* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
Do you remember where you were when you heard the hostages were rescued? Please remember this moment. Don’t get used to it. We will remember where we were when we heard the good news since this was a moment of unparalleled joy. Take this moment with you forever.
Our shared feelings of pride and gratitude, the pain over our fallen commando, the prayer that all the others will soon be home… It is called Am Yisrael.
On Shabbat afternoon I was in a hotel in the center of Jerusalem when the news arrived. Baruch Hashem four hostages were rescued safe and sound from Gaza in an intrepid raid. The hotel dining room erupted in cheers and everyone began to jump and dance and sing. I was together with students from the Nefesh Yehudi (Jewish Soul) organization, evacuees from the north who have been living in the hotel for two months, and many guests from all over Israel and the world at large. Suddenly there was a spark of hope in their eyes. People who were seemingly not connected to their Jewish identity were suddenly very connected expressing their excitement singing “Am Yisrael Chai” (The nation of Israel lives), “Siman Tov u’mazel Tov”, “The eternal people does not fear a long road,” and “The whole world is a narrow bridge, but the main thing is to not to fear at all.”
And when we parted after Shabbat I told the students: “please remember these moments and never forget this feeling of togetherness upon which our identity depends.”
May we be privileged to experience many more moments of true and enduring joy. Shavua tov.
