It has been two weeks since Agam Berger was freed from Hamas captivity, and her father, Shlomi Berger, spoke with Arutz Sheva about how his daughter and the family are adjusting to the new reality of her return after spending 15 months in captivity.
“We haven’t arrived home yet, we’ve been in the hospital for a week and we decided to make a soft landing. Right now we’re at the Kfar Makabiya hotel, getting used to being together,” he shares.
He describes his daughter’s return as “simply a miracle,” but despite the joy of her coming home, there remains a deep emotional weight. “Everyone tells me that the color has returned to my face, but I have a hard time with this ‘high’. On the one hand, a weight has been relieved now that Agam has returned, but my heart is burning after what we saw on Saturday. It’s hard for me to be happy as long as there are still hostages, and the situation is unclear.”
Berger refers to the painful scenes from the recent hostage releases, saying, “We understand that women were treated a little differently than men, and when we see how our men are returning, it’s just heartbreaking. It shows what they went through there.”
He recalls how Agam asked for a siddur while in captivity. “She and those who were with her davened Shacharis, used the siddur, knew the dates and tried to Shabbos. She also abstained from meat as much as she could.” Berger praises his daughter for her remarkable mental fortitude, saying, “I, as a father who knows her, am amazed by her strength and the strength of the girls who were with her. They strengthened each other and got through it in an amazing way.”
He adds that the family’s faith and prayer helped them through. “She prayed there, and we prayed here. That’s what gave us strength and kept us stable, with the faith that she would return home.”
Now that Agam is back, Berger emphasizes the challenges ahead. “My daughter is home, but now she needs to return to a normal life – to be able to go to the mall or the grocery store without being stopped on the way, without everyone wanting to hug her and take her picture. It’s a process, and we all need to learn to let go.”
Despite the horrors she endured, Agam does not ask for much. “Everything she asks for she receives, but she’s modest, family-oriented, doesn’t demand anything. She’s embarrassed by the treatment and the heartbreak, and doesn’t yet understand the magnitude of the event. Little by little, she’ll absorb it.”
In his final words, Berger expresses gratitude to the people of Israel, “I want to thank our amazing people who supported, embraced, and helped. It’s not over, it continues even now. We need you, all of us – the families of the kidnapped and the bereaved families. Keep going, don’t stop. With unity and mutual guarantee, we will overcome everything.”
{Matzav.com Israel}