The Hostages Are Released!
This Sukkot is truly the “Season of our Rejoicing.”
Sukkot, which is winding down as I write, is also known as the “Season of our Rejoicing.” Until today, rejoicing was not coming easily to most Jews observing the week of Sukkot. But now, the remaining living hostages are coming home to their families and communities in Israel.
Not that it will be easy. There will be trauma counseling for the returned hostages and for their families as well. There will be lingering, searing memories that may remain with them for the rest of their lives. There are still the bodies of those who died in captivity to be returned. And this is just the beginning of a much longer peace process that is still uncertain.
Among the great Jewish ethical values is pidyon shvuyim—the redemption (or ransoming) of hostages. The current return of the hostages has come at a price: the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel considered to be terrorists. While Jewish sages of the past have debated how much of a price is too high,1 the families of these hostages are surely glad to see their sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers, brought back—no matter what it took.
We thank God for the release of the captives.
And so, Sukkot in the year 5786 (2025) has ended up being the “Season of our Rejoicing” indeed—a rejoicing made all the more meaningful when we remember that the massacre of October 7 also fell on Sukkot. And we thank God for the release of the captives and pray for the healing and restoration of the hostages and their families in the days ahead. We also offer prayers for the return of the bodies of those who perished in captivity.
What will the days ahead hold for Israel? And for Gaza? We can only ask God to bring healing to the wounded, to provide for those who have lacked food and medical care, and for peace to prevail in Israel and throughout the Middle East.
V’hafachti evlam l’sasson, v’nichamtim v’simachtim migonam.
I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. (Jeremiah 31:13)
Endnotes
1 See Sam Lehman-Wilzig, “Redeeming hostages: What does Judaism really say?,” The Times of Israel, February 16, 2024, https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/redeeming-hostages-what-does-judaism-really-say/
