Israelis crying out with joy for returned hostages

Increasing Our Joy

People in Israel were smiling as they walked down the street on Monday morning, and no one had to ask them why.

Fernando Marmen and Luis Har, two brothers-in-law who were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on Oct. 7, were rescued on Sunday night from Hamas captivity. Thank God.

It happened while we were sleeping, in a complex and daring operation involving numerous special forces. We offer tremendous thanks to all the unknown heroes. In the future, we’ll find out more details, and generations will discuss the details of the operation, but for now, thank you.  

"When Adar arrives, we increase our joy" and the month has only begun.  It's a month when we reflect on pivotal words from the Book of Esther – "And it was reversed,” a reminder that things can turn around in a moment. The Jews who were under the threat of annihilation were saved, and the wicked Haman was eventually hanged on the gallows. May this happen to all our enemies.

This is what Ditzah Or, the mother of hostage Avinatan, has been saying in every interview:  “Believe in good, imagine good news, and visualize only the best scenarios.”

Last Saturday night, after spending a special Shabbat with families of the kidnapped, I stood next to Shelly, the mother of Omer Shem Tov, and next  to Orly, mother of Daniella Gilboa. Both are still in Gaza. All the family members sang together loudly, over and over, the words said in Havdalah, which also appear at the end of the Book of Esther when everything turns out well: "The Jews had light and joy and gladness and honor." May it happen very soon. 

Kaddish for Every Kadosh

Rabbi Reuven Targin of the "World Mizrachi" movement wrote about a new project: "Jews around the world feel very close to what is happening here, but also very far away. They try to help and connect in any way they can. We have now created a new way for the Jews of the world together with Dror Amos, the Israeli who founded the site 'Kaddish for every Kadosh.’ 

“They can connect with the bereaved families, not just for one day or one week, but for an entire period: simply say the Kaddish prayer for one of the fallen to really connect with them. There are many people who have no one to say Kaddish for them now, and their families are looking for volunteers. Later, meetings will be held between the Jews who say Kaddish and the family members of the fallen."

May all the prayers be accepted. For more details: https://holy.hhe.org.il/en/kaddish-lkol-kadosh/

An 89-Year-Old Bar Mitzvah Boy

Rabbi Mendy Ashkenazi, a Chabad emissary in the Eilat-Arava region of southern Israel, described an unprecedented event at the bar mitzvah of Ariel Cohen, from the community of Be'er Ora, located some 12 miles north of Eilat.

Ariel's great-grandfather, Yitzchak Barkan, a lieutenant colonel in the IDF reserves and a former fighter pilot and air force commanding officer, made a special trip from his home in Ramat Hasharon to participate in his first great-grandson's bar mitzvah. After the Torah reading, he shared that at 89, this was his first time entering a synagogue. He expressed how moved he was by the ceremony's beauty and inspiration.

Barkan related that on Kibbutz Givat HaShlosha, where he grew up, they marked his 13th birthday with a gift of 13 bananas – that was the extent of the celebration. When Rabbi Ashkenazi asked him if he’d ever put on tefillin, he said that he never had, but would like to do so, now.

“And here, something very moving happened: Ariel, the bar mitzvah boy, removed his new pair of tefillin and put them on his great-grandfather,” Rabbi Ashkenazi related. “I don’t know who was moved more, great-grandfather or the great-grandson!”

They say that a bar mitzvah is a link in a chain of tradition that keeps moving forward, generation after generation. But in this case, another kind of link to tradition was created, one that went backwards in time.

 Holes in the Wall and Letters Floating in the Air

Since October 7, the police station in Sderot has become synonymous with a devastating tragedy. Yet, now, those who visit are greeted by a powerful work of art. Elyasaf Miara, the artist behind the evocative painting, shared his vision:

"I began by depicting the wrecked edifice, facing off against a tank—a stark juxtaposition of war machinery invading the serenity of a town.

“Central to the piece is an open Torah scroll, representing the festival of Simchat Torah. On that fateful day, eight officers inside the station and two responders were lost—10 souls, a minyan. My initial thought was to perforate the scroll with 10 holes in their memory, but afterwards I discovered 10 actual bullet holes in the wall, and I encircled the Torah scroll around these marks, instead.

“Floating above the Torah scroll, are the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. I wept as I painted them, thinking how those letters form the names of the fallen and of our entire nation. Our Sages state that it’s possible to burn a Torah scroll, but the letters, along with the nation’s spirit, are indestructible. This is the message of consolation and hope that I’ve attempted to bring to our people.” 

Translated by Yehoshua Siskin