Faith Amidst Captivity

Almog, who is not religious, expressed how happy he was to meet a Rabbi and cried for a few minutes. He recalled how deeply he regretted missing Jewish holidays and the traditions he grew up loving. Many learn about faith in Yeshiva and bring it in internally. He knew it in his flesh, and from there, it came out. He said that what kept him going was his faith.

Blessing and Divine Word

When we returned from his father’s funeral, we sat down for the meal, and I gave him an egg. I told him to bless it, “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, by whose word everything came to be.” I asked if he knew what this meant, “The whole situation he was in, his father’s passing, everything is by the word of the Holy One, blessed be He. Hashem is the one making everything in His word.”

Bar Mitzva Parasha Connection

The next morning, I went with him to daven so that he could say Kaddish. His uncle, who was with us, took out the Tefillin and a kippah, saying to me, “Look at the coincidence; look at what is written on the kippah.” I looked and saw that the kippah was written on a Hebrew date. I looked at Almog and asked him, “Your Bar mitzva parasha was Parshat Bamidbar?” He looked at me and exclaimed, “Yes!” I responded, “Look at that, your Bar mitzva parasha was the same Shabbat parasha you were rescued on.”