Coming into Israel this week, I was presented with a stark reminder of the situation in which Israelis exist daily. Everyone who lands at Ben Gurion Airport and makes their way through passport control is greeted by the beautiful Jerusalem stone co rridor, with mosaics from ancient synagogues adorning the façade.  Along the windows and the moving walkway of that corridor are posters with pictures of the hostages still remaining in Hamas captivity. In my first walk down that corridor, some 20 months ago, it was daunting to see 250 posters. And in each subsequent arrival, fewer and fewer remained. Yet, the 50 who are still in Gaza, and the 18 assumed to be alive, are still there for everyone to see. Alas, the deal that was made public this week spoke about the release of only 10 live hostages and an additional 18 bodies. This was unacceptable to the hostage families, who can no longer stomach the notion of having to prioritize one life over another. In a move that will shock no one, Ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich voiced their strong opposition to any deal that includes a withdrawal from territory in Gaza. They seem to be ready and willing to sacrifice the lives of the remaining hostages in exchange for what they hope would be a vanquishing of Hamas – their perception of victory. Sadly, Prime Minister Netanyahu will be returning to Israel from his visit to Washington D.C., with precious little to show for it. Several days of meetings at the highest levels have, unfortunately, not yielded a further meeting or summit in Doha, Qatar. The events of this week offer little room for optimism. But I would like to share something that may offer some hope. Yesterday, a group of teenagers from North America arrived in Israel under the auspices of our Reform Movement to learn, volunteer, and experience Israel. In a season in which travel to Israel was severely curtailed due to the 12-day war with Iran, these families made it a priority to show up and not miss the opportunity for their teens to engage in this formative experience in their lives.  One of the teen participants shared with me that all of her friends were encouraging her to go with them to Europe, but she, in her own words, “just felt like I had to be in Israel.” This summer will be her first time in Israel, and she is not the only first-timer in the group. For them, walking through Ben Gurion airport was about the future and about being part of the story of the Jewish people and the Jewish State. Director of URJ’s Yallah Israel! Program Ariel Fogelman shared that: “By showing up this summer, they are demonstrating that the Jewish people are one big family. The sense of peoplehood is something that our teens experience both in Europe, when we meet Jewish communities and Jewish teens there, and also in Israel. The unique aspect of this volunteer program in Israel is that it also gives participants a sense of agency, allowing them to influence the future of the Jewish people.” Their particular track is titled “Tikkun.”  No, not necessarily as in ‘Tikkun Olam’, but as in a more direct service opportunity. Rather than spending their time looking at ancient ruins (which is also important), they will spend time volunteering in the South and in the North – working with Jewish communities, as well as with Druze, Christian, and Muslim communities. Their experience will focus less on what was destroyed in Israel and more on what can be built. As we loaded these teen participants and their luggage onto the bus and sent them on their way, Ariel Fogelman and I looked at each other. He took a deep breath and said: “We are not a generation of destruction, rather a generation of builders – “אנחנו לא דור של חורבן אלא דור של בניין” This statement is simple, pure, and a sign of the resilience of the Israeli mentality and perspective. We thought about it in the calendrical context of the trip, which began right before the 17th of Tammuz, a minor fast day commemorating the breach of the walls of Jerusalem before the destruction of the Second Temple on the 9th of Av in the year 70 CE. As we think about what was destroyed then, we are here to build now. Despite the government’s lack of initiative and drive to rebuild what was destroyed. Although the Prime Minister’s first-ever visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz only finally came last week (one of the most severely damaged Kibbutzim on October 7, 2023), most of Israeli society views it as the people’s responsibility to come together and rebuild. At the end of tractate Brakhot in the Babylonian Talmud we are taught: אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא: תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים מַרְבִּים שָׁלוֹם בָּעוֹלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְכׇל בָּנַיִךְ לִמּוּדֵי ה׳ וְרַב שְׁלוֹם בָּנָיִךְ״. Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Ḥanina said: Torah scholars increase peace in the world, as it is said: “And all your children [banayikh] shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children” (Isaiah 54:13). If all the children of Israel are taught of the Lord, there will be peace for all. אַל תִּקְרֵי ״בָּנָיִךְ״ אֶלָּא ״בּוֹנָיִךְ״. The Sages interpreted this verse homiletically: Do not read [this as] your children [banayikh], but rather as ‘your builders’ [bonayikh]. Showing up matters. And showing up to lend a hand, to volunteer, and to help build and rebuild matters even more. In a time of great uncertainty, we should be proud of these teens who demonstrate courage and conviction and have come to build. There is little doubt that as they build in the Land this summer, they will be built up by it.