Israel today had its first October 7th since the indescribable one last year. It was an overwhelming remembrance.

“Kaddish” is the name given to an ancient Jewish prayer in Aramaic that is generally said by one mourning a deceased relative. It is usually said in an slow, solemn chant and is distinguished from the traditional prayers that are said in Hebrew. There was an old Jew who looked at the aftermath of the Holocaust. One third of world Jewry had been slaughtered by the Nazis, and most of Europe’s ancient Jewish communities were completely wiped out. The fellow said that the only thing left was to say Kaddish on Judaism. The ride was over. Fortunately, he was wrong as witnessed by the growth of Jewish life in Israel and beyond. As a note, there are still fewer Jews today than there were in 1939.

Today was the 7th of October. Israel had to institute some type of remembrance of the horrific events that occurred one year ago. While the fighting goes on and the wounds are more than fresh, the country set aside today to remember what happened on that day and since. The closest thing Israel has is its annual Memorial Day, which is planted one day before the festive Independence Day. Israel has had 76 years to hone the tone and pace of Memorial Day: somber music, carefully-orchestrated events at all military cemeteries, speeches by politicians, and finally the transition to the joy of Independence Day. October 7th was new: what does one do on October 7th? What is the order of the day? This too unfortunately will take some tweaking in years to come. So........

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