For Israelis, this has been one of the most moving weeks in the nation’s history, seeing the images of the last 20 living hostages return. But it’s also been a hard one, since the nation is still waiting for the remains of many hostages no longer alive, and watching the burials of the ones who have been returned, like that of Inbar Hayman, the last female Israeli hostage.
Amidst all the heartbreak, there have been beautiful videos and photos of the hostages finding their footing outside of the tunnels and darkness and chains. Even though their road to recovery will be long and arduous, they’re already finding so much light in music, food, and in each other.
Matan Angrest makes Shlomo Artzi tear up
Israeli singer Shlomo Artzi is the nation’s Bruce Springsteen, if you will. In his song “Melech HaOlam,” “King of the World,” he fashioned the melody and some of the lyrics of the 1971 hit “When You Are a King” by the English band White Plains into a love song between a mother and son. The lyrics go like this: “For her, you can be whatever comes into your mind… for example/The king of the jungle or the king of the mountains/If you climb up high/Go be whatever you want to be/Because for her you’re always the king of the world.”
Artzi came to sing the song to released hostage Matan Angrest, who danced to it with his weeping mother. Artzi simply couldn’t make it through without tearing up, as Angrest and his mother both cried while holding each other.
Angrest, who is recovering, also took the time to go to the funeral of his commander, Daniel Peretz, whose body was released to Israel on the same day Angrest was set free. He called Peretz a “symbol of this country” and “a hero” and promised his family that he will never abandon them and will always be there for them.
Guy Gilboa-Dalal eats his favorite sweets for the first time
Guy Gilboa-Dalal’s family came to pick him up with two of his favorite foods: butter cookies and kadurei chocolad — “chocolate balls,” truffles made out of cocoa and cookies — made by his sister. His family filmed the very special moment.
“To see a child enjoy something that for us is so small… You see all the sense of taste awaken, he got chills, and he enjoyed, it was just perfect, it was just such a beautiful moment,” his mother Meirav told V1.
Bar Kupershtein sings a song of victory with his family
Bar Kupershtein’s father literally learned to stand and talk to fight for him in the two years he was away, after he had lost the ability to do both during an accident five years ago. In a holiday celebration at Sheba Medical Center, Kupershtein and his family sang a song with lyrics that are words of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, “Ve’Afilu Be’Hastara.”
It took on new meaning as they sung it: “Even in the most concealed of concealed places, certainly/He of the blessed name is also found there/I stand with you, even through the hard times that befall you,” is one translation of the song, and you can see Bar and his family repeat the lyrics “ani omed/ani omed,” which mean literally and figuratively — “I stand, I stand.”
And there they are together: a father who stands on his two legs and a son who stands despite going through the greatest of adversities.
Omri Miran watches videos of the last two years of his daughters’ lives and dances with them
Omri Miran missed two years of his daughters Roni and Alma’s lives; his wife Lishay created a video for him with some tidbits of the time he missed. He also danced with the girls at the hospital.
Iair Horn’s heart is full again now that his brother Eitan is back
Iair Horn and his brother Eitan were taken together, but Iair had to wait for eight months after his release to see his brother Eitan again. “My heart, our hearts, are full again, we can breathe again,” he said at a press conference.
The joy and the relief on both their faces is amazing, and the way their city of Kfar Saba welcomes them home is beautiful. There, Eitan told a cheering crowd how grateful he is for everything they did for his return. “Words aren’t enough to thank the people of Israel,” he said.
Evyatar David plays his guitar again
Hostage Evyatar David is a gifted guitar player, and in the hospital he finally got to play with the band Hatikva 6. Not only that, but he played along to the song “VaYehi Or,” “Let There Be Light,” which the band released this past summer and which imagines the light at the end of the war and the return of the hostages.
“And the light will distinguish from the darkness/In this world until the next world/We will bring into the light the best in us/Here comes a new day/And they’ll all come home/And we won’t know any more wars,” the song goes.
Avenged Sevenfold films a video for Guy and Evyatar
Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David are not just childhood best friends; they’re also both huge fans of the metal band Avenged Sevenfold. The two listened to one of their songs upon their return, with Gilboa-Dalal saying that their music sounded even better than he remembered. The band’s lead singer, M. Shadows, filmed a special message for the two in honor of their return and in hopes of meeting soon.
Hanan Ben Ari sings to all the hostages
Israeli singer-songwriter Hanan Ben Ari came to visit some of the hostages recovering at Sheba Medical Center. They sat together and sang some of his songs including “Atalef Iver” (“Blind Bat”) and “Amen al Ha’yeladim,” “Amen on my Children.” In a video, you can see Ben Ari sing with hostages: “Amen on my children/That they don’t inherit my issues/That they hug one another/Amen that they always be healthy.”
Ziv and Gali Berman finally hug their friend, roommate and fellow former hostage Emily Damari
The three friends from Kibbutz Kfar Aza finally got to have their moving reunion, and promised never to leave each others’ sights.
Elkana Bohbot brought presents to his son, Re’em, including a doll he sewed in captivity
Elkana Bohbot couldn’t stop thinking of his son Re’em, 5, when he was being held in Gaza, so much so that using a needle and thread he got from his captors and little pieces of scrap fabric, he made him a teddy bear.
Generous donors also brought Re’em other gifts for Elkana to gift him on his behalf, and Re’em of course asked his father how he got the money to buy things while being held as a hostage.
Silvia Cunio’s children are home
“My kids are home,” Silvia Cunio yelled about her sons, Ariel and David, who finally returned to her after two years. “I stand before you and I want to scream with joy, my David and my Ariel are here.”
“I want to start with the sentence I’ve been waiting to say for two years,” Sharon, David’s wife, said in the same press conference. “Emma and Yuli, Dad is home.”
Arbel Yehud mentioned the bittersweetness of the happiness in her partner’s Ariel’s return, talking about all the hostages who were killed, from the Bibas family to Hersh Goldberg-Polin. “It was possible to bring them back alive,” she shared mournfully.
The released hostages are all about to experience their first Shabbat since their captures as free men, and we’re sure it will bring so many more joyous moments. We wish them a Shabbat Shalom, a Shabbat of peace and healing.
