Raising Heroes

When the details of the horrific October 7^th massacre began to emerge, Israeli children began to ask their parents questions about what was going on. Various experts advised parents not to speak about the war, but Hadassa Ben Ari, a mother of seven and a content creator, knew intuitively that this was not the right approach.

“I wanted to connect my children to the story – the Jewish story, the Israeli story,” she says in a video interview. At first, Hadassa tried to involve her children in prayers and volunteer activities. “But I didn’t see a spark in their eyes,” she recalls. “And I asked myself, if I don’t tell them anything, how would they know?” She adds that she didn’t want her children to get their information from the Internet, friends, or worse, from their imagination.

“One day, a week after the war broke out, I asked them, ‘Do you want to hear a story from this war?’” She told her children the story of Rachel Edry from Ofakim, who was taken hostage in her own home, together with her husband. For hours, Rachel entertained the terrorists, serving them food and her famous cookies, meanwhile managing to signal to the policemen outside how many terrorists were in the house. Eventually, the police rescued them and Rachel became an Israeli legend.

“When I finished the story,” Hadassa recalls, “I saw a spark in their eyes.” She felt that she’d finally succeeded in connecting her children to the war in a positive, productive way.

From then on, Hadassa continued telling her children stories of war heroes – ordinary people who had stepped up to the plate on October 7^th, saving many lives. Not all the stories have happy endings. Many of the heroes sacrificed their own lives in order to save others. Hadassa tells those stories in an age-appropriate way, conveying inspiration and pride rather than fear.

When Hadassa saw the positive impact of the stories on her children, she decided to share these stories with other families. She consulted with experts in child psychology, who encouraged her to tell the stories truthfully but omit any graphic descriptions of the events.

The project began online and on social media. When Hadassa shared her vision with her friends, many immediately offered their help. In her introduction to the book, Hadassa writes: “I was joined by writers, graphic designers, editors, translators and psychologists who spent long days and nights working to publish a daily tale of heroism from the endless number of inspiring stories which the war brought to our doorstep. Over time, widows and parents who had lost their children began to tell the stories of their fallen loved ones, so that their names would not be forgotten, and so that the entire world would learn of their bravery and courageous spirit. We simply couldn’t stop.”

Hadassa Ben Ari with Carmel Efron, a young mother who was working at the Nova Festival and escaped, saving others along the way

The website continues to grow, with over 200 stories currently posted. Recently, Hadassa and her team compiled a portion of the stories into a book. More volumes, with more stories, are in the works.

The first volume of The Heroes of October 7^th contains 71 stories, all beautifully illustrated by Tehila Bar-Hama. The featured heroes range from young children to elderly Holocaust survivors, each using their own talents, skills, and life experience to help others. While some of the heroes are combat soldiers, many are ordinary civilians of all ages.

For example, 15-year-old Gali used her computer skills to construct a map showing terrorists’ locations in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, helping soldiers rescue many families. Ron, a young man on the autistic spectrum, saved his parents and himself thanks to his careful attention to detail. Hannah, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor, visited the children of Kibbutz Mefalsim, who had spent October 7^th hiding from terrorists, and told them about her own time in hiding as a child during the Holocaust, giving them strength and encouragement.

The book has been published in both Hebrew and English editions. The French edition is underway. Meanwhile, some of the stories translated into French are available on the website.

The translators generously volunteered their time and expertise because they believe in the importance of this project. They found this work very moving and meaningful.

The English translations were sent to a child psychologist in the United States. The psychologist “read through every single one of them and sent many many requests for changes, and edits, and deletes,” says Dr. Juliana Brown, one of the translators. They worked with the psychologist to find the fine balance between teaching children about courage, bravery, and unity and yet not exposing children unfamiliar with war to more than they can handle.

Both the website and the book provide guidelines for parents on how to share the stories with their children. They caution that the stories are not meant to be read by children on their own. Parents should read each story first and decide if that particular story is appropriate for their children. Then parents should read the story together with their children, maintaining eye contact, touch, or embrace. Afterwards, they should discuss the story, providing support and validation for their children’s feelings.

Hadassa with Noam Tibon who heroically saved his children and grandchildren on Oct 7

All the stories are told in developmentally appropriate ways and are meant to build children’s strength and resilience and encourage them to look for their own ways to become a hero. In her introduction, entitled Heroes are not born overnight, Hadassa writes:

Their greatness wasn’t simply born overnight. They were the same people before these events, had spent their lives working on their midot (their positive attributes), and had absorbed the education with which their parents had raised them. Heroes are not suddenly born out of nowhere, and I felt that this was what I needed to tell my children. I felt an equal duty towards all those heroes who protected us and continue to protect us; simply to thank them.

We tell their stories in order to grow ourselves, and in order to raise the next generation on these values of friendship, camaraderie, giving, love and the warm Israeli-ness which all came vibrantly to life during this war.

Recently, Hadassa has been running workshops for teachers and educational institutions. She is on a mission to connect Jewish children with their history, the current war, and the legacy left to us by these heroes. She shares, “I want my children to have their own heroes, beyond Spider Man and Captain America. And I mean real people that overcame their personal needs in order to help others.”

At the end of February, Hadassa is planning on visiting schools and synagogues in the United States, sharing the stories and empowering Jewish children and their parents and teachers.

The book, Heroes of October 7^th, is currently available at Jewish bookstores and from Amazon. In Israel, it is available at the Pomerantz bookstore in Jerusalem and via the Yediot website.

Profits from this book will be donated to "Brothers for Life" (Achim Le’Chaim), a non-profit organization whose aim is to aid IDF soldiers injured while serving on active duty.