102 Stories That Changed People's Lives Vol 3

"Nachman." Someone tears through the fog of my dream, trying to break its spell. "It's Shabbos morning," the voice says. The dream moves further away, and the voice becomes clearer, closer. "And Simchas Torah. There's davening and aliyos."

I wanted to pull the covers back over my head. True, my dream was interrupted, but another would come. Sleep is so sweet, and waking up so cruel. But then, I remembered that yesterday, I'd promised myself that I'd get up, no matter what. Shabbos and Simchas Torah - I couldn't allow myself to sleep through it.

It's easy to make a commitment; it's harder to carry it out. Now, my eyelids were glued shut, and I wanted to forget my commitment and sleep a little more, but I knew full well that a little more would bring in its wake a little more and a little more...and I...

I didn't think further. I flung off my blanket, washed my hands and face, and woke up.

A few minutes later, my father, brothers, and I were on our way to shul. Our hometown of Netivot was quiet. It was a silent morning. We did not know what lay in store for Klal Yisrael. We still had no clue what kind of day October 7th would be...