Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar met with Russian-Israeli freed hostage Alexander Sasha Troufanov to pray and put on tefillin on Sunday, according to the Jewish leader, who also shared that Troufanov is staying strong and has forged a greater connection with God.
The rabbi said he had helped Jews put on tefillin thousands of times, but with Troufanov praying to God in front of him, the senior rabbi said he had felt something he had never felt before.
“What we took from the story is the power of God,” Lazar said of Troufanov being freed on Saturday.
Lazar came to visit Troufanov at the request of the former captive’s mother. “From day one,” Lazar had been working to secure Troufanov and other Russian citizens’ release, including by using the community’s connections with the Russian government.
While Troufanov looked different than he once had after over a year in Hamas captivity, Lazar said he still had a strong and special soul.
Marking a new week
“It was overwhelming to see someone come out of such suffering, but the entire time, he was only worried about his fiancé, mother, and grandmother,” said Lazar.
Troufanov was worried he would find his mother depressed, but he found that she, too, had met the hardship with strength, said Lazar. He related that she and the ex-hostage’s fiancé were constantly doing everything they could to see the Russian-Israeli released from Gazan terrorists. Lazar said that even during these difficult times, their generosity for others “was incredible.” Such good deeds were not unnoticed by God, said the rabbi.
Lazar shared that Troufanov wanted to live a new kind of life, as everything he thought important prior to the October 7 massacre was trivial. What was important now was to love and honor his family, to care and give to others, and his connection to God.
The Russian rabbi had been in Israel for a family occasion when Troufanov was released but said that the “happiness of our family occasion was amplified manyfold because we feel like they are family.”
In the toughest times for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Lazar said it was necessary to put our trust in God and stand together.
“In times of hardship, we learn how to come closer together, but we didn’t need this wakeup call to come together,” said Lazar. “Let’s try to find ways to help and care for each other and forget about all the differences like how others dress or ideology; there’s so much more that unites us than can bring division.”
Lazar said he had once been critical of young people and the atmosphere in Israel, but he was in awe of every single person in Israel, such as the soldiers and volunteers.
“Each one of the people living in Israel is a hero, and they deserve all our prayers.”