This week we return once again to our Torah portion, Bereishit.  In the beginning. The Torah opens with tohu va-vohu, a world of chaos and uncertainty, and from that chaos comes creation, light and possibility (Genesis 1:1–4). Those words feel especially meaningful this week as we mark three years since October 7, 2023.

In his teaching about what it means to be part of Jewish history, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks reminds us that each generation inherits the Jewish story, writes its own chapter, and then passes that story on to the next generation (Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Radical Then, Radical Now). October 7 and the years that have followed have become part of the chapter we are living now; a chapter filled with profound grief and loss, rising antisemitism, war and tremendous suffering.

Here at KI, we have lived this chapter together. As Rabbi David shared this week, we will commemorate October 7 at Shabbat Services. The hostage posters that once lined our lobby became part of our communal story. They are placed in a beautiful memory box, along with other pieces of art and expression created by members of our own TJM Artist Collaborative. (Marlene D’Orazio Adler, Leon Chudzinski, Robert Dennis, Leslie Kramer, Paula Mandel, Rita Rosen Poley, Rosalind Richstein, and Karen Shain Schloss).

The box is not about putting this history away, but about preserving it remembering what we experienced, whom we lost, and how our community came together during an extraordinarily difficult time. We thank our TJM Artist Collaborative for all of their beautiful efforts in making this piece for us.

On Shabbat, through prayer, song, dedication and remembrance, we will honor the lives lost and reflect on what we carry forward. Perhaps that is the message of Bereishit for us this year. We remember the chapters that have already been written, and then, even after darkness, we begin again, continuing to create community, compassion, hope and a vibrant Jewish life.