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Two thousand years ago the ancient Greek philosopher Plutarch (1st cen) wrote that the ship of the Athenian hero Theseus, long after his death, was kept in pristine condition by the people of Athens for centuries. Whenever a board decayed it was replaced, until eventually, nothing in the ship was original; every stick of wood had been replaced. This prompted Plutarch to ask, “Is it still the ship of Theseus, or is it a new one?”  A similar question is raised concerning a famous Shinto shrine in Japan which, for the past 1400 years, has been entirely rebuilt every twenty-three years. “Is it still one shrine, or is it sixty consecutive shrines?” 

In The Daily Stoic (Holiday and Hanselman, 2016), the authors note that the universe is in a constant state of change and that “our understanding of what something is is just a snapshot – an ephemeral opinion.”  And they, too, ask: “Are we still [one] people? Are the people around us the same?” Nothing is exempt from this fluidity, not even the things we host most sacred” (p. 334).

Though unsure how I might have responded before October 7, these past four weeks have made the answer to these questions expressly clear in stirring and powerful ways. Yes, individual faces continue to change, reflecting the fluid reality of time. However, the events of this month – both the horrors perpetrated against our brothers and sisters in Israel as well as the alarming 500% rise in acts of antisemitism here and around the world – affirm an undeniable truth: as a Jewish people, whether we are Jews living in the Diaspora and/or Jews living in Israel, we are unquestionably still one people. The pain of our family in Israel is our pain; their fight for safety and security is our fight; their resolve is our resolve. Their future is our future. And the need to affirm this unity has never been greater.

Having begun in ancient Greece, I’ll conclude with another Greek reference, specifically involving the two Jewish fraternities at the University of Georgia, AEPi and TEP. Though distinct in their respective culture and, of course, naturally competing in their efforts to rush and sign Jewish students, the two fraternities collaborated this year to turn their annual AEPi v TEP basketball game into a joint fundraiser for Israel. We received the following message earlier this week:

“Yesterday’s game was an incredible success. Over 250 fans packed the stands, demonstrating the unwavering solidarity of the Jewish community here at UGA...The Jewish people have a remarkable history of resilience, a quality that has been deeply ingrained in our faith for millennia. No matter the challenges we face, we remain steadfast in our identity and the values instilled by our religion. While this event was undoubtedly exciting and competitive, it represents something far more profound than a traditional basketball game. It symbolizes the strength of the Jewish community and the power that emerges when we unite.”

To that, let us offer a resounding “Amen.”