Bruised but unbroken: Hope as we enter 5787
After a year of loss and grief, Jewish Australians enter 5787 bruised but unbroken, refusing to give up hope.
As Rosh Hashanah approaches, we hope as we do every year for a peaceful and prosperous year ahead. That hope continues to be tested.
5786 began with 48 Israeli hostages – living and deceased – still inside Gaza. As the year draws to a close, they are all now home in Israel. We wrote here last year of empty chairs at Rosh Hashanah tables for the second year; this time, while tragically many hostages returned to be buried, some of those families are again complete.
But now we have empty seats here at home. Families that will forever remain incomplete.
We were hopeful last year that the worst was behind us. Then came December 14. The murder of 15 innocent souls celebrating a Jewish festival was the darkest day in the history of Jewish people in Australia. The continuation of the waves of antisemitism that led to it – even while being probed by the Royal Commission – has for many been salt in our gaping collective wound.
The question is how should we as a community, as a people, respond? Do we approach 5787 with the optimism that the worst is behind us, even though the last time we did so, that hope was brutally betrayed?
In a word, yes. Maintaining hope, no matter what befalls us, is our victory. It has been for thousands of years. It is how the Jewish people has survived. It is what led to the reestablishment of the State of Israel.
The “haters” will continue to spew their poisoned malevolence.
In the meantime, initiatives like Project Noah and One Mitzvah for Bondi continue to radiate positivity and keep the memory of the Bondi victims alive. The family of 10-year-old Matilda have decided to celebrate and spread the light she brought during her life.
The Bondi terrorists failed to extinguish it. They have similarly failed to extinguish our resolve. A resolve to proudly be who we are.
As you celebrate Rosh Hashanah this year, know that you do so in defiance of the terrorists and the antisemites. Maintaining our traditions is maintaining hope.
We cannot know what 5787 will bring. But though we enter it bruised, Jewish Australians remain unbroken.
And we refuse to give up hope.