October 7th
We all continue to be “given over to trouble or captivity”
It is hard to get, and to accept, that we are marking on year since October 7th. On one hand, what words can we say? On the other, there is so much I’d like to share, as Israelis are speaking, and sharing, and feeling. I hope to share more this week, but today I offer this.
First, a translated paraphrase of the words I heard personally last night from Ditza Or, the mother of Avinatan Or, the boyfriend of Noa Argamani who was seen in the infamous video of them being taken captive- her on a motorbike, him on foot.
Then below, I share two videos that I believe were created for the national ceremony that will be broadcast later this evening, as the “cover” pages you see below say “The National Remembrance Ceremony”, but as it has yet to air I am not certain about that.
First, I will explain that there has been much discussion over the past year regarding what day to mark what happened one year ago on October 7th, or almost one year ago (according to the Jewish calendar) on Simchat Torah.
Ditza said a lot last night, and one thing she told us is that for her, as a religious woman, this day of October 7th that marks the one year anniversary according to Gregorian calendar means little. She explained that as we just completed a leap year on the Jewish calendar (which means it was a year in which we added an extra month) 12 months since Simchat Torah was actually several weeks ago on the 22nd of the month of Elul (this year this was Sept. 25th). So from her perspective, it has already been a full year and then-some that her son has been in captivity, and she told us that each time she says the word “year”, it burns her lips.
This is the second time I have heard Ditza speak, and her strength, poise, honesty, vulnerability, and faith are extraordinary.
Before she spoke, the group of women that gathered to hear her speak, came together to pray, and amongst the prayers we said was this prayer that has probably been the most repeated prayer by Jews worldwide in the past year:
Acheinu kol beit yisrael, han'tunim b'tzara uvashivyah, haomdim bein bayam uvein bayabasha. Hamakom y'racheim aleihem v'yotziem mitzara lirvacha, umi'afaila l'orah umishibud lig'ulah, hashta ba'agala uvizman kariv.
אַחֵינוּ כָּל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל, הַנְּתוּנִים בְּצָרָה וּבַשִּׁבְיָה, הָעוֹמְדִים בֵּין בַּיָּם וּבֵין בַּיַּבָּשָׁה, הַמָּקוֹם יְרַחֵם עֲלֵיהֶם, וְיוֹצִיאֵם מִצָּרָה לִרְוָחָה, וּמֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹרָה, וּמִשִּׁעְבּוּד לִגְאֻלָּה, הַשְׁתָּא בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב.
As for our brothers and sisters, the whole house of Israel, who are given over to trouble or captivity, whether they abide on the sea or on the dry land:
May the All-present have mercy upon them, and bring them forth from trouble to enlargement, from darkness to light, and from subjection to redemption, now speedily and at a near time.
Of all that she said, I most want to share with you this—Ditza focused in on the words I have boldfaced here, and said very plainly that while there are specific people, and specific families that by “divine judgment” are experiencing this at the most direct level, all of us, everyone one of “the whole house of Israel”, has been “given over to trouble or captivity” for a full year now, and counting.
It was piercing to me to hear a mother whose own son is still in captivity acknowledge the pain we are all experiencing.
Much of Israel is, of course, acknowledging this day of October 7, really in a myriad of ways. I will share here, and in the days to come, several moving clips and at least one song that will give you a sense of what Israelis are seeing now and what our artists, injured soldiers, & bereaved families are saying.
Here are two short clips I found shared on the Facebook page of Hanoch Daum, an Israeli comedian. He and model Rotem Sela interview families of those who have fallen, both as civilians and as soldiers. As a sidepoint— but maybe not really a sidepoint— I will mention that Israeli entertainment personalities seem to play of a lot of different roles. The one who begins as a model or a comedian may easily find him or herself as an Oprah-style interviewer. The singer Idan Amedi pivoted into a celebrated actor, and then on October 7 reported for duty on the front line. I hope later this week to share an incredibly wise “life-teaching” about experiencing pain— of the level you’d hear from a true spiritual leader— from comedian Udi Kagan, who suffered (or maybe still suffers?) from PTSD from his time as a combat soldier.
Maybe it’s due to the smallness of this country, maybe it’s due to their wide range of talent... Maybe it’s due to the fact that they are, like everyone of us, just part of this people, but as you will see here, the interviewers are also “given over to trouble or captivity”, themselves hurting as they interview those who share their pain for their most personal loss.
Here are two short clips. These are truly just a tiny sample of the incredible amount of such personal accounts to be found in Hebrew. The first is with the parents of Dor Shafir, who along with his fiance was murdered in a smaller party (less publicized than the Nova festival) that also took place that fateful night, where 17 civilians were killed. The second is with the siblings of Amer Zur, a soldier who fell defending Kfar Aza.
Please G-d we will know true comfort, and the memories of all the fallen will be a blessing for us all.