I was forwarded an email from a NY area rabbi who is on a "mission" in Israel.
He concluded the email which describes the tremendous challenges Israelis are facing and the heroism of the soldiers, volunteers, doctors etc. etc. as follows:
That last visit, to the Nova memorial, filled me for the first time with Anger. Rage, at the injustice, the evil brutality of what those monsters did to those beautiful innocent young people, who came to dance.
.....
And I reflected on the Nova Festival. We had met one of the organizers of the October 7th Festival, who recounted what happened on the day, and what has happened afterwards - a mass effort to counsel, hold, heal, protect the survivors, remember the murdered and dream of the future.
Everywhere in the incredibly moving memorial you see the same four words. “We Will Dance Again’.
And on that note, we sang HaTikvah. Israel is the Land of Hope. And we are the People of Hope.
WE will dance again.
We WILL dance again.
We will DANCE again.
We will dance AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN AND AGAIN.
----------
Let us say that there is really a G-d. He exists. He is real.
Let us also say that He really is the Author of the Torah.
Let us also say that spirituality, רוחניות, is a מציאות, a true reality, more true than the physical existence which we think to be real.
OK. Take those three beliefs and put them together.
That means that those "beautiful innocent young people, who came to dance" were trampling on Hashem, the Torah, 5,000 years of tradition and everything holy - in the Holy Land. [Limmud zchus - they were תינוקות שנשבו].
On Simchas Torah-Shmini Atzeres, a day of virtual intimacy between עם ישראל and Hashem -
רש"י ויקרא כ"ג:ל"ו
עצרת היא – עצרתי אתכם אצלי, כמלך שזימן את בניו לסעודה לכך וכך ימים, כיון שהגיע זמנן ליפטר אמר: בניי בבקשה מכם עכבו עוד עמי יום אחד, קשה עלי פרישתכם.
a day when Am Yisrael dances with Hashem's holy Torah and sings holy songs - on this day they had a party of גילוי עריות and עבודה זרה with alcohol and drugs mixed in. Like a יהרג ואל יעבור party. That was the "dancing" that this rabbi wants to continue and "Dance Again".
Let me say this: Everyone killed has a כפרה. That is it. Their sins are forgiven - this is explicit in סנהדרין מ"ז. Some later sources even say that they have the status of Kedoshim b/c they were killed b/c they were Jewish. So their record is clean.
But we must not forget that sins bring destruction to the world. רוחניות is real. Mitzvos really bring good and aveiros really bring down evil - including Chamas.
Did Chamas come as a punishment for this disgusting party? I DON'T KNOW. But I DO know that it should be clear that רע brings רע.
So yes we will dance again. But hopefully this time בקדושה ובטהרה.
Am Yisrael is doing Teshuva. Let us hope it continues and we show who we really are - עם קדוש לה' א-להיך.
