Day 383: Anniversary, redux
On the eve of Simchat Torah, thinking of new beginnings and of hope
Living in Israel, you get used to living in parallel timelines. You live life in the Gregorian Calendar, with its Summer vacations and birthdays and with the realization that your deep longing for Sundays will never go away. And you also live life in the Hebrew Calendar, with its shifting holiday seasons and another birthday to remember, or lehavdil with the angst you’ll forget a loved one’s yorzeit, and with a Shabbat that, whether at 4 pm or at 7:30 pm, always feels like it catches you unprepared.
One of the perks of this double life is to legitimately have two birthday cakes one the “regular” birthday and another in the Hebrew date. But one of the disadvantages became apparent this year with the plurality of remembrance days for the October 7th massacres: the first on October 7th itself, and the one on the Hebrew date, Simchat Torah (which starts in a few hours.)
And if this weren’t enough, because it’s a holiday, yet another “official” ceremony in schools and in many other institutions next Sunday.
It’s been an emotional day. The anniversary of the massacre. And the anniversary of the morning in which many young men and women rushed out of their homes to try and salvage communities on the south. Many are still fighting. Others, like Lavi, never returned home.
It’s been a week of (more) crazy headlines. But a full week after Sinwar was killed, we are still waiting for any good news. Any news. Especially regarding the hostages.
It has been a week in which (yet another) Nova survivor suffering from PTSD committed suicide. Of more political scandals. Of yet another low for the extremists in the Knesset and the ultra-extremists they support. And of tense waiting for “a reprisal” and a “reprisal on the reprisal.”
It’s been a week in which of yet another escalation in the range, frequency and number of missiles launched at Israel’s north. And a week in which more soldiers and civilians lost their lives.
A week in which we are still waiting for healing and rebuilding to begin for both Israelis or Palestinians. A week in which we cannot believe 101 hostages are still languishing in the tunnels and hideouts of terrorists in Gaza.
So one cannot really say that we’re entering Simchat Torah full of simcha (joy.)
But we count our blessings. I am particularly grateful to have B around (for a few hours, but we’ll take what we can.) And I’m grateful for the deep thought and seriousness with which our community has planned the events for this Simchat Torah, with modifications to the prayers, with a discussion of the options, with a focus on maintaining a sense of community and being mindful of how difficult a day this will be for many.
One example is the choice of the “chattanim” - the honorees that the community chooses to get called up to the Torah on that day. This year, they are all part of the next generation. The first are a teenage boy and girl — representing the hundreds of thousands of young people who spent much of the school year volunteering all over the country. The other two are a soldier who came back from his “post-army” trip to rejoin his old unit, and a newlywed reservists who was injured in Gaza.
This is more than just symbolic. It’s core. Because in the day that Hamas chose to try and break our communities, and deprive us of a future, our answer is to strengthen our bonds. And on the day that symbolizes the unbroken chain of tradition passed from generation, we pass the baton to the new generation, who proved more than ready to take the lead.
The generation of change, the generation of renewal, and above all, the generation of hope.
Some reads:
“War of Revival? Why naming the War Matters for Israel” - Haaretz, October 15
Analysis: Close to 'Mission Accomplished' in Lebanon, the IDF Is Just Waiting for the Outcome of Talks - Amos Harel, in Haaretz October 23
On Simchat Torah, our Itai and 100 others are still hostage. It’s unbearable — Ruby Chen on The Times of Israel Blog
Your line about parallel life resonates strongly with me as does all your posts. I hope this is a year of new beginnings and hope for Israel.
Thanks (as always), Vivian...