This Simchat Torah was the most joyous I have felt in years. News of the hostages’ release on the eve of the holiday lifted mountains off my shoulders… But the holidays have ended, and grim reality returns—the remains of murdered hostages are coming home. Our hearts break again.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists murdered approximately 1,200 people in Israel. At least 87 hostages died or were killed in captivity. As of early October 2025, over 1,152 IDF soldiers have fallen in the Gaza war.
For the surviving hostages, a long road to healing lies ahead. Research on combat veterans, Holocaust survivors, and victims of terror consistently documents survivor’s guilt—the haunting question: Why did I live when others did not?
Growing up in Russia, wartime songs were everywhere. One stayed with me: “За себя и за того парня”—“For Myself and For That Guy,” the comrade who never returned. It captures the survivor’s vow: to live with purpose in honor of the fallen.
There is a way to transform guilt into good—resolve to live a fuller, richer, more purposeful life. Not only for ourselves, but for “that other guy” or girl who did not return. This charge extends beyond the hostages; it calls to all of us.
In neuroscience, after stroke or trauma, surviving neurons often assume the functions of those that died—pulling double duty. Judaism teaches a moral parallel: Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh—all Jews are responsible for one another. We can live with greater meaning, live for a purpose—for ourselves and for those whose young lives were stolen.
Takeaway: Take on another mitzvah. Add to your Torah learning. Give more tzedakah. Live more fully—for yourself and for the Other Guy and Girl. May their memories be for a blessing.
Am Yisrael Chai.