On Saturday October 7, we were awoken with news of an event so tragic that it will have lasting implications in the Middle East for years to come. Israel’s 9/11. Israel’s Pearl Harbour. The greatest number of Jews killed in one day since the Holocaust.
We will never forget
Over the last seven days, we have learned a lot. We learned what happened that day (though it is still unclear how it happened in the first place), who many of the victims were, how they were killed, and the brutality of their murderers. We learned much about how the world digests news of Jewish slaughter. We have seen who stands for light, and who promotes darkness. We have seen a thirst for blood, the excusing of barbarism, rationalization and justification to no end, and we have learned who are our friends, and who are our enemies. We have seen how politics divides, but also how in some occasions, it can unite. We have seen sympathy, and we have seen compassion.
Though we have unfortunately learned how fellow Jews can sometimes, shockingly, turn on the dead and castigate Israel for being the victim of a massacre, we have been overwhelmed with the sense of achdut Yisrael - the singularity of Israel - and a brotherhood that was lost in the fog for some time with Israel’s politics divided.
In the days, weeks, and months that follow, we will continue to learn. We will learn who our true friends are. We will learn how to live with this realization, knowing what people are capable of believing about the Jewish people. We will learn about our own mettle and resilience. We will learn of the might and strength of our Jewish army, the Israel Defence Forces, and we will learn of the determination of the State of Israel to make the homeland safe again.
In the beginning
This shabbat, we will begin to read the Torah anew from the start of Genesis (bereshit).
As we recount the creation of the universe, we are reminded of God’s satisfaction with his creation. He created the light, and the Torah says it was good. He separated the light from the dark, and it was good. He separated the land and the waters, he brought forth vegetation, and he created every living creature, and that was all good.
And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. (Gen. 1:31)
Now, I don’t have any deep commentary to share about this Torah portion. I just re-read it a few times this morning trying to find something to give meaning to the rough days that we had all had. The word “good” just kept popping out at me.
Like so many other Jews this week, I have walked around with my head down. Not from shame, but from despair. This was a traumatic week for us all, in the Diaspora, and especially in Israel. It has been hard to smile, and a strain to laugh. We learned, in the starkest of terms, what evil is, and how suddenly it can be visited upon us.
Given the sheer volume of victims, we do not even have an opportunity to learn about each of their beautiful souls, or the lives that they lived, and are forced to now mourn over 1,300 people who died as a group in several massacre sites over a few hours one Saturday morning. The scale of the tragedy is, and will remain, impossible to comprehend.
As the days went on, I went from sadness to anger. I frankly cannot believe what I am reading online, and some of the reactions from people with no horse in the race, seemingly upset that Jews would have the gall to try defend themselves, or fight back. It makes me angry. I remain so.
Light and darkness
But, after seven days, as I try to imagine what comes next, I am forcing myself to be optimistic, even just a little. Though no good has come of what happened last week, I can hope that things will be good. This moment has brought clarity about the world we inhabit, and about what capacity people have to come together. Yes, there is animosity and evil on which we could focus, and with which we will have to learn to live, but there is some good. We have seen it play out online and in the real world.
I have received many messages from non-Jewish friends and family, reaching out to check in on me. The comments range from “thinking of you,” to “if you need to talk, I’m around,” or “there are no words.” I have received comments from random people who have read some of my articles. I received an email this morning from someone in Dundas, Ontario, noting, “Please know I am in full support of Israel and the Jewish people. There are many of us in Canada.” That made my day.
I have seen the pictures from Israel of soldiers opening packages of food sent from all over the country, of soldiers getting married on their way to the front, and of non-kosher restaurants in Tel Aviv becoming kosher so they can feed Orthodox soldiers. In the midst of the sadness, I have seen funny memes, of Israeli soldiers being silly, all in search of a greater good, focused on the goal of ridding Southern Israel of a terrorist presence. I’ve also seen soldiers singing and dancing, holding their Torahs high, putting on their tfillin, and looking to the sky in search of support or meaning for what comes next. This is good.
I don’t know what I will feel tomorrow, or whether this hole in my heart will ever disappear after what we saw this week. But perhaps I, in my comfortable home in Canada, am now just learning what it is to be Jewish. We get knocked down, but we get up again. Rinse and repeat. In 2023, at least this time, we do so with the support of global superpowers, of decent humans, and knowing that the State of Israel, its army, air force, navy, and all of its strength, will do the job they must, and make us proud.
Though last week was not good, the next week can be. We must just learn how.
Shabbat shalom and Am Yisrael Chai.
Resources
Over the last week, many have asked about good social media accounts to follow for credible information and takes on what is happening in Israel hour-by-hour. Below are just some of my suggestions for X (nee Twitter), as I am no good with Instagram. There is a more complete list here.
In no particular order:
IDF Online @idfonline
Avital Leibovich @AvitalLeibovich
Jonathan Conricus @jconricus
Yaakov Katz @yaakovkatz
Barak Ravid @BarakRavid
Haviv Rettig Gur @havivrettiggur
Andrew Coyne @acoyne
Lahav Harkov @LahavHarkov
David Frum @davidfrum
Noa Tishby @noatishby
Aviva Klompas @AvivaKlompas
Elder of Ziyon @elderofziyon
Joe Truzman @JoeTruzman
Jake Wallis Simons @JakeWSimons
Anthony Koch @Anthony_Koch
Eylon Levy @EylonALevy
Trey Yingst @TreyYingst
Michal Cotler-Wunsh @CotlerWunsh
David French @DavidAFrench
Yair Rosenberg @Yair_Rosenberg
Jonathan Greenblatt @JGreenblattADL
Eve Barlow @Eve_Barlow
Mark Goldfeder @MarkGoldfeder
Josh Howie @joshxhowie
Ben Freeman @BenMFreeman
Anna Ahronheim @AAhronheim
Thank you Adam. We are all trying to just breathe.