Hostage seeks to return religious books to soldier who left them behind in Gaza

Freed hostage Omer Shem Tov recited ‘Kiddush’ (Sabbath sanctification) with grape juice he received while in captivity.


By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

During his captivity in Gaza, Omer Shem Tov read a Chabad religious booklet and Tehillim (Psalms) left behind by soldiers, his parents told Channel 13.

The Chabad booklet, Dvar Malchus, which contained religious texts for weekly study, belonged to a soldier named Yoel Elbaz.

The family said they are trying to locate the soldier to express their gratitude.

Shem Tov also found a copy of Tehillim, Chapter 100, and read a Hebrew translation of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest five times.

Omer’s father, Malki, told Israel National News that his son fought against the odds to maintain his religious observance during captivity.

Shem Tov recited Kiddush (Sabbath sanctification) with grape juice he received while in captivity.

Malki Shem Tov commented, “These things really gave him strength. The faith, knowing that he was being watched over from above, helped him survive.”

Despite the meager rations, Omer Shem Tov wanted to fast on Yom Kippur but didn’t know the date. He realized that the Israeli radio station he had been allowed to listen to had gone silent, which meant it was Yom Kippur. He expressed disappointment that he hadn’t known ahead of time so he could have fasted.

“We never lost hope or faith; we stayed positive, even during the hardest times,” he said.

“There were certainly challenges along the way, but we always knew Omer would come home. He shared with us that throughout his entire captivity, he held onto the certainty that he would return. Despite the unimaginable hardships he endured, he never once lost hope or faith.”

Freed hostage and IDF soldier Agam Berger discovered a book by Rabbi Haim Druckman in Gaza and consulted it to determine whether one could eat nonkosher meat in life-threatening situations.

The book, which had been distributed in Bnei Akiva yeshivas and girls’ high schools, was accidentally left behind by an IDF soldier.

Berger, who maintained her Jewish observance during captivity, said that after reading the book, she learned that she was permitted to eat nonkosher meat if her life was in danger.