Rabbi Ari Shishler

🎗️ The Hostages Walk the Path of Our Prophets and Heroes. Daniel, exiled in Babylon, refused to eat the king’s food, choosing instead a diet of vegetables and water so that he would not defile himself (Daniel 1:8-16). Ester, hidden within the palace of Aḥashverosh, kept her Jewish identity in secret but never abandoned it. She counted the days to keep Shabbath, holding onto time when everything else was taken from her (T.B Meghilla 13a). ⛓️ And now, in the depths of captivity: Omer Shem Tov and his fellow captives recited Qiddush every Friday night for five months over a bottle of grape juice they received, sanctifying Shabbath even in the darkness. He longed to fast on Yom haKippurim but did not know the date. Only later did he realize he had missed it, when Israeli radio stations fell silent. Agam Berger refused to eat ḥameṣ during Pesaḥ, keeping the laws even when everything else was stripped away. She fasted on Yom haKippurim and again on the Fast of Ester, despite the brutal conditions of her captivity. When Hamas unexpectedly provided her and others with a siddur, she held onto it and prayed, drawing strength from its pages. Daniella Gilboa and her fellow captives feared being overheard when they prayed, so they rewrote "Shalom ʿAlekhem" in Arabic, whispering into the night. On Friday nights, they made Qiddush over water, sanctifying Shabbath even when no wine was to be found. Eliya Cohen recited the blessings for tephillin daily from memory, clinging to the miṣva even when it could not cling to him. On Shabbath, he too recited Qiddush over water, uplifting those around him. Some attempted to fast on Yom haKippurim, though their bodies were already starving. These are just the stories we know. More will come, I’m sure. How many acts of quiet defiance remain unheard? How many others, like the Jews before them, clung to Tora when everything else was taken from them? "Yet, even then, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or spurn them so as to destroy them, annulling My covenant with them: for I, the Lord, am their God." – Leviticus 26:44 For thousands of years, they have tried to erase us, believing that exile or captivity could sever us from ourselves. And yet, we remain. These Jews, in their quiet, steadfast devotion, stand in the legacy of Daniel, of Ester, of the countless unnamed captives before them. Our captors believe they have torn us from our people, but they have only placed these Jews in the long chain of those who endured. Those who never let go. Those who, against all odds, returned. May the rest come home soon. And when they do, may we bear witness to the unbreakable soul of Israel.