This has been a very thought-provoking read. I am not what I would consider religious, and as you know I was brought up a secular Jew, but I am and always have been what I would consider very spiritual, with a deep reverence for Jesus and his teachings. I'm certainly no expert but I have tried to find reasons to contest certain 'rules' I've seen in churches where certain people will be labelled sinners and banished forever. Everything I have ever read of Jesus's teachings tells me that he would never condone such blanket rules and always make space for the human who is being judged, for their voice, and for forgiveness where appropriate.

On a slightly different matter, this also made me think of Yahya Sinwar, whose life was saved when he was in an Israeli prison with brain surgery. Since October 7th, many people have commiserated that he was ever given that life-saving surgery, but I see it as one of the reasons I am so proud to call myself Jewish - because the true Jewish way is to give life, not death. Today, I hope he is caught and returned to prison and kept in isolation, because he has proven that he cannot be given any such chance ever again, but I don't believe any good deeds done in the past can or should be regretted. There are many more things that could have been done to prevent such an atrocious event.