By Jacob Kamaras
LA JOLLA, California — In San Diego and across the Jewish world, this past Simchat Torah holiday won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
While I was on volunteer security duty at Congregation Adat Yeshurun during Shabbat/Shemini Atzeret, bits and pieces of the devastating news in Israel began to emerge. We heard that 100 Israelis were murdered in the surprise attack by Hamas and hundreds more injured — numbers that would grow to more than 800 killed, 2,000 wounded, and 100 taken hostage. Those refraining from checking their phones during the two-day Yom Tov would remain on the edge of their seats until reading the full extent of the developing story on Sunday night.
Could Simchat Torah, featuring the singing and dancing that normally makes it one of the most joyous days on the Jewish calendar, proceed as planned? During this uneasy period of limbo when our thoughts and prayers were with Israel, yet we remained detached from the technology that keeps us fully connected to our fellow Jews more than 7,500 miles away, the only reasonable course of action was to use the holiday as our primary form of exhibiting solidarity. The most appropriate sentiment for this moment was the song “Acheinu Kol Beit Yisrael,” with its lyrics translated as follows:
Our brothers, the whole house of Israel, who are in distress and captivity, who wander over sea and over land — may God have mercy on them, and bring them from distress to comfort, from darkness to light, from slavery to redemption, now, swiftly, and soon. And let us say: Amen.
Still, throughout the holiday, there was almost a sense of guilt about this uncomfortable luxury that we did not deserve — the ability to not know the full story in those initial days.
Then, the conclusion of Yom Tov brought the inevitable sense of sadness and overwhelm associated with catching up on the harrowing headlines on Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, or wherever else we consume our news and information. This included the tragic loss of Ofir Libstein, the mayor of San Diego’s Israeli partner region of Sha’ar HaNegev.
On Sunday night, Congregation Adat Yeshurun promptly organized an emergency gathering to recite Tehillim (Psalms) for our brothers and sisters in Israel.
“If we can push ourselves a little bit more coming right off of the heels of Yom Tov while we still have this closeness to Hashem and call out to him from this feeling, then hopefully, G-d willing, our Tefillos (prayers) will be answered in kind for the safety and security of our brothers and sisters in Israel,” Adat Yeshurun’s Rabbi Daniel Reich wrote in a message to our community. “We should only know good things.”
It’s impossible to know exactly what the coming days, weeks, and months will bring in Israel as the country braces for what could be its biggest war in 50 years. Given the widespread reflections on the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War that led up to October 7 — especially with the recent release of the feature film on Israel’s prime minister at the time, Golda Meir — the surprise attack on Simchat Torah and its aftermath feel literally like the worst nightmare coming to life.
What can we do next? We can keep reading the news. We can cry. We can check in on family and friends in Israel. We can donate to the organizations raising funds for the urgent needs of victims and their families. We can hug our loved ones and appreciate what we have. Here at San Diego Jewish World, we can cover the story.
But sometimes, all we can really do is pray.
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Jacob Kamaras is editor and publisher of San Diego Jewish World.
Your words were heartfelt and so on point. They are expressed at a time where we are all at a loss for words. Thank you for your meaningful thoughts.