Where were you when you found out about October 7th attack

amother

Lotus

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 4:31 pm

I am in Europe.
On the first day we only heard from non-Jewish security guards that there was an „attack with many casualties“ so I thought it is the same kind that used to happen every now and then.
On the following day, some people who only keep one day ran into shul and alarmed everyone that the huge tragedy is happening. The whole announcement was extremely traumatizing in and of itself. I cried in shul. My secular relatives who were invited to us said they knew but didn’t want to make us sad on the holiday. We ended up talking about it for the rest of the chag.

patzer

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 4:38 pm

amother Trillium wrote:

We were the only ones to not know anything until after Yom Tov. We had no idea anything was wrong until an hour after Yom Tov...

I didn't hear anything, either. Motzei Yom Tov, I was chilling on my sofa, totally exhausted, thinking about what a special yom tov it had been, decided to open up Yeshiva World News on my phone to see if anything interesting had happened over Yom Tov .... was definitely not expecting to see what I saw Surprised

amother

Rainbow

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 4:41 pm

Live in yerushalayim. Woke up to air raid sirens and some ladies came into my house for the mamad room- bomb shelter. We stayed there for about a half an hour. Then I walked with my kids to shul about a 20 minute walk away. I heard very little about what happened in shul other than more sirens and there must be something happening in gaza. I couldn't find my husband on the way out and started panicking. A lot of davening and trying to be strong for the little kids. As we were walking we kept hearing thunder which was really fighter jets overhead. We knew it couldn't actually be thunder but couldn't figure out what was going on. After yom tov, I didn't see any videos or social media but was in total shock from the news. I couldn't sleep.

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 4:43 pm

Shemini Atzeres I noticed women dividing up tehillim in the lobby but I didn't know why. A little while later at the shul kiddush, someone stopped me and asked if I had heard what was going on in EY and I found out the south was invaded and it was really bad.
As Simchas Torah was ending my stomach was clenching and I had a terrible, gnawing feeling that I would find out horrible details but I imagined an army of uniformed Hamas invading (not with civilians!) and not so many breaches. While the numbers were horrific and still underreported, the most surprising thing to me was that it was still ongoing 2 days later and the army I had heard about for years having so many nissim and yes "self-made" strength hadn't yet stopped and captured all the terrorists who had infiltrated and they were still fighting in certain areas.

amother

DarkCyan

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 4:52 pm

After the sirens stopped we heard from neighbors that guys were being called up right then and there. We were told it was ok to look at our phones, in case of more sirens and of anything had to be done.
Our community whatsapp was ablaze. Guys who were going to x place, if anyone needed a tremp, this chayal needed y equipment, foods were being prepared.
It was a very strange and surreal day and beginning of something we couldnt even begin to imagine would last as long as it has. Closer to the coming simchat torah and further from the last one. Crying

amother

Carnation

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 4:57 pm

We heard the news from my neighbor’s aide.
There was also tons of police presence so we realized something is really wrong.
And then another neighbor’s son was called up and flew to Israel on yt. Crying

DrMom

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 5:00 pm

We were all up and getting dressed for shul. The first siren went off and we ran to our miklat (shelter).

We and the neighbors all huddled inside, wondering, after the first few sirens, "where are our warplanes??"

One by one, the young men in our building were called up and dashed into their cars to report for duty. Those who were left went to shul, akways keeping an eye on the nearest shelter as they ran.

We didn't know what had happened in the South until after havdalah.

amother

Lilac

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 5:03 pm

We were in Northern Israel during hakafos. The rav said we had to have extra kavana in our dancing because there are lots of sirens in ym...
Dh also added that they should stop singing בממשלת הכופרים אין אנו מאמינים if the IDF was likely fighting the threat. They listened to him bH.

As we left shul early with 2 American seminary girls, we heard other shuls stopped hakafos early as the men in the miluim were called up so we knew something big happened.

Then came motzei yt. I thought it was "just" at the party... took time before all the details were known. Said lots of tehilim.

melbee

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 5:15 pm

In the US. We heard in shul on Simchas Torah. I assume non-Jewish neighbors or maybe the police officer in the building told the Rav, but the Rav stopped hakafos and held an emergency tehillim for EY. He also extended another hakafa as a zechus for those in EY, and then added an extra tehillim gathering later in the afternoon. Details were very slim and rumors were flying, everything from a few hundred to 3,000 killed, and people were saying it was a drone attack or a series of explosions. No one guessed the real terror that had happened.

