An infant, a toddler, and a mother were brutally murdered. The father was left alive, a calculated act of cruelty designed to inflict unbearable psychological torment.
We already know the menacing monstrous nature of Hamas. This should come as no surprise. But do not diminish their actions by calling them animals.
They are human beings who have chosen the depths of darkness. We will defeat them not by becoming like them, but by remaining who we are. It is by embodying light that we will cast out the darkness.
I see people write, “The world watches blindly.” But let us be precise: the world is vast. There are those who remain oblivious to what is happening in Israel. There are those who know and remain indifferent because it does not touch their immediate reality. And there are those – failed international institutions, cynical politicians, manipulative voices – who gaslight, distort, and indeed, ignore our suffering. Our enemies are numerous, cunning, and relentless. But we will endure, as we always have.
I see others proclaim, “We will never forgive, we will never forget.” But where does that lead us? To fight fire with fire is to risk consuming ourselves in the flames. Our history reminds us of this truth; Masada, where zealots chose death over surrender. These were moments of defiance, but they were also lessons written in ash and ruin.
Strength is not merely in the sword but in the endurance of our people who, time and again, have turned destruction into rebirth.
History has shown us this over and over. Whether in cycles of vengeance between feuding nations or within divided societies, unprocessed grief and anger often lead to prolonged suffering.
The weight of past conflicts, from the endless bloodshed of vendettas to the ruin of civilizations that could not escape their cycles of retribution, reminds us that true strength lies in acceptance and transformation. So how do we resist Hamas, a force of destruction?
How do we resist Hamas, a force of destruction?
One answer lies in the earth. The earth is both a giver and a taker of life. When scorched by fire, it does not remain barren; it transforms.
The ashes of devastation become the soil of renewal. So, too, must we take our suffering and use it as a force of transformation – not to spread more pain, but to rebuild, to grow, to create life from loss.
Just as the scorched forests of the Carmel regrow after devastation, or as kibbutzim were built from the barren land, we have always found a way to turn destruction into renewal. Our grief must be the seed of our future, not the weight that holds us in the past.
Finding balance in agonizing times
These are agonizing times. Our wounds are raw, constantly reopened before they can heal. The grief is suffocating, the rage overwhelming. It is tempting to lash out, to let pain beget pain.
But we must find balance within ourselves. Hamas will not be remembered. Our pain will not be remembered. In time, all things fade into history’s oblivion.
Yet, here and now, in this fleeting moment, we have a choice. Just as the sun continues to rise after even the longest night, or as a river carves its way through stone with persistence, we can also find resilience in what remains. We must be stars in the night sky: the darker the night the brighter we will shine.
Our strength has never been in numbers or weapons alone, but in the spirit that refuses to be extinguished. We can care for one another. We can tend to our anger, our sorrow, our suffocating grief. We can acknowledge our frustration with the world as it is.
And then, we can choose to turn this darkness into light. By doing so, we ensure that the names of Kfir, Ariel, Shiri, and all we have lost are not merely remembered but honored in the most meaningful way: by affirming life and our commitment as Jews to be a light unto the nations of the world.
The writer is an advocate for mindfulness, meditation, and Tourette syndrome. He is passionate about reconciliation amid the current polarization in Israeli society. He is a graduate of Bar-Ilan University, with a degree in political science and communications.