Welcome home!
737 days later.
So many emotions all at once as I watched the hostages come home. Pain and joy, heartbreak and healing.
Hostages returning home, falling into the arms of their families, alive. For two long years, we prayed and wept, we shouted and we whispered, we gathered and we acted, never giving up, never stopping our cry to Heaven. And now, Hashem has answered. Twenty souls have emerged from the darkest captivity, freed from the depths of evil.
I feel so deeply blessed to be part of Am Yisrael.
“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who releases the bound.”
Yet even as we rejoice, our hearts ache.
For the souls who were taken. For the families who will never again embrace their children. For the soldiers still in danger. For the unbearable truth that murderers walk free.
Jewish hope is not blind or naïve.
It does not erase pain or pretend the world is unbroken. It is carved in stone and lies beside the shards of broken dreams. The secret of Jewish hope is that it holds grief and faith, fear and courage, loss and renewal side by side.
Two years ago, on Simchat Torah 2023, the Jewish world shattered. We danced through tears that night, refusing to let the darkness win. And now, exactly two years later to the very day, we will dance again, this time TOGETHER with the former hostages, TOGETHER as one community, and TOGETHER with all of Am Yisrael across the globe.
This is history. This is a victory of light over darkness, of faith over fear.
And this celebration, will be so much more special if you are here with us.
If you’ve never been to a Simchat Torah celebration before, I encourage you to join us at Chabad Naples tomorrow at 7:15 PM. Dance with the Torah that kept our people alive for millennia. Dance for those who didn’t come home, and dance for those who did.
At the Grand Simchat Torah Celebration, there will be something for everyone: special activities for children, singing and dancing, L'Chayim for adults, festive dinner - a true celebration.
With love, tears, and boundless gratitude,
Rabbi Fishel & Ettie Zaklos