For more than 500 days, Shlomo Mantzur’s family could not begin to mourn him.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists dragged the 85-year-old from his home, handcuffed him in his pajamas, killed him and took him into Gaza. His wife, Mazal, escaped. His family had to wait to do the first thing any grieving Jewish family does: bury him.

In Jewish tradition, burial is supposed to happen within a day, and only then can mourning begin. Mourners sit shiva at home for a week as the community visits with food and stories, say daily prayers for the dead for a year, and every year after, light a memorial candle on the anniversary of the death.

Every culture grieves. Jewish grieving is built so that no one is forgotten. The rituals don’t end when the tears do. They follow us for the rest of our lives, and we pass them on to our children.

But for Jews, remembering our dead has never been enough. We are also asked to prove that it happened, that it happened the way we say it did, and that it was never justified.

The further we get from Oct. 7, the more its victims fade

I recently debated Norman Finkelstein on Piers........

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