I’ve given a lot of thought to the meaning of the number 700, as we pass yet another awful milestone. Today we count 700 days since October 7th. 700 days of captivity for 48 of our sisters and brothers, 20 of whom are still alive and suffering at the hands of Hamas.

Though there is a long and full tradition of numerology and symbolism in Judaism, 700 is significant in only a few passages in the Torah and the Prophets. One such place is the description in the second book of Kings (at the end of the third chapter) of a campaign by King Yehoram against the Moabite King, who with 700 soldiers retreated to a final stronghold. There, the King of Moab sacrificed his son to the god Chomesh, in a desperate and futile effort to save himself. The battles were cruel, and this final act drew great anger from all - the prophet Elisha later calls King Yehoram a killer and the soldiers of Judah and of Moab were no doubt enraged by the fierce fighting, the acts of the Kings, or all of it.

I was struck by the actions of the Moabite King, who lost everything in battle, and then sacrificed his own son on the battlements in a vain attempt to forestall the inevitable. It seems that the insistence of Hamas to prolong the war over the bodies of its own people instead of putting down arms and ending their suffering (and that of the hostages), will lead to even more destruction. It isn’t rational, it isn’t going to reverse the defeat Hamas, Iran, Syria, the Houthis, and Hezbollah have already suffered, it isn’t going to save Hamas’s leaders from their fate, but they do it anyway.

I gave some thought as well to what 700 days means in terms of life and growth and vitality. If you look at how trees grow, some will take their time in the first few years, slowly emerging as saplings and growing their first leaves, rising a mere 8-10 inches from the ground in their first two years. Such is the oak tree’s life cycle. And yet, in later years, the oak can grow to majestic height and breadth, becoming stronger, taller and more able to shelter life in its shade and its branches every year. The avocado tree has a different experience. It shoots up very quickly, and within two years it can already be more than six feet high, producing fruit within a few years after that. Eventually it too grows tall, but never as strong as the oak.

Life can be precarious. A tree can experience a storm, disease, drought, flooding, and many other dangers. Each can stifle its growth or end it altogether. Yet life can also be tenacious. I’ve seen trees gripping meager soil and breaking through rocky outcrops to grow and thrive even on a cliffside or a mountaintop, in the harshest condition. Though the life of every growing thing hangs in the balance every day, eventually a sapling emerges that will live and thrive.

It is our task to be the ones who tend the grove, who nurture and protect, who ensure sustenance and whatever protection we can offer to ensure that a strong, thriving tree emerges.

Even after 700 days.

You can be our partner in completing that task. Support our people. Support our work. Support life.