10/07/2026
๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐๐๐ซ ๐: ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐๐ซ๐๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ
My dear friends,
Today marks three years since the horrific massacre of October 7, 2023 โ the deadliest attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
It is a day forever etched into our hearts and into Jewish history.
More than 1,200 innocent people were murdered that day โ Jews and non-Jews, babies and seniors, including 49 American citizens.
Today, we remember them.
Since October 7, 2023. I have been privileged to visit Israel five times. Each visit has taught me something more about the extraordinary resilience, courage, and strength of our people.
Twice, I visited the site of the Nova music festival.
One moment there has stayed deeply with me.
We were standing together โ Jews from all over the world, shoulder to shoulder. Most of us did not know one another. We didn't know each other's names or backgrounds.
But none of that mattered.
We simply began praying together, singing together, and learning together.
No introductions were necessary. No one needed to organize us. We were Jews standing together at a place of unimaginable loss โ remembering, praying, and drawing strength from one another.
๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ.
And as you look through the names of those who were murdered, you realize something else:
๐๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ง๐๐ฆ๐๐ฌ.
Behind every name is a family.
Behind every name is a story.
Behind every name was a person with dreams and hopes, friendships and family, plans and a future.
And behind so many of those names are also stories of extraordinary courage โ ordinary people who, in terrifying circumstances, risked and sometimes gave their lives to protect and save others.
Their courage must never be forgotten.
Perhaps this is one of the deepest lessons of Yizkor.
When remembering our parents, we say Avi Mori and Imi Morati โ โmy father, my teacher; my mother, my teacher.โ
Those we remember continue to teach us.
Their values can become our values.
Their courage can become our courage.
๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ.
Today, their names, their courage, their families, and their sacrifice are especially in my heart.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory, taught us a timeless lesson: our response to darkness is to ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ.
More goodness.
More kindness.
More holiness.
Another mitzvah.
Another act of tzedakah.
Another person we help.
Another Jewish child we teach to know who they are and to stand proudly as a Jew.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐.
Three years later, we remember. We mourn. We pray.
But we also act.
Today, I invite each of us to do something tangible in memory of those we lost:
- Add one more mitzvah.
- Say an extra prayer.
- Give tzedakah.
- Do an act of kindness.
Tell your children what happened, whom we lost, and about the extraordinary courage and strength of our people.
We remember not only with our tears, but also through the way we live.
May the souls of all those murdered on October 7, and all those who subsequently gave their lives protecting the Jewish people, be remembered for a blessing.
May their families know no more sorrow.
May those who remain in pain find healing and comfort.
And may we have the strength to transform ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ค๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ.
๐๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ก๐๐ข.
With prayers for peace, healing, and better days,
Rabbi Chaim
*****
Join us in giving tzedakah in their memory:
JewishKirkland.com/Donate
Join in prayers with the folowing prayers
