When We Run Out of Words…

How can a human mind fathom an enormous disaster? We can’t. No one can really comprehend the burning of 6,000,000 Jews. But than you read one diary of one girl, one Anna Frank, and you can connect to the fear, the helplessness, the level of cruelty.

How can we comprehend the monstrosity of October 7th? By telling personal stories, small stories, one at a time.

The media in Israel is full of such stories this week, as we ponder and re-ponder the horrors of last year. I take in as much as I can, and than disconnect myself and take time to process. As much as I can. Well, not sure I can really fully process. But at least I can breathe.

Anyway, today is about one story that will give you a peek into the bigger picture. Prepare your tissues, and do not forget to breathe.

ZAKA

In Judaism, each blood drop and body cell need to be buried, even if the body exploded and the collection might take long hours.

Nearly 30 years ago, on October 1994, following a suicide bomb that exploded a bus in Tel Aviv and killed 22 civilians, the organization “ZAKA” was established. Its workers are all religious, mostly older men, who highly esteem the value of burying any body part, cell or bone pieces that can be found. They will climb trees to look for any blood drop, if there is a chance to find anything there. They believe that all men and women, no matter what their religion is, were created in the image of God, and are destined to go back to ashes when they die. So this is one of their main motivators – to ensure a respectful burial, even if all that is left are random body cells.

Hard to fathom the enormous job they had on October 7th. It took them a few months to clear the southern region. Imagine the sights they saw. During the first few days, once the battle over a house or kibbutz was over, they were the next in line to come in and clean ovens, walls, trees, ruins, door knobs, etc. Any and every thing. They scrutinized each square centimeter before thy taped on the horrific sticker declaring that area is “clean.” All that while missiles are shot around them and sirens force them to the ground or a nearby saferoom. Their level of trauma is something that only now Israel starts to discuss.

In preparation for the memorial today, some of them got together to pray. They ran out of words. This is the outcome.