The Things We Carry
This week’s parashah, B’shallach, finds the Israelites standing at the edge of the sea, newly freed yet still trapped between Pharaoh’s army and an unknown future. In that moment, they carried more than fear and hope. They carried Joseph’s bones with them out from their captivity and back to his native land, a promise made to their ancestor hundreds of years before. Even as the Israelites faced the unknown, they held on to memory; faith was not only about where they were going, but about whom they remembered along the way.
This week, as we marked Holocaust Memorial Day and laid to rest the remains of Ran Gvili, the final hostage from the 7 October massacre, we hold that tension between grief and growth, remembrance and renewal. Over the past 27 months, our yellow pins have become signs of shared anguish and enduring commitment. Now, as we shift from urgent mobilisation to lasting memorial, we will gather those pins together, transforming them into a collective tribute to resilience, faith, and our refusal to give up on life. Set into a resin sculpture, these symbols of solidarity will allow us to move towards healing together.
Please bring your yellow pin, your necklace, your ribbon back to WLS, drop it into the collection box, and let it become part of something that keeps memory alive and rooted in hope.