Rising to the Moment

The full transcript of JFN CEO Andrés Spokoiny’s address to the JFN 2024 International Conference appears in eJewish Philanthropy.

Why do we have a moment of silence? Probably because there’s a level of grief that words cannot describe. 

The Bible, for example, had to invent a special word to talk about the unbearable pain of losing a child: shchol. But even that word can’t describe the abyss of pain, the promises that will never be fulfilled, the hopes that will never be realized, the memories that will never be created, the emptiness of what could have been and never will be. And using silence is better than using the English phrase: “May they rest in peace”, which is absurd. 

You see, the average age of the people murdered on Oct. 7 was 30; the majority were between 18 and 25. They were full of life, full of plans, full of future, full of love. They were restless, and the last thing they wanted was to rest. 

Read the full transcript in eJewish Philanthropy.