As Jewish orphans in Yemen, Zechariah and Shama married young and survived extreme poverty and persecution. They were some of the first Yemeni Jews to move to Israel when the state was founded.
Whether our mates leave the house in the morning to face danger or merely the normal trials of daily living, we need to internalize her profound message.
Part of being proudly Jewish to me means fighting for the truth, that our differences, not just our similarities, make us human and that every group should feel safe.
All those left in the sea are the ones with broken fins, shattered hearts, fragmented souls too afraid but yearning for one just as bruised as they are to give them a chance.