Consider:

• Create a set of wings in your community as part of the Wings of Hope project.

• Wings are anchored at the base, yet the rest is free to move. When you think of a covenant in in your life - the responsibilities you have to another individual or to the Jewish people - what in that relationship must remain rigid or fixed, and what needs to move and change?

Consider:

• When have you or someone you cared about been able to access hope after a very difficult experience? 

Consider:

• What is our responsibility to preserve art, music, and stories from victims of October 7th?

Discuss:

• Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel claimed that people achieve fullness of being through fellowship, by caring for others. Have you ever felt this way?

• How does the phrase, “kol yisrael areivim ze l’ze” (all Jews are responsible for each other) resonate with you or relate to your life?

Discuss:

• What is an example from your community or from your personal experience that demonstrates how leaning on traditional texts helps us gain a sense of stability and meaning?

• How might the Pesach story serve as a platform to tell your personal and communal stories this year, post October 7th?

Consider:

• How might embracing themes like hope and resilience empower usto confront personal and communal challenges?

• How can reflecting on collective memory help cultivate courage within a community?

Amit Mann, 22 was a  Magen David Adom paramedic. She was murdered by Hamas terrorists when they stormed the clinic in Kibbutz Be’eri where she was treating the wounded from the devastating attack from Gaza on October 7.

Ben Shimoni, 31 was murdered as he was rescuing people from the Nova Music festival. He saved 9 people before he was killed trying to save 3 more.

Awad Darawshe, 23 was a paramedic working at the Nova festival. He insisted on staying on site to help and was murdered by Hamas while bandaging one of the injured. 

Shapira, 22, a combat soldier who attended the Nova Music Festival hid in one of the mobile bomb shelters. He managed to fend off seven grenades thrown by Hamas terrorists before he was murdered. 

Consider:

• What is a characteristic or attribute from these heroes that you would like to carry forward in your life?

Thanks to her quick strategic thinking and the teamwork of the security squad, the kibbutz community was saved—preventing deaths and injuries.

Discuss:

• How did Inbal demonstrate courage?

• What do you admire about her? What questions would you like to ask her?

As Hamas terrorists breached the border, they continued to report on the infiltration, despite being directly in the line of fire.

Tragically, many of these brave soldiers were killed or captured.

Their heroism is a testament to the essential yet often overlooked role of women in combat and intelligence. These soldiers were not just observers, nor were they merely the first to see "the writing on the wall." They were the first line of defense in one of Israel’s darkest moments.

Discuss:

• How did the Watchwomen demonstrate courage?

• What do you admire about them? What questions would you have liked to ask them?

• What is our responsibility toward their memories?

After a year and four months in Hamas captivity, Sagui was finally released. On the day of his return, he learned about the song and the profound gesture behind it.

Consider:

• How do you think Sagui Dekel-Chen felt when he learned about this song?

• Listen to this song along wtih Ray of Sunshine - the song that Sagui performed after he returned from captivity. What do these songs together teach us about kindness, courage, resilience and hope?

• What helps you stay connected to the people you love, when you cannot be with them?

Discuss:

• What message do you think the Israeli artists communicated by cancelling their performances?

• What are other ways that you have seen public figures using their influence to draw attention to the hostages? When else would you like to see public figures doing?

Consider:

• How might connecting with others be a form of courage and resistance, post October 7th?

• How does Daniel Wais demonstrate courage?

Discuss:

• What words or images stood out to you in the essay? What did you find meaningful, surprising, or challenging?

• How has your own upbringing and environment shaped your understanding of courage in the face of hatred and injustice?

Discuss:

• Find a person’s story that speaks to you. What is a characteristic or attribute of them, or of what they created, that you would like to carry forward in your life?

Consider:

• How might creative expression serve as an act of resilience and courage in the face of adversity or societal challenges?

• Together in your community, use the Curate and Create materials to create your own posters!

Consider:

• How can music serve as a source of courage and resilience during challenging times?

• What song or songs from this project help you feel hope? Where in your life or your community could you play them?

• What would your “Song of Hope” be?

Consider

• How might courage shape the way we hold onto love and dreams in the face of profound loss?

