Light After Night   

Finally, there’s closure. For some families, it’s the euphoria of actually seeing their sons alive after two years of being starved, shackled, and tortured in Hamas dungeons. For others, it’s the fusion of pain and gratitude in bringing their murdered loved ones to kever Yisrael. But none of that can erase the emotional journey of the past two years.

Four fathers — men whose children were taken captive by Hamas — have lived every day since Simchas Torah 2023 with the unbearable weight of uncertainty, their lives suspended between anguish and faith. Each has walked his own path through trauma, prayer, and resilience, holding fast to hope even when it seemed to flicker. Their stories, though different, intertwine in a shared language of pain, endurance, and an unbroken belief that rays of light can shine again after the darkest night.

“How many tefillot, how many bakashot?” says Chagai Angrest, father of Matan (Matan ben Anat). “We visited kivrei tzaddikim, the homes of rabbanim, we prayed and pleaded. And when I heard the news that we’d soon be seeing Matan alive, there are just no words to describe what my heart was feeling.”

I’ve spent the past few months in close contact with four fathers: Chagai Angrest, Ofir Braslavki — father of Rom (Rom ben Tamar), Dani Miran — father of Omri Miran (Omri ben Veronica Esther), and Michel Illuz — father of Guy Hy”d, who died from his wounds in captivity. Over the past two years, each of them has weathered his own storm, finding the inner strength and resources to get through a parent’s worst nightmare.

Together, we were at the Kosel for the first and last Selichos (the Sephardi minhag is to say Selichos from Rosh Chodesh Elul), we visited gedolei Yisrael, and we experienced countless special moments as these special parents refused to succumb to despair, even when it looked like their sons might languish in Gaza indefinitely.

At the beginning of the summer, Sephardi chief rabbi Rav David Yosef held a meeting with the families of the remaining hostages — both the living ones and those whose bodies were being held by Hamas. Michel Illuz, who knew he would never see his son return alive, sat across from the Rav with tears running down his face. He spoke about Guy, about the loss and about the pain, and pleaded with the Rav to bless him with a level of peace and closure. Rav Yosef hugged the bereaved father, wept with him and promised to do everything in his power to help bring his son to kever Yisrael.