A moving post by Elia Rossilio, composer and singer-songwriter, who met on the street the Chabad Chassid Rabbi Ben Tzion Cohen from Kfar Chabad, who offered him to put on tefillin.
"Promise me you’ll love every Jew." That’s what the tzaddik in the photo said to me.
An old man, standing in the heat with a coat on, still dedicating his day to helping Jews put on tefillin. No agenda, no shouting—just love.
And in contrast, just yesterday, a (now former) friend called me an enemy of the state, ignorant and foolish. Why? Because I think differently than he does.
This contrast broke my heart. How hard it is to be a Jew without Torah in your heart. How quickly we forget who our brothers are, and who is truly the enemy.
I, who gave eight years to the state, who wrote an album in memory of Daniit Cohen, may G-d avenge her blood—am I the enemy of the state? Today I cried. Not from weakness—but from the gap. Between love and hate. Between roots and confusion.
And the truth? It’s hard to be a Jew in the State of Israel. But thank G-d we have righteous people who remind us what really matters. Who is a brother and who is an enemy.
So even that friend who lost control yesterday—he is my brother. Because I promised that man to love every Jew.
And my enemy? That’s the one who kidnapped, tortured, and murdered my sisters. Bibi? Not Bibi? That will pass. But we—the eternal people—remain. After Egypt, expulsions, pogroms, the Holocaust—we were always here. And we always will be. Thank You, blessed G-d, for everything.
Translated from COLlive.com
