Oct. 7 attacks top of mind as New Yorkers prepare to celebrate Rosh Hashanah
NEW YORK — Rosh Hashanah is supposed to be a celebration of the new year, but the pain of the past year is palpable for many Jews.
CBS News New York's Lisa Rozner shows us how Jews are leaning on each other for strength nearly one year after the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.
"We still believe that there's goodness in the world"
The table is set at the home of Rabbi Mark Wildes of the Manhattan Jewish Experience Congregation on the Upper West Side. The sweetness of a new year, apples and honey adorn the center, with a customary round challah marking the cycle of life.
Wildes acknowledges it's a tough year with October 7 being the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, but that Israel defending itself is something to be acknowledged.
"We have to ask ourselves, why are they defending us? It's to be able to live and to celebrate our Judaism," Wildes said.
It's customary to listen to the shofar during the holiday, which goes until Friday evening.
"We take our breath and sound the shofar ... Just like God created with breath, what are we creating?" Wildes said. "We still believe that there's goodness in the world."
"We're waiting for a miracle"
This year, some are adding new traditions to remember those who have been murdered and those who are still being held hostage.
"I have a yahrzeit candle especially for remembering those lives lost on October 7th," said Morgan Raum, founder of the Shabbat Club. "It's customary to light a yahrzeit candle for people special to you who have been lost."
Raum will host a Rosh Hashanah dinner Thursday with that candle at the table.
"To cope with it, the best way is to actually go and do something about it, not just talk about it," said Mikael Rochman, president of Students Supporting Israel at Columbia University. "Come together and use this as an opportunity to unite people rather than to divide."
The family of now-20-year-old American-Israeli hostage Itay Chen says they will spend the holiday at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.
"Talking about our loved ones, and then that's it, we cannot do anything else," mother Hagit Chen said.
"Everyone has his designated spot in the table. Suddenly, we have an empty seat. That's very painful," father Ruby Chen said.
The Chen family says Itay is one of seven Americans still being held in Gaza.
"We're waiting for a miracle. We have, was notified by the IDF that most likely he will not come back alive but still, there's no evidence," Ruby Chen said.
Israel believes there's around 101 hostages still in Gaza. Itay was in the Israeli Defense Forces for a year when his base was attacked by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. He was supposed to attend his younger brother's Bar Mitzvah a few days later.
"He's a happy boy. He likes to dance. He likes to sing, play basketball," Hagit Chen said.
The Chen family is hoping the new year brings a deal to bring home the hostages.
"It's not a political issue, it's a humanitarian issue," Ruby Chen said. "I am a simple dad and we just want our kid back."
The rabbi says to families like the Chens, one can wish "l'shanah tovah," typically meaning "for a sweet new year," but instead to wish for "a better year."
"That we are one with them and they're not being forgotten," Wildes said.
