The Nova Exhibition commemorates the massacre at the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023. The exhibit is in Toronto until June 8. (photo by Lorraine Katzin)
My friend Karen Shalansky and I, from Congregation Har El, went on a Jewish National Fund tour to Israel in April 2024, traveling with some congregants from Congregation Beth Israel. We were based in Tel Aviv but drove to the south to see the Nova Festival Memorial and the car cemetery. (See jewishindependent.ca/reflections-on-april-mission.)
When I heard of the Nova Exhibition, which had been traveling to New York, Los Angeles and then Miami, I Googled to see if it was going to be in Toronto. While we live in Vancouver, my husband and I were going to be heading to Toronto for our granddaughter’s Grade 1 siddur celebration. I was able to purchase tickets to the exhibition for May 6, during the time we (and our daughter) were going to be in the city.
Normally, when we go to Toronto, we attend Saturday morning services at our son’s synagogue, the Village Shul. It just so happened that, on the Shabbat of our visit, the guest speaker was Ophir Amir, one of the founders of the Nova music festival and one of the producers of the Nova Exhibition. Amir was shot in both legs by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. He survived, but so many of his friends did not. He shared: “While I was hiding from the terrorists, I thought about my wife, who was pregnant, and that’s what saved me.”
(photo by Lorraine Katzin)
The Nova Exhibition tells the stories of the victims and helps this community begin to heal – we will dance again.
The first part of the exhibit is a movie. It shows people having fun, enjoying life, singing and dancing, until 6:29 a.m. on Oct. 7, when the music stops and security starts shouting “Red alert! Tzeva adom!” as they could see the rockets flying over Israel. They tell everyone to go home. The movie ends.
We were then led to another room for a reenactment of what came next. There were different TV screens showing how the Hamas terrorists came through the fence, the continuous firing of their weapons, the continuous shouting of “Allah Akbar!”
The next area is filled with belongings from the festival, which include tents, sleeping bags, chairs, clothes, snacks, trees, the market, featuring various items, portable toilets, the bar, freezer chests, burnt-out cars, shelters, and more. By each display there is a TV screen with a survivor telling their story. One young girl lost 15 friends, another young man lost more than 40 friends, a mother lost two of her daughters. Many different stories of loss, as well as stories of heroism.
On one wall of the exhibit are photos of the Nova hostages still held in captivity by Hamas. On another wall are photos of all the people at the Nova festival who were murdered on Oct. 7 – as well as their hats, shoes, other clothing and knickknacks.
(photo by Lorraine Katzin)
As you walk through the exhibit, it shows how the larger community is helping with the psychological trauma, the grieving process, the bereavement, the difficulties of survivors to function day-to-day. All the proceeds from the exhibition are dedicated to helping heal and rehabilitate survivors, commemorate those who were lost, and support the bereaved families.
We spent two-and-a-half hours walking around and reading testimonies. We came out emotionally drained. Our Israeli brethren are resilient, they have ruach, spirit, and they are dancing again.
The Nova Exhibition runs until June 8 at 1381 Castlefield Ave., in Toronto. For more information, visit novaexhibition.com.
Images from the exhibition:
(photo by Lorraine Katzin)(photo by Lorraine Katzin)(photo by Lorraine Katzin)(photo by Lorraine Katzin)
Kfir Bibas was abducted before his first birthday. His second birthday is this Saturday. (photo by Pat Johnson)
The Gregorian calendar has turned over a new year, but the vigils for the Israeli hostages continue without interruption.
Daphna Kedem, who has organized the weekly events since hours after the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks, acknowledged that it has been effectively an additional full-time job and that the commitment has taken a toll.
“But it’s also given me energy to continue, in a strange way,” she told the Independent in the moments before the vigil at Vancouver City Hall last Sunday. “I have to be here. I have to do it. I can’t be anywhere else.”
Inevitably, numbers have dwindled from the initial weeks, and some people have suggested to Kedem that she alter the events from weekly to monthly to get the numbers up. She’s not confident that would make a difference and, she added, that would send a negative message. To shift from the weekly routine would imply “that we are normalizing and accepting the situation of the hostages” and that is a message she will not accept, she said.
Ari Mansell is a core volunteer who is present for setup and teardown every week, as well as occasionally playing violin.
“I come here as the smallest thing I can do to help my community,” he said. “It’s a labour of love for me. It’s hard for me to stay away.”
His participation has made him feel more connected to his community.
“I’ve increased my community around me,” he said. “Moving here eight years ago [from Edmonton], I didn’t really know anyone here. This unfortunate event has brought us together and I’m so thankful for the people that I’ve got to know over this time – the musicians, Daphna, the organizers – it’s enriched my life. I don’t do it for me, but at the same time it’s helped me.”
Joanita Nakasi is one of many Christians who attend on a regular basis. She has always prayed for Israel, she said, and so, when Oct. 7 happened, she felt moved to stand with the local Jewish community. She urges others to accompany her.
“They should also come and join,” she said. “We stand together until all our brothers and sisters are back.”
Richard Lowy, who has performed music and sung at many of the vigils, lauded the community for coming together across ideological lines.
“The idea that you’re secular, you’re religious, you’re nonreligious, you’re right-wing, you’re left-wing, you’re for Trump, you’re for Biden, you’re Jewish – it doesn’t matter,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what you think. When the Nazis came, they came for the Jews regardless of your beliefs or where you stood.”
He recounted an experience he had during the process of writing a book about the Holocaust experiences of his father, Leo Lowy, a “Mengele twin.” The book will be released on Jan. 27, which is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“While I was working [on the book], I’m reliving the horror of Auschwitz and looking at the faces of the people that are in this concentration camp and the families and the people that were brutalized and I had to take a break because it’s just so horrific,” he said. “As I walk out to the front, where the bike lane is, there is a group of young kids riding their bicycles with their Palestinian flags yelling, ‘From the river to the sea’ right in front of my house. It’s just so devastating to see this.”
