Commemorating October 7: Choose Life
Last year, October 7 joined the short list of those dates which will live in infamy and is thus being noted and commemorated by Jews and non-Jews alike, in America, Israel, and across the world. Shamefully, some are celebrating this dark anniversary.
A few weeks ago, in conversation with a government official, I expressed concern at the characterization of campus unrest as an academic debate that has gotten out of hand when it is clearly a conflict driven by forces with deep malice and destructive intent towards Israel, the Jewish people, and American values. The official listened, explained that his work involved encouraging dialogue without taking sides, and then shared the following: "I understand what you are saying. I was on a university campus on October 8 and I saw two groups demonstrating, both sides of this issue. The two groups were completely different from each other."
The gatherings commemorating October 7 once again provide moral clarity for those who seek it. It is not hard to see the difference between those who gather to identify with and celebrate brutal murderers, rapists, and hostage-takers, and those who stand up in support of a state defending itself from those who seek its annihilation. It is noticeable that supporters of Israel readily express regret at the loss of innocent Palestinian lives while those rallying for Gaza fail to condemn the depraved barbarism of Hamas or the Iranian empire of terrorism. The difference between the two sides that has been on display throughout this year is apparent again as both sides commemorate October 7, one calling for the end of Israel "from the river to the sea," while the other prays for peace.
Jewish tradition teaches that on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year just celebrated on October 3 and 4, God inscribes all the people of the world in either the book of the righteous or the wicked. The righteous are not perfect; they have failures and mistakes too, and the wicked have their redeeming actions and qualities. Lines are nevertheless drawn between the forces of good and the promoters of evil.
Tradition also teaches that there is a third group, the beinonim, those in the middle who take no side. These people muddle and equivocate rather than standing clearly for what is right. For them, the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the day when tradition holds the books are sealed, offer the opportunity to make a definitive choice to be a force for good. Their failure to do so will not leave them in the safety of a neutral middle but condemns them to join the ranks of those who harm the world.
Beinonim are the practitioners of bothsidesism, the promoters of moral confusion in government, in the diplomatic arena, in religious leadership, in the media, and in academia. In their pursuit of a false balance, they seek the end of hatred without noting that only one side is filled with hate; they cry over death and destruction without distinguishing between the aggressors and those defending themselves; they call for two states for two peoples without noting that the Jewish state will always welcome Arabs while the Palestinian territories are by law Judenrein, places where Jews are banned; they call for de-escalation and ceasefires without realizing that one side will use that quiet to go back to create the next revolution in artificial intelligence, medicine, or agriculture, while the other will use it to rearm and rebuild its terror tunnels; and they call for peace and coexistence without noting that it is one side's dream and the other's nightmare.
The commemoration of October 7 affords America's many beinonim, the bothsidesers, the perfect opportunity to watch what happens, to think again, and to act with moral clarity. Their continued failure to do so will consign them to the ranks of the malign forces undermining America and harming the world. They should choose life.
And what about us in the Jewish community?
October 7 was a day of national trauma for Klal Yisrael. Yes, it was the bloodiest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and it may also have been the first time since then that we came face to face with utterly monstrous antisemitism. It was the day lives were stolen, communities destroyed, and we finally believed our enemies. It was when Israelis lost their sense of security, only to be joined shortly thereafter by Jews everywhere. It demonstrated how many people have no clue how to respond to evil and its perpetrators.
But October 7 was also a day of rebirth for the Jewish people. We learned a lot about our enemies but even more about ourselves. Heroism of every kind was everywhere as the Jewish spirit of giving came alive. The astonishing, enduring, and literal mesirut nefesh of the holy soldiers of Tzahal and their families; the overflowing generosity of Jews from across the world, sending money, supplies, cards, food and lots of love; the prayers, the tzitzit, the posters, the rallies, and the total reshaping of Jewish life around concern for the matzav and for those on the front lines. We coalesced and rallied together as a nation in prayer and action, realizing that we only have God and each other.
Today is October 7 and it is also 5 Tishrei. It is not the day we observe the yahrzeit of the 1200 innocents massacred by Hamas, as that distinction is reserved for Shemini Atzeret, but it is day 5 of the Ten Days of Teshuva, a time for teshuva, tefilla, and tzedaka. As we move from one year to the next, let us sincerely look back and look forward, finding ways to improve ourselves, to plead for Hashem's kindness to our nation and to all those in harm's way, and committing ourselves to love each other more and to do more for each other.
We draw strength and hope from our faith in Hashem, our Torah, our values, our remarkable nation, and our complete belief in better days ahead and in the coming of the Moshiach. And though he may delay – and there may be much pain and suffering during that delay – we await his coming every day with hope.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Moshe Hauer
Executive Vice President
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