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At 6:30 a.m., Dudi and his wife woke up to explosions they had never heard before. With seven seconds to race to their safe room, they grabbed their kids and ran to where their guests were sleeping. Dudi’s wife ran without her head covering. Who could even think about such things at that time?

October 7 was a turning point. The world changed dramatically. Similar to the reference points of historical events such as the attack on Pearl Harbor and 9/11, our lives will forever be divided into two distinct periods: life before and life after October 7. The horror that has continued unabated since that day was accompanied by one positive thing. The division and unbridled sin’as chinam that permeated our society seemed to have dissipated.

Dudi Rabi was studying in Yeshivat Shavei Chevron during the summer of 2005 as the country battled out the looming disengagement from Gush Katif when the IDF removed the 8,600 Israeli residents from their homes as part of Israel’s unilateral disengagement from Gaza. As tensions swelled and tempers flared, Dudi felt himself pulled in two directions.

As my husband and I walked through the streets of Yerushalayim, as we do every summer when we stay at the timeshare apartment we inherited from my parents, there was a different feel in the air. We joined the tourists and enjoyed the usual street entertainment surrounding the bustling cafes in the center of town and Mamilla. However, wherever we looked, there were reminders of the war, the soldiers who fell, the hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza.

There’s nothing like old friends. For this reason, I look forward to the summer get-together of a group of friends of mine from seminary/college days. The core group lives here in Israel, but friends from abroad will join if they happen to be visiting at the time of the event.

Ping. Ping. Ping. All day long, my phone alerts me to messages coming in from the many WhatsApp groups that I joined recently. The chats are all war-related and members of the groups unite around issues close to their hearts. I don’t necessarily agree with every post or action mentioned in the groups, but I respect their sincere desire to do the right thing and improve the situation.