In the cold sunshine Sunday, Jonathon Leipsic asked to be described solely as “part of klal Yisrael.”
Leipsic said he was asked to speak about antisemitism, but demurred.
“For me, antisemitism is a relatively irrelevant topic,” he told those gathered. “You may say have I lost my mind. What about this rising antisemitism?”
Jonathon Leipsic, “part of klal Yisrael,” fears sinat chinam, baseless hatred, more than antisemitism. (photo by Pat Johnson)
He said the Jewish community has done a good job teaching the next generations about antisemitism and the Shoah, to be good stewards of memory.
“We as a people undoubtedly will suffer, but we are eternal,” he said. “At the end of the day, we are eternal if we follow the words and the guidance provided to us.”
What worries him more, he said, is sinat chinam, baseless hatred.
“Baseless hatred among klal Yisrael and division and a lack of shalom bayit [peace in the home] within our people – this is, by far, and has always been, the only true threat to the eternity of am Yisrael. Our rabbis teach us that the First Temple was destroyed because of the most profound and abominable sins one could imagine that could be happening within a place of Hashem…. But yet, what brought down the Second Temple? Sinat chinam. Baseless hatred among klal Yisrael.”
He urged the audience to embrace the diversity of opinion within the community and “be less afraid of antisemitism and much more concerned about sinat chinam.”
Ohad Arazi moved to Canada from Israel in 2006 and has spent two decades bringing together Israeli and Canadian technology companies and people. As a son of a diplomat, he has spent more time living outside Israel than in it.
He reacted negatively when, prior to moving to Canada, his mother warned him that, as a Jew, “The only place you will ever feel truly safe is here in Israel.”
“I was so angry at her. I said, ‘I am a child of the world,’” Arazi recalled. “I am moving to one of the most liberal and pluralistic countries in the world. Please, Ima, don’t project your scarred Holocaust psyche on me.”
Then Oct. 7 happened.
“On that day, the world witnessed unspeakable atrocities as Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel, resulting in the loss of innocent lives and the abduction of many,” he said. “But one more thing happened that day, which is that Canadians got their first glimpse of where our country could be headed. Shortly after the news of the scope of the atrocities began coming to light, revelers and anti-Israel protesters took to the streets in Canada.… Across governments, schools, unions and media, a toxic environment has emerged, fueling hostility against Canadian Jews.”
Israel’s war against Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis is proceeding successfully, he said. “But our war, as Jews in the diaspora, the war we are facing day in and day out, is a war of ideas, a war of words, ideology and truth,” said Arazi. “Our Canada should be the model for building a future where the values of humanity triumph over hatred and where every hostage is safely returned to their loved ones.”
Aliya Oran Dobres, a 15-year-old Grade 9 student at King David High School, shared her harrowing experiences of being pursued by a threatening group at a mall because of her Star of David necklace, as well as the threats her friends have experienced. In the days after Oct. 7, her fellow students covered their uniforms when in public, she said.
“We should not be scared for who we are,” she said. “As Jews, we must stick together and be strong.”
Ebube Anachebe is a fourth-year electrical engineering student at the University of Calgary, who is in Vancouver for an internship. She returned days ago from her second trip to Israel in the past year, with a Christian organization called Passages.
“The aim of the mission is to bring Christian students to the Holy Land to walk in the footsteps of Jesus,” she said. “However, since Oct. 7, they have been shifting their focus toward not just bringing students to the Holy Land, but also mobilizing Christian students to stand alongside their Jewish brothers and sisters against antisemitism.”
About 100 others joined Anachebe on the nine-day tour.
“We experienced the Jewish roots of our faith, we experienced the love of our saviour, gifted to us by you guys, our Jewish brethren,” she said. “We encountered modern Israel and we bore witness to the realities of what happened on Oct. 7.”
She shared several memorable encounters with Israeli individuals, including Shahar, a resident of Kfar Aza.
“His beloved community was torn apart and ransacked by Hamas terrorists. When we asked him why he returned, he said, ‘Israel is my home, this kibbutz is my home, I have nowhere else that I would want to go.’
“The group’s tour guide, Danny, recounted how, on Oct. 7, when awakened by sirens at 6:30 am, his son asked him, ‘Daddy, why won’t the bad people let Israelis sleep?’
“He shared about the difficult moment when, a couple of hours later, he was called to the reserves and he had to tell his son, ‘I won’t be here for your birthday tomorrow,’” Anachebe said.
She said that, when Oct. 7 happened, “it awoke two different camps of people.”
“It awakened the antisemites, who had been slumbering,” she said. “But I tell you it also woke up leaders who didn’t even realize that they were leaders until they were called up for such a time as this, to stand up against this evil of antisemitism. This is what I witnessed when I went to Israel. I witnessed leaders who will rise up and pray for Israel, the hostages and the brokenhearted.”
Anachebe said, “We Christians see you, our Jewish brothers and sisters, as mishpachah, family. We are standing and we are standing alongside you. Am Yisrael chai.”
