One year after the devastating Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, Morris County will remember the hundreds killed or still in captivity with memorials, seminars, first-hand accounts for survivors and other events this week.
On Monday, the one-year anniversary, the Jewish community of Mendham and Chester will dedicate a Torah scroll inscribed in part by local relatives of those captured or killed in the assault.
The Torah, Judaism's most sacred object, will honor the memory of victims of the assault as well as those wounded or held hostage and those who lost family and friends, according to organizers.
Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023 left 1,200 people in Israel dead. Another 250 were taken hostage; about 100 people remain in captivity, including several with ties to the North Jersey area . Israel's subsequent military campaign against Hamas has resulted in more than 40,000 deaths in Gaza, according to the health ministry there.
" The Torah is what has sustained our people through generations of persecution and every time it will be used, it will bring honor to the memory of the victims of terror," said Rabbi Ari Herson, director of Chabad Jewish Center of Mendham and Chester. “Just as a Torah scroll is not considered Kosher if even one letter is missing, the Jewish people are incomplete if even one person is missing.”
The ceremony will feature a Jewish scribe who will complete the Torah scroll in front of the community. Those who attend will be invited to donate or inscribe a letter in the Torah in the memory of an Oct. 7 victim.
The Torah will also include letters inscribed by the Alexander family of Tenafly , whose 20-year old son Edan is one of four American hostages still believed held hostage in Gaza.
The service, led by Herson and Cantor Shmuli Hurwitz of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, will be followed by the traditional song and dance associated with the completion of a new Torah, organizers said.
The ceremony seeks to "delicately balance our community's sadness and joy," Herson said. "We remember those whose lives were tragically taken one year ago, even as we proclaim our hope and joy by bringing a new Torah to the community.”
The event is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Brookside Community Club and is open to the community. RSVPs are requested online .
An Oct. 7 survivor speaks at Jewish Federation of Greater Metrowest
Elsewhere, the Whippany-based Jewish Federation of Greater Metrowest New Jersey will hold two remembrances, including a talk with a survivor of the attack. The group is the largest Jewish philanthropy in New Jersey, servicing Essex, Morris, Sussex, Union and parts of Somerset County.
On Monday, from 2 to 3 p.m., a Zoom seminar will present the personal story of Amir Tibon, an Israeli journalist for Haaretz and a resident of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, who hid with his family in a shelter for hours, surrounded by terrorists, until his father was able to rescue them. Registration is online .
Monday evening, Metrowest will host a community-wide gathering in partnership with area synagogues, day schools, and agencies "to commemorate the lives we lost, honor the heroes who inspired us, pray for the hostages who remain in our hearts, and express gratitude for our community’s overwhelming response in Israel’s time of need."
The event is already registered to capacity. No walk-ins will be admitted.
Drew University students gather in Madison
At Drew University in Madison, a variety of pro-Israel student groups will sponsor a "Bear Witness to Oct. 7" event on October 10 featuring Liron Hacohen Bariach, who will share her experience of narrowly surviving the Hamas massacre at her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza .
A Q&A and reception will follow the talk, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the campus' Ehinger Center. The event is open to the public and registration is not necessary.
Professor Jonathan Rose, faculty advisor to the group Drew University Students Supporting Israel, said the club's activities fell off during COVID. "After Oct. 7, at Drew as well as many other campuses, there were demonstrations celebrating the attack, and that was kind-of scary, so the club was revived," Rose said.
In May, Drew entered into a mediation agreement with the U.S. Education Department's Office of Civil Rights after two Jewish students filed a complaint accusing the school of failing to address antisemitic incidents and a hostile campus environment following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
"I have to say that since this mediation agreement was worked out, the Drew administration has taken positive steps to improve the climate for Jewish students," Rose said. "It's no longer a one-sided debate where for a while it seemed only the anti-Israel perspective was being perspective. Now we are pushing back and I think that's having an impact."
The primary sponsor of the event is the Drew Center For Holocaust and Genocide Study . Also participating are the Drew Chabad on Campus, Drew Hillel and Faces of October Seventh.
Chabad of Randolph hosts Israeli singer
Chabad of Randolph was scheduled to mark the anniversary Sunday and reiterate calls for the remaining hostages' release with a "Bring Them Home " event featuring Israeli singer Yoel Sharabi. The event was intended as a display of "prayer, song and unity," organizers said.
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today .
Email: wwesthoven@ dailyrecord.com
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This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Morris County will mark Oct. 7 anniversary with Torah dedication, survivors' stories
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