Discuss:

• Choose a video that you find meaningful. What stands out to you as particularly meaningful, or hopeful?

• How might the creation of art help us feel hope in a time when we are feeling hopeless?

Discuss:

• Why do you think the Zussman family made the choices they did about how to spend shiva?

• How does the ritual of shiva help us to honor our commitments to our family members? How does shiva it help us move through grief?

Consider:

• What have been in the mix of emotions you have felt over the past year? 

• Write your own prayer: In the days when____ I have no choice but to  _____ and ____ at the same time. I ask for the strength to ____  and the courage to ____,to hold onto _____, to mourn _____ to have some moments for ____. Grant me the space to ______  and the spirit to ______.

• Going into the Yamim, how would you like to feel? What is getting in the way? Consider discussing these feelings with a trusted friend or colleague.

“Don’t go, ray of sunshine, our day isn’t over yet,” he sang, covering a 2022 hit by Benaia Berabi. “Smile, it suits you — it makes my day.”

“My sun was taken from me for 498 days, but I decided not to give in [and] spoke to the sun every day,” Dekel-Chan said in the video, published just 13 days after he returned to Israel as part of the ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas. “I ask everyone who hears me — don’t lose hope. Trust me, it runs deep.”

Consider:

• Sagui called upon the remaining hostages - and everyone listening to his song - to not lose hope. What is our responsibility toward the remaining hostages

• How might we help them - and ourselves - hold onto hope?

Consider:

• What do we learn from these soldiers about kindness and courage?

• What do you notice about these messages and slogans? Which stand out to you?

• Create your own sticker containing with a slogan from a soldier or a message inspired by their story!

Consider:

• What about Sagui Dekel-Chen do you admire? How does he demonstrate courage?

• What are the songs, prayers, or phrases that bring you the courage to maintain hope?

Discuss:

• How can art and music help us connect across difference?

• Find a piece of media on the website that challenges you in some way and spend some time reflecting on what it means to you.

• What personal beliefs, perspectives, or feelings might Israelis need to set aside of in order to work together with Palestinians?

• ⁃Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions, 2013

Consider:

• What are the reciprocal relationships that you are involved in, personally? What commitments do you have in those relationships?

• What, if any, reciprocal responsibilities do Jews in the Diaspora have toward Jews in Israel, and vice versa?

• ⁃ Krauss, N. (2017). Forest Dark. HarperCollins.

Consider:

• What stands out to you in this text? What surprises you? How do you understand the binding imagery/metaphor?

• In what ways do you feel personally or collectively bound to the people who came before you? In what ways is being bound to the past meaningful? How might it be challenging or even painful?

Discuss:

• What is our responsibility to preserve the memories of heroes? How does music help us preserve memory?

Consider:

• What stands out to you in this image and Moses' story?

• Whose responsibility is it to rebuild what was destroyed on Oct 7th?

• Moses was sustained in part by his dedication to his home. What places in your life do you feel a responsibility or covenant toward?

Discuss:

• When Tamar got engaged to her fiancé, she did not expect him to be an amputee at their wedding. How should we show up to support our loved ones through difficult changes?

Discuss:

• What emotions do you feel, seeing this photograph and reading about Or Levy?

• How if at all have your own understanding of your commitments to the hostages evolved over the past year?

Discuss:

• What thoughts or emotions come up for you, watching this video and hearing about how Danielle taught herself to sing Shalom Aleichem in Arabic?

• How might what Danielle and the other girls did in learning prayers in Arabic be considered courageous? 

Discuss:

• What is your reaction to this quote? What visions of peace do you hear people talking about in your community?

• Why do you think Shoshana offers a different way to envision peace? What might this new vision offer us in our relationships with other Jews?

• What phrases or images stand out to you in Mary Oliver's poem, Don't Hesitate? What is the message it is sending?

• What is a time when you felt joy and gave into it? Resisted it?

• What might giving into joy look like during this year's Yamim? How might it help us? How might it be challenging? Where can you turn to find joy?

