Jewish joy is the ultimate act of resistance.
Intentionally, Palestinian terrorists attacked Israel on one of the most joyous days of the Jewish year. Now, Israelis are starting to bounce back from one of the country’s all-time lows.
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In Hebrew, joy is known as simcha.
Simcha is mentioned in the Torah 430 times, and it is considered a mitzvah (a good deed, a commandment).
Intentionally, Palestinian terrorists attacked Israel on October 7th, 2023 — the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah (“Rejoicing in Torah”) which is typically one of the most joyous days of the Jewish year.
Now, that day is known as the “Black Sabbath” in Israel, but Israelis are starting to bounce back from one of the country’s all-time lows.
Against the backdrop of the subsequent Israel-Hamas war, on February 2nd some 6,000 runners took to the scenic route of the fifth Dead Sea Marathon, as the rising sun cast a glow over the lowest place on Earth. And in January, 132 chess players ranging in age from 9 to 78 competed in the Israeli Open Championship, including nearly 20 international masters and grandmasters.
Three weeks ago, at the Australian Open for quad wheelchair tennis, Israeli Guy Sasson finished in second place for both singles and doubles. Hundreds of Jewish and Israeli fans showed up to his matches, and even his practices, shouting in Hebrew and waving Israeli flags (some bearing the slogan “Bring the Hostages Back”).
Back in Israel, a recent surge of Israeli sentimentality means that local radio stations are mostly playing Hebrew music, including golden oldies. Dozens of Israeli musicians routinely perform for IDF soldiers, and even the famous Jewish musician Matisyahu came to Israel, where he performed a benefit show for the families of the hostages in Tel Aviv.
Israeli DJ Shalos returned to the stage on November 19th. He was one of the few DJs to survive the massacre at the Nova music festival, where Palestinian terrorists murdered some 260 people, including at least three DJs. His opening act featured an underlying beat and a man saying:
“We can dance in the oceans. We can dance on the walls. We can dance in slow motion. We can dance ‘till we fall. We can dance with a stranger. We can dance with our friends. We can dance in our minds where the music never ends. We can dance on the mountains where the river takes us higher. We can dance in the streets on the way to the choir. Nothing will stop us ever again. As long as we got music, the night will never end. We can dance again. We can dance again. We can dance again.”
Last week, the Ireland women’s team refused to shake their Israeli counterparts’ hands before the game. Israel promptly thumped the Irish women, 87 to 57. Also of late, Israeli fencer Yuval Freilich won a gold medal in Qatar, while Israeli windsurfer Sharon Kantor clinched the gold medal during the iQFoil World Championships in the Canary Islands, guaranteeing her an appearance at the Paris Olympics this summer.
Israelis are still getting married, too. One bride spent the morning of her wedding visiting and blessing injured IDF soldiers.
Military reservists Elinor Yosefin and Uri Mintzer tied the knot in a spontaneous wedding ceremony the day after the Palestinian terrorist attack — and before they had to report to their respective units. The rabbi officiating said that, while it was rare for a couple to wed on the brink of heading to war, “this union showcases the resilience of their relationship and their deep love for each other, their homeland, and the Jewish nation.”
Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem broke all monthly records for baby deliveries in December, thanks in part to the 12,000 refugees from Israel’s southwest and far north who have been sheltering in Jerusalem-area hotels since the war began.
“Eretz Nehederet” — Hebrew for “Wonderful Country,” the Israeli version of Saturday Night Live — took a break following the terror attacks on October 7th. But when the crew returned some three weeks later, they did not hold back, taking unapologetic aim at the BBC and United Nations, “woke” American universities, Hamas’ billionaire leaders in Qatar, and even Israeli soldiers.
Following October 7th, public venues were immediately closed, so Israeli comedians were sidelined, but they have recently made a comeback. Shahar Hason, one of Israel’s top standup comics, asked the audience at a recent performance: “What was the craziest rocket siren experience you’ve had?” as the crowd broke out in laughter.
He then told a story about ordering food online: “It’s 5:45 in the afternoon, and the delivery driver arrives. Somehow, as soon as I opened the door, a rocket siren goes off, so I invited the driver into my apartment to take cover. ‘No, I’ll be fine,’ he said to me. ‘What, do you have a personal Iron Dome?’ I asked him.”