לבעיית האנטישמיות כנגד יהודים וישראלים בעולם. אין ספק שמדינות המערב נכשלו בטיפול שורש בבעייה חמורה זו ואני חושש למראות קשים יותר בעתיד
גל האנטישמיות הנוכחי החל צובר תאוצה לאור הריגתם בעזה של עשרות ואלפי אזרחים בהם נשים וילדים רבים. יש מקום להעביר ביקורת על ישראל ולהפגין כנגדה בכל מקום בעולם. אך אסור בשום פנים ואופן לנקוט באלימות נגד תושבי ישראל והיהודים ברחבי העולם ולקרוא להשמדת המדינה. שנאה שכזו לא תביא לשום תוצאות חיוביות וכאמור על מדינות המערב להתחיל ולפעול בחריצות כנגדה
ישראלים רבים רואים את תמונת המצב בשני צבעים בלבד: שחור ולבן. מבינתם לאחר אירועי השבעה באוקטובר משנה שעברה עם ההתקפה הנוראית של הטרוריסטים מהחמאס וארגונים נוספים, מותר לישראל לעשות כרצונה – בדרך לחסל את הטרור בעזה, גם אם מדובר בהריגת עשרות אזרחים. אצל הישראלים – לאחר השבעה באוקטובר – אין שום מקום להעביר ביקורת על ישראל. וכל ביקורת היא אנטישמיות לשמה. הישראלים אומרים במפורש כי מה שלארה”ב ומדינות נוספות היה מותר לעשות באפגניסטן, עיראק, ויאטנם ומדינות נוספות, מותר גם לישראל לעשות. עמדה זו לא מקובלת עלי ואני טוען כי אין לישראל לגיטימציה לעשות את מה שמדינות אחרות עשו כיוון שמדובר בדברים חמורים מאוד. וכן אסור לשכוח לרגע שרצועת עזה נמצאת לפיתחה של ישראל והתוצאות האיומות של הרג אזרחים והריסת כשבעים אחוז מהבניינים לא יעלמו פתאום
לאור מחדלי ואירועי השבעה באוקטובר חלק מהישראלים מתקשים לעכל זאת, והפתרון נמצא בדת. אלוהים העניש את ישראל והנקמה (המוצדקת אגב) מתבצעת בשמו. בכך הם מורידים אחריות מהמדינה לגודל המחדלים שקדמו לשבעה באוקטובר, והופכים את החיים בישראל לקלים יותר
אני לא מזלזל באמונה של אלה שמאמינים באלוהים דעתי ידועה היא כי כל אחד יחיה באמונתו. אך אין מקום להכניס אמונות לנושאים אקטואליים ומעשיים כמו השבעה באוקטובר. האמונות מסוות למשל את חומרת המחדלים של ישראל בכל הרמות. האמונות כביכול נותנות מענה למצוקה הקשה והאישית עקב הדבר הנורא הזה שקרה לישראל אך אין בהם להביא לשום פתרון מעשי. אומר שוב: השבעה באוקטובר שהוא האירוע החמור ביותר לעם היהודי מאז ימי השואה, קרה בגלל שורת מחדלים קשה ביותר של ראש ממשלת ישראל, ממשלתו, הצבא וגורמי הביטחון. שום אמונה לא תשנה עובדה זו
יש לזכור שבישראל עצמה לאור שנים מתנהלת אנטישמיות נגד מתנגדי ראש הממשלה, בנימין נתניהו, וזה עובר יחסית בשתיקה. אין מספיק תגובות נגד הביביסטים שמתקיפים באלימות את משפחות החטופים. הביביסטים קוראים ליוצאי אירופה כמוני “אתם חזרו לאירופה כדי שהיטלר יחסל אתכם”. האם זו לא אנטישמיות שפלה ביותר? הגדילה לעשות שרת התחבורה, מירי רגב, שאמרה בצורה מבישה “הקפלניסטים הגיעו לבית של ביבי לסיים מה שחיזבאללה לא הצליח”. האם זו לא אנטישמיות
קודם כל צריך תסתכל טוב טוב במה שקורה בתוך ישראל לפני שמעבירים ביקורת על העולם. אני בטוח שיותר קל לדבר על זרים מאשר על חלק לא מבוטל ממדינת ישראל
לסיכום העניין יש לציין כי מצבה של ישראל והיהודים ברחבי העולם הוא מסובך ביותר. ישראל הפכה לאחת המדינות השנואות בעולם כיום והישראלים והיהודים בעולם נמצאים בסכנה מוחשית של אלימות ממשית. לאף אחד לא ברור עוד כמה זמן תימשך לחימת ישראל בעזה ורבים מתושבי המדינה היה רוצים כבר לראות את הסוף ושחררור החטופים שרובם כבר לא בחיים
Dr. Ofer Merin, director general of Shaare Zedek Hospital, spoke at the event via video. He was expected to be in Vancouver in person but stayed in Jerusalem due to intelligence that Iran might strike Israel during the time he was scheduled to be away. (Adele Lewin Photography)
A top Mossad psychologist who has interviewed hostages released from captivity in Gaza explained to a Vancouver audience this month the traits that allow some people to survive and overcome unimaginable conditions.
Dr. Glenn Cohen, who made aliyah in 1982 after growing up in New York, served seven years in the Israeli Air Force as a pilot, then 25 years in the Mossad. His reserve duty has been in the hostage negotiation unit. He spoke at Schara Tzedeck Synagogue Nov. 10 as part of a national tour titled Voices of Resilience. The Vancouver event marked the inauguration of the Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation Western region. The hospital’s director general, Dr. Ofer Merin, spoke via video from Jerusalem.
The first hostages to be released after Oct. 7 were vital to intelligence-gathering for Israel’s military, but Cohen quickly realized that the psychological well-being of the former hostages presented challenges to obtaining the information that could help locate and free others.
“We have two goals here,” said Cohen. “One is to get lifesaving, critical intelligence about the other hostages. But, at the same time, these people came out of captivity. We have to give them a soft landing and tender loving care.”
Cohen wrote a protocol to receive civilians from situations like these.
When more than 100 hostages were released through an agreement last November, Cohen and his team of 30 psychologists met each one and debriefed them.
“The first thing we asked them was, who did you see?” Cohen said. “What condition physically, mentally? And,with this information, we brought a sign of life for some people who had no idea if their loved one was alive or not.”
Some news was good, while other reports confirmed the worst fears of some families.
Cohen has trained soldiers for the potential of being held hostage and he was surprised that, without this sort of training, human instinct told some of the hostages how to respond.
A core trait among those who successfully survive such scenarios, he said, is hopeful certainty that they will be released. Too much optimism, though, can lead to crushing depression when hopes are not met. Those who are certain of imminent release or rescue may succumb to heartbreak and even give up on life as days and weeks tick by, he said.
It is necessary, Cohen said, to balance hope with realistic expectations.
A 16-year-old boy who was among the released hostages remembered the story of Gilad Shalit. The boy told himself: “How long was he in captivity? Five years. I’m in for five years. A day less is a bonus.”
