This is a “very difficult time” for American Jews as the High Holidays and the October 7 anniversary coincide

Known as the “Days of Awe,” Judaism’s most important holiday – which begins on Wednesday – represents an emotional mix of celebration, introspection and repentance each year for Jews around the world.

Emotions will be especially strong for many this year, given that the middle of the 10 days spanning Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is October 7 – the first anniversary of the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.

For Jews in the U.S. – the second largest Jewish community in the world after Israel – the last 12 months have been challenging in many ways related to October 7. There has been a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents, and many college campuses have been damaged by divisive pro-Palestinian protests. Jews mourning Israelis killed or taken hostage by Hamas; many also mourn the tens of thousands of Palestinians later killed during the Israeli military offensive in Gaza.

“It has been a very difficult time, the most difficult time that I have lived in as a Jew in America,” said Gayle Pomerantz, senior rabbi of Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach. “I hope that the holidays will help put our suffering in context and not allow it to overshadow us.”

Another Miami Beach rabbi, Eliot Pearlson of Temple Menorah, reported civilian losses on all sides.

“It’s painful for us because we know how much it hurts when we lose a child, when we lose a mother. And just because it’s on the other side doesn’t mean it’s less painful for us,” he said.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said the confluence of the Holy Days and the Oct. 7 anniversary created an “impossible moment” for rabbis serving their congregations.

He noted that in the liturgy of Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year – the question arises: “Who will live and who will die (in the coming year)?”

“It will certainly have a different resonance this year,” Jacobs said, invoking Oct. 7 as “a day of incredible grief in a war that not only is not ending, but may be evolving.”

Reasons for hope – and fear – during the high holidays

Pomerantz and Jacobs said they saw signs of a resurgence in Jewish pride and solidarity. Pomerantz said Miami Beach has seen higher enrollment in her synagogue’s religious school and “introduction to Judaism” classes, as well as attendance at services.

“This is the moment when we need each other. We need community,” said Jacobs, whose organization represents more than 800 Reform synagogues in North America.

At the same time, there is widespread concern about the increase in anti-Semitic incidents over the past year.

Major Jewish groups are tracking this trend, as confirmed last week in the FBI’s 2023 Hate Crimes Report.

It found that the most frequently attacked religious group was the Jewish community, with 1,832 anti-Jewish incidents accounting for 67% of all religious hate crimes recorded by the FBI. This is an increase from 1,124 incidents the previous year. Incidents include vandalism, harassment, assault and false bomb threats.

One consequence: a mood of alertness. For example, ahead of the High Holidays, there were online training sessions offered by the Secure Community Network, which describes itself as the official organization for the safety and security of Jewish communities in North America.

Topics included stopping severe bleeding and responding to an “active threat” alert.

CSS, another Jewish security organization, offers classes in Krav Maga, a self-defense system developed for the Israeli military that uses techniques derived from boxing, judo, karate and other disciplines.

Anti-Defamation League CEO and Executive Director Jonathan Greenblatt provided a thorough review of the security situation in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

“I travel around the country all the time,” he said. “In every synagogue, in every Jewish community center, in every Jewish nursing home, there are armed guards – people with firearms, in uniforms.”

“This is not normal,” he said. “You can’t find any other assisted living facilities or YMCAs with armed guards.”

“Days of horror”: a time of reflection and existential questions

“During these 10 days, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Jewish community will be reflecting a lot about where we are and where we are going,” Greenblatt said. “If we are not safe on campuses where we learn, in the places where we work, in synagogues where we pray, where are we really safe?”

Noah Farkas, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, agreed that this is a difficult time, an opportune time to ask existential questions.

“We reach out to our higher self to try to be better, asking, ‘What are we going to do with our lives?'”

“You have to choose and act,” he said. “Choosing what is right… caring for others.”

Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, advised concerned Jews to take a long-term view.

“If we look at this narrow framework of what happened on October 7 and after, we can become very discouraged,” he said. “We are able to step back and look at it in the context of a long history… of being misunderstood, attacked, hated, and then finding a way to be part of justice.”

Hauer said that on Rosh Hauer, Jews “pray for a better world where God’s presence and goodness are clear and where evil disappears.”

“It looks like we’re as far from that as we can get at the moment,” he added. “So there is no better time… Our prayers are most powerful when they come from very deep feelings.”

Among the planned events: a service for anti-Zionists

Many Jewish communities across the United States are planning special services to mark the October 7 anniversary.

A characteristic example is New York, where Jews who oppose Zionism and support pro-Palestinian causes will gather for an evening service to mark the start of Rosh Hashanah on Wednesday.

Rabbi Andy Kahn, executive director of the American Council for Judaism, an 82-year-old organization focused on Judaism as a religion, not a nationality, will preside over the service.

“I felt like a big part of my calling was to create space for people who want Jewish life but don’t identify with Zionism,” Kahn said. “I know many people – Jews, non-Jews, Palestinians – who want Palestine to be liberated and who are not anti-Semitic.”

On October 7, Temple Beth Sholom in Pomerantz, Florida will host a memorial service for the Miami metro area in conjunction with other synagogues and institutions.

Participants will include Rabbi Pearlson of Temple Menorah, a Conservative synagogue in Miami Beach where he has lived since the 1960s.

For the High Holidays, his message will be one of unity and perseverance despite “enormous trauma,” emphasizing that the Jewish people have repeatedly survived attacks and emerged stronger after attacks throughout history.

“We thought we were living in a new, modern world where… we hoped that everything had changed,” he told the AP. “In reality, the players may have changed, but the game hasn’t. And unfortunately, their motivation is to destroy Jewish consciousness, the Jewish nation, heritage and culture.”

At Temple Beth Sholom, Pomerantz plans to do something new for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. During the morning service, all six temple clergy will deliver short reflections on Israel, rather than one rabbi delivering a single message.

Pomerantz plans to focus on a “framework of hope.”

“It’s easy to not feel hopeful right now. It’s easy to feel despair, discouragement, frustration, betrayal and anguish,” she said. “My message is that we cannot see ourselves as victims. (…) We must see ourselves as people who somehow have free will. And with that comes hope.”

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