This Sukkot, Yerushalayim felt alive in a way I have not experienced in years.
The streets were overflowing. The Kotel was packed. After three years of war, loss, and tension, it felt as though the Jewish people finally allowed themselves to breathe again.
I felt it most powerfully at Aish.
On Hoshana Rabbah morning, our rooftop was packed for Vasikin as the sun rose over the Kotel. Then came Simchat Torah. I stood watching our students dancing with the Torah, singing with such incredible joy.
I could not stop thinking about where we had been exactly three years earlier.
Shortly after October 7th, I visited the Nova site. Looking at the makeshift memorials, I remember thinking: I am not supposed to see this in Israel. This is what I have seen in Poland.
Three years later, I was standing in Yerushalayim watching young Jews dance with the Torah.
The contrast brought tremendous clarity.
For three years, we have been surrounded by noise: accusations, propaganda, antisemitism, and lies repeated so often that sometimes even we can lose our bearings.
We cannot.
October 7th reminded us who we are.
When our people were attacked, Jews ran toward danger to save other Jews. Soldiers left their families to defend ours. Communities opened their homes. Jews around the world gave, prayed, volunteered, and stood together.
We went to war to protect life.
Almost immediately, another battle began over the story itself. The accusations started while we were still burying our dead and searching for our hostages, and they have barely stopped since.
We should always cut through the noise, seek truth, and never stop examining ourselves. That is Wisdom.
We must never lose the deep connection that binds one Jew to another, to our land, and to God. That is Love.
When our people are threatened, we must stand up, protect them, and do what needs to be done, even when it is difficult or unpopular. That is Responsibility.
Wisdom. Love. Responsibility.
These are not simply Aish values. They are Jewish values. They are the answer to the fog of the last three years.
Our enemies showed us what hatred can produce.
Our responsibility is to show the world what love, guided by wisdom, can produce.
More Jewish life. More Torah. More families. More goodness. More light.
That is our mission.
Perhaps that is why the extraordinary story of the Flydubai flight moved me so deeply. The plane was in extraordinary danger, and looking at the damage afterward, it is difficult to comprehend how everyone made it safely to the ground. The skill, courage, and presence of mind of those involved were remarkable. And yet, so many things had to be in exactly the right place at exactly the right moment for their efforts to succeed.
To me, that is the partnership between us and God.
God does not ask us to sit back and wait for miracles. He gives us wisdom and expects us to use it. He gives us people to love and expects us to protect them. He gives us responsibility and expects us to act.
We roll up our sleeves and do everything humanly possible. And sometimes, after we have done everything we can, God takes us the rest of the way.
Three years ago, our enemies gave us one of the darkest days in Jewish history.
Three years later, I watched young Jews dancing with the Torah in Yerushalayim.
Not because October 7th has been forgotten.
Because October 7th failed to change who we are.
We are still the people of life.
We still seek wisdom in a world filled with noise.
We still love one another.
We still take responsibility for one another.
And we still have a mission to fulfill.
We love our people. We love our land. We love our God.
Am Yisrael Chai.
