״כָּל עוֹד שֶׁמִּישֶׁהוּ זוֹכֵר אוֹתָנוּ, אֲנַחְנוּ חַיִּים״
“As long as someone remembers us, we remain alive”
This Yom HaZikaron felt different than most because of the heartbreak the Jewish nation has felt for the past seven-plus months. To provide a meaningful Yom HaZikaron experience, RKYHS juniors and seniors visited the Nova exhibition entitled “October 7th, 06:29 A.M. The Moment Music Stood Still.” In a building surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the financial district, we entered through a door into a dark room, intended to make visitors feel both the darkness of the nighttime party and the ultimate darkness that has set in ever since the tragedy of Hamas’s terrorist attacks. Learning about the fundraising, commemorations and counseling the Tribe of Nova Foundation has organized since October 7 was enlightening and inspiring. But most importantly, we saw with our own eyes the raw and monstrous horrors of the Nova festival massacre.
What We Saw:
Visualize the horrific footage from October 7 in one room, in addition to testimonies from Nova survivors and organizers. A key aspect of the museum was a walk-through of stations focused on different elements of the festival, in which we saw the scorched cars, camping tents, lawn chairs and other loose belongings of the festival attendees. One student remarked that the exhibit’s table full of shoes brought to mind the famous images of the piles of shoes accumulated in the concentration camps.
A particularly striking aspect of the exhibit was the contrast between the ideals of the festival such as peace, unity and connectedness to the horrific outcome of the event due to Hamas’ terrorist attack. The “Supernova Sukkot Gathering” was a weekend-long trance music festival with three different stages, each with a lineup of performers. The pure joy present at the festival was conveyed through the stories of survivors and as they explained the ideals of the event. It was empowering to watch videos of Israelis from various backgrounds singing and dancing to the same music, united in their desire to enjoy the beautiful nature and culture of Israel.
The day after our trip to the Nova Exhibit was a melancholic one. Yom Ha’Atzmaut, a day to be celebrated, was slightly overshadowed by the horrific images we had seen. Yet our experience filled us with hope, motivation and courage to represent the State of Israel with greater force and pride. Incorporated into our Yom Ha’Atzmaut schedule at school was a processing session with teachers, guidance counselors and administrators to discuss the exhibit. Students voiced their impressions of the museum and were given space to reflect on how the trip impacted them. “It was a very meaningful experience,” said Ilan Gutkin, ‘25. The trip left students speechless, unable to express how deeply it impacted them. “It just brought up so many emotions… I can’t formulate what I want to say in a sentence” reflected Abby Koppel, ‘25. Abby’s point is one shared by many, including those who have already visited Israel. “Having been to the Nova Festival site in Israel, it was extremely impactful to see the Nova Exhibit as well. Seeing the videos from that day while looking at the items found really gave me a perspective of what happened. The unity that has [been] developed since then by Am Yisrael around the world inspires me to do even more and get even more involved than I was in the past,” affirmed James Orbach, ‘25. Overall, the processing provided a meaningful space to share opinions and reflections in a smaller group. It was beneficial to have a space to provide closure after an exhibit that shook us, as high school students, to the core.
Our Reflections:
As students on the precipice of college campuses filled with individuals unknowledgeable of the tragedies of October 7, the trip to the Nova exhibition was invaluable—comparable to visiting Israel and witnessing firsthand the remains of the festival. We wish we had more time to take in the sights, smells and sounds the museum creatively organized to bring us into the moment. Each face on the wall of murdered civilians was another tear in our hearts as we read about young adults not much older than ourselves. Following our self-guided tour we were met by Nova survivor Tomer Amir, who told us of his experience fleeing the festival and his miraculous survival. Realizing the slim age gap between us and Tomer was heartbreaking and inspiring, and we appreciate the time Tomer took to speak to us.
We appreciated this experience as a means to connect with the broader Israeli Jewish community. We saw videos of visibly Orthodox Hatzalah and Zaka volunteers helping Jews with different beliefs, the value of areivut, mutual responsibility, at top of mind amidst unimaginable tragedy.
Deeply impactful was the conclusion of the exhibit, which called attention to the Nova survivor’s need for lifelong emotional and psychological support. The concluding “Healing Room” left visitors with a message of hope and resilience. The museum’s message as we left was loud and clear, inspiring us to persevere in the face of the trauma resulting from October 7: “We Will Dance Again” was the prevailing hope, wish, and tefillah with which we left the exhibit. May we all dance again with complete peace in our homeland, Eretz Yisrael.
