What Is the Charedi View of October 7th?
On Shemini Atzeres, 22 Tishrei 5784—October 7, 2023—the Jewish people awoke to a tragedy that shook the world. In the early morning, Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel, breaching the Gaza border and carrying out one of the most barbaric attacks in modern Jewish history.
Men, women, and children were murdered in their homes. Entire families were massacred. Hundreds were taken hostage, and cities like Sderot, Ofakim, and the kibbutzim near Gaza became scenes of horror. The rivers of blood poured from the grounds of the Nova Music Festival screams for an accounting.
Even now, the pain is raw. The wounds—physical, emotional, and spiritual—are deep.
So how does the Charedi world process such a moment? What is its view of this day that many now call the “Black Simchas Torah”?
First and Foremost: A Cry of Brokenness
Before anything else, we mourn.
We cry over the kedoshim who were murdered. We daven with anguish for the wounded. We beg Hashem for rachamim upon the hostages and their families. There are no politics in a mother’s tears. No divisions in the wail of a father burying his son.
Just as we mourned after Meron, after Har Nof, after Pittsburgh, and after Mumbai—we mourn now, deeply and universally. A Jew in pain is always our pain.
Gedolei Yisrael led tefillos and kriyos Tehillim across the Charedi world—from Bnei Brak to Brooklyn, from Kiryas Yoel to Lakewood. Every minyan added chapters of Tehillim. Yeshivos cried out “Acheinu Kol Beis Yisrael...” with trembling.
Because we are one people. And this was a churban.
Charedi Voices Respond: “This Was Not Just Tragedy—It Was a Wake-Up Call”
While we reject the arrogance of pretending to know Hashem’s calculations, Charedi Gedolim have always taught that moments like this must shake us—not just emotionally, but spiritually.
Rav Don Segal shlit”a said shortly after the attack:
“This was a message from Heaven, and a loud one. The spiritual walls have been breached. Now is the time to return to Hashem.”
Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a, Rosh Yeshiva of Slabodka, said:
“Yes, we must defend ourselves. But we must also rebuild the walls of kedushah that were weakened—Shabbos, tznius, Torah. That is our real protection.”
For the Charedi world, October 7th is not just a day of mourning—it is a call to teshuvah.
No Military Can Save Without Hashem
One of the most chilling aspects of the October 7th attack was how completely the world’s most advanced surveillance and military systems failed. Billions of dollars of high-tech defenses—satellites, drones, motion sensors—were rendered useless by paragliders and motorcycles.
Why?
Because Ein Od Milvado. Hashem alone protects Klal Yisrael.
As the pasuk says:
“לא בגבורת הסוס יחפץ… רצה ה׳ את יראיו.” “He does not desire the strength of the horse… Hashem desires those who fear Him.” (Tehillim 147:10–11)
Charedim believe firmly in hishtadlus—doing what’s necessary to protect life—but we also believe that without Hashem’s protection, no strategy or army can succeed.
October 7th proved that truth with terrifying clarity.
But Didn't Charedim Oppose the State—Why Do They Care?
A question that some cynically ask: If Charedim don’t support the secular state, why do they care when it’s attacked?
The answer is simple: We care because we are Jews.
Because the people who were murdered were our brothers and sisters. Because every Jewish neshamah is holy. Because we are not political activists, we are Bnei Torah—and Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh Lazeh applies even more in times of pain.
Charedim did not suddenly become Zionists on October 7th. But they did cry out to Hashem as Jews—and they did so in a way that only the Torah world knows how: with tears, with Tehillim, and with real introspection.
The Gedolim’s Focus: Torah, Chesed, and Unity
In the days following the attacks, Charedi communities did not just daven—they acted.
- Massive blood drives were held in Bnei Brak and Yerushalayim.
- Thousands of meals were sent to displaced families from the south.
- Chessed organizations like Ezra L’Marpeh, Ezer Mizion, and Yad Eliezer mobilized instantly to help survivors and soldiers.
- Yeshiva bochurim across Eretz Yisrael accepted new kabalos in Torah and middos.
As Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l often said:
“In times of danger, Torah is our Iron Dome.”
The Charedi response was not one of protest or media appearances. It was a silent, powerful wave of Ahavas Yisrael and Kiddush Hashem.
Conclusion: October 7th Through the Eyes of Emunah
To the world, October 7th was a security failure. To the secular mind, it was a military or political crisis.
To the Charedi world, it was a moment of Divine shaking—a demand that we wake up, return to our roots, and remember that we are a holy nation, whose survival depends only on Hashem.
We mourn. We daven. We rebuild.
And we remember that even in the darkest days of galus, the fire of Torah continues to burn.
Footnotes & Sources
- Tehillim 147:10–11 – “Not with the might of horses…” – Trust in Hashem, not armies.
- Statements from Rav Don Segal and Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, Elul–Cheshvan 5784, available in Kol HaTorah publications and Bnei Torah recordings.
- Interviews and actions documented by chessed organizations (Ezra L'Marpeh, Yad Eliezer) during Operation Iron Swords, October 2023.
- Meshech Chochmah, Vayikra 26 – Jews who assimilate become indistinguishable from nations and fall under the same rules of Divine justice.
- Tehillim 127:1 – “If Hashem does not guard the city…” – Often cited by Gedolim post-October 7th as a wake-up message.