It's been 20 whole days since the start of the war.
It's been more than 20 days and I haven't left Tekoa.
20 days of worry and terror.
20 days of teaching my innocent children what the words: war, soldier, hatred, and Jewish means. (Siikwan still doesn't understand what the word means and can't conceptualize why someone would hate her for something she doesn't even know the meaning of).
20 days of worrying about Nickoma as he drives to and from work...alone and unarmed.
20 days of individual funerals for slaughtered people. (We will not have mass graves, we will identify and properly bury every single body.)
20 days of wondering how hostages are faring in Gaza. Are the young beautiful girls being raped as the were on October 7? Are the babies being fed formula and being taken care of? Are the young children completely alone or have they been grouped somehow? Are the young men being brutalized and tortured? What are the different conditions between the civilian and solider hostages?
20 days.
The pain is fresh still.
The fear comes in waves of tears and anger.
20 days of praying that light will outshine the darkness.
That love will overcome hate.
That peace will prevail.
The battle of good and evil rages on.
Which side have you chosen?
I'm sure that long before October 7 you had already made up your mind about Jews and Israel. Nothing I'm really saying can actually sway you. No articles, videos, testimonies, or pictures will be strong enough to change your mind.
Despite that, I still stand for love over hate. I still choose to put light and goodness into this world. I stand for truth and I stand for my freedom to exist in this world.
I still believe that you, as an individual, want to put light into this world too. To choose to not only do well in this world, but to do some good as well.
So, the time for Tikun Olam (repairing/healing the world) is now.
One love. 
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