Rabbi Shmuel Bezalel, the dean of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem and a member of the Council of Torah Sages, met with his family in honor of the holiday and spoke, among other things, about the hostages' discovery of faith in captivity.
Rabbi Bezalel spoke about Agam Berger, the IDF lookout who was released from Hamas captivity after more than 480 days, and Omer Shem Tov, who was released after 505 days.
"The hostages who returned from captivity were so distant, and in the captivity of the predatory animals, they felt that only G-d could save them. Not the American military, not the IDF, and not anyone; they had nothing to hold on to but trust in G-d," Rabbi Bezalel stated.
He expounded on the faith of those returning from captivity. "After they trusted G-d, they felt that someone embraced them, they reached true faith. Why? Because something happened that they were with despicable people, they did not know what would happen to them. They humiliated them, and at every moment, they could have been executed.
"I'm jealous of them that they reached true faith. They had an experience that caused this faith to not only be theoretical, but this faith is in their every inner feeling, in every aspect of their lives, in every limb and ligament. We need to learn from such people who are privileged to have such faith in G-d. They didn't live in faith for just moments; rather, they did so for a period of time, good for them."
Rabbi Bezalel underlined the fact that through the hostages' real-life experience, the understanding of the verse 'Love thy G-d with all your soul' takes root. "We say in the Shema every day 'with all your soul' but to really understand this verse you have to have a case of 'all your soul.' When someone is under their warm blanket in bed and says 'with all your soul' - that really works."