כִֹנ אְָו רְָז מְִב
עֲ רַָמ ס וֹ ףְבּ
I am at the Seder , but my heart is in October .
Centuries ago , the Spanish Jewish poet Yehuda Halevi expressed both his sense of distance from , and
ִבִּל י ח י “ : ancestors connection to , the land of his
- My heart is in the East , and I am in the ב furthermost West .” Many of us feel similarly today , in terms of both space and time . Months have passed , but for many Jews around the world , the traumatic events of October 7 feel ever present -- and in Israel this sense is even more acute . Many of us in the Diaspora feel the emotional connection to Israel , as well as the physical distance , as much as ever . We are here , but our hearts are there . And we are at the seder , but our hearts are still in ש ב ע ה ב א ו ק ט ו ב ר shiv ' ah be-October -- which can mean both " the 7th of October " and " the shiva [ mourning period ] of October ."
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