Hostages Were Proud to Be Jews

On Purim night, bochurim learning in the Brunoy Yeshiva went to bring joy to the manager of Hyper Cacher Supermarket in Paris that was recently attacked by terrorists.

The manager of the store was the one who the terrorist told to shut all the doors and do other things for him during the horrific 6 hour ordeal, during which 6 people were killed.

The bochurim read the megilla for him, danced and said lechaim around the table together, and brought him Purim cheer.

The group spoke how G-d takes care of us in the hard times and how we must be connected to the Mordechai of our generation – the Rebbe – who cares and thinks of every Jew.

The manager recounted to them what went on during the attack, and he showed them pictures of himself in the media afterwards, which were taken from the video camera from inside the store.

He related that the chances of him remaining alive was almost impossible. He said that the terrorist brought with him many explosives and tried using them but by a miracle from G-d, he placed them in all backwards.

He also described how he led many customers downstairs, and then lied to the terrorist that there was no one down there when he asked.

The manager told the bochurim he is still suffering from trauma, especially since he was a mere 3 meters from the terrorist when the police shot him dead.

What was the most powerful, the bochurim said, was the fact that all the Jews were proud of who they were, even during the terrible time.

“He told how the terrorist tried interrogating each of the hostages, who the are, and where they come from,” one bochur related. “And no one was afraid to proudly state that they were a Jew,” he said.