October 7, 2023 was an emotional day for many Westporters.
So was October 13, 2025, when Hamas released all 20 living hostages.
Jodie Semel has lived in Westport for 27 years. She earned a master’s degree in counseling, and has a private practice on telehealth. She says, “My spirit is fueled by the love of my husband and kids, cherished friendships, hiking, deepening my professional development with a special cohort of colleagues, baking granola, and more enrichment than I could have imagined from my involvement with the Chabad.”
Today, Jodie reflects on the past 2 years.
I found out about the October 7th massacre early that morning through a few Israeli blogs I subscribe to.
I was in Florida, preparing to go to synagogue for a bat mitzvah. We didn’t have the full picture until late afternoon.
As I spoke with my best friend in Tel Aviv, both of us in anguish, I told her I didn’t think I could go to the celebration that evening. She reminded me that it is a mitzvah — a blessing — to be happy.
I realized that if I didn’t celebrate this beautiful Jewish milestone, the terrorists would win. That demanded of me to practice living with “both/and,” as we are taught in the Torah — a dialectical way of holding joy and grief at once.
Over the past 2 years I’ve felt an enormity of sorrow, fear, anger, and disbelief — and through it all, a deepened, empowered sense of Jewish pride in my faith, culture, and people. Though my Jewish identity was always central, I was surprised by how that day’s events intensified my connection to a heritage that has sustained our people for more than 3,800 years. That connection has been medicinal.
The aftermath of October 7 transformed how many of us in the Jewish community lived our daily lives. It is one thing to feel despondent or bereft alone; it is another to experience those emotions as part of a nation.
A small part of the October 7 destruction. (Photo/Julie Podziba)
As we say in Hebrew, Am Yisrael — the people of Israel — are one, whether in the homeland or the diaspora. We are one nation, in pain and in joy; when one person is wounded, it feels as though a family member has been hurt. Yet when we feel it together, we begin to heal together.
Only Am Yisrael can truly understand the heartbreak of October 7 and its aftermath — a pain felt collectively, yet bound by a profound beauty in that very togetherness.
Local organizations created spaces for this unity, helping us navigate and heal through an experience unlike any we had faced before. I am deeply grateful for both our established organizations and the ingenuity of the ad hoc organizers in our community who stepped up in ways that allowed us to stand shoulder to shoulder, feeling the flux of emotions together.
What could be more validating for a community feeling so powerless? In Judaism, we believe that healing in community magnifies comfort, just as joy shared together becomes even more meaningful. Neither is meant to be experienced in isolation.
For much of the ensuing 2 years, my calendar has been filled with multiple weekly events offered by the Jewish Federation and our synagogues. The town vigil and menorah lighting, with all of our clergy present, helped us feel less alone in our pain.
As the weeks and months passed, while hearing about so much suffering in the Middle East, many of us here felt a renewed sense of unity. Bonds and friendships were strengthened — or newly formed — that might not have been otherwise.
With each hostage release, I felt immense relief — both personally and shared — and with the final homecoming, that relief spread through our entire community, echoed in our local WhatsApp groups, on the Jewish Westport Facebook page, and in person. It has been profoundly meaningful to acknowledge that feeling together, to breathe again as one people after holding our collective breath for so long.
Judaism teaches that even a single match can light up the darkness. Many in our community have brought light since that Black Saturday. Chabad of Westport, Weston, and Wilton has been an eternally lit lamp for me and the community — from the first Shabbat service after the attacks, to challah bakes with released hostages, to their ongoing speaker series.
Every gathering has filled and nourished our community with strength, hope, and meaning. Even when those seemed hard to find, Rabbi Yehuda and Dina Kantor have been true lamplighters, showing us how to create meaning and bring joy.
The Jewish Federation has been outstanding in its response — through speaker events and especially their “Empty Chairs” installation at Compo Beach in November 2023, displaying 240 beach chairs with photos of each hostage in Gaza, and their recent gathering marking the second year. We all felt the pain and helplessness of our people being held captive, but I was also filled with pride in our town and how people showed up for such a meaningful cause.
Melinda Wasserman has been a visionary, finding a functional way to act when so many of us felt powerless, bringing the weekly hostage walks, Run 4 Their Lives. We’ve also found connection and healing through our synagogues’ various events and speakers.
These local experiences, along with the friendships I’ve built over 27 years in Westport and the new ones formed since the attacks, have reminded me that even in difficult times, we must nurture the connections that align with our deepest values.
As a Jewish person living in Westport, I’ve seen how strong and compassionate our community can be. The past 2 years have shown me that Jewish identity is about connection to our rich heritage and to each other, as we stand together through both pain and healing, joy and celebration.
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Fellow Westporter Julie Podziba adds:
I am a proud Jew with a deep love for the State of Israel — a love shared by my husband and 2 daughters.
For most Jews, Israel is local. We knew every hostage’s name and story. We hung posters, replaced them when they were torn down, and followed every update with anguish and hope.
The hostages became our brothers, sisters, parents, and friends. As my husband recently said, “Israel may be the smallest nation, but Jews are the biggest family.”
My husband and I joined the first Westport Run For Their Lives walk, organized by Melinda Wasserman and Jennifer Wolff. While we couldn’t attend every week, many in our community did.
Other ways the community stayed connected to what was happening in Israel was to go on organized missions sponsored by local Synagogues and Jewish organizations. I traveled May 2024 with The Community Synagogue, under Rabbi Wiederhorn’s leadership. We met soldiers, journalists, and families directly affected by October 7th.
With hostages’ relatives, in Israel. (Photo/Julie Podziba)
One encounter that left an indelible mark on our Westport group was meeting my friend of 30+ years, Leslie — an attorney with Israel’s Ministry of Justice — and hearing the story of her daughter, Adi, a survivor of the Nova music festival.
Adi and her friends — Yoad Peer, Aner Shapiro, and Hersh Goldberg Polin — fled north when the assault began, taking cover in a small bomb shelter already crowded with others.
Aner, a soldier, heroically caught and threw back 7 grenades before being killed by the eighth. Hersh’s left arm was blown off. He was taken to Gaza, and ultimately murdered. When the terrorists entered the bomb shelter shooting all those who remained, Adi’s friend Yoad shielded her with his body, saving her life. Adi then survived by playing dead for more than 6 hours until rescuers arrived.
Nearly 2 years later, Adi came to Westport to honor her friend Yoad and, for the first time, shared her story publicly during the Yom Kippur service at TCS. Additionally, TCS honored Yoad’s memory by having a special Torah cover created that was inscribed with his name.
Rabbi Jeremy Wiederhorn with Adi, in Westport.
For those of us who joined the mission, the connection to Leslie, Adi, and their story runs deep. Welcoming Adi to Westport was both heartbreaking and profoundly meaningful — a moment that brought together sorrow, strength, and love.
The weekly Run For Their Lives, which so many Westporters took part in, Adi’s story, and the many others shared in our community, are constant reminders that what happened on October 7th and its aftermath is local to us.
And, we won’t stop hoping, praying and pushing until the remaining 15 bodies of murdered hostages are brought home to rest with dignity and love.
(Our “06880” Opinion pages are open to all. Send submissions to 06880blog@gmail.com.)
“All of the families in our temple came as immigrants. Often, they fled persecution. They found freedom and opportunity in the United States. It’s our responsibility to help others travel the same journey. Passover reinforces that narrative.”
