So much more binds us than separates

In the wake of the tragic events of October 7, unlikely yet remarkable human connections have emerged out of shared purpose and resilience. Through their collaboration, they developed new perspectives and understanding of the other’s world, and achieved something greater than themselves, as they learned to see beyond differences, bridging divides that once seemed insurmountable. Here are their stories.

When October 7 shattered the heart of a moshav in Israel, a shul in Woodmere reached out and welded these disparate communities together, transcending barriers of time and space to show that we’re one. 

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fter the horrifying events of last Simchas Torah, hundreds of members of Young Israel of Woodmere, where Rabbi Shay Schachter serves as the associate rabbi, expressed the desire to fly to Eretz Yisrael, to be present and help however they could. Despite a crammed schedule — Rabbi Schachter is also the rabbi at Yachad, the Orthodox Union’s international program for individuals with disabilities — Rabbi Schachter decided, with the staunch support of his wife, Rina, to represent their community, and he boarded a flight headed east.

He met so many individuals affected by the war — evacuees, widows, orphans, survivors, injured soldiers, bereaved parents, released hostages — each one a world of heartbreak. And to each one, Rabbi Schachter extended an invitation. No agenda. No photo ops. Just a simple offer.

“Come visit,” he urged. “We want you to meet your larger family, a family who love you and want to embrace you.”

And come they did. Critically wounded soldiers. Amputees. Released hostages. Parents of hostages. Parents of soldiers. Orphans arriving alone, no family members left to travel with them. Over the next 11 months, well over 50 men, women, and children received Young Israel of Woodmere-sponsored airline tickets.

Many families, including the Schachters, took turns hosting the visitors, but the entire 1,200-families strong membership of Young Israel, and the larger community of Woodmere, went out of their way to welcome the guests. People took time off work to drive the visitors to stores, museums, and amusement parks. Doctors in the neighborhood rewrapped bandages and replaced splints with casts (which were promptly signed). Every visitor who spoke in the shul about their experiences stood at the podium, gazing at an audience in the hundreds. It was balm to the traumatized men and women embraced by the community.

The ten host families, who at times opened their homes for weeks at a time, showered their guests with love and acceptance. The visitors enjoyed the unfamiliar beauty of Shabbos meals and closeness with religious families. Rabbi Schachter describes how in his home, former hostages interacted with his children on the living room couch. His wife Rina, aside from cooking and hosting, arranged for the women to shop for community-sponsored clothing at frum boutiques. Survivors, free from intense media scrutiny, unencumbered by constant requests for selfies, cherished the normalcy.

Rabbi Schachter, for his part, learned from the visits as well.

“We try to be sensitive and nonjudgmental, but the nuances of another’s experience can run so deep,” he reflects. “When I picked up one of the released hostages from the airport in New York, I innocently said, ‘Welcome to New York.’ The young woman’s reaction to my innocuous words was visceral, almost hysterical. I was stunned.

“After a few moments, she regained her composure and explained, ‘When I was driven into Gaza in the pickup truck, the first thing I was told by the terrorists was, ‘Welcome to Gaza.’ Your comment brought me back to that moment.’ ”

It was a reminder to Rabbi Schachter that we can never fully understand another person’s world. In the end, this former hostage bonded so deeply with his family that the Schachters hosted her for five weeks instead of five days.

The initial impetus for Rabbi Schachter and the Woodmere community’s invitation to survivors was their desire to do more than help from a distance.

“Identifying one story, one individual, one family, or one community is a more realistic way for ordinary individuals to have a meaningful impact,” Rabbi Schachter explains.

Bringing individual visitors to Woodmere allowed them to heal and gave everyone in the community a chance to show their support on a personal level.

“We wanted to make real, lifelong connections,” says Rabbi Schachter, who has been engaged in this work in the wake of October 7.

It all started during a visit to the Cramim Hotel on the outskirts of Jerusalem, where he forged a unique connection between the Young Israel of Woodmere and an entire Israeli community.