This Shemini Atzeret marks one of the saddest days in our people’s history. The 22nd of Tishrei, last year on October 7th, marks the murder of 1200 and 251 taken into captivity. On October 7th we saw a screen with each of their names and lit 12 candles-one for each month of the year. We also gathered with song and heartfelt poetry.
As we enter one year since October 7th, we are marking this in a couple different ways. Today we have an addition into our Yizkor prayer for those murdered on October 7th and in the ensuing war. Tonight, we will have one hakafah somber without dance, asking God to save us and bestow success upon Israel during this precarious time.
I mentioned three of the heroes from October 7th in my Rosh Hashanah remarks. Today I want to focus on three heroines, from the book One Day in October: Forty Heroes, Forty Stories.[1] I’ll begin with Shaylee Atary and her husband Yahav moved to Kfar Aza three and a half years ago. Both were filmmakers. They had a nice quiet life until October 7th when they woke up hearing the red alert, which was followed by terrorists at the door of her house, she followed the tacit agreement she had with her husband Yahav, “you hold the door (to the shelter)-I’ve got the baby.” He fought off a terrorist. She fortunately turned left with her 1-month-old daughter Shaya, away from the terrorists. They eventually saw Shaylee and shot at her, barefoot and in her pajamas. They chanted “ta’al, ta’al, come!” No one would open up with her out of fear for their lives, so she ran through the bushes and finally hid in a garden shed. After a few hours baby Shaya began crying so Shaylee had to run again and was whispered to come into a house, where she stayed 27 hours, and which saved her life. Then the army came, and she left the shelter.
I cannot imagine running barefoot with a 1-month-old baby and being shot at by cheering crowds of terrorists. Yet we remember Yahav, who sacrificed his life to save Shaylee and Shani’s.
Moran Tedgy’s story[2] also rings true to me. Moran was a police officer. When she heard sirens at 6:30 in the morning, she went down to the safe room, where she lasted a grand total of 30 minutes. Her partner Stav said to her, “What is this, what are you doing?” and she calmly replied, “I’m going out, there are terrorists.” Despite Stav’s please for Moran not to go out, she went out to warn people of the terrorists. These included Ultra-Orthodox residents of her town, Ofakim, and radioing in reports from her vantage point. Moran got caught in a barrage of fire and started running to take cover. She was told there were terrorists holding a home hostage and managed to neutralize them. Moran worked 48 hours straight and endless shifts for 2 weeks after October 7th. Her tasks included informing three families of the loss of their loved ones and searching for those who were missing. Her takeaway is “it was a hard time, very hard. Another funeral, another family, another missing friend that we first thought was taken captive, but then we’d find out that they had been murdered. And we have to repress a lot just to cope. I’m still repressing so much, so much. I know that to have survived is like the greatest gift. And I try to hold onto that. To wake up, God gave me my life as a gift. And I know, I’m sure, without a doubt, that my father was there with me that day. He watched over me as I fought there in Ofakim.[3]
Last but not least I want to share the story of Or Ben Yehuda,[4] commander of the Caracal Battalion, a co-ed infantry battalion based on the border with Egypt. Or received a call from the Sna’i Outpost being told of incoming missiles from Gaza. She set off in a military vehicle with her all-women medical team and arrived at the Sufa outpost. As she was attending to the wounded, Or noticed thousands coming from Gaza towards them. She thought that was the end of her life, yet she showed bravery in mustering her group of fighters to respond. She killed a terrorist at point blank range and her battalion was so fierce that many of the Hamas fighters fled. She managed to retrieve a tank Hamas had taken and to stop the terrorists from reaching the next outpost. Her remarks as to the fatalities of the war were “these people, who are now making their final journey-they were extraordinary forces. They fought until their last drop of blood. What happened to them is exactly what I thought would happen to me when I was there on the embankment. And to see those strong, noble fighters lifeless is something I will never forget. I never want to forget it. Those dead are basically a reflection of all our fighters. There is no end to their dedication, no end to what they have granted this country, to the people who live here. They sacrificed what was dearest to them so that this country can continue to exist, so that we can continue to live here. And the feeling I had there, next to those holy soldiers who gave their lives, the love I felt in my heart-I’ll never forget it as long as I live.[5]
Heroes take many different forms. Moran, Or and Shaylee were heroes when they least expected it. They experienced trauma but they have come out the other end. Their stories, as well as those of so many others, need their stories told. We honor them as we say Yizkor, remembering both the lives lost and the lives that were saved.
[1] Yair Agmon and Oriya Mevorach, One Day in October: Forty Heroes, Forty Stories (New Milford, CT: Koren Publishers, 2024).
[2] “I’m Going Out, there are Terrorists” in One Day in October: Forty Heroes, Forty Stories, pgs. 313-325
[3] Ibid, pgs. 323-24
[4] “A Woman in Command” In One Day in October: Forty Heroes, Forty Stories, pgs. 251-268
[5] Ibid, pgs. 267-68.
Meet Rabbi Herman 