It seems to be the dawning of a new Jewish era, and I’m trying to find an appropriate name for it. On the surface, everything appears to be continuing as usual. Political commentators speak with confidence and certainty. Yet beneath it all, a deeper, more surprising story is beginning to unfold—a story of dramatic highs and lows, of spiritual awakening and connection.

 Last week, I went to attend the birthday party of Bracha Shilat in Kfar Chabad. She had invited women from across the religious spectrum to participate in a special celebration. Among the speakers was professional dancer Leah Yanai, sister of Moran Stella Yanai, who had been kidnapped from the Nova festival. Leah shared how October 7 changed her life.

She began: “On October 7, our lives expanded dramatically. We witnessed darkness like never before—but also tremendous light.” From her phone, she read four insights that emerged for her during this time:

 “First of all, faith. Pure prayer. A recognition that there is so much that we don’t understand and so much that lies beyond our physical reality. 

“Secondly, gratitude.”  At this point, people in the audience were confused: How can the sister of someone who was kidnapped be grateful?

An illustrative photograph of a man wearing tefillin (credit: ANDREW KELLY / REUTERS)
An illustrative photograph of a man wearing tefillin (credit: ANDREW KELLY / REUTERS)
Leah explained: “I feel grateful for this difficult test and that it ended the way that it did.  This sobering experience was an awakening that led to my third insight—a sense of mission. A person who undergoes a shattering experience must not return to their original comfort zone. They have been tasked with a mission, and when they carry out that mission, their spirit is lifted and their soul begins to heal.

“And fourth, unity. Over the course of this crazy journey, I’ve discovered that the Jewish people are unbreakable. We are a holy nation.”

Hostages speak of spiritual connection

The uplifting story of Agam Berger is familiar to many people, but dozens of other hostages have related the same exact story. You just need to listen. I interviewed released hostage Elia Cohen, and this is what he told me:

“I could feel every prayer that you prayed on my behalf. Every mitzvah that you performed for my sake gave me strength — I could actually feel it in my body.” 

Ohad Ben Ami, another released hostage, recently said to Avi Ohana, father of hostage Yosef Chaim Ohana: “I’m a kibbutznik and I’m telling you to keep on praying.  We felt your prayers while in captivity.”

 Omer Shem Tov surprised the Jewish world by speaking about his special connection to God.  

Omer’s mother, Shelly, told me this week that Orthodox schools outside Israel presented a clip from a television program in which Omer speaks about how, while in captivity, he asked God how He was feeling — in other words, how he connected to the “pain of the Divine presence,” which is a deep Kabbalistic concept. Then he would express his gratitude to God, and only after that, would he pray for what he needed. 

Edan Alexander’s grandmother surprised the worldwide press this week when she chose, upon his release, to recite a chapter of Psalms and to explain the significance of Pesach Sheini (Second Passover), which fell on the day that Edan was released.

The strength of survivors

Look into the eyes of Eli Sharabi, who shared that sometimes when he tells his story to his psychologist, she starts to cry and he needs to comfort her. The audience that heard him laughed and cried along with him.

 Look at the stickers with pictures of those who have fallen, with their smiling faces and inspiring words, and realize the power of this moment.

 Although the media seems to be following their usual agenda, if you pay close attention, you will notice that people everywhere are changing how they speak. This is true not only for the released hostages and other famous people, but for people throughout the Jewish world. Beneath the surface, we have discovered that we are connected to one another and influence one another in ways that we didn’t understand before, and that this connection is stronger than all the forces that seek to drive us apart. 

A tefillin chain connecting Israel and the US

Here are two more examples people sent me, about the hidden Jewish connection that is now coming to light, about the special unity that is being revealed:

Brody, a young American from Boston, arrived recently in Israel. He visited the Cave of the Patriarchs, where Mordechai Hellinger guided him and helped him put on tefillin—for the very first time in his life (!). Mordechai told him about Captain Ori Shani, a local resident who fell heroically in battle on October 7. Brody was deeply moved by Ori’s remarkable story and said he wanted to start putting on tefillin every day from now on, in his memory. He wasted no time and purchased a pair at a nearby store. 

Yehoshua Shani, Ori’s father, received a surprising and emotional phone call about how Ori had been responsible for the sudden awakening of the soul of a Boston Jew.  Since then, the bereaved father has been receiving photos on his phone—pictures of Brody putting on tefillin “in honor of your son.”

At the same time, in the ICU at Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem, Rivka Moshel was sitting by the side of her son Yoni, who was severely injured in a car accident, which the family claims was a nationalist-motivated ramming attack. The Moshels are new immigrants from the US. Rivka sorrowfully told an American friend about Yoni, who had not missed a single day of putting on tefillin since his bar mitzvah—and now lies connected to machines.

The next day, she received a surprising message: “I’m Steve, an American student. I heard from your friend about Yoni. I don’t know how to put on tefillin, and I can’t remember the last time I did—but I’m committing to start now, for Yoni. Every day, I’ll send you a selfie of me with tefillin on.” 

Yoni’s mother sent me two of the photos she receives every morning. “This is my oxygen,” she says. (His name for prayer is Yonah ben Sheina Rivka—for a complete recovery.)

These two “small” stories won’t make front-page news, but together, all these points connect into one big headline: Am Yisrael chai—we are alive, connected, and growing stronger!

Translated by Yehoshua Siskin, Janine Muller Sherr.

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