Ukrainian War – Close to Home

Tents of Mercy Network of Congregations and Humanitarian Aid

It would be hard to exaggerate how deeply the current war between Russia and Ukraine is already impacting the huge portion of Israeli society that has roots in the Former Soviet Union. To give just a tiny glimpse, here are a few everyday ripple effects on those in our closest circle.

Shortly after the war began, a dear friend of the bookkeeper at Tents of Mercy called her, crying and asking for prayer. Her daughter and the daughter’s family are trapped in Ukraine. The mom is terrified for her daughter’s life, and distraught that as the great-grandchild of a Jew and not a Jew herself, she has no legal right to immigrate to Israel.

Shelly is an English teacher in a local Israeli middle school. After the first few days of fighting, she dedicated the home-room hour to asking the kids in her class how many of them have family in Ukraine; how they are feeling about the situation and what they would like to share with the class. She shed tears as her students openly talked about their fears and concerns for their grandparents and some even for a divorced parent or half-sibling who remained in Ukraine.

Our son returned home from school yesterday and said that one of his best friends (Russian-born) was explaining that his relatives had described how Russians were supposedly ill-treated and discriminated against in Ukraine. In a casual conversation among the friends, a diverse group (including at least 3 Russian speakers) of Israeli 8th graders were discussing the claims of both Ukraine and Russia.

Lev and Sonya have been in Israel since the early 90s. She is Russian-born and he is Ukrainian-born. She spent the first third of her life in Russia, the second third of her life married in Ukraine, and now has been in Israel for just as long! Her elderly father lives with them and is sympathetic to the Russian side –

it seems hard for many among the older generation to conceive of Russian leadership being in the wrong.

Millennial husband and wife, Lilly and Sasha grew up in Israel. She just discovered that she is half Ukrainian. She grew up knowing only about her roots in the area of the Republic of Georgia, just south of Russia. He left Ukraine as a child, but can still understand and speak viable Ukrainian. They, like so many in our community, are heart broken and struggling to process the reality of what their friends and family in Ukraine are experiencing. Sasha will shortly be joining a delegation of believing Israelis serving on the Hungarian border of Ukraine to minister practical help along with a smile and prayers for comfort and hope.

There are so many other stories. This is just a tiny sampling.

We are honored to be a recognized humanitarian aid center that offers first line assistance to those in need. Local Israeli agencies and welfare offices have come to rely on us to regularly provide food, clothing, furniture, and more. Now Ukrainian refugees are being referred to us for help.

One of the families that came the day I wrote this article was completely moved by the kindness that they were met with at Tents of Mercy. Overwhelmed with gratitude, they both said how eager they are to come back and help pass on the kindness as soon as they are settled.

And what about the rest of us?

When crisis rages all around us, when people around us are lost and hurting or threatened by seen or unseen enemies, how should we respond?

Even as this war tragically drags on, we are now celebrating Purim, the story of a dignified and beautiful queen who sacrificed her own security in light of a vicious attack on her people. In that moment in time, she rose to the occasion, endangering her very life, to stand in intercession, in advocacy, and in leadership.

In the upcoming biblical spring feast of Passover, we see how God used Moses, another weak and frail but willing human being, to deliver the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery.

Our great and awesome God, who called the universe into being, chooses to use human beings as agents of salvation. The Bible is full of stories of His partnership with us.

And as we look again at the pattern the feasts set out before us, we recognize our modern reality, and the actions of our Biblical heroes paving the way for our own response as we assume an attitude of intercession and get in sync with the plans of God.

How do we do this?

Firstly, by being ready to live radically and sacrificially. Esther took a stand for her people even though it meant jeopardizing her comfortable position in the King’s palace.

Secondly, by interceding. Intercession is the act of spiritually coming before the King on behalf of another. But it can also be a physical intervention to bring help or assistance.

Mordecai challenged Esther with these words : “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place…”

In this season may we all be equipped in our spirits with the traits of sacrifice and intercession, so that we may lead, serve, and give in the situations before each of us – individually and corporately.