I hope that all of you had a meaningful fast and experience this Yom Kippur. I found myself more emotional and connected not only with the sensibility of the Ten days of Repentance this year and this Yom Kippur than last, but also with the words on the page than I have been in some time.

At several points in the tefilot of Yom Kippur, I thought of the sorrows, the joy, the exhaustion, and the exhilaration that all of Am Yisrael are contending with this year. I read of a 100 year old Auschwitz survivor who related that she fasted on Yom Kippur IN Auschwitz not as a matter of rote or habit, but as a statement of stubborn faith. And my mind went to the experiences we have heard of the hostages who observed shabbat, kashrut, or Pesach while in captivity.

I also read a beautiful thought from the Lubavitcher Rebbe that I believe is meaningful for each of us, no matter our personal identification with one stream of Jewish practice or another. He said that it is important to note in the Avodah section of the Musaf prayer, that the High Priest’s return to his home after concluding his role in the Temple is included as the final step of the service that we read. The lesson implicit in this for all of us is to bring the inspiration of Yom Kippur, of joining in common prayer and common purpose with all of the Jewish people, into our home. Our journey is not complete until we internalize what God expects of us and what brings us together as Jews.

I would be remiss if I did not share that even on Yom Kippur our adversaries will not leave us in peace. Off the coast of Israel, a group of performative social media fueled Hamas supporters tried to breach a lawful blockade, forcing the IDF to act to stop them. They found no ‘aid’, only a Hamas directed and supported group of maritime thugs. In Manchester, two of our brothers were murdered on our holiest day. Only a few hours later, London police asked anti-Israel demonstrators to hold off on their march so officers could instead be deployed to protect synagogues and mosques. They refused. Of course they did.

Here in Rockland, within minutes of the attack our Director of Security was in contact with all of our local police departments, and an already high level of patrol was elevated across the county. An alert was shared to all 250+ member organizations of our security network. We thank all elements of our local law enforcement and our local governments. We remind everyone to maintain situational awareness at all times.

We share in mourning the loss of our brothers, and in praying for the complete recovery of the four individuals wounded in the attack. We salute the intrepid members of the congregation who implemented their training and succeeded in keeping the terrorist out of the building, thus saving numerous lives. We stand ready to continue providing training and consultation for every institution in our community. We’ve trained over 2000 volunteers since late 2022. Email [email protected] to find out more, and click HERE to support our critical security work.