Hit Pause

November 6, 2026/26 Cheshvan 5787/Shabbat Chayei Sarah

וְהָאִ֥ישׁ מִשְׁתָּאֵ֖ה לָ֑הּ מַחֲרִ֕ישׁ לָדַ֗עַת הַֽהִצְלִ֧יחַ יְהֹוָ֛ה דַּרְכּ֖וֹ אִם־לֹֽא׃

The man [Abraham’s servant Eliezer], meanwhile, stood gazing at her, silently wondering whether God had made his errand successful or not.

(Chayei Sarah, Genesis 24:21)

Hevre/Friends,

The votes are in. Seats have been won and lost. Some incumbents are staying; some are packing up. Some newcomers are already eyeing the next race; others are preparing to lead. Democrats now hold both the House and the Senate. There is excitement in the air. There is trepidation, too. The election is over. The outcome is not.

What will the last two years of this administration achieve? And what will a newly empowered Democratic Party, its moderates and its progressives together, come to mean, for America and for Israel?

In Israel, even less is settled. No bloc won a majority. No one has yet been tasked with building a coalition. Who will be invited in, and whether the Arab parties will have a seat at the table, remains an open question.

For those of us who care deeply about both countries, this in-between state, knowing but not yet knowing, can stir hope and dread at once. And the vacuum has been filled with noise: podcasts, op-eds, hot takes and forecasts. Prediction. Predilection. Posturing.

Maybe that is why this verse from the Torah portion caught me. Abraham's servant has come to the well to find a wife for Isaac. Rebecca has just appeared. Has he chosen well? He doesn't know. And in that moment of not knowing, he does not analyze. He does not pray. He goes silent. He takes a beat.

The Ha'amek Davar, the 19th-century commentary of the Netziv, reads that silence as making room, giving the moment - and the people - space to unfold.

What fills that space? Patience. Humility. Openness. Hope.

This past week we slipped away from our New York season for two days up north. There, I found my own moment by the well (or the lake). To pause. To wonder. To hope.

Take a look.

With blessings for patience in the waiting, peace in what unfolds, and Shabbat Shalom,

Dini