Institute Jewish, Israeli community hold October 7 memorial service and display
The display was held on Kresge Oval from Oct. 7 to Oct. 11 and a memorial service was held on Oct. 7
Kate Lu–The Tech
Photo Courtesy of MIT Israel Alliance
Photo Courtesy of MIT Israel Alliance
Kate Lu–The Tech
From Oct. 7 to Oct. 11, a memorial display was held on Kresge Oval to remember the lives lost and hostages taken in the October 7th attack. Titled 10/373, the display was organized by Chabad at MIT, MIT Hillel, and the MIT Israel Alliance (MITIA).
The installation featured various art pieces from the MIT Jewish community that not only focused on loss and grief, but also resilience and hope. In addition to the display, a memorial service was held in the Kresge Little Theatre on October 7th.
The memorial display
Planning for the display began in early September. MITIA, Chabad, and Hillel came together to organize committees for the memorial display and service. Early on, the planning committee decided that the display should convey the devastation that October 7th had on the Jewish community. “It was really important that the display would not be political,” Bechhofer said. “[The memorial] would just focus on themes of human suffering, crisis, and then resilience and rebuilding.”
After much discussion, the committee identified three main themes for the memorial display: the magnitude of loss, the hostage crisis, and the value of resilience.
To remember the lives lost on October 7th, the memorial display had 1300 red flowers on Kresge lawn that symbolized the 1300 individuals who died that day. The display also featured an art installation of small, scorched wooden ballerinas to remember those killed in the Nova Music Festival massacre.
To commemorate the 101 hostages still in captivity, 101 yellow ribbons along with the pictures of the hostages were hung from wires. Other art posters displayed around the Kresge lawn encompassed the three themes, with some depicting mourning while others illustrated strength within the Jewish community.
Planning for the memorial display required special considerations: concerns of vandalism were raised by the Division of Student Life, Campus Activities Complex, and MIT Police. Consequently, the memorial display was taken down every night and then set up again in the morning to prevent overnight vandalism of the display.
“It was a massive undertaking,” Bechhofer said. “17 art prints needed to be brought in. There were a lot of hanging elements, and two central display pieces also needed to be brought in.”. Other measures were taken to minimize the risk of vandalism, including the use of flame retardant for flammable materials and moisture resistant coating for the art posters.
According to Bechhofer, people found the display to be deeply moving and meaningful. “I’ve received messages from people telling me that they passed by it and were really touched,” Bechhofer said.
The memorial service
In addition to the display, a memorial service on Oct. 7 was hosted in the Kresge Little Theater. The service, like the display, centered on three themes: remembering the past, resilience in the present, and rebuilding the future. According to Rabbi Menachem Altein, who runs Chabad at MIT, the painful undertones of the service were palpable because “everyone knows somebody [affected by October 7th].”
The service started with video clips and pivoted to speeches with interludes of music. Some students spoke of their “high school friends who were killed” to honor their memory. Others, like Almog Hillel ’25, played the piano and sang. Rabbi Joel Dinin of MIT Hillel led a prayer for the departed, honoring the memory of those who are gone, but certainly not forgotten.
In the context of this service, Rabbi Altein reflected on the challenges that Jewish and Israeli students currently face on campus. He lamented that individual students have reported feeling “scared to leave their dorms” or, more generally, “ostracized.”
Despite this, he remains hopeful, urging affected members of the MIT community to not “live in the dark” when they can “brighten the room” instead. In a speech delivered on the behalf of a student who was sick and could not attend, Rabbi Altein shared how they had felt very isolated even before October 7th. Yet, this past year has been a blessing for them, with their life improving “for the better.” Additionally, at the end of the service, charity boxes were handed out to attendees, providing an outlet for them to “start off [each] day with [a small act of] kindness.” He also highlighted the role of various professors, who have offered a “shoulder to cry on” and provided “actual, tangible help for classes and exams.”
A year after October 7th
For MITIA Education Director, henceforth referred to as DovBer, October 7th significantly hurt the Jewish community at MIT. Despite this, they tried to focus on the resilience and the community that formed from this event. “The community has really been one that we can all turn to for support in times of need,” they said.
DovBer notes that October 7th has had a “mixed” impact on interactions with people outside of the Jewish community. They recalled a conversation last fall in which someone was “afraid to talk to someone in their lab group” because of their Jewish identity and of Israel’s role in the war. In that situation, DovBer then opened up, stating that they were also Jewish. “Everybody is a person,” DovBer said. They hope that people find ways to connect despite political differences.
Like DovBer, Bechhofer found October 7th to be “really hard” for the community. “I didn’t know anyone killed or taken hostage, but seeing that happening to my country and people was a punch in the gut,” Bechhofer said. Around this period, she noted that many people were struggling mentally; some did not even have “the mental energy to get food.”
To address the issue, some MIT faculty members began weekly community lunches to provide a safe space for people to speak openly and collectively process their emotions. These lunches were funded by the MIT administration. “What arose was a beautiful community to lean on each other for support,” Bechhofer said.
Rabbi Dinin also observed this positive transformation, stating that the lunches at first focused on the emotional trauma of October 7th, but over time shifted to a place for constructive community building. “Now, students come up and share their research and interests. It’s really beautiful,” Rabbi Dinin said.
Rabbi Dinin views the impact of October 7th on the MIT Jewish community as a spectrum. He noted that some people perceive the attack as a major event that “still affects them deeply” to this day, while other Jews oppose Zionism and Hillel’s stance on Israel. Rabbi Dinin highlighed that there are many who are pained by the war in Gaza, but also support Israel at the same time.
A recent event illustrating the Jewish community’s spectrum of beliefs regarding the Israel-Hamas war is the existence of different sukkahs (temporary huts) on campus during the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot from Oct. 16-23. MIT Hillel had a sukkah by the Religious Activities Center at Bexley Garden, while Chabad’s was on a pickup truck by the Student Center.
On the other hand, the MIT Jews for Collective Liberation (JLC) set up a sukkah on Kresge Oval decorated with protest messages about the crisis in Palestine including “Free Jabalia.” Rabbi Dinin sees the JLC’s sukkah as a symbol of “ritual and protest.” Although Rabbi Dinin shares different views from the JLC, he respects their sukkah and believes that they have the right to use the space.
In light of this complexity, Rabbi Dinin aspires to make MIT Hillel an inclusive space for Jewish students who may not connect with Hillel’s belief in the State of Israel. “We try to create opportunities to have those nuanced conversations,” Rabbi Dinin said. Likewise, Rabbi Dinin’s goal is to make sure that MIT Hillel’s programming is a balance of Israel-related events and events focused on Jewish traditions such as weekly Shabbat dinners.
Looking ahead to the rest of the semester and academic year, DovBer and Bechhofer emphasized the importance of building bridges and developing empathy across the political divide. “Remember that the victims were people and the display was about human suffering,” Bechhofer stated. “I really hope that we can look past politics and recognize the shared humanity of each other.”
Rabbi Altein echoed this sentiment, expressing his hope for a united MIT, one that can come together despite its “different backgrounds” and “different traumas,” since “[all of MIT are] G-d’s children.” He emphasized the importance of open dialogue and remained optimistic, pointing out that while MIT’s motto is mens et manus—mind and hand—“everyone has got a heart, too.”