“A 16-year-old kid,” said Cohen. “Wow. What type of resilience is that? He didn’t go through any POW training. He was just a 16-year-old Israeli boy and he’s got that in his DNA.”
Maintaining any sense of control or normalcy is a small victory. Some hostages counted the days and weeks by listening to the muezzin, the Muslim call to prayer, which is different on Fridays. A seven-year-old boy was given three dates to eat each day, and he kept the seeds to measure how many days he had been in captivity. Others made fun of their captors, secretly referring to them by disparaging names.
Generally speaking, Cohen explained, it is psychologically better for a hostage to be held with other captives, even if underground without natural light, than to be held above ground alone.
Also advantageous, Cohen said, is recognizing the captors as human beings.
“There is another person on the other side,” he said. “Even though we call Hamas animals or … monsters or whatever, the point is, they are human beings who can be influenced. When you realize that, that this is an interpersonal situation, that gives you power.”
Cohen shared one story of hostages who told their captors, “Put your gun down, you’re scaring the children,” and they did.
In another instance, a woman with a cardiac condition asked to get some exercise by walking down the tunnel she was held in. She came across two other hostages and asked why they couldn’t be brought together. They were.
“A lot of the hostages actually managed to bond with their captors and because of that bond they survived better,” said Cohen.
News of such incidents has led to unfortunate events, he said.
“I heard not too long ago that hostages were cursed on the streets of Israel because they talked about their relationship with the hostages and didn’t call them animals,” Cohen said. “I feel like I have a mission now to educate people to realize that if people are speaking like that, as a hostage, it means it’s a healthy survival mechanism and God forbid we be critical of any of them.”
Dr. Glenn Cohen speaks with an audience member at Schara Tzedeck Synagogue Nov. 10. He was in Vancouver as part of a national tour titled Voices of Resilience. (photo by Pat Johnson)
Merin, the director general of Shaare Zedek Hospital, was expected to be present in Vancouver but remained in Jerusalem due to intelligence that Iran might strike Israel during the time he was scheduled to be away. Merin also serves as head of the medical intelligence committee involved with the current hostage situation in Gaza.
“The day after the war started, we opened a designated emergency room just to treat the many, many hundreds of patients who came in the first week in need of mental health support,” he said, estimating that tens of thousands of Israelis will be diagnosed with some form of post-traumatic stress disorder in the coming months.
Amid the extreme physical and mental health demands, the hospital has also faced human resources challenges, with hundreds of staff members called up for duty and 15 experiencing the deaths of immediate family members during the war. The anxiety of having family on the frontlines adds to the stress for everyone, said Merin. The multicultural nature of the staff, which roughly mirrors the demographic makeup of Jerusalem, is also a factor.
“How do we preserve the cohesion between these people?” he asked. “This is a major daily challenge in times of normal emotions among staff people, how to keep this amazing cohesion of people who are working for years, for decades, shoulder to shoulder together. How to keep it during times of war is a major challenge.”
Hinda Silber, national president, and Rafi Yablonsky, national executive director, of the Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation, traveled from Toronto for the event, which was co-chaired by Dr. Marla Gordon and Dr. Arthur Dodek. The evening was presented by Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation Western region, in partnership with Congregation Schara Tzedeck. The Jewish Medical Association of BC was the educational sponsor, with King David High School and Hillel BC participating in the program. Schara Tzedeck’s Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt welcomed the audience.
“Since Oct. 7, the mental health landscape in Israel has been profoundly affected,” said Ilan Pilo, Western region director of the organization. “The nation is navigating an unprecedented surge in psychological distress as individuals and communities cope with the aftermath of trauma and uncertainty.”
Proceeds from the evening will support a new mental health facility.
It turns out that a war and a worldwide increase in antisemitism may cause more Jewish people to return to Jewish spaces. Some Jewish atheists try out fasting for Yom Kippur. New faces appear at synagogue. Lectures and events that were sparsely attended in the past seem to have more takers. If you’re a regular in a Jewish community, you may have seen this already. There are many reasons, including a need to find community and avoid antisemitism, or to return to religious practice after dealing with so much death. For those who were already attending or even occasionally attending Jewish services or events, things have also changed.
My twins had their b’nai mitzvah in June. I’d long thought of how cool it would be if they could help fill out a minyan more often (a group of 10 needed for communal prayer). However, there have been obstacles. Our congregation’s building was under renovation. The temporary spot, while lovely and hospitable, required a car ride.
This fall, the congregation moved back to its building and we live in easy walking distance. My kids attend public school and didn’t have Sukkot off. Yet, when one kid asked to attend minyan on Hoshanah Rabbah, the last day of Sukkot, I immediately said yes. He would have “an appointment” that morning, according to the attendance sheet, and arrive a little late. We figured, no need to claim a religious holiday (antisemitism concerns, again), but that’s what it was, of course.
Hoshanah Rabbah was a new experience for us, though it’s an ancient ritual. It involves circling the pulpit (a stand-in for the Temple altar) seven times, with lulav and etrog in hand. Marking the end of the fall holidays, it’s a last chance to ask for forgiveness and a better year.
Traditions differ about what is said during this ritual, but our congregation read piyyut, which are traditional poems, a part of Jewish liturgy that often includes acrostics (poems that use the alphabet). Some of the piyyut are very old. I found myself praying that my fruit trees don’t get fungus or that my fields wouldn’t be cursed. It might seem funny to ask for some of these things, but my city backyard has young apple, apricot, plum and cherry trees. I don’t want fungus!
It was especially poignant to pray – in the “Foundation Stone (“Even Shetiyah”) poem – about “the goodness of Lebanon, beautiful place, joy of the world.” This came straight out of the Siddur Ashkenaz (the Ashkenazi prayerbook), with specific quotes from Isaiah, Psalms and Lamentations. Our historic relationship with Lebanon is a rich one. Many of us, Israelis and diaspora Jews, would love to visit Beirut, the “Paris of the Middle East.” Some of us have ancestors who lived there, and we would like to see where they grew up or spent time. This urge isn’t new; our desire to have a good connection to Lebanon as a neighbour is ancient.
