Four former Israeli hostages visited the Ohel, the New York City resting place of two leaders of the Hasidic Chabad-Lubavitch community, following the conclusion of Shabbat on Saturday night.
At the invitation of Rabbi Mendy Naftalin, former hostages Segev Kalfon, Matan Angrest, Nimrod Cohen, and Bar Kuperstein, released during the first stage of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, stopped by the gravesite, located in Queens.
Hostage families previously visited the gravesite
Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, representing the Chabad World Headquarters, welcomed the four released hostages and their families, noting that the visit symbolized “closing the circle” after two years of prayer. "Here, we cried, we prayed, and we strengthened each other,” Rabbi Kotlarsky noted.
During the Israel-Hamas War, family members of many of the hostages held by Hamas could be seen praying at the Ohel, as well as Israeli public figures such as President Isaac Herzog and Sara Netanyahu.
Kobi Kalfon, the father of the released hostage Segev Kalfon, reflected on his previous visits to the site, when he prayed for the release of his son.
"I was here exactly two years ago and many times throughout the last two difficult years, we went to pray at the Ohel, and every time we would come back strengthened to continue our efforts,” he said. “Now that we were successful, we came to the Rebbe to say thank you and reflect on the power of all the mitzvot that were done in their merit.”
Spiritual strength during captivity
Angrest and fellow hostage Bar Kuperstein both revealed that during their time in captivity, they prayed as much as they could. Angrest received a prayerbook, as well as tefillin and boxes containing verses from the Torah, from his captors, while Kuperstein would recite prayers and psalms by heart.
“Until now, our families prayed here for us to come home," said former hostage Matan Angrest. "Today, I came only to say thank you."
Lauding their durability, Rabbi Simon Jacobson, publisher of The Algemeiner, dubbed the visitors “living proof of [the] resilience and eternality of the Jewish people."
Thousands visit Ohel yearly
Containing the graves of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, commonly known as the Rebbe, as well as that of his father-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, many Jews consider the Ohel a holy site.
Each year, the site records hundreds of thousands of visits, and according to Chabad.org, the Rebbe’s yahrzeit, the anniversary of one’s death, drew as many as 50,000 people. Visitors to the Ohel are encouraged to leave a note, asking “for the Rebbe's guidance and intervention,” according to Chabad.org.
Previously released hostages, including Omer Shem Tov, Agam Berger, Sasha Troufanov, Eli Sharabi, Edan Alexander, and Noa Argamani, visited the Ohel after being released. “With the power of faith and unity, we can overcome everything,” Sharabi affirmed at the sacred site.
“I came from the darkest place in the world, 50 meters below ground,” he said. “What gave me strength was saying ‘Shema Yisrael’ every morning… Faith is what kept us alive.”