This past Wednesday, Governor Noem signed HB1076 into law, incorporating the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism into the Human Rights Code. This bill received overwhelming, and bipartisan, support in the Legislature. 
Contrast that to Georgia, where for five years, the Klan (Neo-Nazis) and CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) joined forces to oppose the legislation. Incredibly, what brought the KKK and CAIR together, was their common Jew hatred.
In preparing this bill, experts from national Jewish organizations offered insights into the legislation. Kenneth Marcus, Chairman of Brandeis Center for Human Rights told the committee that "passing this bill is the number one thing the State of South Dakota can do right now to protect Jews."
These experts shared that while they encountered challenges and opposition in other states, their experience in South Dakota was unique. Here, legislators debated not whether to support the bill, but how to strengthen it further, intensify the fight against antisemitism, and provide even greater protection and support for the Jewish people and Israel.
This reminds me yet again how fortunate we are that in South Dakota the vast majority of citizens stand in solidarity with the Jewish community.
Later this month we will be celebrating Purim. Mordechai is referred to in the Megillah as “Mordechai Ha-Yehudi.” The term "היהוד Ha-Yehudi" holds several significant meanings:
היהודי means "the Jew" from the word "Judea," in the Holy Land of Israel. It means the one who was מודה (“modeh”), recognizing and accepting G-d while rejecting the popular idol of the day, even at the risk of his life. And it means the one who is אודה (“odeh”), giving thanks.
These three connotations carry relevance in our daily lives today. To be a Jew means recognizing our identity, origins, and heritage. Only by understanding and embracing these aspects can we truly live life to its fullest, all while maintaining an attitude of gratitude.

This week, Jews around the world, and all lovers of peace, rejoiced at the news of the miraculous rescue of Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, after 129 days in Hamas captivity. The stories the released have told of starvation, terrible medical treatments, physical and sexual abuse, are enough to horrify any decent human being.
So when they were rescued in a flawless and heroic operation with no IDF fatalities, all people of good conscience had reason to celebrate.
But there was one specific detail in the story that caught my attention. As I listened to the recording of the soldiers' radio communications during the mission, after they eliminated the terrorists and located the hostages, one of them called over the radio the words that confirmed the mission had been accomplished: "The diamonds are in our hands."
The US Secret Service famously assigns code names to individuals under their protection. Clinton was known as "Eagle," Bush was "Trailblazer," Obama "Renegade," and Trump "Mogul." The military also employs code names for missions; for example, the operation to eliminate Bin Laden was codenamed "Geronimo."
For this mission, the IDF chose to use the code word "Diamonds."
How appropriate and how Jewish! This is the way we should look at our fellow, and this also explains why Israel was willing to take extraordinary measures for such a daring mission to save hostages. 
It reminded me of a story. For decades, the Rebbe devoted three nights a week meeting privately with people in his office, where he listened, offered encouragement, advice, and blessings upon those who sought his guidance. Though they would begin in the evening, oftentimes these meetings went well into the night, sometimes until 6 or 7 AM, ensuring that each individual on the schedule for that evening had their chance to connect with him.
As the demand grew and it became physically impossible to accommodate everyone, the Rebbe proposed something new. Starting on his 84th birthday, each Sunday he stood in the lobby between his office and Synagogue, and greeted each person briefly. Thousands flocked each week, forming lines that stretched around the block.
The Rebbe would stand for as long as eight hours without pause, despite his advanced age, and personally engaged with each individual, offering guidance or a blessing, and handing them a dollar bill to donate to a charity of their choosing. He said that when two people meet, a third should also benefit. As a young child, I had the privilege of meeting the Rebbe several times during these occasions.
Once an elderly woman asked him: "Rebbe, How do you do it? How is it that you do not tire of standing for hours and hours?"
The Rebbe smiled and replied: "Every soul is a diamond. One does not tire from counting diamonds."

