Rabbis recited prayers and Psalms, leaders of Jewish community organizations lit memorial candles, and “victory before peace” emerged as a rallying cry at the Jewish Federation’s program to mark one year to the day since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas massacre.

From the podium of the multipurpose room at the Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education in Centerville, Temple Beth Or’s Rabbi Judy Chessin noted that the Jewish community’s prayers for peace may be out of order.

“Of course we want peace,” she said. “We dream of peace. There’s nothing that we wouldn’t give for every child of God to dwell without fear under his vine or under her fig tree. But this last year has taught us that maybe that prayer for peace comes second.

“Today, we understand that at first we must beseech God to grant victory to Israel and the forces of Western civilization.”

Victory for Israel, the rabbi said, would mean victory for the entire region and that Israelis could return to their homes.

“And that every person in the region — Jewish, Muslim, and Christian — could live not in fear, not afraid of harm of the other. Victory would mean that each party to this long conflict would drop their delusional view that their adversaries will someday disappear.

“Victory first. That kind of victory is a blessing for all sides of the conflict, and it comes from strength. And then, peace will follow.”

A false peace, Chessin added, would be a recipe for continued suffering and conflict.

“This war is horrible. Every war is horrible. Today’s suffering is immense. But that’s the reason we should be more determined than even a year ago.”

— Marshall Weiss

To read the complete November 2024 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.