October 7, 2023 marked the end of Succot and the start of Shemini Atzeret, a prelude to the joyous celebration of Simchat Torah, so significant in the cycle of Jewish life.
Henceforth, the date will mark a new collective trauma for all those psychologically impacted by the horror of events that day.
In the first few days after October 7 a silence seemed to descend, as if everything in “normal” life was suspended. Shock, like trauma, takes time to sink in. Both states can paralyse the brain as we try to make sense of incomprehensible actions, removing our sense of being in control.
Over the following months, I witnessed the impact in a variety of ways. Students who identified with the young people at the Nova music festival gravitated towards me. Students from Israel noted my biblical name, Shirah, and they whispered, through tears, that, feeling unsafe, they could no longer use their real names with confidence. They felt a need, unexperienced previously, to talk to and form a connection with someone they identified as familiar and safe. For some, it was the abrupt end of the joy of young adulthood and the realisation that they might never enjoy that same sense of freedom again. Whereas in the past they felt strong and, in some ways, invincible, they now felt vulnerable and insecure.
