4 | OCTOBER 17 • 2024 
J
N

‘The People of Israel Stood Tall’

On this past Oct. 7, Jewish Federation 
of Detroit President Gary Torgow 
addressed more than 4,000 people at 
a rally commemorating the horrific 
massacre in Israel the year before. 
On the anniversary of the tragedy, 
Torgow issued a call for strength and 
unity — and for faith in the future. 
Here are his comments in full. For the 
story about the event at Congregation 
Shaarey Zedek, please see page 8.
G

ood evening, ladies and 
gentlemen.
This is not the speech I 
had planned to give tonight. 
In recent days, 
we have witnessed 
despicable acts 
of hatred and 
antisemitism 
directed toward us. 
Just this morning, 
our Federation 
office building was 
vandalized with hateful, antisemitic 
graffiti. 
This was not just an attack on 
bricks and mortar. It was an attack 
on our entire community — a 
hateful attempt to instill fear and 
disrupt our sense of safety and 
belonging. And it comes at a time 
when our hearts are already heavy, 
as we commemorate the tragedy in 
Israel that began one year ago today.
These acts are meant to shake us. 
They are meant to instill fear. 
But let me be absolutely clear: We 
will not be cowered. We will not be 
intimidated. And we will never be 
dissuaded from living proud, strong, 
vibrant Jewish lives, no matter where 
we reside. 
The Jewish people have faced 
adversity before, and we have always 
come through stronger, more united, 
and more resilient. And this moment 
will be no different.
Hatred will not have the final 
word. No act of cowardice — no 

graffiti, no broken window — will 
ever make us question who we are or 
what we stand for. We will continue 
to gather, to celebrate, to pray, and to 
pass on our traditions to our future 
generations with our heads held very 
high and our hearts full of hope. We 
will not allow these acts of hatred to 
define us or dictate the course of our 
future. 
That is why we are here tonight.

ONE PEOPLE, ONE HEART
Just several days ago, we observed 
the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, and 
we heard the shofar blasts which 
surely moved and uplifted us. The 
piercing and indelible sound of the 
shofar still reverberates in our minds 
and, no doubt, our hearts are still 
stirred by its impact.

The renowned 10th-century 
leader of Babylonian Jewry, the 
brilliant and sage Rabbi Saadia 
Gaon, shared with us that one 
of the reasons why we sound the 
shofar on Rosh Hashanah is to 
commemorate the revelation at 
Sinai, when our nation received the 
Torah. The verse describes that at 
Mount Sinai, the shofar sound grew 
progressively louder, more intense 
and penetrating. 
On Rosh Hashanah, as part of our 
commitment for the coming year, 
we collectively sound the shofar to 
recall this event, the day we became 
a People, where we received the 
blueprint and roadmap by which we 
are meant to live. 
But there is another element of the 
revelation at Sinai that is particularly 

noteworthy tonight, as we assemble 
to remember and reflect upon the 
tragedy that befell our nation on 
Oct. 7, and the ensuing war which 
continues even now.
The Torah describes how the 
Jewish people, all of us, past, present 
and future, encamped at the foot 
of Mount Sinai. The commentators 
tell us the critical feature of that 
encampment is described in words 
that are as relevant today as they 
were then, Ish echad b’lev echad, as 
one person with one heart. Everyone 
accepted the Torah together, united, 
like a tightly knit and loving family. 
Just as the Torah itself is 
multifaceted, incorporating a 
very broad range of messages and 
teachings that blend together into 
a single entity, likewise, the Jewish 
nation are a composite of many 
groups with differing opinions and 
attitudes, but always woven together 
into a single unit. We are, in fact, 
a mirror image of the Torah — 
the combination of a wide range 
of different strands that form an 
integrated whole.
It is equally critical that we always 
remember, that just as a Torah that is 
missing a single letter is considered 

Gary Torgow

A COMMUNITY MESSAGE

Part of the massive audience attending the pro-Israel event at Congregation Shaarey Zedek

JOHN HARDWICK

“IN THE FACE OF HATE, WE CHOOSE 
HOPE. IN THE FACE OF TERROR, WE 
CHOOSE LIFE. AND IN THE FACE OF 
DIVISION, WE CHOOSE UNITY.”

— GARY TORGOW