This evening is Yud Tes Kislev, the 19th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. It commemorates the liberation of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad, from Czarist imprisonment in 1798 for his Jewish beliefs and practices. 
Rabbi Shneur Zalman, also known as the Alter Rebbe, laid the principles that guide Chabad to this day; the ability to have a meaningful relationship with G-d, based on wisdom, understanding and knowledge, the mechanisms we have as humans to keep our mind and intellect in control of our emotions and passions, and most importantly, the glue that must hold that all together, the fundamental and transformative Chabad approach to loving your fellow Jew as yourself. 
So why was he arrested? In 1788, Rabbi Shneur Zalman established Colel Chabad, a charitable fund to raise money for the impoverished Jewish community living in the Holy Land of Israel. At the time, the Holy Land was under Ottoman rule. Since Turkey was at war with Russia, his detractors fabricated false accusations of treason to create a pretext for his persecution, arrest, and incarceration by the Czarist regime.
In the 235 years since its founding, Colel Chabad has operated without interruption providing for the Holy Land’s needy and most vulnerable. Incidentally, it is also another reminder that Jewish people have always been living in Israel, dating back over 3,300 years when the Israelites entered the land promised by G-d to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants to this day. 
About the importance of supporting our brothers and sisters in the land of Israel, the Alter Rebbe writes how one “should impose austerity on his own life and go far beyond the letter of the law [that one contributes 10% of their wealth].” This charity is so important that even those who struggle to make a livelihood “must give precedence [to supporting those living in Israel] over any fine apparel and family feasts, with meat and fish and all kinds of delicacies, for oneself and all of one’s household.”
Over the last few weeks we have seen some of this spirit play out in real-time, as Jews from around the world have opened their hearts and generously contributed to our brothers and sisters in Israel as Hamas rockets rain down on their homes, schools and hospitals, terrorists shoot randomly in the streets of Jerusalem, and all of them face an unimaginable humanitarian crisis.
As we say, 'In each generation, they rise up against us, but He (G-d) saves us from their hands.' 
Czarist Russia and the Ottoman Empire are long gone, but Yud Tes Kislev and the values taught by the Alter Rebbe are still celebrated, and the Jewish people still exist and thrive in the Holy Land of Israel. Like those who persecuted us centuries ago, our enemies and their enablers will no doubt disappear soon enough. Let us hope and pray it happens swiftly with no further loss of precious life so the people of Israel can live in peace.
May G-d ensure the safe return of the hostages, bring healing to the wounded, and protect the brave men and women of the IDF and the people of Israel. As it's written, "The Guardian of Israel neither sleeps nor slumbers..." and "I shall grant peace upon the Land..."

In dark tunnels in Gaza, some 241 innocent men, women, and children are being held hostage by Palestinian terrorists.

The Talmud offers an intriguing teaching that even when faced with a sharp sword at one's neck, one should not lose hope or refrain from seeking Divine mercy. Some may view this as a lofty concept, perhaps only achievable with a dose of naivete . How can one maintain such resolve, and what follows even if they manage to do so?

But this was not the response of Margalit Megidish.

Her daughter, Ori, was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists during the barbaric assault on October 7. The greatest fear a parent can experience is the unimaginable dread that their child is in the clutches of evil individuals in the worst possible place on earth. The idea that Jewish people share a neighborhood with such individuals is difficult to fathom.

Margalit, however, did not succumb to despair. She clung to hope and strengthened her faith in G-d. Remarkably, she had a Torah scroll brought into her daughter's room, and she fervently prayed. In an emotional video captured by another family member, she is seen praying earnestly while preparing the Shabbat challah (a special mitzvah for women), even declaring amidst her emotions, 'G-d, I love you.' She seemed to be in a state of serenity and hope, rather than hysteria. 

Some may question the depth of such faith, and associate it with shallowness and lack of sophistication. 'How can I believe in G-d and love Him when I feel He has abandoned me?' they might ask.

Yet, miraculously, Margalit's daughter, Ori, was rescued from Gaza and reunited with her family. To date, she is one of only five individuals to have left Gaza and the only one to be rescued.

This profound level of faith, which transcends understanding and rationality, is aptly described by the 11th-century philosopher, Rabbi Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda, in his work Sha’ar HaBitachon. He likens deep faith to someone locked in a dungeon, knowing that only one other person in the world holds the key, and your only hope lies in that individual unlocking the door. Similarly, one's faith in G-d should be absolute, recognizing that our fate is entirely in His hands alone.

It may be difficult for us to experience such unwavering and deep faith, but let us take inspiration from Margalit Megidish who demonstrated that it is possible. As the verse proclaims, and we must always remember, “It is not by our strength or might of our hand, but it is He who gives strength.” 
​
May G-d ensure the safe return of the hostages, bring healing to the wounded, and protect the brave men and women of the IDF and the people of Israel. As it's written, "The Guardian of Israel neither sleeps nor slumbers..." and "I shall grant peace upon the Land..."

