Tonight begins the final evenings of the Sukkot Holiday. As we are supposed to be at our moment of utmost joy, zman simchateinu, we have now reached the yahrzeit of the 1200 souls who were murdered at this moment last year. How do we hold these two opposing feelings and commands in our heart at once?
Tomorrow, we will recite Yizkor, and tomorrow night, we will gather as a community to mark Simchat Torah. The words of the Torah always end and begin the same, but we have changed like no other time in our history.
I, like you, am not sure how I am going to feel. We want to cry and we want to laugh. We want to be alone and we want to be together. We want to lament and we want to sing.
In fact, we will do all of that. If you have never been to Simchat Torah, this is the year to attend, to participate, to say out loud, “We are here!”
Tomorrow evening, we will honor two of the souls lost: Amiram Cooper and Niv Raviv, whose stories have permeated our Sinai family this last year. The last letter in the Torah is lamed, part of the word Yisrael. The first letter is bet, part of the word bereshit. Together, those letters spell lev, meaning heart.
Our heart is the Torah, and tomorrow, we will demonstrate that our Torah is what has kept us and what will continue to keep us from generation to generation.
Tomorrow, come to Sinai. Come to Simchat Torah. Come to remember. Come to embrace. Come to say these words: Am Yisrael Chai
