What does a hero look like to you?
For many, heroes are depicted as stereotypical characters, complete with capes and impressive physiques.
What does a Jewish hero look like to you?
Does it look like a man with an orange Kippa?
Does it look like a woman cradling two children in her arms?
Does it look like a young woman with a pony tail?
Does it look like an emaciated man with fire in his eyes?
Does it look like a diminutive woman in black robes?
There are so many Jewish heroes to emulate.
I have referenced just a few-there are so, so many more we need to learn about, to learn from.
Yarden Bibas shared that his captors promised him better treatment if he would convert to Islam.
His response?
“I was born a Jew, I will die a Jew”
The image of Shiri Bibas HYD, may Gd avenge her blood, holding her children as they are being taken in to captivity is seared in our consciousness forever. We can only imagine the strength she needed in those horrific hours.
But her heroism began well before.
Shiri is a woman that most of us would never have had the opportunity to encounter. But through the stories and the eulogies we learn about a strong, loving, protective wife and mother, professional who embraced her students and nurtured an exceptional family dynamic.
That is heroism.
Daniella Gilboa is a recently released hostage. She taught herself to sing Shalom Aleichem in Arabic so she could defy her captors and continue to sing the ritual prayers of Friday night.
Eli Sharabi, another recently freed hostage, shared that from the first day of his captivity he said the Shma prayer daily.
He said “the power of faith is incredible”.
This from a person who returned to a decimated family.
A lone survivor.
That is heroism.
And our own Stacey Hydrick, Dekalb County Superior Court Judge, who articulated her horror over the October 7 massacre and faced a public backlash.
Standing up for the truth is true heroism.

Tonight we begin the Hebrew month of Adar.
It is a month of joy. When we enter this month, Jewish law directs us to increase our joy.
That’s a hard thing to do in these difficult times.
But if you turn your attention to our Jewish heroes you will note that there is a deep sense of mission and purpose that drives them. There is joy in that reality.
We have inherited this capacity from none other than Queen Esther herself, the protagonist extraordinaire of the Purim story.
Queen Esther was tasked with saving the Jewish people from imminent destruction.
She did not flee from that life threatening job.
She knew that her role might lead to her own demise, yet she persevered.
In those difficult moments she instructed the nation to gather and to pray, tactics we continue to use until this day.
The hostages report praying in those tunnels, often for the first time in their lives.
They are the descendants of Esther.
Do you want to become a hero?
Some talk about an Esther moment, that time when we are gifted an opportunity to make a difference in some way.
That opportunity may be very challenging.
When faced with such a choice, do we step up, and embrace our Esther moment.
All the heroes mentioned above certainly did just that.
There is a story told about Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel ztzl, Dean of the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He was born and raised in Chicago.
In his bedroom at home, he decorated the walls with pictures of the Torah luminaries who were his heroes.
Each picture had the name of the Sage written underneath.
In the middle of the pictures he hung a small mirror.
Underneath the mirror Rabbi Finkel wrote,
“What About You?”
In every generation we are blessed with Jewish heroes who lead and inspire.
The heroism can take so many forms and does not require fanfare or bright lights to accomplish the goal.
We need more of them!
What about you?
Happy Chodesh Adar, may it be a time of great joy!
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!