The lesson of Simchat Torah: Making room for complexity
As the third anniversary of the October 7 disaster approaches, an opinion piece by Bat Galim Shaar examines the emotional complexity of the holiday of Simchat Torah, which coincides with the date of the tragedy. The author combines a story about a miracle on a Flydubai flight with reflections on faith, uncertainty, and the ability to hold both joy and memory simultaneously, calling for not separating the two sides.
As the third anniversary of the October 7 disaster approaches, an opinion piece by Bat Galim Shaar, a lecturer on personal and national resilience and CEO of the "Day of Unity" association, examines the emotional complexity of the holiday of Simchat Torah, which coincides with the date of the tragedy. The author opens with a description of a miracle on a Flydubai flight, where a co-pilot attacked the captain and the plane dove, but passengers and crew managed to regain control and the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia. She notes that alongside rational explanations of resourcefulness and professionalism, a sense of wonder remains. From there, she moves to reflections on faith and uncertainty, quoting Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon about sheikhs from Dubai and Abu Dhabi who requested a lesson on "the hand of God in the War of Revival." The author quotes the late Rabbi Sacks on the Binding of Isaac, which he argued was not about sacrifice but about uncertainty, and concludes by calling not to separate joy from memory on Simchat Torah, but to allow the soul to contain the complexity.