I did not plan to attend services at temple today, even though it was the Sabbath and the last formal day of the holiday of Succoth, Shemini Atzeret. But I did.
All day I dressed up in blue and white. The colors of the Israeli flag. Blue pants. White shirt. Blue sweater. Even my rain jacket was blue on the outside with a white lining.
I awoke this morning at 3:45, more or less when nature calls every nocturnal passing. Before trying to go back to sleep I typically access The New York Times online to work on the newest Spelling Bee puzzle which goes live at 3 am. Headlines and news briefs on the surprise attack on the settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip by Hamas and its allies gripped my consciousness.
It is a recurring nightmare that the enemies of Jews attack them on Jewish holidays. Fifty years ago, October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria started the Yom Kippur War on the holiest day for Jews. Today, October 7, is the holiday of Shemini Atzeret in the Diaspora and Simchat Torah in Israel, Simchat Torah being the most joyous day. Eighty-one years ago, on the eve of Succoth, September 25, 1942, Nazis rounded up and killed most of the Jewish residents of my father’s family in Ottynia, a shtetl village in what is now western Ukraine.
After Israel turned over Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, Hamas supplanted the PA in an election. Rather than develop the area into an economically productive region, Hamas turned it into a nest of terror. Prior battles with Hamas failed to eliminate the threat to Israel’s citizens.
Now it seems Israel might well not settle for a less than complete eradication of Gaza-based Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups, even if it means Hezbollah in Lebanon would open a second front.
A short while ago Israelis and Diaspora Jews debated what many considered an existential threat to Israel—Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s proposed overhaul of the judiciary. The attack today re-centered thinking to concentrate on an immediate life and death threat, a threat that will unite all but fringe elements of Jewish society in advocacy and support of total victory.
Unlike many of my friends I have not embarked on round the clock painful capture of news and videos of the fighting and geopolitical musings. If we learned anything from coverage of the Six Day War (my sister was studying in Israel when that conflict erupted) and the Yom Kippur War, it is that news from the first 48 hours of battle can leave many of Israel’s friends anguished.
So let’s wait and see. Grieve for the already acknowledged heavy loss of lives, pray for the safe return of hostages, and trust that Israel will confront, control and construct a triumphant response to this unparalleled aggression.