Then, we all were handed bundles of willows. We beat these on the lectern with force while saying, “Save your people and bless your heritage, care for them and carry them forever.” It was primal, cathartic, and very messy. There were willow leaves everywhere.
My kid was only a little late to first period art class. I went home in wonder. Later, I joked with one of my professors from graduate school, Jack Sasson, who I respect deeply, about how, for me, this previously unknown Jewish ritual felt stirring and exotic. He suggested that paganism still has something to teach us. The beating of the willows is ancient indeed. It’s a namburbi ritual from Mesopotamia, he said. When I remarked that I could get into this paganism thing, his reply left me laughing. “Ishtar will welcome you.”
I was still reflecting on all this when watching some new friends with young kids dancing on the evening of Simchat Torah. To help everyone through the first yahrzeit of Oct. 7/Simchat Torah, our rabbi dedicated each hakkafah (circuit around the room with the Torahs) to a different group: first responders, those who had died in the past year, the unity of the People of Israel, etc. The next afternoon, the kids came over for snacks and to play. One of the parents asked me why there was so much reference to Israel stuff. I realized that here, too, was a confluence of old customs and new experience.
I explained that some of these prayers, for instance, the prayer for the hostages, weren’t new. The Talmud, codified in 500 CE, discusses the topic of hostages at length. The first instance of the prayer for the redemption of hostages that we use today was documented in the Mahzor Vitry, named for Simhah b. Samuel of Vitry, a French talmudist who died in 1105 CE.
I reminded them that many present at the synagogue were in mourning for people who had died. While celebrating old holidays, we need to acknowledge the current situation. These days, services usually include prayers for the state of Israel and the Israeli army, too. None of these are newly written prayers.
Of course, Sukkot itself, a harvest festival that required Israelites to go to the Temple in Jerusalem – last destroyed in 70 CE – is also all about Israel.
I drew a few conclusions from these social encounters. First, for those who may feel jaded and aware of Jewish yearly events, there’s always something new to learn. For me, it was the primal connection to Mesopotamia, namburbi ritual and, yes, Ishtar, the goddess herself. For those who hadn’t been at synagogue for some time, there were many questions, new encounters and experiences, too. What unites it all is a realization that, while our individual learning curve might be new to us, the rituals, the prayers, and the historic connections to Israel are ancient.
For all of us, in a time when political rhetoric seeks to disconnect diaspora Jews from the land of Israel, Sukkot and Simchat Torah were a powerful – and timely – reminder of our past and our future, together.
Joanne Seiffhas written regularly for the Winnipeg Free Press and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com.
ישראלים רבים לאור אירועי השבעה באוקטובר הפכו להיות פסימים ובצדק. הם לא רואים שום תמונה אופטימית באופק ופתרונות לסיום המשבר הבלתי נגמר
האחראי הישיר למשבר בישראל הוא ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו, שעושה הכל כדי להמשיך בתפקידו ולא מעניין אותו המחיר הכבד לכך. נתניהו כיום הוא אחד המנהיגים השנואים בעולם, כולל במרבית מדינות המערב וכן בישראל. היום רבים מבינים מיהו האיש, כיצד הוא פועל ומה האינטרסים שלו. מצער שהשבעה באוקטובר האירו בצורה רבה עד כמה ישראל לא היתה מוכנה, ועד כמה נתניהו מסוכן ולא יקח אחריות על מעשיו ומחדליו הרבים
בישראל העדיפו להגן על ההתנחלויות בשטחים הכבושים ואף לעבות אותן במקום להגן על גבולות המדינה. העדיפות ניתנה למתנחלים על חשבון תושבי ישראל. זו הקונספציה שנתניהו הוביל וזה מחדל אדיר שהוא לא יוכל להימלט ממנו
יש לא מעט שנוטים להעריץ מנהיגים שזה מנהג לא בריא שיכול להפוך למסוכן, כאשר מדובר באישים כמו נתניהו ודונלד טראמפ. הערצה לנתניהו לאורך השנים הרבות שבה הוא מעורב בפוליטיקה הישראלית, הפכה את תומכיו לעיוורים ואת נתניהו לנוכל. אהוד אולמרט נכנס לכלא על עבירות פחותות בהרבה מאלה של נתניהו, שמתכחש להן כמובן. נתניהו המכהן בתפקידוכשבעה עשרה שנים צבר עבירות רבות בתחומים שונים. הוא הפך לאיש עשיר, הוא מחזיק במספר נכסים וחשבונות בנק מנופחים. נתניהו ומשפחתו חיים ברמת חיים גבוהה והחשבונות מוטלים על משלם המיסים הישראלי
לאור שנותיו בפוליטיקה הבויל נתניהו מהלכים מסוכנים ביותר. הוא הוביל את ההסתה הרבתי שהביאה לרצח של יצחק רבין, הוא הוביל תוכניות רבות להרחבת והוספת ההתנחלויות בשטחים שפוגעות קשות בעתיד של ישראל והפלסטינים. הוא לחץ על טראמפ לבטל את הסכם הגרעין עם איראן – כאשר המומחים לנושאי ביטחון בישראל טוענים שמדובר במהלך שגוי ומסוכן לישראל. נתניהו גם איפשר העברת כסף רב מקטאר לחמאס, ששימש לחימושו בממדים אדירים. עדיין לא ברור האם לנתניהו היה גם רווח אישי מהעברות כספים אלה
נתניהו בימי שלטונו – דאג במדיניות ההפרד ומשול שלו כמו דיקטטורים – ליצור וללבות שנאת אחים בתוך ישראל. המצב היום בחברה הישראלית הוא כה חמור שכבר אי אפשר לגשר על הפערים בין תומכי נתניהו למתנגדיו. התעמולה השיקרית המופצת על ידיי נתניהו, בנו יאיר ומקורבים אחרים ומכונה “מכונת הרעל” רק מוסיפה שמן רותח לסכסוך הפנימי בישראל. הגיעו הדברים לידי אבסורד כאשר תומכי נתניהו מאשימים את משפחות החטופים כאילו הן שייכים לשמאל. לא מעט משפחות החטופים הוכו ואויימו על ידי תומכי נתניהו. ומה תומכיו אומרים לישראלים יוצאי אירופה: תחזרו לאירופה כדי שהיטלר יחסל אתכם. דוגמאות אלה מוכיחות שמאז שנתניהו השתלט על ישראל, המדינה החלה להתפרק והתהליך המדאיג הזה רק מתעצם
