When the doubt ends, the mourning can begin

After long months of agonizing uncertainty, the terrible journey of doubt has ended, today, for some hostage families, and in the coming days and weeks, other families will also receive the bodies of their loved ones. The Torah describes the suffering of our patriarch Jacob, who refused to be consoled for his son when he saw only his blood-stained coat. Unlike the biblical story that ended in joy, this time reality has struck us with unprecedented cruelty.

Burial, even after such a long time, marks a watershed moment between turmoil and doubt, and painful certainty. According to Jewish law, mourning begins only after burial. Judaism allows full expression of pain through mourning customs but ultimately demands a gradual return to life. In the current case, the healing process will be particularly prolonged given the depth of the wound and unprecedented brutality.

The Jewish response to tragedy demands both personal and collective soul-searching. A state commission of inquiry is just the beginning of a deeper process. We must ask ourselves how we reached this point, and whether the deep divisions that tore Israeli society apart before October 7 contributed to the greatest disaster since the Holocaust.

The remarkable mobilization of Diaspora Jewry represents a rare moment of grace for Jewish unity. Many Jews, whose national identity had become blurred or who had been critical of Israel, were shocked by two revelations: the unprecedented brutality of the October 7 massacre and the waves of antisemitism that swept the world in its wake. In this historic moment, every Jew, whether in New York, London, or Sderot, felt the same sense of shared destiny.

We must seize this defining moment. Jewish federations across the United States have channeled hundreds of millions of dollars to Israel, with delegations arriving even when the skies were closed. This is a rare moment of Jewish unity that must not be squandered. We must set aside past disputes and focus on forging a global Jewish identity centered on the State of Israel.

Our many fallen demand that we recalculate our course. We must increase our acts of unconditional love and understand that our strength lies in our unity, and that our fate as a people depends on our ability to maintain our shared identity and strengthen the bonds between all parts of the Jewish people.