In a show of solidarity and unity with Israel, Chabad Lubavitch of the Flathead Valley organized an evening vigil Tuesday through the Torah, prayer and charity.

The evening was a response to Saturday’s unprecedented attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has expanded into a conflict that has cost thousands of lives.

“These are the moments that we must gather together for our brothers and sisters in the land of Israel,” said Rabbi Shneur Wolf, who runs Chabad of the Flathead Valley with his wife Chana.

Instead of silence, attendees raised their voices in prayer — singing and reciting psalms in both English and Hebrew — in memory of those killed and for the safe return of hostages and servicemen and women of the Israel Defense Forces fighting on the frontline.

Two candles were lit in the memory of military members who have died and to offer a blessing for the soldiers still fighting. Lighting the candles were Flathead Valley residents who served in the Israel national service and Israel Defense Forces.

Hamas’ attack happened the day Jews were celebrating “the most joyous day in the Jewish calendar,” Simchat Torah, the Wolfs said. The holiday celebrates the completion and the beginning of a new cycle of reading the five books of Moses through dance and song.

“This isn’t about 1948, 1967, 1973, West Bank and East Bank, Balfour Declaration or Oslo Accords,” Chana Wolf said. “This is about our land that we inherited, whether we like it or not, and about the safety of our brothers and sisters in our ancient homeland. May this serve as a reminder to open our Torah books more often, as it has the ability to guide us through life, even during the most challenging times that we are experiencing right now.”

Even from afar, Shneur Wolf said people in the Flathead can contribute by showing solidarity, and through prayer and charity.

“Although we may be physically distant from the battles raging in Israel, we are called upon to participate in the spiritual battle against the evil,” Shneur Wolf said.

Many people in attendance are connected to Israel through the friends and family living there, including the Wolfs.

“It was difficult to listen to the fear in my niece's voice as we spoke while she was locked in a bomb shelter, and missiles were found falling around her. This is not just very personal to me and my wife. The reason we are all here is because this is personal to each and every single one of us. This touches us all very deeply. We are devastated. We are heartbroken. We are deeply pained,” Shneur Wolf said.

Prior to the start of the vigil, he said his niece is safe for the time being, but that could quickly change as the violence escalates.

“She was in the center of Israel and moved north. They are starting to get some rockets there as well,” he said.

Stephen Schnall of Bigfork said the family and friends he knows living in Israel have been in and out of shelters, but are also safe for the time being. He also had a brother who traveled to volunteer in Israel on a kibbutz during the 1973 war.

“The whole purpose of Hamas is to wipe out the Jewish people,” he said, noting that Hamas is undeterred from killing Palestinians who don’t align with the militant group.

Attendee Ronni Rabin of Kalispell and Connecticut offered a similar sentiment.

“I’m a Jew, a proud Jew, and I have family in Israel right now and we need to know that we can stamp out evil and preserve the Jewish state,” she said.

Thus far, her relatives have escaped harm, she said. That could change.

“Everybody is safe to the extent that they have a bomb shelter, a place to hide out, but nobody really knows what’s going to happen next, do we?” Rabin said.

She said there’s an extent to which people can mentally and physically prepare for an emergency.

“Imagine life just stopping. Kind of like when we have Covid. There wasn’t a lot to distract people from the horror around them, only that was a lot less intense, and wondering if you’re going to be bombed or gassed, or who knows what,” she said.

During the vigil, Shneur Wolf said banding together is what matters now.

“This is not about being insensitive to those suffering and experiencing unimaginable pain. Quite the contrary. We feel deeply in their time of hurt. However, we shall not and will not surrender to terror. And we will not allow terror to gain control over our minds and over our hearts and certainly not over our spirits …” he said.

Kalispell Mayor Mark Johnson was invited to also share some words during the vigil. He recalled waking up to hear the news Saturday. He said he couldn’t help thinking back to watching the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks unfold.

“I kept thinking back to another time in history when I watched … this terrorist attack on the United States and I remember those feelings,” Johnson said. “And all I could think of as I was listening to the news on Saturday — what are the people of Israel going through right now? What are our Jewish neighbors in Kalispell thinking with the attack that was happening, not knowing how bad it truly was? And as the news has come out, we've learned more and more about what Hamas has done,” Johnson said. “It is not an act of war. It is an act of barbaric indecency to human life. It is a war on the Jewish people.”

He said he wanted everyone in attendance to know that “We stand with Israel. We stand with you.”

“We will do whatever it takes to beat this hatred,” he said, later concluding his thoughts by welcoming the rabbi to reach out at any time.

“You have a friend,” Johnson said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.