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Hayim Herring

American and Israeli Jews: The difference between PTSD and OTSD (Ongoing Traumatic Stress Disorder)

As a new Oleh, I have been thinking about how Jewish Israelis and Jewish Americans are experiencing the first anniversary of October 7 and the first post-October 7 Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe). Even after only three months in Israel, it’s impossible not to feel the weight of sadness permeating Israel. But my mind also turns to my family and friends who participate in their respective Jewish communities in the States, as I did until recently. I can still imagine what I might feel if I was with them.

I have blown shofar on Rosh Hashanah for many years (ex-brass players and rabbis who need to channel their wind often blow shofar!). Before blowing shofar, we recite Psalm 130, which begins with the verse, “A psalm of ascents: From my very depth (of being), I cry out to You, God; שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּעֲל֑וֹת מִמַּעֲמַקִּ֖ים קְרָאתִ֣יךָ הֹ.” This verse evokes the image of a person at their lowest point as if metaphorically calling from the bottom of a pit or ocean.

When I blew the shofar in the U.S., I would meditate on this verse and think of the people in my life who are in the depths of distress. This year, when I blew the shofar in Yerushalayim when I meditated, I thought of the hostages still imprisoned in deep tunnels by their heinous captors. As I closed my eyes and followed the instructions of the person calling the Shofar notes, I envisioned a cave with shadowy figures. Perhaps that eerie image emerged from recently viewing several paintings depicting the hostages or simply because they are always on everyone’s mind. Would this have happened to me in the States? Not likely, or at least not as vividly.

And then came October 7 – Israeli Jews and American Jews shared overlapping realities of the hatred of Jews and Israel. In the States, hatred toward Israel has exponentially accelerated hatred toward Jews. Many American Jews are retreating into temporary self-imposed ghettos, seeking physical and emotional safety in Jewish spaces protected by an increasing number of heavily armed security guards. In Israel, the Jewish State is also under siege: physically, from neighboring states and terror groups funded by Iran, from allies who pressure Israel to make concessions to enemies who seek our destruction, and from a deeply hostile United Nations, even measured by its routine antipathy toward Israel. And whoever thought there would be “walls” in our airspace, barriers that most airlines have imposed on flying into and out of Israel?

However, I feel one significant difference that naturally separates our two communities. October 7 may trigger post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for Jewish Americans. The American Psychological Association explains, “Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may develop when someone lives through or witnesses an event in which they believe that there is a threat to life or physical integrity and safety and experiences fear, terror, or helplessness. People with PTSD may relive the trauma in painful recollections, flashbacks, or recurrent dreams or nightmares; avoid activities or places that recall the traumatic event; or experience physiological arousal, leading to symptoms such as an exaggerated startle response, disturbed sleep, difficulty in concentrating or remembering, and guilt about surviving the trauma when others did not (Adapted from the APA Dictionary of Psychology).” In line with PTSD, American Jews may have felt the same shock this past October 7 as they did a year ago.

But Israelis are in a state of what I call “OTSD,” ongoing traumatic stress disorder. The trauma and horror of last year’s October 7 are still today’s realities. We relive this trauma every day, especially when we read about the torture and murder of the six beautiful young Israelis, the group that included Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Israelis up North live with the horror of Hezbollah’s relentless shelling. Many residents of Southern kibbutzim awake every day to the shock of homelessness and the absence of family and friends slaughtered by Hamas terrorists. And we all brace for another Iranian attack. We are so far from PTSD and unable to commemorate last October 7 because our trauma continues.

When the shofar is blown at the end of Yom Kippur, whether we live in Israel or the United States, let us add a prayer that our overlapping realities of trauma may soon end.

About the Author
Rabbi Hayim Herring, Ph.D., is a national thought leader, organizational consultant and author on the American Jewish community with a specialty in synagogue life. He is President & CEO of the Herring Consulting Network.
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