Dear Brothers, Sisters, Allies, Friends – even those who do not fit into any of these categories. By the time you read this, many days will have passed since I woke early, left my kibbutz Tzora, and joined thousands of Israelis on the streets with a simple message: “Enough!”
How do I share our situation with those far away? I know you care – whether or not you agree with me on what must be done – and that care means so much.
When I sit down to write, I sometimes wonder what more there is to say. My words can never be filled with the same evil we endured on October 7th.
So, today, 17 August, as we try to find a way forward through these impossible times, and remembering that you will be reading these words, hopefully, as you prepare to welcome in another year, on the eve of Rosh Hashana, I will tell you the story of the group I just guided in Israel, the first synagogue group I have guided here since October 7th. Rabbi Jodi Sieff, a great rabbinical model, brought a small group of congregants to be with us, to learn, to think deeply and to experience in a profound, emotional way, what has happened to us since October 7th. Who we have become; what it means to be an Israeli in 2025. And I am going to say this here in the most categorical way possible: the only way to understand who we are and what it means to be an Israeli in 2025, is to come here.
Remember when a trip to Israel included some time in Jerusalem: the Old City, Machaneh Yehudah, Yad Vashem, Mount Herzl, Mea She’arim (a wonderful, uplifting Shabbat Experience), Masada, the Dead Sea and Ein Gedi, hiking in the Upper Galilee, Tzfat and its beautiful synagogues, the view from Mt Bental into Syria, a wine tasting up north, and finally Tel Aviv – the Carmel Market, the art fair on Nahalat Binyamin, the beach, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art? August in Israel was filled with fun, sun, food, wine, history, a feeling of wonder at the miracle we created after the terrible disaster which befell our People in Europe.
The visit this past week and a half began on Motzei Tisha B’Av with Kinnot, overlooking the Old City and reading that extraordinary line from Breshit, “Lay not thy Hand on the Lad” (an Angel speaking to Abraham as he prepares to sacrifice Isaac); continued to only one day in Jerusalem with a visit to the Old City – but a visit in which we asked the question, “Do we see everything differently today in Jerusalem after October 7th? Is the Kotel the same Kotel? Are the Southern Steps the same Southern Steps? Is the City of David the same City of David?” And then a quick visit to Mt Herzl, the military cemetery, with all the fresh graves. Packing food for the vulnerable as we felt a need to give, and ending the day listening to young Israeli soldiers from my kibbutz, who talked about how guilty they feel with hostages still in Gaza. (They feel guilty? After 300 days of reserve duty! What should we feel?)
One day up north near the northern border. working in the fields of Moshav Abirim and listening to Shula from Moshav Shtula. who has not lived in her home since October 2023. Two days down south in the Gaza Envelope. visiting Sderot, Kibbutz Nir Oz, the Nova Festival site. (Ten days have passed, and I am still reeling from these visits.) Shabbat in Tel Aviv and finally a visit to ANU, the wonderful new museum of the Jewish People. Again, the same question continues to raise its head, to scream at us, “Who are we now after October 7th? Is this the same Jewish People, the same State of Israel?”
I want to end this with a request to all of you to Google Ilay Nachman, and read the story of his life and brave death on October 7th. I promised his mother, Ifat Nachman, after she shared his story and her pain with my group, that I would do everything in my power to make sure that her beloved son would not be forgotten.
Shana Tova and B’Sorot Tovot.
- For the current edition of the Cape Jewish Chronicle, click here.
- Subscribe to the Cape Jewish Chronicle: R450/year, or R38/month via debit order. Simply email us at subscriptions@ctjc.co.za and click here for payment info.
- The Cape Jewish Chronicle reaches over 6 000 readers monthly across print and digital platforms.
- To book advertising space or discuss a custom package contact Adéle Gradner Mobile: 083 321 5222 | Office: 021 464 6736 | Email advertising@ctjc.co.za