תומכי נתניהו מעריצים דמות בעייתית לא פחות והיא טראמפ. הם מאמינים כי רק טראמפ ידאג לישראל. לעומתו המועמדת השנייה לנשיאות בארה”ב, קמלה האריס, לא תדאג לישראל. הישראלים התומכים בטראמפ עיוורים למעשיו המסוכנים ורצונו להפוך לדיקטטור. כידוע הישראלים ונתניהו בראשם לא מסתכלים על התמונה הכוללת, אלה רק על היום ומחר. מבחינתם טראמפ יפתור את הבעיות של ישראל היום ומחר. הם לא קולטים עד כמה טראמפ מסוכן לארה”ב ולמערב, ולכן גם לישראל. אם טראמפ יחזור לשלטון יחליש הדבר את ארה”ב וזה בדיוק מה שרוצים ברוסיה ובסין. בישראל כיוון שלא חושבים על העתיד לא מבינים עד כמה ארה”ב חלשה תחליש גם את ישראל
Several hundred held vigil on the Burrard Street Bridge at sundown Oct. 6. Another vigil took place at the Vancouver Art Gallery at the same time. (photo by Pat Johnson)
The youngest victim of the Oct. 7 pogrom was born and died that day.
At a moving ceremony at Schara Tzedeck Synagogue Monday night, more than 1,400 Jewish community members and allies came together to mark the anniversary of the worst terror attacks in Israel’s history. Another 700 watched a livestream online.
Rabbi Philip Gibbs of West Vancouver’s Congregation Har El shared the story of the youngest victim.
At 5:30 a.m., Sujood Abu Karinat, a Bedouin Israeli, went into labour. Her husband Triffy began driving them to the hospital, but sirens also began.
“Two vans appeared and tried to box them in,” said Gibbs. Triffy was able to swerve and avoid the ambush but a bullet pierced Sujood’s belly.
“Though they were able to get away, soon the car stalled before an intersection and they were able to ask for some help from some of the other local Bedouins,” he said. “But, again, the white van appeared and terrorists fired, ignoring their pleas in Arabic to leave them alone and, again, Sujood received another bullet in the stomach.”
When they finally arrived at the hospital, doctors detected a fetal heartbeat. The bullets had pierced the baby’s leg and, in the process, protected Sujood’s vital organs. The baby was successfully delivered and bandaged.
“After hearing this news, Sujood fell back asleep to recover. But, that evening, the baby passed away,” said Gibbs.
“Sujood never saw her daughter, unable to bear the sight of her dead firstborn.”
Schara Tzedeck’s Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt, who introduced the program and speakers, contextualized the commemoration as an opportunity to “preserve names and to preserve stories.”
In addition, he said, the community gathers to ensure that people do not ignore a world “where children are ripped from their parents’ arms, where children and the aged are taken hostage, where young women are slaughtered and dragged through the streets to be spit upon by a jeering public.”
Rabbi Dan Moskovitz of Temple Sholom spoke of Vivian Silver, the Winnipeg-born-and-raised peace activist whose burned bones were found in her safe room. World media eulogized Silver, a cofounder of the 50,000-member Women Wage Peace, as an irrepressible force and one of Israel’s best-known advocates for peace.
Jason Rivers remembered his cousin, Adi Vital-Kaploun, another Canadian-Israeli who was killed on Oct. 7. Vital-Kaploun received the highest marks ever attained at Ben-Gurion University, he said, and, on Oct. 7, a lab was named in her honour.
“If you believe in miracles, they sometimes do happen,” said Rivers. While Adi was murdered, her 3-year-old, Negev, and 6-month-old, Eshel, were inexplicably released. Adi was later found by the Israel Defence Forces – she had been killed by multiple bullets and her body booby-trapped with grenades.
“She was identified by her wedding ring,” said Rivers.
Daphna Kedem, who has organized weekly rallies at the Vancouver Art Gallery since the hours after the attack, said, “The past year has been unbearable.”
She said, “It is inconceivable that 101 hostages, our loved ones, our family, our members, our children, our parents, our grandparents, remain captive in the hands of the terror organization Hamas, held in appalling conditions.”
The local community’s rabbis and cantors chanted the prayer for hostages.
Lana Marks Pulver, chair of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, and Ezra Shanken, Federation’s chief executive officer, spoke of the connections between Israel and diaspora Jews.
Pulver remembered Ben Mizrachi, the young Vancouver medic who died heroically at the Nova music festival when he returned to help a friend who had been shot. He had earned the nickname “savta” from friends, Hebrew for “grandma,” because he was always helping and caring for others. Shanken noted that a plaque in Mizrachi’s honour was unveiled earlier that day at his alma mater, King David High School, and that Federation has nominated Mizrachi for Canada’s highest civilian decoration for heroism. At Schara Tzedeck, a Torah scroll is being refurbished in his memory.
Eli Cohen, a friend of Ben Mizrachi and who accompanied the chevra kadisha to identify Mizrachi’s body, recited the Kaddish in his memory.
Several hundred held vigil on the Burrard Street Bridge at sundown Oct. 6. (photo by Pat Johnson)
Flavia Markman, one of the organizers of the vigils that take place on Vancouver bridges, shared the story of Aner Shapira.
