were not looking for Jews to help and love. They brought hatred, anger and terror. And they were looking to maim, injure and kill. Unfortunately, they succeeded. They chose Burgas, a coastal town popular with Israeli tourists, and they planted a suicide bomber on a bus filled with Israelis. Six innocent people were killed in the blast, and more than 30 were injured.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We wish comfort for the families of the deceased, and speedy recovery and rehabilitation for the wounded. We are with you.
In this week’s Torah portion the Jewish people are called “matot,” branches. A “mateh” refers to a branch which has become detached from the tree and is now hard and dried out. It no longer grows, it’s not attached to the source, it’s not supple and fresh. It’s in exile, as are we. We are far away, in an exile that has spanned two thousand years, an exile which has seen trouble and persecution for the Jews in every generation. That persecution reared its ugly head again this week, claiming innocent lives, creating widows, orphans, and bereft parents, siblings and friends.
We are now in the annual three week mourning period, which is about to intensify as we transition into the final nine days. It is a time to mourn and reflect upon the tragedies we’ve faced as a nation, a time to beseech G-d to finally send Moshiach and redeem us from this exile.
And a time to demand that G-d end the pain and terror He has visited upon His people.
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