Two Rabbis, Elazar and Rabbi Yosei argued over this until they became so upset that they ripped a Torah scroll in half in their anger. The Gemara interrupts the story to clarify that we must say “a Torah scroll was torn through their anger. In the heat of their debate they pulled the scroll from one side to another until it tore.”

(Yevamot 96b) https://valuesinaction.live/resources/love-in-a-time-of-polarization/

Discuss:

• What is your reaction to the Gemara’s interruption, “we must say a Torah scroll was torn through their anger?” Why, if at all, is it helpful to clarify that the anger caused the rip rather than the two people?

• When, if ever, do you think it is important to prioritize being right over being kind? Why?

" Jewish teenagers are going through a period of extreme stress, Adults can provide support that teenagers require during stressful times; no teen should go through this alone. 

     Additionally, be aware of your social media consumption. Social media may make being Jewish feel, especially isolating as we can become subjected to a forum of unfiltered antisemitism and other forms of hatred. Taking a break from social media may help considerably in lessening stress related to antisemitism.

Read the full op-ed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/166sqy6Smf6AC5VeJUAP-Wv52vsYXmoJ47xoy3HkDryM/edit?tab=t.0

Consider:

• Encourage the teens in your life to reflect on the ideas in this article. Listen to their feelings and ideas, and then consider how might you support their wellbeing?

• How is your own social media consumption affecting your wellbeing? What, if any, changes might you make to your social media usage going into the Yamim this year?

She writes, "As a Jewish high school student, I feel scared, angry, and overwhelmed because of what is happening overseas — and what’s happening here at home....For such a nuanced topic, it’s hard to explore different perspectives when you’re stuck in an echo chamber. [At my high school] we have around 7 different affinity groups that meet regularly, [but never together.] Highlighting the suffering of others, productively discussing the dual narratives that exist, and finding emotional common ground can only happen when we connect across difference." The full op-ed is available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10UZl2x0xSoLloex3ZumgEE7OgIz0l9qwvmVOsFVw2cI/edit?tab=t.0

Discuss:

• What stands out to you as meaningful, surprising, or challenging in Eliza's op-ed?

• What support might your teens or educators need in order to engage in and facilitate difficult conversations across difference?

This song by Omer Adam expresses a profound interconnectedness with the Nova victims, suggesting that when one person dies, a part of them dies within those they leave behind, and a part of those left behind dies with them. It emphasizes that we are all part of a single human fabric, where loss is shared and felt collectively.

Discuss:

• In what ways have you felt connected to people who died on October 7th and in the ensuing war, even if they were not related to you?

• How have you personally connected to the collective loss of Oct 7th?

Consider:

• How do we maintain courage during a time of fear, grief, and despair? 

• If a cry like the one in the song visited you, what would it say? What message would give you the hope and courage needed to keep fighting? 

Ilanit Swissa is a (displaced) resident of Kibbutz Azza, a theater and film director, leads writing and creative Jewish workshops, and is a media professional.

The words grow slack,

Wake up in the morning sluggish,

Maybe they don’t even go to sleep,

Carrying between the letters

Chronic exhaustion,

Called upon to describe

The _______________

And also the _______________

They struggle with _______________

Climbing and descending a ladder,

And their purpose escapes them,

Like that Shabbat

That slipped under the radar,

And beneath the _______________and beneath the _______________,

That Shabbat

That _______________my spirit and my soul.

And sometimes at night,

When a dream

Finally fights me,

I fight

That angel,

And I beg,

That it change my name,

That new letters be found

For who I am now,

That they explain what _______________,

That they hold all the _______________,

That they be a monument

To who I was,

And a lighthouse

For who I will be,

After all the _______________

Is over.

- Moriah Dayan Kodish, Miri Rosovsky (ed.). I Am Nowhere Else: Writing Following the Events of October 7. The New Library, 2024, 9-11

Consider:

• How do words, or the absence of words, affect how we process an experience of tragedy?

• Why do you think the narrator begs the angel to change her name? 

• How do you understand the blank spaces? Write a response poem to this one, using blank spaces.

Consider:

• How if at all, does this song change how you think about the real life heroes who serve in the military reserves? 

• What examples or symbols of courage do you notice in this song?

