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

Ema of 5

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 3:47 pm

amother OP wrote:

I figured it's the appropriate day for such a sad subject. Sad

Like today, the walls were breached that day!

I live in the US and didn't hear a boo on yom tov. I only found out shortly after. I was in my bedroom and my heart started beating so wildly in my chest. It was probably the most horrific tragedy I heard in my lifetime.

On the way home from shul. One of the people walking with us was….inebriated shall we say? My husband had purposely not said anything to me, and I obviously hadn’t heard (went to shul to meet him, not to daven or socialize, so didn’t see or talk to anyone.) unfortunately, this guy was a little too loose, and that’s how and when I found out.

amother

Magenta

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 4:08 pm

Walking home late from the seuda a car of Israelis stopped us and told us horrible things were happening. We davened the rest of the way home that night. We heard trickles in shul after that. After yuntif we got the call, my husbands first cousin and her husband had been murdered by hamas in their home in kibbutz cholit. Unimaginable pain and shock

amother

Latte

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 4:50 pm

We were at home waiting for our guests to arrive for shemini atzeret lunch ( South Africa )
They came in all frazzled that their son called them so many times they had to answer , he’s in the army and had to to tell them he was ‘going in ‘ - I honestly thought they were totally exaggerating the situation , with the things they were saying
After yom tov I turned on my phone sitting on the couch, I don’t think I got up for 3 days , could not believe what I was reading , could not move , was so debilitated … all those “exaggerations “ were true, and worse 😢

boysrus

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 6:24 pm

crying reading all these posts Sad

we heard simchas torah morning that something bad had happened but no details.
the Rav announced that everyone should come back to shul after lunch to say tehilim, which we did.

can't bear to think about when I checked the news that night after yomtov ended. worst night of my life.
Hashem please put an end to the suffering of our people already, and bring the geulah!

amother

Cyclamen

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 6:35 pm

Visiting Israel for Succos. Had sem girls over for the meal and they were all hysterical that something major happened, their madricha told them that it was the most sirens in 100 years, they were going on and on. I’m so embarrassed to say I scoffed at them, I thought they were just being “typical sem girls”, I said “eh, I heard more sirens my sem year”. That night I heard bits and pieces and our American hakafos were canceled. But I still didn’t understand until the next night, my friend who keeps an earlier zman than me turned on her phone and I started crying. I know this is so so so not a big deal in comparison but I was petrified for myself. I was in a foreign country basically alone, my husband was in complete denial, kept saying he wanted to go on a hike. He kept running out every time there was a siren to see the action. I literally thought he was going to get killed from acting foolish. and I had a baby and was pregnant. Our flight was canceled and I had no idea how I would get home. I was terrified to stop off in any country as I didn’t know what the reaction was going to be.

amother

Lightgreen

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 7:19 pm

Live in Los Angeles. Shimini Atzeres morning our shul security guard let someone (who then told the Rabbi) that "something was happening". We heard rumors of kidnappings, rockets, and attacks but nothing accurate. Kiddush was canceled and during yizkor and what would have been kiddush they had tehilim. All davening it was "just a normal terrorist action" and that the rumors were worse. We went to lunch and a shop on the way had a TV playing with captions on the news, visible from the street. Everyone stopped by to watch. I quickly grabbed my kids to move them on so they wouldn't see. We still didn't know everything because we just got a snippet of news.
Simchas Torah night more news came in, still drips and drabs. Now 20 were kidnapped. No way we could have imagined so many.
Hakafos were subdued, all comparatively "appropriate" in terms of asking Hashem for help. Lots of tehilim in between hakafos, as the hakafa...
Day we heard more. People heard from neighbors. Still couldn't comprehend it. Day was the same, subdued, less action, singing and "fun".
Motzei YT I turned on my phone and was so shocked I couldn't read it fully. I stayed away from news for a few weeks, just read headlines because it was just too horrific.

In some way it was a bracha to hear it like this. So I had time to adjust. In some ways I wish I knew right away because I was oblivious for a while. And when I found out more the community didn't have any more "chizuk speeches".

saralem

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 7:27 pm

Much of our family was together for yomtov in US. One person found out and told the rest of us. I completely thought they were exaggerating and being dramatic. It was impossible to believe. I literally refused to believe it. After yomtov, I saw the news and was in shock. It was no exaggeration at all. I could not imagine that this really was happening. I have kids in EY and was beyond scared for them and all the yidden. I felt like the world was collapsing. It still feels like that. Signs of Moshiach’s imminent arrival.

amother

Gladiolus

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 7:39 pm

Was visiting Israel, walked to Shul with the kids and DH was like you didn’t hear the 6:30 sirens or the 12ish ones? And I had no clue what he was talking about. I must’ve woken up from the 12ish ones though cuz I woke up around then. Even so DH x knew anything just some rumors that were going around that something major happened.

yiddishmom

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 7:43 pm

In shul/ on the way home.

