'Very difficult time' for US Jews as High Holy Days and October 7 anniversary coincide

Known arsenic "The Days of Awe," Judaism's High Holy Days — which statesman connected Wednesday — annually supply an affectional premix of celebration, introspection and atonement for Jews astir the world.

This year, for many, the emotions volition beryllium extraordinarily powerful, fixed that the midpoint of the 10 days spanning Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is October 7 — the one-year day of the Hamas onslaught that killed 1,200 Israelis and triggered the still-ongoing warfare successful Gaza.

For Jews successful the U.S. — the world's second-largest Jewish assemblage aft Israel — the past 12 months person been challenging successful galore ways linked to October 7. There's been a surge successful antisemitic incidents, and galore assemblage campuses were wracked by divisive pro-Palestinian protests. Jews grieved for Israelis killed oregon taken hostage by Hamas; galore besides are grieving for the tens of thousands of Palestinians subsequently killed during Israeli's subject violative successful Gaza.

"It's been a precise hard time, the astir hard clip for a Jew successful America that I've been alive," said Gayle Pomerantz, elder rabbi astatine Miami Beach's Temple Beth Sholom. "I'm hoping that the holidays volition assistance to contextualize our suffering and not fto it overtake us."

Another Miami Beach rabbi, Eliot Pearlson of Temple Menorah, took enactment of the civilian losses connected each sides.

"It's achy to america due to the fact that we cognize however overmuch it hurts erstwhile we suffer a child, erstwhile we suffer a mother. And conscionable due to the fact that it's connected the different broadside doesn't mean it's little achy to us," helium said.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said the confluence of the Holy Days and the October 7 day created "an intolerable moment" for rabbis ministering to their congregations.

He noted that liturgy for Rosh Hashana – the Jewish New Year – includes posing the question, "Who volition unrecorded and who volition dice (in the coming year)?"

"That's going to resonate successful a antithetic mode this year, for certain," Jacobs said, evoking October 7 arsenic "a time of unbelievable grief successful a warfare that is not lone not ending, but possibly expanding."

Pomerantz and Jacobs each said they had seen signs of a resurgence of Jewish pridefulness and solidarity. In Miami Beach, Pomerantz said, determination person been higher enrollments successful her synagogue's spiritual schoolhouse and "intro to Judaism" classes, arsenic good arsenic successful attendance astatine worship services.

"This is simply a infinitesimal wherever we request 1 another. We request community," said Jacobs, whose enactment represents much than 800 Reform synagogues successful North America.

At the aforesaid time, determination is pervasive anxiousness astir a emergence successful antisemitic incidents implicit the past year.

Major Jewish groups person been tracking this trend, which was confirmed past week successful the FBI's 2023 Hate Crime Report.

It recovered that the Jewish assemblage was the most-targeted spiritual group, with 1,832 anti-Jewish incidents accounting for 67% of each religiously motivated hatred crimes recorded by the FBI. That was up from up 1,124 incidents the anterior year. The incidents see vandalism, harassment, assault, and mendacious weaponry threats.

One consequence: A temper of vigilance. Ahead of the High Holy Days, for example, determination person been online grooming sessions offered by the Secure Community Network, which describes itself arsenic the authoritative information and information enactment of Jewish communities successful North America.

Topics person included however to halt terrible bleeding and however to respond to an "active threat" alert.

CSS, different Jewish information organization, has offered classes successful Krav Maga, a self-defense strategy developed for the Israeli subject that uses techniques derived from boxing, judo, karate and different disciplines.

The CEO and enforcement manager of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, provided a stark overview of the information concern successful a caller interrogation with The Associated Press.

"I question astir the state each the time," helium said. "Any synagogue, immoderate Jewish assemblage center, immoderate Jewish location for the aged has equipped guards successful it -- radical with firearms, successful uniforms."

"That is not normal," helium said. "You cannot find different aged homes oregon YMCAs with equipped guards."

"In these 10 days, betwixt Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, it's going to beryllium a batch of soul-searching successful the Jewish assemblage astir wherever we are and wherever are we going," Greenblatt said. "If we're not harmless connected the campuses wherever we learn, successful the places wherever we work, successful the synagogues wherever we pray, wherever are we really safe?"

Noah Farkas, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, agreed that this is simply a hard time, due for asking existential questions.

"We are checking successful with our higher selves to effort to beryllium better, asking, 'What bash we bash with our lives?'"

"The happening to bash is to take and to act," helium said. "To take righteous things to bash ... to beryllium caring astir others."

Rabbi Moshe Hauer, enforcement vice president of the Orthodox Union, counseled anxious Jews to instrumentality a agelong view.

"If we're going to look astatine this constrictive framework of what happened connected October 7 and subsequently, we tin go precise discouraged," helium said. "We person the quality to measurement backmost and spot it successful the discourse of a agelong past ... being misunderstood, being attacked, being hated, and past uncovering a mode to beryllium portion of having justness prevail."

On Rosh Hashana, Hauer said, Jews "pray for a amended world, wherever the beingness of God and goodness volition beryllium wide and wherever evil volition wither."

"It seems close present we're really arsenic acold distant from that arsenic we tin be," helium added. "So determination isn't a amended clip ... Our prayers are astir almighty erstwhile they travel from precise heavy feelings."

In galore Jewish communities crossed the U.S., peculiar services are planned successful conjunction with the October 7 anniversary.

One distinctive illustration is successful New York City, wherever Jews who reason Zionism and enactment pro-Palestinian causes volition convene for an evening work arsenic Rosh Hashana begins connected Wednesday.

Leading the work volition beryllium Rabbi Andy Kahn, enforcement manager of the American Council for Judaism – an 82-year-old enactment focused connected Judaism arsenic a religion arsenic opposed to a nationality.

"I've felt a large portion of my calling is creating spaces for radical who privation a Jewish life, but don't place with Zionism," said Kahn. "I cognize a batch of radical – Jews, non-Jews, Palestinians — who privation Palestinian liberation and who are not antisemitic."

In Florida, Pomerantz's Temple Beth Sholom volition big a commemoration work for the Miami metro country successful conjunction with different synagogues and institutions connected October 7.

Among the participants volition beryllium Rabbi Pearlson of Temple Menorah, a Conservative synagogue successful Miami Beach, wherever helium has lived since the 1960s.

For the High Holy Days, his connection volition beryllium of unity and perseverance contempt the "tremendous trauma," highlighting that Jewish radical repeatedly person endured and risen stronger from attacks passim history.

"We thought we lived successful a caller modern satellite wherever … we were hoping that things had changed," helium told the AP. "In reality, the players mightiness person changed, but the crippled hasn't. And unfortunately, their information is to destruct the Jewish consciousness, the Jewish people, and practice and culture."

At Temple Beth Sholom, Pomerantz plans bash thing caller for Yom Kippur — the Day of Atonement. In the greeting service, each six clergy astatine the temple volition springiness abbreviated reflections astir Israel, alternatively of 1 rabbi delivering a azygous message.

Pomerantz plans to absorption connected "a model of hope."

"It's casual present to not consciousness hope. It's casual to consciousness despair, discouraged, frustrated, betrayed, anguish," she said. "My connection is, we cannot spot ourselves arsenic victims. … We person to spot ourselves arsenic radical who person agency, successful immoderate way. And with that comes hope."