My Heart Hurts

My heart hurts.

It hurts when I watch television coverage of the aftermath of hurricane Helene in the southeastern part of the US. It hurts as I watch the events marking the one year anniversary of the October 7 terror attack on Israel, an attack that took the lives of some 1,200 innocent people. My heart hurts for the 251 people taken hostage, and the 101 still being held hostage if they haven’t been killed already. My heart hurts as I see the suffering of the innocent people in Gaza, whose lives and whose territory have been taken over by the terrorists of Hamas.

My heart hurts when I see the devastation in Lebanon, where most people afflicted by the bombing are innocent civilians. 

My heart hurts for the people of Ukraine, whose country has been under attack by Russia for nearly 3 years. And my heart hurts for the Jewish citizens of the United States who continue to face antisemitism in public and on college campuses.

My heart hurts for this country as many of its citizens and some of the governments work to remove rights from us in the name of religion or politics.

And my heart hurts for the non-human among us as well. My heart hurts for the endless stream of dogs in animal shelters throughout the country who will lose their lives because no one wants them. My heart hurts for the wolves, the bears and other mammals hunted mercilessly. My heart hurts for this planet that sustains us as humans continue to pollute and rape it of its natural resources.

There is so much pain, so much hurt and so much evil in this world. Sometimes it seems overwhelming.