BATSHEVA SHULMAN

The Alfei Menashe Synagogue in Sderot and its spiritual leader, Rabbi David Lhungdim, are building a community.

I hope and pray for good news and better days, in which we can truly celebrate the Jewish holidays and calendar, together as a unified nation, with lighter hearts and better spirits. 

Every bulb represents a name, every barcode tells a story: A light installation at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square aims to keep the memory of each victim.

This year, the festival is extended to three days in walled cities – adding the day before and the day after – giving rise to what is commonly known as Purim Meshulash, or “triple Purim.”

Our nation is hurting deeply. The road ahead is long, and we may never fully heal. But amid our collective trauma, one thing I know for certain is that our nation’s faith and spirit will prevail.

There's something about our nation that stands out amid our collective agony and that no one will ever take away from us: our hope, our resilience, and our spirit.

In a moral world, those complicit in the October 7 massacre or any other terrorist attack should be held accountable and dealt with in the harshest of manners.

I chose to make Israel my home through the good and the bad, and I won’t just run when things get tough.

Instead of “restoring” our nation, let’s repair and refine it.

Artist Marla Buck believes that “behind an expression of any art form, there needs to be an emotive, even transformative, message.”