Shapira, a member of the IDF’s elite Nahal Brigade, was attending the Nova music festival and he took shelter with a group of others. He was the last to enter the shelter and told the others he was in Nahal; he assured them the military would be there soon to rescue them. Across several heroic minutes that were caught by a car’s dashcam and are available online, Hamas shot bullets and threw grenades into the shelter.
“You can see,” Markman said of the video, “after the terrorists threw the grenades into the shelter, Aner threw them back out. One, two, three, four times, five, six, seven.…”
The eighth grenade exploded in his hand, killing him.
“At least seven people who were hiding in the shelter with Shapira survived the attack,” Markman said. One of them called Shapira an angel who saved their lives. Israeli poet Zur Erlich has written a tribute to Shapira, likening the eight grenades to the eight candles on the Hanukkah menorah.
Rabbi Carey Brown of Temple Sholom shared the story of Capt. Shir Eilat, a 20-year-old Combat Intelligence Corps commander who died alongside 14 of her female comrades at Nahal Oz surveillance outpost. Five women from her unit were taken hostage to Gaza.
“Shir was a hero in her final moments, in an unbelievable manner,” according to survivors who were there, said Brown. “Shir stayed calm, worried about everyone, protected them, and calmed them down. She put herself aside to be a presence of safety for them.”
Rabbi Philip Bregman, rabbi emeritus of Temple Sholom, spoke of the 1,000 people he and his wife Cathy, escorted to Israel over their 33 years of service to the temple. In Israel, he said, they would pay for meals of IDF soldiers and the grateful but baffled uniformed young people would ask, Why? Bregman said it was impossible for relatively safe Canadian Jews to adequately thank Israeli soldiers for defending their people.
Rabbi Susan Tendler of Beth Tikvah noted that there were at least 1,200 people in the sanctuary – the approximate number of people murdered on Oct. 7. Each attendee had been handed a card with a victim’s name and, often, a photograph. People stood at different times, quietly reciting the prayer and invoking the name of “their” martyr while musician Eric Wilson played cello.
Rabbi Hannah Dresner of Or Shalom reflected on the El Moleh Rachamim prayer and presented an interpretation of the prayer in English before Cantor Yaacov Orzech chanted the traditional version. Her Or Shalom colleague, Rabbi Arik Labowitz, led the congregation in Oseh Shalom, the prayer for peace.
“Perhaps, like many of you, it’s been difficult to say the Oseh Shalom this past year knowing that peace and security can sometimes be at odds with each other,” said Labowitz. “Yet the hope for peace is not shaped by our feelings about the present situation and about the history behind it. The hope for peace is our moral imperative. It is the most essential prayer of our people.… May we never give up hope and may we work toward that peace in the name of those we have lost and for the sake of those who are yet to be born.”
Rabbi Jonathan Infield of Beth Israel, and head of the Rabbincal Association of Vancouver, reflected on the Zionist and Israeli anthem “Hatikvah” (“The Hope”), which was adopted at the 18th Zionist conference in Prague, in 1933 – the “chai” conference, in the year the Nazis came to power in Germany. He spoke of his hope that the grandchildren of the current generation would never have to attend a ceremony for victims of terrorism.
The Monday event was attended by many elected officials from all levels of government.
Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, left, in conversation with Thomas Hand at Congregation Beth Israel. (Adele Lewin Photography)
Emily Hand was a healthy 8-year-old girl with chubby cheeks on Oct. 7, 2023, when she was abducted by Hamas terrorists from a sleepover at a friend’s home on Kibbutz Be’eri. When she was released, 50 days later, she was a pale, gaunt 9-year-old who would not speak above the faintest whisper.
Emily and her dad, Thomas Hand, were in Vancouver this month, where the father was part of Congregation Beth Israel’s Selichot program Sept. 28. He spoke with the Independent in advance of the conversation he had with Rabbi Jonathan Infeld at the synagogue.
On Oct. 7 last year, Emily was at the home of her friend Hila Rotem-Shoshani. After the terrorists invaded the kibbutz and the murderous rampage subsided, Thomas Hand had no idea where his daughter was. It was almost midnight that evening when the Israel Defence Forces made it to Be’eri and rescued the survivors. In the chaos of the moment, Hand was told that his daughter was dead.
His immediate response was relief.
“It’s a terrible thing to say,” said Hand, “but I was more relieved and at peace that she was at peace and not being terrorized or beaten or threatened or in the hands of the Hamas.”
Eventually, it would become known that, of Be’eri’s approximately 1,100 residents, about 100 were murdered and about 50 taken hostage to Gaza. Be’eri’s surviving residents were removed to a location near the Dead Sea.
After a few days, Hand was informed that there was no evidence that Emily had been murdered. Her remains were not found and neither was any of her DNA. Hand has no explanation for how the misunderstanding occurred. His former wife, however, was found dead. (Emily’s mother died of cancer when Emily was 2.)
Now, Emily was officially missing.
A kibbutz member mentioned to Hand that they had seen Raaya Rotem “and her two children” led away at gunpoint. Hand knew that Rotem has only one daughter – Emily’s friend Hila – and that was his confirmation that Emily had been abducted alive.
“When they told me that she was actually alive, I was in the nightmare of not knowing what the hell was going to happen to her,” he said.
It is now known that Emily, Hila and Raaya were taken to Gaza, moved from location to location for the first couple of days and then held in a house along with several other hostages.
They lived in constant terror and were given very little food – a quarter of a pita a day sometimes, though they could smell the plentiful food their captors were cooking. Their accommodations were squalid, they were watched while using the toilet and warned to remain totally silent.
Doing what he could to raise global awareness of his daughter’s situation, as well as those of the other hostages, Hand launched a campaign, beginning with a trip to Ireland. Hand had made aliyah from Ireland and Emily, as a result, is a dual citizen. Hand then traveled to the United States and appeared on American TV, further humanizing the plight of the hostages and their families.
In November last year, during the temporary ceasefire, Emily was one of 105 hostages freed. She was released along with Hila. Hila’s mother Raaya was released a couple of days later.
