By David Bark
SAN DIEGO — Moadim L’simcha.
Tonight marks the beginning of one of my favorite Jewish holidays: Sukkot.
Sukkot is a weeklong celebration of the gathering of the harvest and commemorates the miraculous protection G-d provided for the children of Israel when they left Egypt.
This year, I’ll be celebrating Sukkot after returning from my third Solidarity Mission to Israel with Jewish Federation of San Diego, following the horrific attacks of October 7, 2023. I started the mission in Sha’ar HaNegev with my host family in the moshav Yakini. Many of the residents had already started building their sukkahs, which were much more elaborate than the one my family and I have built over the years… though they assured me it’s not a competition.
My time in the South was filled with the same emotions I’ve experienced during my previous two visits – and honestly, throughout this past year. Sadness and pain for the loss of so many loved ones, fear that our lives may never be the same, and anger toward those who brought this suffering upon our family.
We met with many victims who told us their stories, reliving the pain day after day. The healing process includes the retelling of that horrific day. I feel fortunate to have had the time to be there, to simply listen – to hold them and cry with them. It felt therapeutic for us all. And all I could say to them was: This is what families do. We show up for good days and bad.
After our time in Sha’ar HaNegev, Heidi, Ingram and I headed to Jerusalem for Yom Kippur – my first away from my immediate family in 62 years. It wasn’t easy to be apart, but being in the Old City was an experience I’ll never forget. I live both a secular and spiritual life, and on this day, the spiritual side felt so alive and overwhelmed. Praying with so many others while feeling G-d’s presence at the Kotel is indescribable.
It’s not something that can be put into words; it’s a feeling, a profoundly beautiful feeling. Hearing the Shofar at the end of Neilah is a sound that will resonate in my ears forever, and always take me back to this holy place.
The last stop for this visit to Israel was Tel Aviv. This is where I come to process on all we had seen and heard throughout the trip. After some reflection, I landed on three words to describe each of Federation’s three most recent missions to Israel: Despair, Resilience, and Hope.
Mission 1 (November 2023), Despair: We came to bear witness, and see for ourselves the tragedy of October 7th. We walked the sites and heard so many stories of death and destruction. Innocent lives lost, families torn apart, and far too many taken hostage. These are the kinds of stories I always believed would only be told about the Holocaust. I left that mission with nothing but despair. How could humanity have descended into such darkness, and will the light ever shine again?
Mission 2 (April 2024), Resilience: The Israeli people are, in my humble opinion, the most resilient in the world. The sadness from October 7th was still there (and will never go away, though will hopefully lessen with time). But what we heard and witnessed was the desire to rebuild, to move forward and live again. They want to sing and dance again. After suffering so much, I was moved at their resilience and ability to dream again so close in time to that day.
Mission 3 (October 2024), Hope: On this mission, we witnessed the actual rebuilding of Sha’ar HaNegev. Families moving back to their homes and building new ones. The people feeling the excitement of being together again with their communities. Children playing together in their schools, and families gathering to enjoy the holidays together. I’m certain they were all still hurting, and we will be there for them to help with the healing. But seeing them move forward and find joy in life again inspires me, and I hope it inspires all of us to continue to support them as they rebuild.
There is a long, long way to go before Sha’ar HaNegev returns to the place we knew and loved before that fateful day. It will not be easy and there will always be some sadness. But that’s okay… We’ve all experienced sadness in our lives and we learn to live with it and enjoy life. Israelis are incredible and give me hope for the future.
Moving forward is the only option. Israel and Sha’ar HaNegev need us, and we need them. There is only one family. This is not the time to rest, but to work even harder to help each other. We found our way out of the Holocaust, and we will find our way again.
So, as we enter this most festive holiday with friends and family, I wish you all a bountiful harvest (which, for me, means plenty of good food!), and may G-d continue to protect the Jewish people as we leave this dark period in history and enter into more enlightened days, with peace for all.
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David Bark chairs the board of the Jewish Federation of San Diego.