By Sruly Meyer – COLlive
News of the successful rescue mission of 2 Israeli hostages from the brutal hands of Hamas terrorists was received with joy around Israel and the Jewish world.
It happened early Monday morning in a daring operation of the IDF, the Shin Bet, and special police forces in the heart of Rafah. They freed two Argentinian hostages from Nir Yitzhak, Fernando Marman and Luis Norbeto Har, ages 61 and 70.
Following their release, Fernando and Louis were reunited with their relatives, three of whom were also taken captive by Hamas and released in the hostage deal on November 28th. Among them were Fernando’s sister and Louis’s partner Clara Marman, a sister Gabriela Leimberg, and Gabriel’s 17-year-old daughter Mia.
“Welcome home Luis & Fernando!” wrote Mrs. Chanie Wolowik, Shlucha of Chabad of the Five Towns in Cedarhurst, NY. She had been in touch with both families in recent months.
Speaking to COLlive.com, Wolowik said: “Har’s daughters, Rinat Har-Scheleg and Natalie Afgan, came to New York around the Shloshim of the attacks. Dov and Shani Hikind were taking them around the city. One of the press conferences was in Nassau County and friends of ours reached out to take them to the Ohel.
“We told them we actually have an event that night for the Shloshim, and we’d love to have them join the event. It was planned to be a Torah, Tefilah and Tzedaka program in the merit of the hostages release. They came to the event, they spoke and then we went to the Ohel following that,” she said.
During the visit, Natali Har spoke about her struggle to function, unable to care for their children or maintain employment. Their lives were on hold, suspended in perpetual uncertainty and anguish.
When people from the audience asked how they could help, they received an unexpected response. The sisters declined offers of financial assistance or material support. Instead, they made a simple yet powerful plea – for awareness. Amid life moving on for everyone else, they implored the community not to forget the hostages.
Natalie shared the same sentiment during a visit to the Jewish community at The Shul of Bal Harbour in Surfside, Florida, 2 weeks ago. She and her husband Tom spent Shabbos there.
On Friday afternoon, they joined a shiur given by Chabad Shlucha Chanie Lipskar. She reminded them that in times of adversity, it is not the might of armies or governments that can bring about miracles but rather the divine intervention of Hashem.
Mrs. Lipskar called on community members to take up a challenge – to perform acts of Mitzvos and prayer for the safe return of the hostages. Turning to Natali, Mrs. Lipskar urged her to light candles in merit of her father who was still being held hostage. She encouraged her to engage in a heartfelt dialogue with Hashem.
To the husband, Mrs. Lipskar requested a commitment to wear tefillin daily, symbolizing his dedication to the cause.
Natali and Tom agreed. Natali then made a request: “Can you give me another set of tefillin? I’ll put them aside so when my father comes home, they’ll be ready for him?”
But the call to action didn’t end there. Even the representative accompanying the couple was not exempt. With gentle insistence, Mrs. Lipskar ensured that he, too, took part in this spiritual journey, promising him a pair of tefillin and the expectation of regular use.
The women present all agreed to strengthen their resolve to light Shabbos candles. There were those who said they never have before, as well as some who had made it a point occasionally. However, at this event, everyone agreed to take on this Mitzvah with renewed commitment.
Mrs. Lipskar later shared: “We don’t understand Hashem or His ways. It’s impossible to know why things happen the way they do. People are always asking, why are good things happening? Why are bad things happening to so many good people? So we don’t have the answers to those questions.
“We told them we love you, we care about you. And they saw it and they felt it. The room was filled. About 100 women came to listen. And I think they walked out feeling uplifted and inspired and excited about doing something practical. Because really, Judaism is a religion of action.”
Mrs. Wolowik of the Five Towns shared how she and her husband Rabbi Zalman Wolowik recently led a Solidarity Mission to Israel.
“About a month ago, we went to Israel on a mission, and since we were in touch with the three sisters, Natalie, Renat and Corinne, got together with us for the entire Shabbos,” she said.
“We lit candles together, and it was very emotional. We went to the Kotel on Friday night for davening, and they were our guests for Shabbos. We really became like family. They are very special, and we really see from this story the power of doing Mitzvos, and even more than that, connecting with our fellow Jews and remembering we are all one big family.”
Baruch Hashem, after 129 days in captivity, Luis Har and Fernando Marman were rescued and reunited with their family.
VIDEO:
Can the shluchim in touch with family of hostages encourage more of this?
you should contact all the jewish hostage families and try to get them to do these mitzvos too, if you haven’t already