Welcoming Back Our Hostages
In the prophetic words of Jeremiah there will come a time when Rachel will cease crying for “the children shall return home from the land of our enemies” (Jeremiah 31:15). How incredibly impactful these words are for our time! A nation and hundreds of families have davened, demonstrated and pleaded with anyone who would listen to help bring back their loved ones from the “land of the enemy.” Those heroic hostages were always so close to our border and our land, and yet it took what has seemed like an eternity to broker a deal to have them reunited with their families.
Natan Sharansky, who had been imprisoned in a Russian gulag for nine years, describes in his autobiography entitled Fear No Evil what it was like to finally be free and to be reunited with his wife, Avital. He was one of many who had been arrested merely for asking for permission to leave Russia and make aliyah, the courageous men and women who were called asirei Tzion (prisoners of Zion). Arriving for the very first time in Jerusalem, the city that he had dreamed of, he and Avital sang with the throngs that had gathered to welcome them home the words of Psalms: “Hinei ma tov uma na’im shevet achim gam yachad” (Behold how good and pleasant it is for brothers to be together). Recalling those incredible moments, Sharansky writes, “Only at night in the Old City of Jerusalem did I let go of Avital’s hand when the crowd carried us to different sides on people’s shoulders to the Western Wall. Holding our Psalm book in our hand I kissed the wall and said the blessing: Blessed is He who liberates the imprisoned.” Sharansky’s copy of Tehillim was something that he had fought to keep while in prison. Every time it was taken away he started a hunger strike until it was returned.
Finally, after an eternity of waiting, dreaming and hoping our beloved women and men have started returning home. The tears of crying and mourning for so many who have fallen in this war have been replaced by tears of immense joy and elation. Who believed that this moment of reunification could possibly come true, the day that the psalmist describes: “When Hashem brings back the captives to Zion we were like dreamers” (Psalm 126:1). Yes, we have all dreamed of our hostages coming home, of mothers and fathers hugging their daughters and sons, of daughters and sons hugging their parents and grandparents. Their beautiful families taught us new lessons in faith and courage, ones that we will never forget.
Describing the supreme challenges of life and overcoming them, J.J. O’Conner (a young man who was paralyzed in a very serious ice hockey accident) wrote, “I sometimes questioned why fate had dealt me these cards. How could G-d who loves me so much let this happen? Nonetheless, the truth that I have learned is that we all have challenges in life, like mountains to climb. Some have smaller mountains, while others have much larger ones, but each has his own to climb. These mountains represent your goals and the hardships you must conquer. The rope you will use is your family and friends, through the love and understanding they provide. To reach the top of your mountain requires strength, courage and determination, all attributes that come straight from the heart and soul. When you finally reach the top of your mountain you stand closest to G-d” (Dreams for Kids by Tom Tuohy).
At the very beginning of this war we all might have questioned how this terrible tragedy have happened. Why was our army not prepared for such a possibility? Perhaps, we also asked how the G-d of mercy and compassion have allowed our blood-thirsty enemies to perpetrate such heinous acts. Those initial questions were replaced by the need for action, demonstrations and tefillot – thousands of tefillot. We all wondered how the captured could endure so many hardships, so little food and air to breath. And yet, those who have now returned to their land and their families have demonstrated how enormous their spiritual strength was. Through the stories of the earlier returnees and the men and women that recently returned, we have learned how they needed each other’s support and love. In addition, we have also heard of a strengthening of faith of Agam Berger who kept Shabbat and refused to eat any meat during the entire time of her captivity.
It is by no accident that the timing of the first release of the hostages came as we began reading from the Book of Exodus, the book that the Ramban entitles “the book of exile and redemption.” On Simchat Torah the exile and hardships of more than two hundred and fifty men, women and children began, but now they have been redeemed. They have been redeemed not only by the success of the negotiations, but also and primarily by the voices of millions from around the world who never stopped hoping. Rachel Polin-Goldberg, who never stopped raising her voice and efforts on behalf of her son, Hersh, z”l, said for over three hundred days that “hope is mandatory.” Now, too, hope is still mandatory to succeed in rescuing all those remaining in Gaza.