On a more serious note, Hason said to the audience: “That you’re coming out to have fun is our victory. Can you imagine Hamas having fun right now? You can’t do standup shows in the tunnels — because if they will laugh, the IDF will hear them, and we will pour Diet Coke and Mentos into their tunnel.”
Birthright Israel, an organization that normally brings young Jews to Israel for a free 10-day trip, started offering volunteer opportunities after the war began, with a group of young adults arriving in November 2023. So far, more than 1,000 Birthright volunteers have come to Israel, mainly assisting in agriculture.
Despite feeling torn about leaving Israel, some Israelis attended the world-renowned Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month. The convention’s CEO, Gary Shapiro, ceremoniously cut the ribbon at the Israel Pavilion, solidifying the global conference’s support for Israel.
In a world first, Israeli startup Aleph Farms recently received regulatory approval from Israel’s Ministry of Health to introduce its unique Aleph Cuts cultivated beefsteaks in the Israeli market. It is also the first for cultivated meat of any kind in the Middle East, where solutions to food insecurity and climate change are woven into the very fabric of regional collaboration.
During these uncertain and difficult times, many Israelis have been grappling with how to joyously mark special occasions. The Yarchi family found a unique way to celebrate their son Amitai’s Bar Mitzvah — by sharing it with a displaced family from one of Israel’s Gaza-border towns, whose son was also preparing for his Bar Mitzvah.
These days, when there is so much advice going around on how to cope, many Israelis have been visiting the Kotel, the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Regularly, IDF soldiers come to pray and give thanks. As do ZAKA volunteers, who have endured harrowing days and nights identifying bodies of the fallen.
A couple of weeks ago, a massive gathering of 50,000 people assembled at the Western Wall to pray for the safety and release of the hostages. Nearly every day, a new group arrives — survivors of the Nova music festival, Israeli refugees from the country’s south and the north, and wives of reservists.
After 48 hours and two connections, a flight of Israelis traveling from Paris to Tel Aviv broke out in song, with one of the flight attendants rambunctiously dancing in the aisle while covered in an Israeli flag.
Forty of Israel’s top musicians collaborated on a Hebrew-language song about the trying times in Israel. The song is titled “We’re Bigger Than This” and has 27 million views on YouTube, three times the population of Israel.
In a compilation video that went viral on social media, dozens of random Israelis were asked to speak to the camera, saying: “I’m a white colonizer.” Naturally, all of the Israelis who appeared in the video do not have white skin, since more than half of the country is not “White.”
The Daily Freier, a Tel Aviv-based website that showcases biting satire, published a list of “UNRWA Teachers’ Top 10 Excuses for Joining Hamas” which included “I wanted to impress John Cusack” and “Our Union said we could attend the Hamas meetings via Zoom.”
Israeli comedian Uri Cohen — who invented the saying that went viral, “More Hummus. Less Hamas.” — has made a ton of social media videos. In one of them, he says in a thick Israeli accent, dressed in his IDF reservist uniform: “Believe me, this snack,” as he holds up a bag of Bamba, Israel’s popular peanut butter snack, “is more dangerous to the Ashkenazi Americans than the Islamic Jihad.”
In another viral video, an Israeli comedian is dressed as a school teacher employed by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). “I’m an UNRWA teacher,” he says, standing in front of a whiteboard, “so I make sure my classroom has all the necessary supplies,” as he places markers, a whiteboard eraser, and a finally rifle on the table in front of him.
Then another Israeli comedian appears, wearing a UN helmet and UNRWA vest. “I’m an UNRWA worker,” he says, standing in front of bags of supplies, “so of course I make sure all the humanitarian aid goes to those who really need it,” as a Hamas terrorist wielding a rifle walks up and takes one of the bags.
While the terrorist walks off screen, the UNRWA worker points to him and adds: “She’s an 88-year-old pregnant woman.”
Yes, yes, YES Joshua! This is spot on. Joy is indeed the antidote, well, *an* antidote, to so much negativity. Here, you show it standing against out and out rampant evil. Joy, real joy, is indeed something divine. Thank you, thank you again, for this piece which is (to me, at least) a tremendously positive and inspiring sign - perhaps much more than may be realised at first sight.
Wow thank you so much Joshua, I really needed this, all of us need this. You made my day!!
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