October 7th Reflections

A time to mourn, a time to rise

On October 7th, 2023, I happened to be sick with a virus. And so instead of being in shul, I was at home when the sirens sounded. My daughter, who was a commander in the IDF and had to leave her phone on during Shabbat/Chag, was receiving calls about helping organize transportation for soldiers. I looked out of the window and saw the heartbreaking sight of our neighbors hugging their son goodbye as he left for unknown dangers.

For many Jews, even those not directly impacted by the Hamas attack or the subsequent war, life changed forever that day. Living in Israel will never again be the same. And after the global outpouring of antisemitism and Israelopathy, being a Jew in today’s world will never again be the same.

Everyone has their own personal situation of how they have been affected. Personally I emotionally crashed pretty terribly in the first few months. And while I’ve subsequently managed to emerge from that depression, the anniversary is quite difficult, especially with war breaking out on so many fronts.

I remember during those first few weeks, a quote from Lord Of The Rings kept going through my head:

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

I believe that while we must mourn, we must try to escape despair. To that end, I want to share some perspectives that might be helpful for people to boost their spirits.

Yes, Israel’s situation may look bleak. But there was certainly times when it looked even bleaker - when it was even bleaker. When the British withdrew from Palestine, everyone here knew that there would be a war. I’ve seen it said that those who founded the state reckoned that the Jewish People would only have a 50/50 chance of surviving the War of Independence! And even after we won independence, there were terrible periods in Israel’s history. If you read about how the 1950s were in Israel, it’s shocking. And the eve of '67? They were digging mass graves. And in all these cases, people stuck it out, and it was worth it.

A friend of mine said that Oct 7th was worse than his worst nightmares. At the same time, it should also be noted that as difficult and painful as this year has been, our worst nightmares immediately after Oct 7th did not materialize. I’m not sure how many people remember this, but in the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7th, US security experts (and many in Israel) were talking about how thousands of IDF soldiers would be killed in Gaza’s tunnels. Without minimizing the terrible loss of hundreds of soldiers this past year, it was far from thousands. Likewise, many people feared that we would never get any of the hostages back. Again, without minimizing the terrible tragedy of those we have not recovered, half of them have returned. And everyone was talking about the massive damage that Hezbollah could inflict on Israel. Again, without minimizing the lives lost and the challenges ahead, it’s certainly not the scale of destruction that was feared.

As Prof. Gil Troy noted, during pogroms, no one came to save Jews. During the Holocaust, the mass slaughter continued for years. On October 7, every act of Israeli resistance shifted the narrative arc from millennia of Jewish suffering to another chapter in the Zionist quest to build and defend a Jewish homeland. That blue-and-white story is no fairy tale. It is potted with enemies, failures, mistakes, tragedies. But it is also a story of fighting your enemies when necessary, and rebuilding, renewing, healing, and dreaming, always.

Every day, there are millions of Jews that are alive, despite millennia of people trying to destroy us. Millions of Jews that are living the religion of their ancestors from thousands of years ago, that have accomplished incredible things. Israel has accomplished amazing things, even (and especially) during this terrible year. And it will continue to do so.

Shver tsu zayn a Yid, it can be hard to be a Jew. But it is also a tremendously rich identity, and it can be a tremendous blessing. May God help us heal, and recover the hostages, and continue to succeed against our enemies, and thrive.