BOISE, Idaho — Rockets rattled the air as part of a surprise attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas. The attack out of Gaza has led to at least several hundred deaths.
The news of Israel and Hamas at war quickly made its way around the globe to Idaho's Jewish community.
"We're in the middle of a season of Holy Days, a very sacred time," Rabbi Daniel Fink, a leader at Boise's Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel said. "And it just felt like an incredibly abrupt and tragic intrusion into a sacred time."
He added that the news was shocking to wake up to.
"Worry and concern just thinking about the people that we love over there. So many people within the Jewish community have family or friends in Israel." the rabbi said. "It's a kind of second home to many or most of us. So it's close to the heart."
He said many people in Boise's Jewish community have close connections to Israel.
When the congregation gathered for their service on Saturday morning, their discussion turned to the current events - and the challenge of what to do in a holy season on a holiday about rejoicing.
"How do you hold joy when you have all this worry and grief? One of the Jewish teachings - something very central in our tradition - is that rarely in life is something one emotion, and all that emotion, and only that emotion," Rabbi Fink said. "Our tradition asks us to hold these things, and it's hard to hold gratitude and joy, and worry and grief at the same time. But that's kind of where we are. It's not the first time we've been there, but it's always difficult."
His message is to pray for peace.
"Peace is the vessel that enables all others," he said. "So right now we're in a state of war, and we recognize that and we are prepared and we're dealing with it - but we're praying constantly for peace."
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