How Will We Commemorate October 7 on Simchat Torah? A Practical Proposal
In the State of Israel, two memorial days will be held this year for the terrible massacre that took place on October 7. One, an official state Memorial Day, was set for 24 Tishrei and will be held this year on October 5. The second, a civic Memorial Day, is set for October 7 and will be led by families of the fallen. But the truth is that the real day of remembrance is Shemini Atzeret, which in Israel is celebrated as the holiday of Simchat Torah.
I believe there is not a single person who this coming Simchat Torah will not think back to where they were on that terrible day, when news of a massive attack, rockets, terrorists roaming the streets, victims, and hostages began trickling into synagogues. No one will forget how, as we prepared to celebrate with the Torah, young people began leaving synagogues one by one as they were called up to war. No one will forget the bewilderment and confusion that overtook us as we wondered whether to continue praying, whether to hold another round of Hakafot (dancing with the Torah), or whether to stay for Kiddush.
The events of October 7- actually, the events of Simchat Torah – are etched into the holiday, whether we like it or not. For religious and state policymakers, this is naturally uncomfortable. Memorial ceremonies cannot be held on the holiday itself, so we are forced to postpone formal commemorations to the days following the festival. But it turns out that there is a way to express remembrance on the holiday itself.
An ancient custom in Ashkenazi communities is to recite the Yizkor prayer for the souls of the departed on Yom Kippur and on the Three “Regalim” – Shemini Atzeret, Shevi Shel Pesach, and Shavuot. This ostensibly contradicts the Halakha, which forbids displaying sadness on a holiday. The reason the custom took root nonetheless was the Crusades, during which thousands of Jews were slaughtered, inflicting deep trauma on communities. Initially, the names of the victims were commemorated on Yom Kippur, and later the practice spread to all the festivals because these were the times when large crowds gathered at the synagogue.
From then until today, it has been customary on Simchat Torah to recite the Yizkor prayer for relatives, alongside special memorial prayers for the victims of the Holocaust, fallen soldiers, and Jewish communities slaughtered in the Middle Ages. If all of these are remembered, there is no reason why we shall not recite a Yizkor prayer for those murdered and fallen in the October 7 massacre as well. Rabbi Benni Holtzman, rabbi of Kibbutz Ma’ale Gilboa, composed a special prayer for this purpose, and it is proper to recite it during the service.
But there is another way. Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook, founder of the Chief Rabbinate, expressed his profound shock from the massacre at Hebron in 1929 by singing during the first Hakafah the verse: “O nations, sing the praises of His people, for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and render vengeance to His adversaries” (Deuteronomy 32:43). Furthermore, since the murderous attack at the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem in 2008, in which eight students were murdered, it has been customary to sing this verse at the beginning of the sixth Hakafah.
The events of the terrible massacre can therefore also be commemorated during the Hakafot. In an article written by Liron Keshet from Beit Midrash Le’Ma’aseh, she proposed dedicating the sixth Hakafah to the memory of those murdered. This Hakafah will be done with quiet songs reflecting deep care for the Jewish people and mutual responsibility. At the start of the Hakafah, an announcement can be made that it is dedicated to remembering the murdered and fallen from that terrible day to the present.
This is not an artificial connection. On Simchat Torah, we emphasize the profound bond between the People of Israel and the Torah of Israel. Everyone is called up to the Torah on this holiday, even at the cost of reading the final portion over and over again. The Torah was given at Sinai to the entire Jewish people and accepted by everyone without exception. There are commentators even taught that the Hebrew word “Israel” is an acronym for “Yesh Shishim Ribo Otiyot LaTorah” (“There are six hundred thousand letters in the Torah”).
When the People of Israel suffer, the Torah of Israel suffers as well. When disaster strikes the Jewish people, the joy of the Torah is incomplete. There are, therefore, ways to commemorate the events of Simchat Torah on their original date, on the day of the holiday itself. I call on communities in Israel and around the world, and their leaders, to adopt them.
