Author Compares Post-October 7th Emotional State to Grueling Military Training
Translated & summarized from Makor Rishon by baba
Author Yair Agmon likens the emotional burden of the week following October 7th to the despair felt during military training marches when commanders would unexpectedly prolong the ordeal. He describes the recent week as suffocating, with the transition to routine now permanently marked by the war's trauma. Agmon notes that three years later, the nation is still processing the events, with fresh wounds and unresolved accountability, suggesting the path to recovery is long.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Author Yair Agmon compares the emotional weight of the week after October 7th to grueling military marches.
- He describes the recent week as suffocating, with the transition to routine now permanently marked by war trauma.
- Agmon feels the nation is still in the early stages of processing the events of October 7th.
- He recounts preparing for alarms and seeing harrowing accounts of the attack's aftermath.
- The author believes the path to healing and recovery is still long and arduous.
Author Yair Agmon draws a parallel between the emotional toll of the week following October 7th and the grueling marches experienced during his army basic training. He recalls how, during these marches, commanders would sometimes turn back towards the start of the march just as soldiers thought they were nearing the end, causing immense despair and physical collapse.
Agmon describes the recent week as particularly difficult and suffocating, despite it being the expected return to routine after the High Holidays. He felt the "angina of war" resurface, noting that the transition from holidays to normalcy will forever be tainted by the "terrible memories" of the Hamas attack. He emphasizes that three years after the initial trauma, the nation has barely begun to process the events.
The author recounts waking up in fear of alarms and preparing for the worst. He observed his social media feeds filled with posts about the war, including harrowing accounts from the National Institute of Forensic Medicine detailing the horrific condition of bodies received. His children's school announced a ceremony for October 7th, prompting difficult conversations about how to explain the day's horrors to elementary school students.
Agmon concludes that, much like the soldiers on the march who felt their efforts were in vain when the commander turned back, he felt a similar sense of crushing disappointment when the expected relief of returning to routine was replaced by an intensified emotional burden. He believes the nation is still at the beginning of a long healing and recovery process, with wounds still fresh, responsibility unassigned, and the "gatehouse" of true normalcy still far off.