{"id":45031,"date":"2024-09-20T01:55:21","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T08:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=45031"},"modified":"2024-09-18T10:42:28","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T17:42:28","slug":"a-solemn-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2024\/09\/20\/a-solemn-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"A solemn anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Vancouver and Victoria Jewish communities will each hold a memorial ceremony Oct. 7 to honour and remember the victims of the attacks on Israel a year ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Led by the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver (RAV) and in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and many others, an evening event in Vancouver will be an opportunity for people of all ages to come together.<\/p>\n

A special gathering for young adults will take place from 6 to 7 p.m., providing a space for reflection and connection. The main ceremony will begin at 7 p.m., and will include what is being described as a poignant tribute led by our community\u2019s rabbis. The location of the event will be emailed upon registration. Register at\u00a0 <\/span>jewishvancouver.com\/october-7th-memorial<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Following the ceremony, Jewish Family Services will offer \u201cliving rooms,\u201d in both Hebrew and English, where attendees can share their thoughts and find comfort. An Israeli sing-along will also take place, with the intention of helping participants find strength in unity and to support one another.<\/p>\n

Relatives of Oct. 7 victims will present representative stories of the heroes and victims and organizers are planning interactive elements so participants can actively memorialize. There is an intention to ensure that all the victims\u2019 names, as well as fallen soldiers\u2019 names, can be articulated in the course of the program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Politics \u2013 local or international \u2013 are to be kept out of the program. Elected officials may attend but the focus is on memorializing and honouring the dead.<\/p>\n

While Oct. 7 created an unprecedented new world, in many ways, there is a precedent for the sort of memorial event planned, according to Beth Israel\u2019s Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, who is head of RAV.<\/p>\n

The Yizkor service will be the template for this commemoration, said Infeld.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that the Yizkor service is something that the synagogue-going Jew can relate to, but we know that not all the members of our community go to synagogue on a regular basis,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to make sure that it works for everyone. Yizkor is the framework, but there will be creative pieces in it as well that will work for everyone in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the anniversary approaches, Infeld said the community should be \u201cthinking first and foremost of the memory of those who were murdered in this horrific, horrible terror attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are 97 hostages still being held in captivity in Gaza of the more than 240 Israelis and others kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7. (Four other hostages have been held since 2014\/15.)<\/p>\n

People need to be reminded of the absolute necessity to support the people of Israel at this moment, and to support fellow Jews here in Canada and around the world against the rise of antisemitism, said Infeld. \u201cWe would like to see everyone really rally together and gather together to support each other and to show our support for Israel and the Jewish people, and to comfort each other as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

A memorial in Victoria will take place at the same time on Oct. 7, at the Esquimalt Gorge Pavilion. Pre-registration is mandatory at\u00a0<\/span>jewishvictoria.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Sept. 28, as part of Beth Israel\u2019s Selichot service, Rabbi Infeld will lead a conversation with Thomas Hand, whose daughter, Emily, was a hostage in Gaza. Emily, who turned 9 in captivity, was kidnapped along with her friend and the friend\u2019s mother. The two girls were released in November. Hand will talk about the \u201cspiritual, emotional and moral roller coaster\u201d of his daughter\u2019s captivity and eventual freedom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Vancouver and Victoria Jewish communities will each hold a memorial ceremony Oct. 7 to honour and remember the victims of the attacks on Israel a year ago.\u00a0 Led by the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver (RAV) and in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and many others, an evening event in Vancouver will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[9651,22700,22729,4352,1025,54,22725,8468,8469,1774,1742,6224,21881],"class_list":["post-45031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local","tag-commemoration","tag-hostages","tag-israel-hamas-war","tag-jewish-federation-of-greater-vancouver","tag-jonathan-infeld","tag-memorial","tag-oct-7","tag-rabbinical-association-of-vancouver","tag-rav","tag-terrorism","tag-vancouver","tag-victoria","tag-yizkor"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45031\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}