September 11th to October 7th. 26 Days.

When I went to look at Facebook memories of September 11th, I saw that I’d posted in years past about waiting by the phone that 2001 morning. About how the call had come from my husband, telling me that he was safe, at 11:13. I looked up from Facebook and glanced at the time – and it was exactly 11:13.

Numbers. Like 9/11, when 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists killed 2,996 people. And October 7th, when Hamas (and other) terrorists killed over 1200 people. The time between these dates, 26 days, feels solemn and profound.

26 days. From tragedy to tragedy, from Al-Qaeda to Hamas, from the US to Israel. It’s hard for our minds to process the enormity of these losses, the viciousness of these attacks. Hard to understand their aftermath, the barely suppressed hatred now flooding streets and internet. Hard to wrap our heads around the violence of war, around those standing proudly behind pro-terrorist banners, around the brutal executions of innocents. We search for meaning.

26 days. 26 is the atomic number of iron. 26 is a sacred number, in Gematria the numeric value of yud hay vav hay, the holy name of g-d. YHWH, Yahweh, Jehovah. Referred to as the Tetragrammaton, Greek for “the four letters”.  26, in the Greek Strong’s number system, represents “agape”, or love. Agape being a specific kind of love: an unconditional one that encompasses empathy and a feeling for g-d and humanity.

26 days. There are 26 generations between Adam and Moses – from the creation of the world to receiving the Torah. Rabbis have noted that Hoshana Rabba, our last moment to appeal before final judgement, falls on the 26th day since the anniversary of creation (the 21st day of Tishri, when the world was created on the 25th of Elul).

September 11th. October 7th. 26 days.

Numbers can mark people, tattooed on arms. Never to be forgotten. Numbers can be taped on a mother’s chest to count the days of her son’s captivity, marking time.

Time that can be short and long, fluid and static, some moments fleeting and others that feel unending. 26 days can be a pause between tragic remembrances, an appeal for mercy, a call to mindfulness or for action. Time to be strong like iron, to repel attack like an Iron Dome. Time to think about g-d and love, to receive teachings of Torah. Time to say prayers for those lost and give thanks for those spared. Time to appreciate life and each other, to grieve and to gather, to be vulnerable to the suffering of others and to mobilize to prevent further devastation.

26 days from attack to attack, from creation to guidance. Time to unite and to mourn, to remember and appeal, time to pray. Time to bring hostages home.