Rabbi's Teachings

More Than Offerings, More Than Words

In one of the Torah’s more detailed ritual sections, in the Book of Numbers chapters 28 and 29, we find a long list of the animal sacrifices required for each holiday in the Jewish calendar. At first glance, it may seem like an ancient spreadsheet—offering after offering, goat by goat, grain by grain.

But these passages are anything but dry. They remind us that in Judaism, holiness is not just about what we believe. It’s about what we do. Holiness is lived out in the rhythms of sacred time. Festivals like Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and Sukkot are not only moments of celebration; they are moments of responsibility. They are opportunities to draw close to God, to community, and to purpose.

Yet the Torah doesn’t stop there. And neither should we.

The prophet Jeremiah, whose words begin the book that bears his name, lived during a time of deep moral decline. The people were still bringing offerings to the Temple, still observing the holidays, but they had lost sight of why. Rituals were still performed, but justice and compassion had been neglected. And so God speaks to Jeremiah, not with anger, but with longing:

“I remember the devotion of your youth,
your love as a bride,
how you followed Me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.” (Jeremiah 2:2)

God remembers the early days of the relationship between the people of Israel and the Divine—days marked by trust, risk, and commitment. The message is clear: God wants more than offerings. God wants relationship. God wants moral courage.

That message feels especially relevant today.

In recent weeks, swastikas were spray-painted along Shipyard Boulevard here in Wilmington. These were not isolated acts of vandalism. I recently found out that not only are they located on our streets, but the symbols have also made their way into our public schools. These were not isolated acts of vandalism. They remain visible—fresh symbols of hate, meant to intimidate and divide.

But if these acts were intended to isolate our community, they have failed.

In the days that followed, I have been deeply heartened by the outpouring of support. The County Commissioners, the City Council of Wilmington, the Town of Leland, the Board of Education of New Hanover County, and many other local and state organizations have reached out. Not just with sympathy, but with a desire to stand in partnership and to proclaim: Hate has no home here.

As president of Wilmington Faith Leaders United, an interfaith coalition of clergy, I helped craft our public Statement of Peace (full text below), which reads in part:

“These acts are deliberate displays of antisemitism and white supremacy—designed to spread fear and division in our community… This is more than graffiti. It is a public declaration of hate. Swastikas are hate symbols—intended to intimidate, to threaten, and to incite harm.”

Since then, I have spoken to the press twice in under a week. I’ve met with members of the Board of Education, and in the coming weeks, I will continue meeting with civic leaders, together with my rabbinic partner at TOI, Rabbi Shull, and the executive committee of WFLU.

This work is not about politics. It is about values. It is about Torah. It is about halachah, Jewish law.

Maimonides, the great 12th-century Jewish philosopher and legal scholar, writes in his Laws of Repentance:

“Anyone who is able to protest against wrongdoing in their household and does not bear responsibility for the wrongdoing in their household.
If they are able to protest in their community and do not, they bear responsibility for the wrongdoing in their community.
If they could protest to the entire world and do not, they bear responsibility for the entire world.” 

This is not a footnote in Jewish life. It is the core of it. Silence is not neutrality. It is complicity.

Today, we do not bring grain offerings or animal sacrifices. Instead, we offer our presence, our words, and our actions. We show up. We speak up. We link arms with our neighbors and say: we will not allow hate to go unanswered, not in our city, and not in our hearts.

Our calendar teaches us when to act.
Our prophets teach us why to act.
And our community, thank God, reminds us that we do not act alone.

May our words and our feet continue to be prayers that carry justice into the streets of Wilmington and beyond.

https://www.wwaytv3.com/faith-and-community-leaders-voice-concerns-about-swastika-spray-painted-along-shipyard-blvd/

https://www.wect.com/2025/07/12/cry-hatred-jewish-leaders-speak-out-after-two-swastikas-were-spray-painted-wilmington-intersection/

Wilmington Faith Leaders United Statement of Peace

To Our Elected Officials, Law Enforcement, and Local Media Partners,

In recent weeks, swastikas have been spray-painted along Shipyard Boulevard in Wilmington. These acts are not isolated incidents of vandalism. They are deliberate displays of antisemitism and white supremacy—designed to spread fear and division in our community.

As members of Wilmington Faith Leaders United—an interfaith coalition of clergy committed to justice, compassion, and peace—we are deeply alarmed. We urge you to treat this not simply as property damage, but as a public threat to the safety and dignity of all who call Wilmington home.

This is more than graffiti. It is a public declaration of hate.

Swastikas are hate symbols—intended to intimidate, to threaten, and to incite harm. They target our Jewish neighbors first, but they also send a clear message to all marginalized people: you are not safe here. That message must be met with an even louder response from those entrusted with public leadership and protection.

We are asking:

• Elected officials to denounce these acts publicly and unequivocally.

• Law enforcement to thoroughly investigate these incidents as potential hate crimes.

• Media partners to cover these acts responsibly and amplify voices that condemn hate and support community healing.

We believe this community can be better. We believe Wilmington must be better.

We call on you to stand with us—publicly, boldly, and urgently—so that our city does not become a place where hate is tolerated by silence or inaction. Let us send a different message: Wilmington is a place of belonging, where justice and dignity are upheld for all.

Let us replace symbols of hate with actions of hope, safety, and solidarity.

Signed in faith and shared responsibility,
Wilmington Faith Leaders United

Rabbi Chaya Bender, President

Rev. Gayle Tabor, Vice President

Rev. Anne Abdy, Secretary

Rev. Paula Zabkar, Treasurer

Rev. Jeffrey Ingold, Board Member at Large