07/10/2026
My family made Aliyah at the end of August 2023, right in the middle of a country divided over judicial reform. The division spilled into the streets, with hundreds of thousands of people protesting on each side.
But even then, we heard stories of togetherness. One has stuck with me, whether it's true or legend. Two friends on opposite sides of the debate protested on different days. One loaned his flag to the other to carry at a counter-protest the next day.
That's who we are as Jews. We fight each other, and we're there for each other at the same time.
Then came October 7th, and the protests ended immediately. Citizens stopped fighting among themselves. Overnight, the country became unified.
I don't need to tell you how people stopped their lives to help.
Complete strangers performed endless acts of selfless kindness.
They cooked for chayalim (soldiers) when the army didn't have enough food, and gathered gear and support of every kind for the miluim (reservists) returning to the battlefield.
For the mother left alone with little kids while her husband was deployed for the 3rd or 4th time, people offered babysitting, cooking, grocery shopping, a day at a spa, anything to help.
Every Israeli on the planet, every Jew no matter where they live, every person with a love for Israel and the Jewish people, knows exactly where they were when the tragedy of October 7th happened.
We had just moved into our new house on Wednesday, October 4th.
I was on my way to shul that Saturday morning when a good friend stopped me to share the chilling events taking place about 45 minutes away. Frantically, I went to find my husband and kids, who were all at different shuls in the neighborhood. After finding my husband, we split up to find the kids. Thankfully, we all ended up at my sister-in-law's house.
And that's when we heard our first siren.
Standing together as a family in her mamad (safe room) was surreal and scary, nothing like I had ever experienced before.
We soon realized that being there together was hashgacha pratit, Divine Providence, the hand of God. We ended up there by "accident," but I believe very strongly that nothing in this world is by accident. We needed to be there. Not only to find each other and be together for our first siren, but for something seemingly trivial that could have saved our lives. We had no clue how to use our mamad, especially its specialized window. I didn't know that for safety, you have to close the metal plates hidden behind it. If we had been home alone, I wouldn't have had a clue. During later sirens at home, a rocket or shrapnel falling on our house could have been devastating.
Now, three years later, the memories are still crystal clear. The grief of a nation turned upside down is still felt in the air, in the pits of our stomachs, and of course in our hearts.
The degrees of separation between strangers and a fallen hero have dropped to one.
And this is our ongoing story. At the seder table we recite: "שבכל דור ודור עומדים ×˘×ś×™× ×• ×ś×›×ś×•×Ş× ×•." In every generation they rise up to destroy us.
Our story is no surprise. You'd think it wouldn't be to our enemies either!
In every generation, whatever nation rose up to destroy us, that empire came to an end.
And us? We're still here, as strong as ever.
Over Sukkot, our family visited the Bullet Factory in Rechovot and learned about the bravery of ordinary Israelis in the days leading up to Israel's independence in 1948. Our guide told us how inspired he was by Israel's unity in those days. He never thought he'd see that kind of unity again...but ever since October 7, that's who we are.
And that's why unity matters now more than ever. Within hours of October 7th, Jews across the globe came together. Every human being on the planet with a moral compass pointed in the right direction stood by our side. Within those same hours, the rest of the world began to unify against us, against Israel, against every Jew in every corner of the world.
Yes, like any family, we fight among ourselves. And like any family, we always have each other's back. Whether it's loaning a flag to a friend on the other side of a debate heading to a counter-protest or stepping up for a whole country in a time of crisis, there is no other nation like Am Yisrael (the Nation of Israel).
So let's stay unified.
Our story goes on. Theirs, like every enemy's before them, will come to an end.
