COLlive Magazine for Tishrei 5785 Tells Stories of Oct. 7

Looking back, the celebration of Sukkos 5784 feels like a distant dream. It was a beautiful Yom Tov, spent with family, friends, and many guests, following the Crown Heights Tishrei tradition. On Chol Hamoed, we danced in the streets, excited for the coming year, blissfully unaware of the tragic events that were about to unfold.

And on Shabbos Simchas Torah morning, everything changed in an instant. As we heard the news of what was going on in Eretz Yisroel, and bits of information slowly trickled in, we grew more somber. From that day, we knew that nothing would ever be the same.

We went to Shul that morning, heavy-hearted and sluggish, feeling powerless as our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land were under savage attack. In the days and months that followed, we have all been saying Tehillim, donating what we can, and doing whatever we can to help.

Some of us traveled to Israel, like many in the Jewish music industry, as you can read in our music section. Others, such as Rabbi Yosef Gutnick, voiced their steadfast support for Israel’s response.

Of course, most Israelis were reeling from the events. Twin brothers Shloimy and Mendi Rizel shared their harrowing experience on October 7, while the mother of the heroic IDF soldier Aner Shapira movingly described how he put his life on the line.

Elsewhere in this issue, you can read about uplifting moments spent with the Rebbe in past years, the giving habits of three philanthropists, and the remarkable life of Miriam Mintz, OBM.

In honor of Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson’s 60th yahrzeit, we present a tour of the locations she mentioned in her diary during her exile with her husband, Harav Levi Yitzchok, in Kazakhstan.

May this Tishrei transform in an instant as well – from war to triumph, from captivity to freedom and from tragedy to joy, with the coming of Moshiach.

A gut gebentched yahr,
Mica Soffer