By Aliza Rochwarger, Staff writer
After a tragedy, we, as the Jewish people, do not simply weep and mourn our loss without rebuilding what we lost. Avraham displayed this inner strength and resilience when the three promises in the Bris Bein Habisarim – the promise that he would be given land, many children, and that many great nations would come from him – had yet to be fulfilled. At the time, Avraham did not own any land, his wife Sarah had just passed away, and he only had a single son. Instead of giving up hope, an understandable reaction to seeing the promises of G-d not being fulfilled, Avraham stood up and took action. Namely, he bought a piece of land, married off his son (in order to have Jewish grandchildren), and married an additional wife (who he had six more children with). He chose to get up in the midst of immense loss and hopelessness and display his emunah (faith) in Hashem.
Rabbi Leo Dee, who lost his wife and two daughters in a terror attack, became a world renowned speaker, bringing inspiration and light to those going through tragedies of their own. He often speaks about the human capacity to overcome tragedy. The week of mourning after a close relative has passed away is referred to as shivah (literally meaning to sit). However, immediately after the shivah has ended, the mourner must stand up and begin to walk. It is crucial to our beliefs as Jews to not remain in a depressive state for more time than is deemed necessary, even after a terrible tragedy.
Sapir Cohen, a hostage who endured 55 days of Hamas captivity, came to address the students of Stern during our first week of classes. My first year of college had just begun, but piles of work were already forming. Nevertheless, my friends and I did not hesitate when deciding whether to attend the event. We felt privileged to hear from a person who has shown such a great amount of strength and hope in the hardest of circumstances. I felt conflicting feelings of excitement at the opportunity to learn from Sapir’s resilience and fear to hear of the terrors that a human being was put through, yet I knew that I would gain a lot from hearing her speak.
I walked into the auditorium anticipating a story of horror and devastation but somehow walked out remembering an account of miracles and salvation. While walking back to Brookdale Residence Hall with a couple of girls following the program, we discussed what we had just heard and the impact we were already feeling. When we left Koch Auditorium, the need to help Israel and bring all of the hostages home safely and in good health was instilled deeper in us than when we entered the auditorium.
However, transitioning from the event’s serious and important nature to that of our school work was difficult. After hearing from a person who had gone through hell and then decided to speak up despite all her trauma, it felt impossible to simply set aside all that she shared with us to fill in chemistry answers.
I couldn’t understand what I was supposed to do. If I were to return to my dorm room, do homework, and go to sleep, it would feel like I hadn’t learned anything from the speaker. On the other hand, I could spend my entire night thinking about the horrors Cohen went through which would take up the time I had that night to complete my assignments and study, as well as bring upon myself a huge psychological toll. This would not be a positive outcome of attending the event.
Then, I heard about the tragic deaths of the six hostages. While every new piece of information coming from Israel emotionally affects people differently now than it did before the war, learning that these six hostages were murdered, hurt in a much stronger way. Like many people now, I had seen Rachel Goldberg-Polin at least once a day via various social media platforms – maybe more – and felt Hersh’s death more strongly than I have likely ever felt for a person whom I have never met.
The most difficult part of hearing the news, however, was what came after. I needed to come to terms with what had happened and the reaction of most of the world media, while also staying focused on school work. The task felt unattainable. What right could I, and other Jewish students, have to work on school assignments when our family members had just been brutally executed? I needed a way of reconciling my intense emotions after hearing this news while also focusing on school.
The actions one decides to take after experiencing a tragedy are different for every person. While one might remain in bed crying in order to take the time to internally process the events, another might be able to move on after a few moments and continue living the life as they had before. However, the biggest difficulty with our current situation isn’t moving on from our tragedies, but rather, to move on with the tragedies. As the war in Israel is still occuring, we must work to find moments where we can work to improve the situation in Israel as best as we can. Whether that be in the form of prayer, fighting in the army, dedicating time to providing supplies and other necessary equipment, or sending letters of hope and support to Israel, we must continue to help our Israeli family in any way we can.
Additionally, it is important to recognize that while we are doing a lot to help Israel, we must also live our lives, as difficult as it feels. Many people have sacrificed their own lives in order for us to be able to live our own lives as Jews freely and proudly. We must try to persist through the difficulties while still appreciating and exemplifying our Jewish values, which includes education. As crucial as it is to accept our feelings and understand why they are within us, we must also find ways to guide ourselves forward. Sapir Cohen gave us more hope than ever to believe in ourselves. If she could be brought home, then so can every other hostage. I believe we are required to focus on the war in Israel, but, at the same time, utilize our resilience and inner strength to excel and succeed in our everyday lives, including, doing well in classes at school.
Photo Caption: The YU logo in front of hostage posters at the 245 Lexington SCW building
Photo Credit: Emily Goldberg