From the Global Front in Israel

November 28 – December 4, 2025

Never Alone

If you have not been able to keep up with Israeli-related news this week, I think you will find Top Stories of the Week, just below, to be enlightening and helpful.

Instead of trying to re-state what you will see there, let me draw your attention to a biblical insight recently published in Israeli media. Written by Nathan Hoffman, the title of his brief essay is…

YOU ARE NEVER ALONE: JACOB LEARNS THAT GOD WAS WITH HIM THE WHOLE TIME

Loneliness is a big deal. And toxic. It adversely affects spiritual health, mental health, and physical health, including the health of our brains.

Toxic feelings of isolation can be amplified to an almost intolerable level when there are significant conflicts or losses in our lives.

In his article, Hoffman draws our attention to Jacob when he was sent away from home for fear that his brother, Esau, would kill him for stealing their father’s blessing, intended for the eldest son, Esau.

Hoffman writes,

There is a moment in this week’s Torah portion, Vayeitze (Genesis 28:10 – 32:3), that hits me every time. Yaakov leaves home with nothing. He is running for his life. He falls asleep in the middle of nowhere with a rock under his head. It is the lowest point he has ever reached. And right there, in the quiet and in the dark, he discovers he was never alone.

That moment is not only his. It is ours.

Jacob thinks he is alone. He thinks he has lost everything. Only then does he learn that Hashem (God) was with him the whole time.

We heard the same message during the war from Israelis who were taken captive. People with no background in religion said the moment they felt Hashem (God) the most was in the silence and in the darkness. When everything was stripped away, something opened. They felt held. They felt watched over. They felt a strength that was not their own.

I felt it too when sirens were going off. I was holding my kids, standing in the bomb shelter, heart pounding. And still, I knew we were not alone. Hashem (God) was there. Not in a poetic way. In a real way.

The point is simple. Being guided does not mean life is smooth. It means you are never walking alone.

The message of [the Torah portion called Vayeitze] is not complicated. Jacob thought he was alone. He was not. We think we are alone. We are not.

If you are in a moment of fear, or confusion, or change, slow down for a second. Look at where you are. Look at who you are with. Look at the mission you are on. You are guided. You are held. And the moment you let yourself feel that, the fear starts to fade.

You are never walking alone. Never have been. Never will be.