Presented by Dr. Rachel Korazim
Jewish Education Consultant
The calamity of October 7 and the war that followed had left Israel and the Jewish world in shock and despair. The unimaginable became our reality. As more details of the horror unfold, as we are facing the painful daily losses in battle and the plight of the hostages and their families. Not less troubling, are the terrible losses and devastation in Gaza. We find ourselves less and less able to talk about it. The expression most commonly used is ein milim -– No Words!
Yet – some struggle and do find words to express pain and anger, despair and abandonment.
In our session, we will read and discuss poetry written these very days. The poems are often raw and painful, while at the same time full of love and even hope. Some are in the form of prayers such as a new “Kadish”, and many reference biblical motifs, such as the Akeida or Joseph. Others address the new “correct” language since one cannot say any more simple things like “I am Okay”, or the two most horrible words in Hebrew nowadays: לפרסום הותר” released for publication” that precede the names of the fallen soldiers on Israeli media. The poems originate in different parts of Israeli society and reflect a variety of voices.
One participant wrote, “I think that poetry allows the expression of complex and sometimes conflicting feelings, vivid images, and resonance - which is why it touches the heart and soul so deeply.”
Register to receive the Zoom link to join us online. Barring technical issues, this talk will be posted on our Program Recording Archive.
You can purchase a copy of Dr. Korazim’s collection, Shiva: Poems of October 7 here. All proceeds will be donated to the Israeli Trauma Coalition.
Dr. Rachel Korazim is a Jewish education consultant in curriculum development for Israel and Holocaust education. Rachel opens for her audiences a window to Israeli society through literature; through stories, poems, and songs of the best of Israel’s writers, she invites listeners to engage with Israel in an innovative way.
Since the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic, Rachel created a global community of hundreds of learners who meet to study Israeli poetry online regularly –
Rachel teaches at Israel’s well-known learning centers such as Pardes and the Shalom Hartman Institutes as well as numerous world Jewish communities.
In her free time, Rachel enjoys scuba diving in the cenotes of Playa del Carmen in Mexico and the amazing coral sites of the Red Sea. She is also a very active grandmother of eight grandchildren who all live in Israel.
We extend a special thank you to Andrew R. Ammerman for sponsoring our Spring 2025 program lineup. He dedicates the semester’s learning in loving memory of Josephine and H. Max Ammerman and Stephen C.