"Where Are We, Three Years Later?" by Rabbi Josh Weinberg
It's a difficult day for a lot of people, and it has every right to be; I reckon it's always been hard for the past 3 years and will continue to. With many voices resounding across feelings and approaches to the tragedy on this day, I find myself really finding strength in this insightful and bittersweet commentary by Rabbi Weinberg. He writes about observations that never would've come to mind for me about the times the Jewish community live in 3 years on, such as the increased engagement and feeling of connection to Judaism both within and outside Jewish lives - an "awakening" as he describes - while also making room for things I've personally long sensed but in a way that was to-the-point yet easy to process in Rabbi Weinberg's article, such as the costs and internal divides Jewish communities come to terms with relating to Zionism and anti-Zionism/criticism of Israel and the place for Jewish concern for Palestinian rights. "Multiplicity" and "belonging" (of perspectives) are elements of Jewish culture I've long cherished, and Rabbi Weinberg navigates these things in the aftermath of October 7th wonderfully despite the difficulty of it; how nuance not only exists but is needed in the aftermath as to not deepen the wounds, whether Jewish and/or Israeli or Arab and/or Palestinian, that we've already endured.
May the memories of the people we lost across all life in the region since that day continue to be a blessing. May healing come to us and that fear never dominates over our heads in Jewish life any longer.