Hand has no clear memories of their reunion, except that he would not allow himself to believe it would happen until they locked eyes.
“Anything could go wrong,” he said of the temporary ceasefire negotiations and promised release of the hostages. “Not until the very last second did I really believe that she was coming back, only when I saw her eyes.”
The joy of reunion was mixed with the harsh reality of what she had endured.
“She came back a different child,” Hand said, reflecting on her transformation from an innocent 8-year-old to a much-matured child shaped by trauma. The changes were most immediately noticeable physically. “Her cheekbones were sharp, her body much thinner.”
The effects of being threatened for more than two months to remain silent did not dissipate immediately either.
“When she came back, she was whispering, just moving her lips,” he said. “Her confidence was shattered.”
Since Emily’s release, the Hands – she has an older brother, 29, and a sister, 27 – have been working to help her recover. Therapies, including horse riding, dog training, theatre and singing, have played a crucial role in rebuilding her confidence. Regular psychological support in Tel Aviv, despite being a two-hour drive, has also been essential.
“She’s very strong, very resilient,” said her father.
The Hand family has relocated to a semi-permanent residence near Be’er Sheva while they await the reconstruction of Be’eri, to which he is determined to return.
“It’s been my home for over 30 years. I raised my eldest kids and Emily there,” he said. “It’s paradise. I want to go back home.”
Not all kibbutz members feel the pull to return, he acknowledged, though he estimates that 75% of the surviving members hope to rebuild there. Security, of course, is the foremost concern.
“The government needs to be different, and Hamas needs to be as weak as we can possibly make them because I need to feel safe in my own home before I would ever bring Emily back there again,” he said.
Reflecting on the international response to the crisis, Hand expressed frustration.
“Why is the UN or all the governments in the world not putting the pressure on Hamas to stop?” he asked.
To critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza, he is defiant. “We have to defend ourselves, and we will defend ourselves,” he said, “no matter what the world says or thinks.”
As Emily continues her recovery, Hand remains focused on a mission.
“Our primary concern now is getting the hostages back,” he said.
The experience of the Jewish calendar is ever-changing because, while the week’s parshah is the same every year, the people experiencing it have changed. This seems especially true for the year just passed.
Pesach held stark resonance this spring, as Jews worldwide held in our hearts the captives in Gaza and pain around the ongoing war. Every happy moment in the calendar was darkened by the shadow of Oct. 7. Every solemn moment seemed laden with deeper significance.
It is a rare Jew whose life has not changed dramatically since that day. Israelis and Jews had ripped from us a sense of historical, collective and personal security that the Jewish state was supposed to provide. While 75 years of conflict and insurrection have reminded us that Jews have never been entirely free from the hatred of others, the collective defence embodied in the state of Israel massively reduced the vulnerability experienced by previous generations. We also understand that this security has come at a cost and that the last 75 years have also been a source of suffering for our Palestinian neighbours and cousins. This is a juxtaposition we struggle with daily.
And then Oct. 7 ripped away our sense of communal security in a profound way. For Jews worldwide, it provoked what can be considered significant intergenerational trauma, recalling times when soldiers and their civilian collaborators could enter Jewish homes, perpetrate atrocities, annihilate families, separate us from our loved ones, loot our possessions, force conversions, exile and expel us, and take us captive.
Worldwide today, Jews have experienced a different, related trauma. In too many cases, Jews in Canada and elsewhere have been betrayed by our neighbours, let down by our ostensible friends and had our awareness wrenched open to the potential for abrupt changes in political climates.
This will be the first Rosh Hashanah since Oct. 7. It will be followed by the anniversary of the terror attacks, a commemoration that will be added to the black dates of Jewish history over millennia.
Day after day we hope for the return of the captives, and it will be a joyous moment when surviving hostages come back home. Between this writing and your reading, may that dream have become real. If not by then, let us hope for their redemption by the new year or certainly before the calendar turns on a full annual cycle since their capture. Every moment is a moment too long for their captivity. And every moment is a moment too long for continued war, and the destruction experienced by innocent Palestinians who are caught in it.
We can all well remember the holy days of just a few years ago when a global pandemic kept us from celebrating in person with our loved ones. For most of us, that forced separation has passed. That togetherness is reason enough to celebrate. Even so, it is precisely the idea of togetherness – when we know that so many families have been torn apart either temporarily or permanently – that adds sad resonance to our own sense of unity.
While we mourn those who will never again celebrate with their loved ones and we hope and pray for the return of the hostages so that they can rejoice in freedom with those they love, we should also take special appreciation for the gifts of those with whom we gather.
In Jewish fashion, the changed reality in which we find ourselves is already being woven into a sort of makeshift liturgy, as more than one article in this special issue of the paper describes. Thoughtful people have developed ways to memorialize and hold spiritual space for the hostages and all affected by this historical moment.
As we complete another cycle of the calendar, the immutable foundations of our tradition provide strength and familiarity. At the same time, as individuals and as a people, we are profoundly changed.
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.
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.
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’s rabbis. The location of the event will be emailed upon registration. Register atjewishvancouver.com/october-7th-memorial.
Following the ceremony, Jewish Family Services will offer “living rooms,” 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.
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’ names, as well as fallen soldiers’ names, can be articulated in the course of the program.
Politics – local or international – are to be kept out of the program. Elected officials may attend but the focus is on memorializing and honouring the dead.
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’s Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, who is head of RAV.
The Yizkor service will be the template for this commemoration, said Infeld.
“We 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,” he said. “We 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.”
As the anniversary approaches, Infeld said the community should be “thinking first and foremost of the memory of those who were murdered in this horrific, horrible terror attack.”
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.)
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. “We 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.”
A memorial in Victoria will take place at the same time on Oct. 7, at the Esquimalt Gorge Pavilion. Pre-registration is mandatory atjewishvictoria.ca.
On Sept. 28, as part of Beth Israel’s 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’s mother. The two girls were released in November. Hand will talk about the “spiritual, emotional and moral roller coaster” of his daughter’s captivity and eventual freedom.
