Sukkot in Jerusalem is the most beautiful of holidays in the most beautiful place on earth. The week was filled with amazing events. Sukkot gatherings, concerts, craft shows, delicious meals, a parade, singing and dancing in the streets, Birchat Kohanim at the Kotel. The weather was perfect; the spirit was soaring.

We were walking home from dinner after Friday night Hakafot on Simchat Torah. The air was delicious, and I often have my one-on-one discussion with Hashem on these walks. I was telling Him how thankful I am for these precious moments. How we have been so blessed with the land of Israel and the gift of redemption in our time. We met a few friends in the street and walked with them for a while then eventually came home. It was late so we all went to sleep. Shabbat would be a long day—davening, Hakafot and dancing, Hallel and ending the Torah cycle and starting it again. This all followed by another festive meal.

It was about 8:15 a.m. on Shabbat. I was up and rushing to shul.

I have heard sirens in Jerusalem before. Usually it’s just a short blast heralding in the Shabbat or a siren in commemoration of Yom Hazikaron. It was sudden and piercing. What was that? It’s a beautiful Shabbat Simchat Torah morning. What is going on?

I heard running and footsteps in my building hallway. I woke up my family and shouted emphatically, “There is an air raid. Quick, everyone, out and down in the shelter.” This had only happened once before in my life near Tel Aviv about 10 years ago. The shelter was musty and not in the best of shape. It had not been used for many years. I met all my neighbors, many whom I had not met before. We were all trying to figure out what was amiss. A quick check by a neighbor resulted in an initial report that there had been a terrorist infiltration near Gaza. It then occurred to me that being in the shelter was sort of like being in a sukkah. Often we do not know who all the guests are.

Five more siren alarms sounded and then a sixth followed by a loud explosion as an Iron Dome intercepted an incoming rocket.

The news that started filtering in was beyond belief. At first when one report stated that 1,000 Hamas terrorists had broken through the security fence from Gaza and were killing and ransacking in the communities surrounding the Gaza Strip, many thought that it was an exaggeration. How could that ever be true? We had built an almost-invincible security wall and we continually monitor the border.

As Shabbat and Simchat Torah evolved the news went from bad to horrific. Most synagogues had abbreviated the davening and were closing early

By the end of Shabbat Israel was in a state of shock. Close to 1,000 murdered in their homes, shelters, cars and beds. One hundred hostages taken, 265 youngsters killed at a music festival, terrorists still running rampant, killing and maiming in 22 communities near Gaza. A proud, resilient Israeli society was now asking the essential questions: How and why could this happen?

In the streets of Jerusalem and all over Israel there was a combination of shock, fear, pain and disbelief. As I walked the streets I saw a type of response reminiscent of what I recall in New York the day of and following 9/11. A blank and painful look on people’s faces, almost catatonic. It was the only response most people could muster. The Torah states that when Aaron’s sons died, Aaron was stunned into a painful silence. This was Israel on Saturday October 7, 2023, a day that will go down in Jewish and Israeli history forever. Some call it the 9/11 of Israel. It was worse, it was 9/11 and Pearl Harbor combined. There was brutal and horrific murder and slaughter. There was also an enemy still alive who was not done with their destruction, and there were hostages taken who would be tortured.

I believe that October 7, 2023 has to be commemorated like Tisha B’Av and that Hamas is the precise manifestation of Amalek. They caught us off guard. Maybe they caught us when we were a bit weak. Maybe they caught us when we were not careful enough about “Sinat Chinam,” the baseless hatred of our fellow Jew. Maybe we were so wrapped up in our own personal peeves about Israeli society that we failed to realize what a great gift Hashem had given to us with having Eretz Yisrael.

I have written many times about Jewish unity. I firmly believe that this is the most important Jewish value that Hashem wants of us. We have always historically had differences of opinion. We must agree to disagree without being disagreeable. It weakens us and makes us vulnerable to our enemies. This time Hamas knew about our disagreements and took advantage of it. Maybe those political and social disagreements took away our focus on our physical security—that all remains to be seen.

Our Israeli Armed Forces will fight, and with Hashem’s help we will prevail. There has been and will be a terrible price to pay to overcome Amalek. We will be unified in our battle, and as we have seen in the amazing outpouring of love in the past days we will be there for each other.

We must take the weeks and months that are coming up to permanently imbed ahavat Yisrael, loving all of Israel, into our being. We are all the children of Hashem, and not exactly alike, but we must raise the bar and agree that we will never again rip into each other and weaken our beautiful Jewish and Israeli society.

May Hashem give strength to our beloved fighters and guide them to victory over Amalek and the forces of evil, and may peace prevail in our holy land, the State of Israel.