More than 1,300 Israelis were murdered on Saturday, on Shabbat, on Simchat Torah, October 7,

2023.

They were murdered because they are Israeli, because they're members of the Jewish nation and

the Jewish state.

More Jewish blood was spilled on that single day than on any other single day since the Shoa. Welcome to the Tikva podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Silver. In the Jewish tradition,

we have a practice of honoring the dead by saying the phrase Zikrono Livraha, meaning may his

memory be a blessing. But when a Jew is murdered, because he's a Jew, when his life is cut short

because he's a Jew, he's a martyr,

whose name is then mentioned with a different honorific.

Hashem You Come Damo, may God avenge his blood.

This week, the enemies of Israel created thousands of martyrs, women and children, men young

and old.

Hashem You Come Damam. May God avenge their blood. Rabbi Meir Silvecich

joins me this week to discuss his 2018 essay in commentary on this subject, and to share his first

thoughts with you on one of the worst weeks in modern Jewish history. Rabbi Silvecichik,

welcome back to the Tikva podcast.

Thank you, John. It's always a privilege to speak with you, but I'm sorry that it's the horrific events of this week that has brought about our discussion today.

As I was thinking about the person that I wanted to learn with and speak to, Rabbi Silvecic,

I thought about you. And I was put back in mind of a very powerful essay that you wrote in

commentary after a previous heinous Jewish attack. And of course, that was after the attack on

synagogue in Pittsburgh. Why don't you just recreate for us what you were noticing, what you were thinking

about, what observations that you were making after that attack, and we'll talk about then how

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