Even before doctors finished their first checks on the 20 Israelis freed on Monday, small scenes hinted at how faith helped them endure and how it now shapes their homecoming.
Released hostage Matan Zangauker told relatives he had found a worn Book of Psalms (Tehillim) underground and had been praying from it daily.
In a place with little air and almost no daylight, the steady rhythm of those verses became a routine, then an anchor. Rom Braslavski’s family said prayer steadied him when food and sleep did not, a lifeline he clutched in the worst weeks.
When reunions finally came, gratitude took the form of blessings many Israelis can recite by heart. Segev Kalfon’s relatives answered the first embrace with Shehecheyanu, the blessing said on reaching a special moment. Outside the intake tents and at the hospital gates, friends and strangers repeated the phrase Am Yisrael Chai (the people of Israel live), a chant that blends national resilience with spiritual hope.
Doctors are careful to say that rehabilitation will take time, physically and psychologically. For many, the vocabulary of Jewish life will frame that work, from the calm of Shabbat meals to the blessings that mark each small step forward.
www.jpost.com
Released hostage Matan Zangauker told relatives he had found a worn Book of Psalms (Tehillim) underground and had been praying from it daily.
In a place with little air and almost no daylight, the steady rhythm of those verses became a routine, then an anchor. Rom Braslavski’s family said prayer steadied him when food and sleep did not, a lifeline he clutched in the worst weeks.
When reunions finally came, gratitude took the form of blessings many Israelis can recite by heart. Segev Kalfon’s relatives answered the first embrace with Shehecheyanu, the blessing said on reaching a special moment. Outside the intake tents and at the hospital gates, friends and strangers repeated the phrase Am Yisrael Chai (the people of Israel live), a chant that blends national resilience with spiritual hope.
Doctors are careful to say that rehabilitation will take time, physically and psychologically. For many, the vocabulary of Jewish life will frame that work, from the calm of Shabbat meals to the blessings that mark each small step forward.
Faith and resilience: Hostages’ spiritual journey home | The Jerusalem Post
As the 20 living hostages return, faith plays a pivotal role in their survival and reunion. From prayers in captivity to blessings on release, spirituality shaped their journey home.
www.jpost.com
