Feelings of joy and sadness overcame me as I heard of the heroic rescue of Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv. Like so many of us who have been closely following the unimaginable story of our hostages, the news, which came on the eve of Shavuot, brought a sense of relief, albeit partial. We could finally exhale, if only for a moment. However, we remain acutely aware that 120 hostages are still being held in Gaza, some of whom are among the civilian population, just like the four who were rescued this weekend.

Just a couple of months ago, we read in the Pesach Haggadah בְּכָל־דּוֹר וָדוֹר —in every generation, we must see ourselves as coming out of Egypt. How true these words ring today as we face our generation's inflection point.

We are eight months into a savage war we did not ask for. A war launched by Hamas against our family in Israel and by Hamas’s allies and backers against the Jewish diaspora worldwide. Antisemitism has metastasized and taken hold in ways unimaginable only a short while ago. The attack on diaspora Jewry, which has been planned and funded for decades, aims to delegitimize the Jewish people and perversely accuse Jews of being the oppressors, occupiers, and colonizers. Many Jews in our community feel under attack and isolated. It seems like the world has flipped on its head.

Years from now, when we look back at this period, that could be the whole story we tell. And if it is, then we’ll have let ourselves down and failed succeeding generations. Even as all this is taking place, something else is happening in tandem—something with the potential to redefine our Jewish future in the most positive ways.

Against the current backdrop of sadness and heartbreak, we are witnessing a powerful resurgence of Jewish pride. Jews are searching for community, wanting to be with others who stand with Israel and believe that Zionism is core to who we are. They want to send their children to Jewish schools and Jewish overnight camps to celebrate this identity. Jewish students are flocking to align with Jewish clubs on campus, standing up against hate—against unbeatable odds. Jews of all ages are seeking one another, donning dog tags for the hostages, and wearing Stars of David or kippot. They are marching to free our hostages every Sunday, craving Jewish life with proud Judaism and Zionism.

Antisemitism aims to diminish us; it wants us to hide ourselves, to retreat. “Go back to Poland,” they say. What could be a more fitting response than showing up in greater multitudes with an even more optimistic and joyful Judaism?

Those who seek to destroy us have spent the last few decades planning and funding our demise. As they were doing this, we have been repairing the world and investing in education, culture, and health. For over a century, Federation CJA, through the generosity of our donors, has invested in building and sustaining a vibrant, thriving Jewish community. We have promoted Jewish education and experiences, supported our community’s most vulnerable, cared for our seniors and Holocaust survivors, offered cultural experiences and advanced Jewish causes.  We must continue to do all this and do even more good for the world, Montreal, and our community. We must learn from what has transpired and engage a different line of business to combat the damage and toxicity spread by our enemies over the last thirty years. In the past eight months, Federation CJA has made significant new investments in security, advocacy, and legal action. Much of what we have done has indeed been unprecedented—to meet the unprecedented challenges we have faced. More than ever, we will need our community’s support this year to ensure that we can continue doing all of this.

To this end, Federation CJA is launching a campaign to address the issues of security and antisemitism in Montreal. Alongside our annual campaign, we aim to raise an additional $30 million to support our efforts over the next 10 years to change the new realities on the ground in Montreal.

We know that a brighter future will require a more resilient community. We need to double down our investments to support the resurgence of proud Judaism and Zionism. Only by reinforcing what we are fighting for will we have the resilience to win the fight.  We cannot stop doing all the good we have been doing for a century, and at the same time, we need to fund efforts to address what our enemies have done quietly for 30 years. It will take time, new ways of working, and different investments of resources. But we are wiser now and more aware of the extent of their actions. We must meet the moment. It is up to us to define what the post-October 7th world will look like. Together. United. Resilient and strong. We will succeed.

As we celebrate Shavuot—receiving the Torah from G-d—there is no more fitting time for us to reflect as a community on the silver lining of the last eight months. Amidst all the pain, sadness, and shock we have felt, let us celebrate our proud Judaism and show the world that we are not, and will never again be, “Jews with trembling knees” (Menachem Begin z”l).

In her final words to her husband, the wife of Commander Arnon Zmora z”l, who fell in the battle to free our hostages, told the thousands who came to honour him in his final journey: Arnon gave his life so that other Jews could be free to live theirs.

Let us all honour Arnon—the Hero of Israel—and live proud Jewish lives for generations to come.

Chag Shavuot Samech.

Am Israel Chai