I remember asking the Rebbetzin if I could have our friend who is converting check my phone to find out more information and check on our family and friends (since it was no longer YT in EY), but then realized this was a true example of the struggle of frumkeit; knowing that you can find out such badly wanted information at the touch of your fingertips and choosing not to. It was the hardest and longest day of my life, and I don't feel like it ever really ended.

Brit in Israel

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 5:28 pm

Siren at 8 am with sighting of many iron dome, thought it was a one off, shul is next door so we kept on running back and forth to shelter, non religious neighbours kept updated everyone with the many true and many rumors. IDF went around to the shuls near us collecting their soilders. heard there were tanks blocking the entrance of the neighbourhood as we are across from an arab village. That evening when we heard more what was going on we found out it was where my bil was training and we couldnt get hold of him and his sergent couldnt give any info. Also was told from my brother he was taken in as a reservist up north. it was a horrific experience but the focus was keeping the children calm when there was a siren.
DD was able to hand out treats in the shelter to all the children she was about to give out in Shul.

amother

IndianRed

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 5:38 pm

Home, Israel. We knew something was happening because of the amount of Sirens going off. It took me a couple days to really understand the situation. It was hard to believe. Crying

I have family in Ashkelon. Daytime- (from 7.00am) Sirens never stopped. No Shul. No Hakafot. No Shul Seuda together. we can not understand what these families living nearer Gazza Have been through.

amother

Daisy

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 5:55 pm

Live in the US, East Coast. Dh usually davens hashkama on YT, so he went to hashkama minyan, and the news hadn't reached yet at that point (we later found out that people who went to regular minyan did find out at that point). The weather was bad that day, so we were mostly inside all day and didn't see anyone until heading to shul for mincha (since it was going into simchas Torah, we all went, not just dh, in order to be there for hakafos). So we found out mincha time. The rav announced that while we didn't know much detail yet, it was bad, and hakafos were going to be bare minimum, subdued. We were very shaken, at that point more from not knowing so much and not being able to look it up. The following morning, as soon as my cleaning lady came, she delicately asked if I knew, and I said yes, bur didn't know full details because we couldn't check. She kindly pulled up some articles on her phone and read them to me, and that's when I got the full picture. As awful as it was, it was better than having to spend another full day worrying and not being able to find out more.

amother

Black

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 6:00 pm

My husband came home from
Shul (hashkama) on shabbos Shemini atzeres white as a ghost. We live in Manhattan and by that night (simchas Torah) everyone knew. I get the paper delivered on Sundays so I knew more details then (simchas Torah) what a brutally hard YT that was

amother

DarkYellow

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 6:07 pm

My father keeps the radio on during ghe week and got home late erev YT so he couldn’t turn off on time. He heard about it about 5:00 am that day when he got up to use the bathroom. My mothers aide knew we were concerned and was reading the news and telling us what was going on

amother

Peach

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 6:27 pm

In Europe. Found out pretty much as it was happening.

When I got to shul on shemini atzeres morning, the non Jewish security guard told me. In our shul we have a lot of Israelis, not all shomer shabbos. Everyone was talking about it and crying and secular Israelis who wouldn't normally come to shul came that day and the next just to be with people.

amother

Fern

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 6:32 pm

Sitting in my pj's on the couch, alone sipping a coffee while my husband was at shul and my kids were asleep. Looking outside my window when all of sudden I heard a siren. I was caught super off guard, by myself with three little kids who were asleep and just went into autopilot mode getting everyone into the mamad safely. Bh I knew my husband was at a shul with a mamad. Truly one of the most painful days of my life. Sirens all day, whispers of what happened (not Even close to how bad) and constant booms. My kids were beside themselves. Due to a long series of events shortly after that we ended up back living in America. I can't say I miss the threat of war, and I often think back to that morning and remember how peaceful (almost too peaceful with kids asleep and quiet coffee with my husband) it was before the hell set in.