Watch: Praying for the hostages at the Western Wall
"He is a man full of kindness. I wish everyone who is religious would do kindnesses like him," Idan Baruch says, speaking painfully about his kidnapped brother, Uriel Baruch, who he says is a man of faith. "Just two days before he was kidnapped, we were sitting together in a restaurant, and the waitress told us that she was donating her tips to the needy. He gave her 600 shekels."
Uriel's family, along with many other families of hostages being held in Gaza, are participating on Thursday evening in a global event to recite the fundamental Shema Yisrael prayer together.
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The global event, is being broadcast live from the Western Wall plaza at 5:30 p.m. in Israel, is being held on the Fast of Esther. The "Global Hour of Jewish Unity" event will culminate in the prayer, calling for the return of the hostages.
Idan Baruch explains that this is an extremely important event for him and his family.
"There is no more powerful verse for a Jew than 'Shema Yisrael' ('Hear O' Israel'). It's time to make a spiritual adjustment. We're fed up, enough, we're on our last nerve and we'll be gasping for air to survive for another day. We want to hug our loved ones, that this will be behind us," he said.
One of the tools that helps Idan deal with the current crisis is his spiritual attunement.
"I was a guest on a mental wellness coach's podcast. I said that I decided instead of taking the position of a victim, I would talk about the tools that strengthen me. I feel that everyone around me is acting like the living dead, but if we die now when will we live? We will call for help today - for life."
Another hostage family participating in the mass prayer is the Siegal family. Shir Siegel was to come with her mother, Aviva, who was released from Hamas captivity over 100 days ago, and will pray for the return of her father, Keith, who was left behind in Gaza.
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Shir Siegel will come with her mother, Aviva, to pray for the return of her father, Keith, who was left behind in Gaza
(Photo: Gil Nechushtan)
"I have decided that I will do everything they suggest I do to cope. I am connected to Judaism, maybe not as a religion, but it has always intrigued me. Since October 7, we all try to look for things to hold on to, and there is something about religious faith that is very easy to hold on to and gain strength and security from," she said
Shir explains that she is not a classic kibbutznik, in contrast to her parents who lived in Kfar Aza. "If you ask my mother, she would only shy away from the thought that I pray to God - but she is also coming with me, mainly for the more abstract and broad message we are doing. My mother's family survived the Holocaust, we are connected to the statement that we are here due to and because of our people's past."
"My mother has a sister who returned to religious observance," Shir adds. "On October 7, I asked her if there was a prayer related to the hostages that I could say. She told me - 'Write down your prayer.' Since then it has stayed with me. In the end, we all pray, ask for strength, send energies. God is a semantic matter"
The global "Shema" prayer is taking place on the Fast of Esther, just ahead of the observance of the celebratory Purim holiday, which for the families of the hostages this year feels more distant than ever: "It is terribly difficult to celebrate Purim - to dress up, to be happy, to send mishloach manot packages," she says.
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Families of hostages call for their return at a rally in Tel Aviv
(Photo: Dana Koppel)
"Thanks to this prayer, we will be able to do something to celebrate the holiday and the tradition," according to Shir. "I hope that, precisely because this year we are not really celebrating, next year there will be much happier celebrations of the holiday. We will not celebrate a victory, because there won't be one after what we have been through, but we will be able to celebrate freedom, unity, Judaism."
President Isaac Herzog is also taking part in the prayer. "Like all the Jewish people, I also join in the 'Shema Yisrael' prayer for the return of all the hostages, the recovery of all the wounded in body and soul, the success and peace of our soldiers and heroes, and unity with the people of Israel in Israel and the whole world," he said of the event.
First published: 11:32, 03.21.24