As Russia attacks Ukraine, Jews across the world are sharing stories of their connections to the area and fears for the safety of the country and the people there.

Reboot faculty member Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie posted on Instagram, sharing his own family story intersecting with Ukraine and offering a poem as solace and hope.

“My grandfather was born in Lviv. It was Austria then, later became Poland. Now this Ukranian city is under Russian attack. It is just circumstances, luck, that I am here in Jerusalem today, alive and well, a quiet day here, safe, dry, the rain outside, and the world at war,” Lau-Lavie wrote. “The heart hurts. Prayers? patience? Pause to hope. Hold each other close on this and every day.”

Poetry is helpful, he said sharing that one of his favorite poets, Ilya Kaminsky, born in Odessa, asks us this one question today:

Question.
What is a man?
A quiet between two bombardments.

Amichai also suggested donating to the JDC Ukraine Response here.

We at Reboot join Amichai in wishing for peace and safety for the people of and in Ukraine.

Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie is the Founding Spiritual Leader of Lab/Shul NYC and the creator of Storahtelling, Inc. An Israeli-born Jewish educator, writer, and performance artist, he received his rabbinical ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2016.