Like millions of other Jews, I woke up on Simchat Torah morning and went to shul. We’d had a vibrant, electrifying party the night before, and I was in good spirits. We’d be reading the end of the Torah and starting over again with Bereishit, and I was anticipating a large crowd.
But when I got to shul, I started hearing snippets.
“There’s been an attack … ”
“Jews have been kidnapped … ”
“Hamas overpowered them … ”
“They have murdered so many …”
“Army bases have been run over …”
It came to us in bits and pieces. People came to my house to update me throughout the afternoon. It was absolutely terrifying.
In a matter of hours, the world as we knew it had gone.
Our people experience the most brutal attack since the Holocaust; the devastation and loss is unbearable. Our very own Raz Mizrachi, one of our Belev Echad soldiers, was murdered.
No one knows what will happen now. War is imminent but hasn’t really started yet. At the same time, troops are mobilizing and we’re facing enemies on all sides—Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, not to mention sizable crowds around the world celebrating the massacre of our brothers and sisters. It affects all of us.
After the Yom Kippur War and its terrible losses, Rabbi Lau traveled to New York to visit the Rebbe. The Rebbe asked him about the mood in Israel, and Rabbi Lau told him that people are afraid and asking “What will be?” The Rebbe looked at him and answered, “A Jew does not ask ‘What will be?’ A Jew asks, ‘What can I do?’ ”
That is our response today, too. What can we do?
And the response has been overwhelming. Jews all over the world have rolled up their sleeves and jumped into action. The lion within us has been aroused.
We Jews are the most incredible nation. When we are attacked, we unite like a single entity.
We are all involved. We have war rooms up and running—raising money for army gear so every unit has what it needs.
At Belev Echad, the Israeli government tasked us with providing items that are vital for national security and we’ve raised millions of dollars for the effort. Ask Jews to give during times of crisis and the results are incredible.
Jews all over the world have stepped up and come together, donating money, volunteering, sending gifts and letters and even food to the soldiers and their families left at home in limbo.
When we are united, we are unbreakable.
So, what else can we do? Mitzvot.
We need to overwhelm the darkness Hamas brought with light—the light of Torah, mitzvot, Jewish pride and Jewish unity.
The spiritual power of a mitzvah cannot be put into words. It’s enormous. So choose something—something you can keep to—and commit to it. Shabbat, tefillin, kosher, mezuzah … whatever you choose it helps in a real and tangible way.
We’ve been trampled, pillaged, more brutally than we have been in almost 80 years. But we will prevail. We will triumph and make our homeland safer than ever.
There is no doubt in my mind: When we are this deeply united, no enemy can defeat us.