'No guns in synagogues': Jerusalem rabbi releases book of responsa for post-Oct. 7 Israel

The October 7 massacre has become one of the most significant events in Israeli history and is set to shape Israeli culture for years to come. But what sort of impact will it have on the world of Halacha?

That is something Rabbi Ido Pachter and his colleagues seek to tackle in their recently-published book of halachic teshuvot.

Titled Zikaron Yisraeli, the book deals with several halachic issues that arose in the immediate aftermath of October 7, as well as in the leadup to its first anniversary.

The work is in line with Pachter's approach to developing halachat yisraeli, a halachic tradition that is fit for the modern day in Israel while also keeping in mind the original text and rabbinic rulings.

And it is this desire to help halacha evolve and be suited for today that led Pachter, a modern Orthodox rabbi, to open up his beit midrash, Lemaase, in Jerusalem in the location of the former President's Hotel.

Pachter never planned on working on a book of teshuvot regarding October 7.

"We wanted to start by dealing with Shabbat issues," he explained. However, shortly after his beit midrash opened, the October 7 massacre occurred.

When that happened, "I understood that we cannot learn about Shabbat when there is a war and hostages were taken, and everything around us is so miserable."

Pachter was inspired to tackle these halachic issues after listening to the radio and hearing broadcasters have their own queries about Jewish law during these times.

"They asked themselves, 'can we say to our friends mah shlomcha?'" He explained, referring to a very common Hebrew greeting. "In Hebrew, that means, 'are you in peace?' And many people felt it was inappropriate. They also asked if they were allowed to go to get coffee or go to the mall and have fun. Is that something we can do while there are hostages in Gaza?"

These questions expanded beyond just simple greetings and leisure activities.

"People also asked what we should do with all the weapons," Pachter pointed out. "Many soldiers who came back from fighting in Gaza carried weapons on them. How should we keep these weapons in civilian areas? Another question that came up is how we should remember this day. Should we still celebrate Simchat Torah? If so, how? How are we going to remember what happened on October 7?"

A long list of questions were gathered together, and Pachter and his colleagues set about researching through thousands of years of halachic tradition to find answers.

Then, they would write those answers down.

"Each answer has two sections," Pachter said. "First, we wrote instructions. Then in the second part, we wrote an explanation of how we came to this conclusion."

What are some of the halachot of October 7?

Pachter gave some examples of some of the questions that were addressed in the book.

"One of my colleagues, Gila Eliash, wrote about whether we could go to malls or have fun," he said. "She explained that in a time of war, we have to identify with the public, with their sorrow, so we shouldn't do things that make us happy. On the other hand, for some people that feel very depressed due to the war, they should be going out and having fun to refresh their mind. She said that we should be keeping in mind the soul and sentiments of the public, but if we need to refresh ourselves, we can have a little fun. But we need to always carry something on ourselves that will remind us of the hostages, even when you go out and have fun."

This answer has significant roots in Halacha and Jewish culture, such as the need to always remember tragedies that befell the Jewish people even during happy events. It's why a bridegroom always breaks a glass during a wedding, or why there's always an empty square in a house - in order to remember the destruction of the Temple and the exile of the Jewish people.

This actually led to another teshuva, one relating to the rebuilding of the communities in the Gaza border area that were all destroyed on October 7.

"Jewish tradition says that when you build a new house, you need to leave a spot on your wall that is not painted to remember the destruction of the Temple," Pachter said, noting that this is what should be done to the rebuilt kibbutzim. It is unclear where this would happen, perhaps it would be a spot in a public space or in the rebuilt houses, but the point is to have something there that will remind everyone of what happened on October 7 - all done in a way rooted in halachic tradition.

"Another thing we discussed was weapons, which is very important for us today," Pachter said. "Of course, it's important because we need to fight with it and we need to win in battle, but we need to remember that guns and weapons are not holy. They are tools of killing."

For this reason, the Zikaron Yisraeli notes that one should not bring in guns to sacred spaces, such as synagogues. He compared this to longstanding traditions regarding Birkat Hamazon, the blessing of grace said at the conclusion of meals.

"When we do Birkat Hamazon, we should be taking all knives off the table first," Pachter said. "The table is like an altar, and the knife is a tool that can kill people. You don't want a tool of killing on an altar.

"That's why, if you make a blessing or do Birkat Hamazon, you should take your gun off the table. You shouldn't bring it to a synagogue either."

An exception to this, though, is when it comes to security. If there is a security risk and legitimate fear of danger, then, Pachter explained, one would be allowed to take a gun into a synagogue. However, if that does happen, the gun should still be covered.

"People shouldn't see guns when they pray to God," he said, noting that guns aren't like jewelry.

Addressing Simchat Torah

Another important teshuva in the book has to do with Simchat Torah, a normally joyous holiday that was marred by the October 7 massacre.

"On the one hand, we should celebrate Simchat Torah and continue with the chagim, but on the other hand, we need to remember what happened," Pachter said. "We were the first ones who offered a special yizkor (memorial) prayer that will be recited on Simchat Torah. We also suggested that one of the hakafot of Simchat Torah should be dedicated to the hostages and the people who were killed - a silent round. We will not sing there, and if we want to then we will sing sad songs."

Some of the sourcing for this teshuva was actually from something very recent.

"We discovered that there was a terrorist attack around 20 years ago at Mercaz Harav," Pachter said, referring to the top religious Zionist yeshiva in the world. "Several students were killed there. Since then, that silent hakafah is what they do every year. That's what we're going to do on Simchat Torah."