By: Josiah N. Gampel
An intense Elul Zman flowed into a beautiful and uplifting Yamim Noraim season, culminating in the conclusion of Yom Kippur at the Kotel. I ended the fast feeling spiritually cleansed and emotionally exhausted. I was more than ready for the rest and relaxation of the Bein Hazmanim-Sukkot break. While the responsibility to daven and learn Torah never ceases, the more relaxed Bein Hazmanim atmosphere allowed me to catch up on some much-needed sleep and to hang out with friends, especially those from other yeshivot who I do not get to see that often.
During my time off I scheduled a series of day trips with my buddies, including hot air ballooning in Tel Aviv, a tiyul to the Dead Sea, and a barbecue at my roommate, and cousin, Netanel Aranoff’s home in Modiin. I also put together a three-day Chol Hamoed trip with my friends Simcha Schachter, Hillel Schein, and Ari Saffra to Teveria. We spent a lot of time at the beach, went to the Aqua Kef waterpark, and hiked up Har Arbel, enjoying breathtaking views of the Kinneret. We also went to the Safed puzzle room and an outdoor Itay Levy concert. The final week of Bein Hazmanim, following Simchat Torah, was to be spent on Yeshivat HaKotel’s annual Poland Trip, where the Shana Alpeh talmidim are immersed into the once vibrant world of the shtetl and come face to face with the horrors of the Shoah.
Although I would be spending Simchat Torah in yeshiva, singing and dancing with my Rebbeim and friends, I made plans to go out for meals at friends’ apartments, each a brisk thirty-minute walk from the Old City. On Friday afternoon, three friends and I walked to the German Colony, where we davened Maariv and had an incredible dinner by my friend Zach Perl. We then walked back to yeshiva for Hakafot, which culminated in the entire student body dancing to the Kotel for the seventh Hakafah. Not wanting the evening to end, a group of us talked late into the night. I went to bed joyful, excitedly looking forward to the next day’s celebrations.
I awoke the next morning to the blaring of a siren I had never heard before. Confused, and mildly concerned, I dressed and went down for Shacharit, greeted by friends who were making their way up from the yeshiva’s bomb shelter. An air raid siren was sounding in the Old City on Simchat Torah? This had to be a mistake. But it wasn’t.
Over the next hour sirens rang out four more times, and each time we moved with greater urgency to the shelter. The Shana Bet guys tried to maintain a mood of simchat chag, singing and dancing in the shelter. Back in shul and before Hakafot began, the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Baruch Wieder, shlita, addressed the talmidim in a calm, yet somber manner. He informed us that Israel was in a state of emergency and everyone in the IDF who was eligible to be called up to serve must immediately check their phones for messages from the military. Half the beit medrash emptied out. Within minutes, students began approaching the Rosh Yeshiva, quietly informing him they had to leave. Rav Wieder gave each chayal a bracha and kissed him on the head, before they hurriedly departed.
The remaining talmidim were instructed to maintain the simcha of the chag, albeit in a muted manner. A beautiful Hakotel Simchat Torah minhag is to dance in each quarter of the Old City, joyfully celebrating Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the Jewish State. While this was not possible this year, we remained in the Rova, dancing at various shuls in the area.
At the time, few talmidim appreciated the severity of the terrorist attacks, as we were still observing the chag, and had no access to the news. Indeed, after davening, my friends and I, unworried, left the Old City for lunch at another friend, Judah Cohen’s apartment, before returning to Hakotel for Maariv.
After Havdalah, everyone started catching up on the day’s events. We were all stunned. Texts from the administration soon came, instructing us to remain close to yeshiva, and that doors and windows were to remain locked at all times. Later that evening we had an emotional kumzitz and Tehillim program with an upperclassman who had completed his military service. As he had not made aliya he was not summoned for Reserve duty. He spoke about one of his friends who had been called up earlier that day. That friend’s tank was fired upon, and his fate was unknown. Strong feelings of sadness and anger filled the room.
As my family in North Woodmere would be celebrating Yom Tov for another day, I did not know how much of the day’s events they were aware of, or if they were concerned about my safety. I left detailed Whatsapp messages on our family chat so that everyone would know I was OK as soon as Yom Tov ended.
Over the next few days, the horror of the massacre in the South, by the modern-day Nazis known as Hamas, became clearer. Many innocents were killed and now, many soldiers were in danger, protecting Am Yisrael and Medinat Yisrael. The cancellation of our Poland trip was almost an afterthought as I worried about all the people I care about, who were facing unknown dangers in Gaza.
Choref Zman began a week early and the usually vibrant Rova has become eerily quiet. Raw emotions permeate every tefilla and learning is incredibly intense. I fervently want everyone in the IDF to be safe while they are putting an end to this existential threat facing Klal Yisrael. May Hashem grant us a speedy victory over our enemies and may He comfort the families of the Kedoshim.
Josiah N. Gampel graduated from DRS Yeshiva High School and is now learning at Yeshivat Hakotel. Josiah was chosen to receive the 5TJT Student Journalism Award in 2023.
