{"id":364098,"date":"2026-10-04T12:05:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T12:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/364098\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T12:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T12:05:14","slug":"upper-east-side-congregation-marks-simchat-torah-with-joy-and-oct-7-remembrance-nbc-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/364098\/","title":{"rendered":"Upper East Side congregation marks Simchat Torah with joy and Oct. 7 remembrance \u2013 NBC New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

People on the Upper East Side gathered at Temple Emanu-El for Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday celebration that also included commemorating the lives lost in the Oct. 7, 2023 invasion of Israel, as concerns remain high for many in New York\u2019s Jewish community.<\/p>\n

A public display of Jewish pride unfolded with a procession of people of all ages down East 65th St. and Fifth Ave., as the festival shared the happiness that the holiday normally brings, with grief for victims of the Hamas-led terrorist attack.<\/p>\n

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(Image: NBC New York via Temple Emanu-El)<\/p>\n

\u201cSimchat Torah will forever be associated with that tragedy and yet we have to rejoice our tradition and our survival,\u201d said Senior Rabbi Joshua Davidson.<\/p>\n

Davidson said the holiday\u2019s call to dance and celebrate has taken on a different meaning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a celebration of Jewish pride, of who we are, and the ability to endure despite the threats against us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Worshippers gather for Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday celebration that also included commemorating the lives lost in the Oct. 7, 2023 invasion of Israel (Image: NBC New York)<\/p>\n

The night carried an emphasis on hope and resilience, while also recognizing the suffering from the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd our hearts ache for the precious ones who died then but our hearts also holds them close too,\u201d said Rabbi Sarah Reines.<\/p>\n

Temple Emanu-El members gathered days after the horrifying details of an attempted hijacking of a plane bound for Israel this week came out.<\/a><\/p>\n

A pilot was stabbed by his co-pilot in the cockpit, and the plane nosedived, fueling fear among Jewish New Yorkers.<\/p>\n

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A procession down East 65th St. and Fifth Ave., as the festival shared the happiness that the holiday normally brings, with grief for victims of the Hamas-led terrorist attack nearly three years ago. (Image: NBC New York)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough, we always have optimism and hope for peace,\u201d said Leon Geoxavier of the Upper East Side. \u201cIt\u2019s important to reaffirm our faith into our community, in our faith in God.” Worshippers say that while their faith was again tested, they are not deterred.<\/p>\n

Several New York City commemorations are scheduled for Oct. 7. Temple Emanu-El is set to give a special blessing to honor the lives lost in the attack.<\/p>\n

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC New York. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC New York journalist edited the article for publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People on the Upper East Side gathered at Temple Emanu-El for Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday celebration that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-364098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}