Israeli Poetry in the Wake of October 7

The calamity of October 7 and the war that has followed have left Israel and the Jewish world in shock and despair. The unimaginable has become 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. No 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.

And yet, there are those who take on this challenge: seeking to find words to express some of the pain and anger, the despair and abandonment.

In this session with Dr. Rachel Korazim, we will read and discuss poetry written during and in response to these very days. The poems come from different parts of Israeli society and reflect a variety of voices.

Dr. Rachel Korazim is a Jewish education consultant in curriculum development for Israel and Holocaust education. In her teaching, Rachel opens a window to Israeli society through literature, 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 pandemic, Rachel built a global community of hundreds of learners who regularly meet online to study Israeli poetry. Rachel teaches at Pardes and the Shalom Hartman Institute, as well as in numerous Jewish communities worldwide.

In her free time, Rachel enjoys scuba diving in the cenotes of Playa del Carmen and the amazing coral sites of the Red Sea. Rachel is also a very active grandmother of eight grandchildren, who all live in Israel.

The Israel at 76 series is generously sponsored by Helena Diamant Glass, in cherished memory of her beloved parents, Regina Landwirth Diamant and Karl Diamant, and in honor of Yom Ha’atzma-ut 5784.