Consider:

• What has been your experience of reading - or not reading - the news recently?

• What else would help give you strength as take in what is happening in the world?

Consider:

• How can redefining historical narratives to focus on heroism empower our community to face modern challenges with courage? Find an example of a story that is meaningful to you and discuss.

• What is a way that you would like to lean into Jewish pride and resilience?

Discuss:

• What words or images from the music video stand out as particularly meaningful to you?

• What is your reaction to learning that this is the first Arabic song dedicated to the Jewish people acknowledging the massacre on Oct 7? How if at all does this gesture demonstrate kindness?

- אבות דרבי נתן ד:ה

Discuss:

• What do you think it means for the world to be built from kindness?

• What are ways that you can prioritize kindness in your life, or we can prioritize it in our community?

• When might you choose not to act in kindness? When might prioritizing kindness be difficult or impossible?

Discuss:

• What words, images, or emotions come up for you, looking at this image? If you were to caption it, what would the caption say?

• Dana Barlev posted this image online without a caption or a title. What might an image be able to communicate that words cannot?

  
  

Consider:

• If you were to draw your own map of where you see kindness and hope in Israel, or in your own community, what would it look like?

• What words or images would be on it?

Discuss:

• What stood out to you about Chaya? What about her do you admire?

• How does she demonstrate kindness through her leadership? What are other examples of Jewish leaders leading with kindness?

Consider:

• What is an individual or a collective good deed that you would like to take part in? Join the initiative!

Consider:

• What stands out to you in this story? What surprised you? What do you admire about Rachel and her husband?

• For you, what are the limits (if any) of when you would practice kindness or hospitality?

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/be-good-people/

Consider:

• Why do you think Staff Sgt. Shachar Fridman’s reaction to the altercation in Tel Aviv was to write an ethical will?

• Write your own ethical will in response to Oct 7th and the ensuing war. 

“The need to translate, to seek meaning through the "other words" of human discourse, remains the endless project of human life."

Consider:

• When was the last time you found it difficult to make meaning of a situation?

• Where do you turn when you do not have the words to understand what is happening in the world?

Discuss:

• If we consider Sky Mirror as a metaphor for the way we look at the world (and the ways our reality is often reflected back at us) when might we need to shift our viewpoints? What compromises might we need to make to see things from the perspectives of others?

• How do we stay open to learning from others while also remaining confident in our own perspectives?

  
  

In this music video, musicians Jimbo J, Orit Tashoma and Avraham reflect on fleeing during the October 7th attacks, grappling with displacement and the unsettling realization that both home and evacuation offer uncertainty. Through a poetic reflection on daily life in Israel, the song highlights the resilience, nostalgia, and inevitable changes that shape their community, balancing survival with a deep desire to return home.

Consider:

• What words, phrases, or images stand out to you in this song and video? When you think about your home, what is most meaningful about it?

• What are some things that you need to feel “at home” even when you are away from home? Have you ever returned to a place that used to be your home but is not anymore? What was that like?

Discuss:

• In the poem Rachel reads at the end of the video, addressed to a woman in Gaza, there is an image of a seed watered by tears that grows into a future where her children and the child of the woman could be alive together 50 years from now.

• What is your experience of watching this video knowing that Hersh was murdered in captivity.

• What is the future that you hope to see in Israel 50 years from now? What might you/we need to compromise to make that a reality.

• What would your seed “wrapped in fear, trauma, pain, war and hope” grow into?
  

• What images or characteristics of courage do you see in this poem?

• What do the teachers learn from the soldiers? 

Consider:

• Find a person’s story that speaks to you.

• What is a characteristic or attribute of them, or of what they created, that you would like to carry forward in your own life?

Discuss:

• What do you notice in the artwork? What stands out to you? What words, images, ideas, or stories does it evoke for you?

• What does this artwork communicate to you about relationships, commitment, covenant, or compromise?

Discuss:

• When if ever have you experienced the Achenu prayer being recited in your Jewish community?

• What is our responsibility toward the wellbeing and safety of the Jewish community? What is our responsibility toward participating in the distress and suffering of the Jewish people?