Have you experienced a dear friend visiting your family shiva? How did their shiva visit make you feel?
We are so grateful for the leadership of UAE demonstrating their commitment to peace with Israel and understanding by sending Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaim, a member of the UAE’s Federal Supreme Council, to attend the shiva mourning gathering for murdered Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan, in Kfar Chabad, November 29, 2024.
On November 21, 2024, Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan was murdered in UAE in an apparent terror attack.
UAE Authorities actively coordinated with Israeli authorities and soon arrested three suspected terrorists. Rabbi Kogan was buried in Israel on November 25. Rabbi Kogan was a true pioneer of peace in the UAE. Rabbi Kogan began his UAE journey in 2014 to establish a foundation for Jewish community.
Within hours of Rabbi Kogan’s funeral, President Trump’s Jewish child Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner pledged $1 million to build a Jewish center in honor of Rabbi Kogan. Immediately thereafter, Josh Kushner, Jared’s brother, and his wife Karla Koss, also gave $1 million to the Chabad center.
I would like to explore these recent events in the context of the Torah.
In Genesis 50, Jacob told Joseph shortly before dying that he had dug his own grave in Canaan and wanted to be buried there. Joseph respectfully followed his father’s wish and began 40 days of mourning.
Pharoah wanted to honor Jacob’s death in order to pay homage for all that Joseph did to help save the land of Egypt as Pharaoh’s key adviser. Pharaoh commanded Egypt to mourn for Jacob for 70 days, the typical period of mourning a pharaoh.
In Genesis 50:7, “Joseph went up to bury his father, and all Pharaoh’s servants, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt went up with him”
This was such a tremendous display of a mixed multitude of the descendants of Abraham/Isaac/Jacob joined by the Elders of Egypt and all of Pharaoh’s court to mourn the death of Jacob.
We are grateful for the leaders of UAE, Bahrain, Israel, and President Trump for their visionary formation of the Abraham Peace Accords.
Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaim, a member of the UAE’s Federal Supreme Council, flew to Israel to attend the shiva in Kfar Chabad, and told mourning family members and friends that the UAE vows that Kogan’s legacy will endure. Dr. Nuaim said “The UAE will never allow extremists to divide us. Today, more than ever, our country is committed to openness & peace.”
The seemingly small act of attending a shiva speaks volumes about UAE’s Leadership’s commitment to the hope of peace, prosperity, spiritual access and acceptance as epitomized by the Abraham Peace Accords.
The Trump Family’s generous leadership gift to the UAE Chabad Center in honor of Rabbi Kogan reflects’ Jared Kushner’s stature as the architect of the Abraham Peace Accords that, under President Trump’s visionary leadership, brought a new paradigm of peaceful possibilities to the region. In addition, the Kushner brothers along with Ivanka trump’s leadership shows the true potential of sibling cooperation.
Although Genesis began with many examples of sibling conflict, the ultimate delivery of the Children of Israel was based on the cooperation of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam which brought the Children of Israel to the Promised Land.
Making peace is hard, preserving Peace is harder. In Genesis 32, G-d (Hashem) told Jacob “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Peace is a constant struggle between humans and G-d. Preserving peace requires relentless determination to constantly overcome.
While the tragic murder of Chabad Rabbi Kogan is a brutal reminder of the threats to Jews/Israelis, the profound UAE’s leadership’s commitment to a peaceful relationship with Israel by sending an emissary to sit shiva, similarly to Pharaoh sending his court to Jacob’s funeral, has helped preserve the peace and provide an inspiration for so many.
Additional Comments:
Breaking Matzo made a donation to Rivky Kogan in honor of Rabbi Kogan and remember his legacy of pioneering peace in the UAE.
Further Reading
Chabad Background in UAE
- You can learn more about Jewish life in the UAE here.
- You can read more about the historic Abraham Accords here.
- You can read more about Jewish mourning rituals here.
Exodus and Mixed Multitude
In our interpretation, the “Israelites” in the wilderness was comprised of both Hebrew slaves who left Egypt and also some Egyptians who, together, became the Children of Israel, wandering in the wilderness and, ultimately, seeking the Promised Land. It is the shared journey of people of different backgrounds but shared purpose that can create peace and harmony in our lands.
Exodus 12:37-38: “And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, beside children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much battle.”
Leviticus 24:10-16: “And the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and the son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp.”
Numbers 11:5: “And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting; and the children of Israel also wept”
