Rav Shmuel Bezalel, rosh yeshiva of Porat Yosef in Yerushalayim’s Old City and a member of the Moetzet Chachmei Hatorah of Shas, shared poignant reflections during a family gathering for Yom Tov. His words focused in part on how the hostages found faith during their harrowing captivity.
The rosh yeshiva referenced the stories of Agam Berger, the IDF lookout released after more than 480 days, and Omer Shem Tov, who endured 505 days in Hamas captivity. “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,” Rav Bezalel stated.
He spoke at length about the spiritual transformation these individuals underwent. “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.”
Rav Bezalel added a powerful sentiment of admiration: “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.”
He concluded by highlighting how the hostages’ ordeal revealed the deeper meaning behind a well-known verse. “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.”

{Matzav.com}