We Didn’t “Return to Faith” – We Returned to Reality

There are moments in history when a nation wakes up.

Not with an alarm clock.
Not with coffee.
With a slap.

October 7 wasn’t an “incident.”
It was a reminder.

A painful one.
A brutal one.
One that didn’t ask permission.

A reminder of who we are.
Where we live.
And what happens when we forget.

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The End of the Illusion Era

For years, a story was sold.

A story about “managing the conflict.”
About “containment.”
About “proportion.”

A story where, if we were smart enough,
moral enough,
advanced enough-

reality would eventually align itself.

Then reality showed up.

It didn’t align.
It exploded.

And suddenly, the question wasn’t ideological.

It was existential.

Identity Returns – Because It Has To

There is something unique about Jewish identity.

In normal times,
it’s negotiable.

Religion or not.
Tradition or freedom.
Nationhood or universalism.

But in moments of crisis?

The debate ends.

Because the enemy doesn’t ask if you keep Shabbat.
It doesn’t care how you vote.

To them-
you are a Jew.

Period.

And that’s the moment when even those who tried to avoid the definition
realize it never avoided them.

“A Free People in Our Land” – Suddenly It Sounds Different

Some phrases wear out over time.

Until reality restores their meaning.

“A free people in our land”
used to sound like a slogan.

Maybe even a cliché.

After October 7?

It became an objective.

Because freedom isn’t permanent.

It’s something you defend.

And that defense isn’t always comfortable.
It isn’t always pretty.

But it is necessary.

The Generation That Thought It Was Post-Zionist

There was a generation.

Raised in a strong country.
Relatively secure.
Economically successful.

A generation that assumed the story was over.

That Zionism was history,
not an ongoing project.

Then October 7 happened.

And history knocked on the door-
without asking.

Suddenly, the old words returned:

People.
Land.
Security.
Identity.

Not as theory.

As reality.

A Painful Awakening – But a Necessary One

Awakening is not a pleasant process.

It doesn’t arrive with soft music.

It comes with fractures.

With difficult questions.
With a sense of failure.
With the realization that what we believed-didn’t always hold.

But there is something healthy in it.

Because a society that refuses to question itself
eventually receives answers from reality.

And those answers are rarely gentle.

Unity: Yes – But Not Forever

One of the first things that followed October 7
was a wave of unity.

Everyone helping.
Everyone contributing.
Everyone together.

It was real.
It was powerful.

But let’s not romanticize it.

Israeli unity is like public WiFi.

Strong in emergencies.
Unstable in routine.

The arguments didn’t disappear.

They just paused.

Waiting.

Judaism: Not Just Religion – But Identity

One of the biggest distortions in Israeli discourse
is reducing Judaism to religion.

Because Judaism is also history.
Culture.
Identity.

After October 7,
many rediscovered that.

Not because they became religious-
but because they understood they are part of something larger.

Something that didn’t begin with them-
and won’t end with them.

The World Watches – and We Reassess

Another uncomfortable realization.

Many Israelis believed the world would understand.

Would see.
Would support.

And sometimes it did.

But not always.
And not in the way expected.

Which clarified something essential:

We don’t have the luxury
of depending on others’ understanding.

We need to understand ourselves.

So What Now?

This is the real question.

Because awakening is only the first step.

What comes next?

Do we return to the same routines?
The same illusions?
The same arguments?

Or do we actually learn something?

Jewish history is filled with such moments.

Moments of crisis-
that led to transformation.

The question is whether this will be one of them.

Conclusion: We Didn’t Wake Up – We Remembered

Maybe “awakening” isn’t the right word.

We didn’t wake up from something.

We remembered.

We remembered who we are.
Where we live.
And the cost of forgetting.

This doesn’t mean everything is clear now.

It doesn’t mean there are no disagreements.
Or no mistakes.

But it does mean one thing:

We can no longer pretend.

And the Jewish people-
with all their complexity,
with all their arguments-

know how to do one thing better than anyone else:

Survive.
Adapt.
Move forward.

Even when it hurts.

Especially when it hurts.

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