Pope Leo XIV's first Urbi et Orbi address and Apostolic Blessing
I was attending a virtual MJTI Panim el Panim class with Rabbi Elliot Klayman about Samson from the Book of Judges when I first learned the name and identity of our new pope. We were studying in Judges 14, with a particular emphasis on the riddle in verse 14. I was transfixed by the synchronicity. Was this a sign from God, a test of my apophenia, or maybe a bit of both? There are important encyclicals yet to come. May the words of Pope Leo XIV be strong and sweet, a balm for our souls. Speak to the lions of Judah, Pope Leo - to our Jewish kith and kin at the heart and root of the faith, in a troubled Holy Land. We do not expect Prime Minister Netanyahu to be Samson, or Jesus, but somewhere between the two. Help us, Pope Leo, grow in love, respect, and empathy for Prime Minister Netanyahu - and also for the innocents of Gaza.