DENVER — In the year since Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel, Jewish people said each day has been filled with uncertainty, worry and grief.
"Every day since Oct. 7 has been Oct. 8," Temple Emanual senior Rabbi Joseph Black said. "We just have been in stasis. Even though we’ve seen a war break out, a horrible war, where thousands of innocent people have been killed on both sides of the conflict. I grieve for the innocent loss of life on the Palestinian side from the Hamas’ terror."
Black said he has family and friends in Israel he knows have been displaced for months and scared for their safety.
"We grieve," Black said. "We cry. We worry. We watch the news waiting for the next shoe to drop, the next attack. I think about my family, friends in Israel. And I’m very, very worried and I know I’m not alone. We all feel that way in the Jewish community."
To provide a space for people to feel whatever emotions Oct. 7 brings up in them, the Staenburg-Loup Jewish Community Center hosted a commemorative event to reflect on the last year.
"I think the role of the Staenburg-Loup JCC throughout this difficult year is to provide a state of support, community and collective grieving," engagement program manager Blair Becker said.
The event included songs calling for peace, hope and celebration of Jewish life.
"Oct. 7, 2023, is a tragic day that’s going to go down in Jewish history," Becker said. "And none of us know where we’re headed exactly, but the goal for tonight and the hope for the future is for peace and to continue to be supportive of one another."
Black said each day of the last year has been marked by great sadness, but grief doesn't define his life.
"The very act of going through your daily life is an act of resistance," Black said. "Against those who would use hate, take destruction as an ideology and say no we're going to live. I'd say that’s a powerful act."
As a leader in the Jewish community, he said he'll continue to be present for his people in their most joyous times and their most difficult ones.
"When we can say enough bloodshed, enough killing, let’s just put an end to this and find a way forward," Black said. "That’s when we will begin to see progress. I don’t see it in the near future, but I still pray for that every single day."