Jews read from the Hebrew Bible this past Shabbat a passage saying that for everything there is “a time to be born and a time to die ... a time to weep, and a time to laugh.”

Monday was a time for rejoicing.

“Today is a time for great joy, with a singular focus on the lives that will be lived,” said Stephen Rothschild, CEO of the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Greater Toledo. “There will be another day for reflection on the sadness and the work that remains to be done.”

As Toledo’s Jewish community quieted down to begin the Monday evening observance of Shemini Atzeret, they were also celebrating the release of the remaining living Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The holiday on which the attack fell just over two years ago, Simchat Torah, begins at sundown Tuesday.

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