The cathartic effects of the past year on Jewish life and identity

(JNS) — The last 15 months have been a tragedy for the individual and a triumph for the collective. History is rife with examples of this dichotomy. The tragedy of Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing aftermath across the world has created an earthquake that has realigned world Jewry in the most profound of ways. Israeli Jews and those in the Diaspora have gone through a type of catharsis and have regained a sense of purpose that was dangerously close to being lost.

Many American Jews had convinced themselves that they could blend into society and that their Jewishness was merely incidental. The last...