I heard that 600 Israelis were murdered. I completely dismissed it. I told my husband it's an unrealistic number and can't be true.

Well, Motzei YT I started seeing news/ status that 700+ were killed, and every few min the number kept going on. I was very very confused.

I kept asking my husband what I'm reading, as it doesn't make sense.

After a few hours I started realizing that it really is true, and whoa did I cry.

amother

Oak

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 9:39 pm

I live in a yishuv in the shomron. We didn't get any sirens bH so we just woke up that morning like usual. My husband, brother (was staying with us with his family) and older boys left to shul and I got ready with the kids and my sil. On our way to shul we bumped into my brother walking back home. He said there is stuff happening (sirens/war) and everyone was told to go get their phones (our yishuv has a app where they send emergency messages so they wanted everyone to have them) so he went to get a phone and we continued on to shul. Once we heard that something was happening we started hearing all the booms. Once in shul we saw that the kitat konenut was on high alert but still didn't really know what was going on. Started hearing rumors about terrorist infiltrations but didn't really know what to believe. And then more and more men started getting called up. My brother did and had to leave. My yishuv usually had no cars on shabbos but we kept seeing cars of chayalim leaving. We left shul after hakafot and then soon after my husband came home too saying they sent everyone home. Didn't really know fully what was happening until after shabbos

amother

Waterlily

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 9:49 pm

We live in the US, so found out at the end of shemini atzeres, about to go into simchas torah.

At mincha on shemini atzeres, the rov in shul shared that he found out that Hamas infiltrated Israel and killed many people and there is a war there.

Dh came home from shul and asked me to come aside and told me very somberly.

It was sad and scary but at the same time I felt Moshiach was coming any second.

amother

Grape

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 9:55 pm

Simchat Torah morning, sirens in Jerusalem.
Still went to shul, but it was interrupted by sirens too, and tefilla was dispersed much quicker than usual.
There were rumours in shul - the gabbai said we're not sure what's going on but there are people killed and kidnapped. Said a mishebeirach and tehillim.
Soldiers started being called up during the day, so we knew there was something going on.
I spoke in shul to an older lady who's a nurse, and she was reminiscing about the YK war - her experiences.

When we first checked the news on motzei shabbat, I remember the number was approx 700 killed. I remember thinking that is an astronomical number. The numbers went up gradually over the next few days.

amother

NeonBlue ↓

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 10:08 pm

I posted about this on a different thread.

In US.
On chol hamoed, I found out the baby I was carrying had passed away. It was a difficult Yom Tov personally. My husband told me that the Rav said Shmini Atzeres is a powerful day for tefila so I tried to daven.
Didn’t know a thing until after YT.
And not even right away.
I started doing my chores and clean up before checking my phone because I didn’t want to get distracted.
My husband always checks his phone right away.
I noticed he was upstairs for longer than usual.
Then he came to me and in a very careful way, he said, you might want to check your phone and also make sure your brothers are ok. (They live in Israel).
I thought, ‘the last time he spoke to me in that careful way was the day of the attack on Pittsburgh’ so I knew it was bad.

Then I checked my phone and found out.
May Hashem have mercy on Klal Yisrael.

essie14

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 10:16 pm

Israel
Our phone apps went off with the first siren at 6:30 am even though the sirens weren't in our area yet.
Because of the number of sirens (DH saw the non stop notifications on his phone) we went to the mamad at 6:30.
DS got a call from his commander by 7 so he was allowed to be on his phone the rest of the day.
We started having sirens in our area at around 9. All the shuls sent everyone home. DS was told to put on his uniform and wait for instructions. Neighbors in uniform started driving out by then.
We spent the rest of the day getting updates from DS and updating the neighbors, and running back and forth to the mamad.
DS officially got called up motzash and left early Sunday morning.

grace413

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 10:46 pm

In shul in Israel, siren went off at 10:30. People were shocked. After 10 minutes in the shelter, we continued davening. By the time we finished our street was filled with soldiers in uniform and many cars (generally no/few cars by us on Shabbat/Chag).

In the afternoon a friend whose DH works for the government told me that there had been an attack in the south and at least 100 people were killed. And we thought that was horrible and massive. When Chag was over and we checked the news we were in serious shock - and still are.

amother

NeonOrange

Tue, Jul 23 2024, 10:51 pm

In my bed in Yerushalayim when I heard the first siren at 8:30 and then more and more. I was Confused about what was happening. And where all my children where - some were with me , some were in shul with my husband , some were on their way to shul. It was the beginning of a long frightening day and so many long frightening months. I still can’t make sense of it. Hashem yaazor