It is OK to be angry. It is OK to be sad. It is OK to feel shock and indignation. It is also OK weep.
It is not Ok, however, to be complacent.
No matter how you look at the latest development in the current ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Hamas it hard to not be horrified. In the handing over of our hostage bodies, it is hard to process all the emotions of the families receiving these loved ones. Just hours after receiving the bodies, Israel was able to confirm that the two children were in fact Ariel and Kfir Bibas, but the body of their mother was not the third victim—the fourth being Oded Lifshitz.
Furthermore, Israel believes that the two innocent children were murdered within weeks of their capture. It is hard to imagine the cruelty they all suffered on October 7, 2023 and for some time in captivity. This beautiful innocent family did not ask to be taken from their homes. Now, their mother is still unaccounted for. Oded, a founder of Nir Oz, did not ask to be dragged across the border by the very people he dedicated his life to living in peace with.
For Israel, for the Jewish community around the world, and for any decent human on this planet, yesterday was a horrific day. The substitution of an unidentified, anonymous woman as part of the hostage deal only takes the pain to new and higher levels. This should be a moment when all the world sees Hamas for the terror organization it really is and not a future governing body interested in peace.
Yet we must move forward—after we mourn. Jewish tradition provides us with incrementally less intense periods of mourning; seven days of Shiva, 30 days of Shloshim, and then the yearly Yarhzeit. I have a distinct feeling, however, that the confirmation of the circumstances that are being revealed with Ariel and Kfir Bibas’ murders and the uncertainty of Shiri Bibas’ whereabout is going to cause our mourning to be deeper and last longer.
That is OK.
What is not OK is for decent human beings to stand by and be silent. We need to speak out on behalf of all the innocent people that have been murdered and defiled by Hamas and its stated commitment to destroying Israel. We need to speak out against the people who do not condemn Hamas and its financial supporters. We need to act with compassion as we help the people affected by the atrocities of October 7.
Now is the time to be angry and sad. Soon, however, we each need to find our voice, we need to find a few actions that will hopefully make our world a better and more peaceful place. In the face of too many people ignoring the atrocities committed in the past 500+ days, we need to remind them how decent people act and how decent people care.
This Shabbat will be like no other with darkness, pain, and crying. And that is OK. Let us all make sure it is not, however, a day of complacency.