28 Oct THE SHIELD

Now that all the living hostages are home,
we are learning more and more about their
amazing inner strength, and their powerful
spirit.
My zeide, HaRav Avraham Jungreis zt”l,
used to say that the term ‘Holocaust survivor’
is a misnomer… Today, I hear his words
echo as I listen to the stories of the hostages
of October 7. He would say that those who
made it through the horrors of the Holocaust,
the atrocities of the concentration camps, are
fighters, not survivors. And so it is with the
hostages. They are all fighters, with emuna
and bitachon as their ammunition.
I saw a clip from an Israeli human-interest
show, “Pulse of Israel”. The broadcaster
spoke of the “trend hachi cham”, the hottest
trend among secular Israeli teens… it was
Shabbos. Who would believe. It was
attributed to the heightened sense of
spirituality since October 7. A spirituality
inspired by the former hostages, and their
faith in HaShem. A faith that kept them
going in the tunnels of Gaza.
Allow me to share some of the inspiring

words from several hostages.
“There is a song based on the words of Rabbi
Nachman of Breslov. ‘Even in the darkest
places, when you don’t feel G-d, when it
seems He is hiding, He is still there with
you.’ I would sing this song over and over to
myself. It gave me strength.”—Bar
Kuperstein.
Bar, a combat medic, was off-duty while at
the Nova festival. He stayed behind to aid
the wounded, and was taken hostage. He was
subjected to beatings and starvation.
“In the darkness of Gaza, I found the greatest
light. Every night I spoke to G-d. Not to ask
for things, but to say ‘Abba, how are You?
Thank you for everything You have given
me.’ If there is anything I miss from captivity,
it’s how close I felt to Him.” – Omar Shem
Tov
Omar was abducted from Nova and spent
most of his captivity shackled in the tunnels.
He speaks publicly about his increased faith,
and his fight for survival.
“All week we set aside a piece of our daily
pita for Shabbat. On Friday night, I recited
Aishet Chayil, thinking of my wife and
family. I made kiddush on water and

hamotzie on pita. – Eli Sharabi
Eli was abducted from his home in
Kibbutz Be’eri.
He was subjected to physical and
psychological torture. Upon his
release, Eli learned that his wife,
Lianne, and two daughters, Noya
and Yael, were murdered by Hamas.
His brother, Yossi, was kidnapped
alive and killed in captivity.
“On Shabbat, we made Friday night
Kiddush and shook the tunnels.” –
Segev Kalafon
Segev was taken while fleeing Nova. During
his captivity, his parents focused on mitzvos
and davening, as a z’chus to bring him home.
Segev suffered from PTSD and asthma prior
to his abduction, making his captivity even
more difficult.
“Every morning, I would stand in the corner
and imagine putting on tefillin. I would go
through the entire process, step-by-step, in
my head.” – Elya Cohen
Elya hid with others in a bomb shelter at
Nova. Hamas terrorists threw grenades into
it. It became known as the “Death Bunker”.
Elya hid under dead bodies, but was found
and taken hostage.
“I learned, as my ancestors did, that my
faith and covenant with G-d are more
powerful than any captor. Hamas tried to
coerce me into converting to Islam, even
forcing a hijab on my head, but they
couldn’t take my soul.” – Agam Berger
Agam was abducted after working only
one day at an IDF lookout tower. When she
was finally safe in Israel hands, she wrote a
sign for all to see, paraphrasing Dovid
HaMelech’s words in Tehillim: “B’derech
emuna bocharti, I chose a path of faith,
U’vederech emuna chozarti, And I returned
through a path of faith.”
“The only thing that gave me strength was
knowing that everything done was simply
because I was a Jew. It made me realize
that we are truly different. We must return
to being a united people, to keeping
mitzvos, to understanding what it means to
be Jewish.” – Rom Braslovski
Rom was a security guard at Nova. He
tended to the wounded, and then was
captured by Hamas.
Each of the hostages has their story. Each
of them have their words of faith and
inspiration. From where did they get the
strength to rise above the physical pain and
mental anguish…
Reading the words of these modern heroes,
I’m reminded of the very first Jew who
faced the unknown with faith – Avraham
Avinu. Pirkei Avos tells us that Avraham

Avinu was tested with ten life challenges.
(Avos 5:4) The first, as well as several others,
can be found in this week’s parsha, Lech
Lecha. HaShem instructs Avraham to leave
his land, his culture, his birthplace, even his
father’s house and his family. To leave it all
behind. To go “El ha’aretz asher ar’echa, To
the land that I will show you.” The unknown.
Avraham and Sora picked themselves up and
left behind everything familiar. The life they
knew for so long. They trekked to Canaan.
But that wasn’t the end of the tests. In
Canaan, they faced famine and had to once
again pick themselves up and head to
Mitzrayim. There, Sora was abducted by
Pharaoh. The tests continued – one after
another. Years of childlessness. Avraham
giving himself a bris at age 99. Dealing with
Yishmael. And then, the final test. The
Akeida.
Both Avraham’s leaving his homeland and
the final test of the Akeida, were given with
instructions of “lech lecha”. A message to
Avraham… a life lesson to us. At times, we
have to “pick ourselves up”, to motivate
ourselves, to take action in order to
accomplish.
Each day, as we say the Shemoneh Esrei, we
open with mentioning the Avos, the G-d of
Avraham, the G-d of Yitzchok, the G-d of
Yaakov. But we close the bracha with the
words magen Avraham, the shield of
Avraham. The Chidushei HaRim teaches
that within every neshama there is a spark. A
spirit that is able to withstand life’s tests and
trials. The magen, the shield of Avraham, is
that spark. A spiritual gene that is passed
down from generation to generation. Each of
us is a carrier of that gene. The spark to
withstand, the ability to rise above whatever
challenges come our way. A spark that will
never be extinguished, but will always be
with Klal Yisroel.
That is the magen Avraham that protects us.
That is what protected the hostages in the
tunnels of Gaza. It is the spark that burns
within every Jew, the light that no darkness
can extinguish. That is the shield that helped
the hostages keep the sparks of light burning
even in the dark tunnels of Gaza.