Jerusalem, Israel - Sept. 30, 2024 - Ahead of the first anniversary of the murder of and capture of his son Daniel on October 7th, Rabbi Doron Perez, Daniel’s father and Executive Chairman of World Mizrachi has authored a volume in tribute to his son and his fellow soldiers memories entitled Days of Awe In Time of War: Reflections of a Father of a Fallen Hostage.
While forensic evidence later discovered that Daniel fell in the early hours of heroic battle after his tank was captured by Hamas terrorists, his fate went unknown for several months until his death could be definitively confirmed. Daniel’s body remains in captivity in Gaza along with 100 other hostages.
The 64-page volume being released in advance of Rosh Hashanah attempts to grapple with two challenging questions being faced by Jews all over the world . How do we appropriately experience the contemplative Days of Awe after one of the most harrowing years since the Shoah? Secondly, how is it possible to celebrate the festive and joyous times of Sukkot and Simchat Torah this year - the very time where 1200 families will be commemorating the barbaric slaughter of their loved one? How can the celebration and happiness be reconciled with angst, pain and loss?
In a chapter entitled “Broken Completeness”, Rabbi Perez writes:
“As we enter 5785, we know that this year ahead has many question marks. We face many challenges, not only in Gaza, but in the north, and in the east where the roots of the Iranian evil lurks. This Simchat Torah, we are going to have it both ways. We will dance with every fiber of our being, celebrating the privilege of being a Jew and at the same time, we will cry, yearn, and feel the pain of this last year and what happened last year at this time.
It will be both a time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to feel the pain and a time to celebrate the privilege. A time to laugh and a time to cry. A time to feel close and a time to yearn from a distance. We live in Hashem’s world. In Hashem’s world somehow things are always okay, even when they are not.”
Rabbi Perez highlights how the shofar sounds incorporate both the clear triumphant sound of the tekia, while also the broken splintered sound of the shevarim teruah. The very name of the day in the Torah as “Yom Teruah”- the day of the blowing of the shofar- means according to our sages a day of joy and celebration while at the same time a call of groaning and crying.
This, explains Rabbi Perez, is the crux of life in general and this year in particular. It seems that we have to have it both ways. On Rosh Hashanah, we are somehow whole and broken at the same time. Complete, yet fractured. Life is a package deal.
Through the lens of the three main holidays that make up this period- Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot- Rabbi Perez candidly exposes many of the emotions he has been forced to explore over the past year and how pain and tragedy can exist alongside joy and appreciation.
He writes, “So many circumstances, as we know all too well, happen without us having any choice or control – they are forced upon us. But one thing can never ever be taken away from us - our ability to choice our thoughts and attitudes in any given situation. It is the ultimate free choice. When we face challenges in life that shake our world, we have to dig very deeply into our reservoirs of faith and perspective.”
This year more than most in recent memory is a time to celebrate and to commemorate; to dance and to mourn; to appreciate what is and to yearn for so much that is yet to be. The return of every hostage, healing for the injured, comfort for the mourners; homecoming for the evacuees; safety for all our soldiers and civilians; vanquished the evil surrounding us and shalom to us all.
To download a copy, click here
Jerusalem, Israel - Sept. 30, 2024 - Ahead of the first anniversary of the murder of and capture of his son Daniel on October 7th, Rabbi Doron Perez, Daniel’s father and Executive Chairman of World Mizrachi has authored a volume in tribute to his son and his fellow soldiers memories entitled Days of Awe In Time of War: Reflections of a Father of a Fallen Hostage.
While forensic evidence later discovered that Daniel fell in the early hours of heroic battle after his tank was captured by Hamas terrorists, his fate went unknown for several months until his death could be definitively confirmed. Daniel’s body remains in captivity in Gaza along with 100 other hostages.
The 64-page volume being released in advance of Rosh Hashanah attempts to grapple with two challenging questions being faced by Jews all over the world . How do we appropriately experience the contemplative Days of Awe after one of the most harrowing years since the Shoah? Secondly, how is it possible to celebrate the festive and joyous times of Sukkot and Simchat Torah this year - the very time where 1200 families will be commemorating the barbaric slaughter of their loved one? How can the celebration and happiness be reconciled with angst, pain and loss?
In a chapter entitled “Broken Completeness”, Rabbi Perez writes:
“As we enter 5785, we know that this year ahead has many question marks. We face many challenges, not only in Gaza, but in the north, and in the east where the roots of the Iranian evil lurks. This Simchat Torah, we are going to have it both ways. We will dance with every fiber of our being, celebrating the privilege of being a Jew and at the same time, we will cry, yearn, and feel the pain of this last year and what happened last year at this time.
It will be both a time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to feel the pain and a time to celebrate the privilege. A time to laugh and a time to cry. A time to feel close and a time to yearn from a distance. We live in Hashem’s world. In Hashem’s world somehow things are always okay, even when they are not.”
Rabbi Perez highlights how the shofar sounds incorporate both the clear triumphant sound of the tekia, while also the broken splintered sound of the shevarim teruah. The very name of the day in the Torah as “Yom Teruah”- the day of the blowing of the shofar- means according to our sages a day of joy and celebration while at the same time a call of groaning and crying.
This, explains Rabbi Perez, is the crux of life in general and this year in particular. It seems that we have to have it both ways. On Rosh Hashanah, we are somehow whole and broken at the same time. Complete, yet fractured. Life is a package deal.
Through the lens of the three main holidays that make up this period- Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot- Rabbi Perez candidly exposes many of the emotions he has been forced to explore over the past year and how pain and tragedy can exist alongside joy and appreciation.
He writes, “So many circumstances, as we know all too well, happen without us having any choice or control – they are forced upon us. But one thing can never ever be taken away from us - our ability to choice our thoughts and attitudes in any given situation. It is the ultimate free choice. When we face challenges in life that shake our world, we have to dig very deeply into our reservoirs of faith and perspective.”
This year more than most in recent memory is a time to celebrate and to commemorate; to dance and to mourn; to appreciate what is and to yearn for so much that is yet to be. The return of every hostage, healing for the injured, comfort for the mourners; homecoming for the evacuees; safety for all our soldiers and civilians; vanquished the evil surrounding us and shalom to us all.
To download a copy, click here
