OPINION: When I light the Shabbos candles, welcoming in the Holy Shabbat, although my eyes reflect the warm glow of the flames, my heart and mind are in a deep dark tunnel – in Gaza.
As I partake of a Challah portion, I am reminded of the precious hostages, whose bodies crave a little pita bread and endure humiliation to receive just enough to fend off the starvation of their weary and wilting bodies.
As I sip from the Shabbos cup, I imagine the cracked lips and parched throats of those dear souls who are only afforded dirty water to quench their thirst.
As our family and friends sit around the dining table to enjoy the Shabbos meal; share stories of the past week and discuss that week’s Parashah, the conversation on our lips invariably turns to the 59 hostages still held captive in Gaza’s terror tunnels – and Israel’s troubles.
There are times that I feel constrained to leave the Shabbos table and take a few moments to separate myself into a place of solitude and allow my tears to flow for the captives left behind in Gaza.
I cannot know what the hostages are doing at that moment, but I do know that each of them will know it is Shabbat and will acknowledge it in their hearts and minds – perhaps remembering their family Shabbat celebrations and silently reciting the prayers of Shabbat.
No person, who has only lived in freedom, can truly know what it is like to be a prisoner. A free person may gaze into the eyes of a prisoner and try to imagine their world behind those prison bars, but the shadow cast by their prison cell is that of the division between our imaginings and their reality.
On Shabbat, and every day we live freely, let our minds, hearts and prayers be with the hostages and their families. Let us remember the victims of the October 7 massacre and let us remember that the fallen and fighting heroes of the IDF are the front line that defends all people who value liberty, equality and justice.
If all we have is our voices, then we must raise them to speak out for the hostages that, daily, endure starvation, torture, humiliation, separation from their families – and separation from freedom.
Sunday, we shall gather as a united voice calling for the release of the innocent hostages and publicly declaring our solidarity with the people of the PROMISED, SOVEREIGN and ETERNAL NATION of ISRAEL.
AM YISRAEL CHAI!
– Bobby Meyer