Thousands gathered Friday morning at the site of the Nova music festival massacre near Kibbutz Re’im to recite Hallel, the festival psalms of praise, in memory of those murdered there and for the people of Israel, Israel National News reported. The prayer took place on Hoshana Rabbah, the final day of Sukkot, hours before the start of Simchat Torah, the Hebrew anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, chief rabbi of Safed, led the prayer together with his son, Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu. The event was organized by the Tikva Forum, a group of hostage families, and the Association of Community Rabbis, which Rabbi Eliyahu heads. Bereaved families, wounded soldiers, reservists and survivors of the massacre took part.
Among those attending were Rami Davidian, a resident of Moshav Patish who rescued young people from the area during the attack; Elkana Federman, the festival’s security officer; and Eliyahu Libman, whose son Elyakim was killed while working security at the festival. Avishai David, father of Evyatar David, who was abducted from the festival and held in Gaza for two years before his release, also attended. Rabbi Eitan Shnerb, whose daughter Rena was killed in a 2019 terrorist bombing at a spring in Samaria, joined the gathering.
Prayers have been held at the Re’im site on Hoshana Rabbah in previous years as well. Israel National News reported that hundreds prayed the Hoshana Rabbah service in the Re’im parking lot at the hour the attack began, together with hostage families and bereaved families, and the Tikva Forum has held all-night learning sessions at the site on the eve of the holiday.
The Hebrew Anniversary
In Israel, Shemini Atzeret (the Eighth Day of Assembly) and Simchat Torah (the Rejoicing of the Torah) are observed as a single day on the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. The October 7 attack took place on that date in 5784, which fell on Shabbat. In 5785 (2024 CE) the date fell on a Thursday, and in 5786 (2025 CE) on a Tuesday. This year it falls on Shabbat for the first time since the attack. The holiday began at sundown Friday, October 2, and ends at nightfall Saturday. The Gregorian anniversary falls on Wednesday, October 7.
On Simchat Torah, Jews complete the annual cycle of Torah readings with the final verses of Deuteronomy and begin again with the first chapter of Genesis. The Torah scrolls are carried around the synagogue in seven hakafot (circuits) with singing and dancing.
The Nova Massacre
On the morning of October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists who crossed the Gaza border attacked the outdoor Nova music festival near Re’im. They murdered 364 people at the festival and abducted 40 more to Gaza who did not return home alive, according to the Times of Israel. Across southern Israel that day, some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
The festival grounds have since become a memorial. Bereaved parents attached photographs of their children, each with an Israeli flag, to iron rods planted in the field. KKL-JNF, the Jewish National Fund, allocated NIS 4 million to build pathways, restrooms, educational spaces and a memorial grove at the site. The Times of Israel reported that the site drew an average of about 7,000 visitors a day between September 2024 and February 2025, making it the most visited KKL-JNF site in Israel during that period.
“As a father who lost his daughter in the horrific Nova massacre, this place is not just a memorial site for me and the other bereaved families,” Meir Zohar, whose daughter Bar was murdered at the festival, told the Times of Israel. “It is a space where we feel that our pain is seen and heard.”
Hallel
Hallel (praise) consists of Psalms 113 through 118 and is recited in synagogue on Jewish festivals, including each day of Sukkot. The Talmud (Pesachim 117a) traces the recitation of these psalms to moments of national deliverance, from the crossing of the Red Sea to the defeat of Haman in the time of Esther, and records the teaching that the prophets instituted Hallel to be recited by Israel at times of trouble and again upon their redemption.
The final psalm in the series, Psalm 118, includes the verse:
I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. (Psalms 118:17)
Hoshana Rabbah
Hoshana Rabbah (the Great Salvation) is the seventh day of Sukkot. Its name comes from the Hoshanot, prayers in which worshippers circle the synagogue holding the four species and call out Hoshia na, “save us, please,” drawn from Psalm 118:25: “We beseech Thee, O LORD, save now!” On Hoshana Rabbah the congregation makes seven circuits, and at the end of the prayers worshippers strike bundles of aravot (willow branches) against the ground. Jewish tradition holds that the judgment sealed on Yom Kippur receives its final seal on Hoshana Rabbah, and many communities hold all-night Torah study on the eve of the day.
The October 7 attack began the morning after Hoshana Rabbah in 5784.