​The images we're witnessing from Israel are gut-wrenching and profoundly distressing. In this digital age, where everything is documented, we are confronted with the stark reality of what's unfolding. As I watch these harrowing videos, my thoughts inevitably turn to my own children and elderly grandmothers, as if they were in those very situations, may God protect us.

This isn't about "my family in Israel" or "my friends in Israel." I personally don't know anyone in those videos, yet I feel an inexplicable connection to each of them. Every Jew in Israel, every soul suffering there, is my family.

The brutal acts committed by Palestinian terrorists, invading homes and ruthlessly murdering the innocent, shake us to our core. The inhumanity displayed, including the unspeakable acts of violence and mutilation, are images we will never be able to forget.

When the terrorists invade communities, and commit savage murders of innocent men, women, and children in their homes and public spaces, going from house to house, forcibly removing people, killing children in front of their parents and parents in front of their children, raping women in the presence of their friends and families, then mercilessly mutilating the deceased, kidnapping elderly and young alike, while live-streaming this all on social media, it serves as a stark and haunting reminder of the evil that exists. There can be no room for hesitation. There is no question about what is going on.

This is a horrific pogrom and massacre of Jews on a scale not seen since the Holocaust. Its death toll is equivalent to ten 9/11s in Israel.

I express my gratitude to our Governor Kristi Noem, for her resolute statement of support of Israel and her well wishes, to the members of our delegation Senator John Thune, U.S. Senator Mike Rounds and Rep. Dusty Johnson for issuing resolute statements of support for Israel, to our Mayor Paul TenHaken, and Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum, for their strong words of encouragement and support.

The Jewish people have endured centuries of persecution, from Pharaoh in Egypt, to the Nazis in Germany. But through it all, we have prevailed. Our enemies are no more than footnotes in the ash heap of history. Today too, despite the immeasurable pain, the Jewish people will be strong. In this critical moment, standing in their ancestral God given homeland, with the help of Almighty God, the Jewish people will once again be victorious. Am Yisrael Chai.
We can offer prayers for our brethren in Israel, perform extra mitzvahs in their merit, and generously contribute to charity.

May the Divine Healer bring healing to the wounded, ensure the safe return of hostages, and protect the brave men and women of the IDF. As it's written, "The Guardian of Israel neither sleeps nor slumbers..." and "and I shall grant peace upon the Land..."

In recent weeks, our brothers in sisters in the Holy Land of Israel are once again facing a wave of unprovoked terror attacks, ending with 16 Israelis murdered in cold blood. Just yesterday, a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on a random bar in Tel Aviv, killing three, and critically wounding another seven people.
Unfortunately, as Jews are being murdered in Israel, our enemies rejoice by dancing in the streets and handing candy to their children. The parallel images sicken any sane human being. We also have the people who tell us "we condemn the killing of innocent civilians" before adding a "but."
What is it about Israel, the Jewish people and their homeland, that always get that “but”? Regardless of one's beliefs and political opinions on the Middle East, it should be simple to condemn terror and the brutal killing of innocents, without adding a “but”!
There is never an excuse for terror.
G-d was aware of all this when He started the Torah with the story of creation. One might wonder why the Torah starts with a story, rather than a commandment, when it is not a history book, but a book of instruction for our daily lives. Wouldn’t the first commandment given to the Jewish people be a more logical place to start the Torah?
Rashi, the greatest biblical commentator, explains that the Torah starts with Genesis to provide us with an important message. Should there ever come a time that people will accuse the children of Israel of being thieves for living in the Holy Land, they will be able to answer, “the entire world belongs to G-d, he created it (including the land of Israel), when he wished he gave it to you, and when he wished he gave it to us."
The Torah is considered a sacred book to billions of people, of all major faiths. It is by the word of G-d in the Torah that the Children of Israel have the right to the land, a right which no person, nation, or legal body can ever challenge. Ever. It is not the UN, League of Nations, or Balfour Declaration that gave the children of Israel the rights to the land, nor can they, or anyone else, take it away.
We will continue to teach our children the dignity of life and the value of each human being, and be unapologetically proud of our gift from G-d and ownership of the Holy Land. Then Israel will live in peace with her neighbors. In the hallowed words of the first morning prayer "I take upon myself the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself."