Today, exactly two months to the terror attack of October 7th, marks the day of lighting the first Hanukah candle. Israeli society at large, including the Haredi society, is working endlessly to increase awareness to the need to swiftly release all hostages and a series of events with Haredim took place this week in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak at the Nehora High School Yeshiva and Erloy Hassidic Yeshiva. Some of the initiatives below are authentic field initiatives and some were initiated by "Unity in Action".
Hannukah: Students of the Hassidic Yeshiva in a touching gesture to the hostages: 138 Hanukah candelabra were placed in the Erloy Yeshiva auditorium, bearing the names of the hostages.
As all parts of Israeli society relate to the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, the students of Erloy Yeshiva in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem, along with “Unity in Action" have placed 138 Hanukah candelabra in the yeshiva auditorium, corresponding with the number of hostages, each bearing the name of a hostage. The Yeshiva students distributed the hostages’ name among them, aiming to mention them in a prayer for the return and today, when lighting the Hanukah candles, a time traditionally known as a time for special wishes, they will mention the hostages, looking forward to their safe and rapid return to their families. “When learning the laws of lighting Hanukah candles, we decided to light the candles instead of the hostages who cannot and to grant them a mitzvah”, said one of the Yeshiva students.
More during Hanukkah: Throughout the holiday, the names of the hostages will be projected on the main street of Bnei Brak (Rabbi Akiva), calling to pray for their return. “Unity in Action” believes that many of the city’s residents will join the call to pray for their release: “All citizens of Israel are concerned for the welfare of the hostages and we see unprecedented empathy from the Haredi sector as well”.
The Hostage Table in the Yeshiva world: By an empty table with seats for the hostages, hundreds of Nehora Yeshiva students read Psalms for their release
Students of Nehora Yeshiva in Mevo Horon have set up an empty table, similar to those positioned in various places around the world, aiming to increase awareness to the hostages’ absence and the expectation for their return. The Yeshiva students held a prayer for the hostages’ return and the welfare of IDF students and read psalms in their honor. After being placed in Hostage Square and afterwards in Times Square, Copenhagen, Milan and Rome, this is the first time that the installation most identified with the struggle for the hostages is being placed in a Haredi yeshiva. The names of the hostages were written on the chairs. The students ended the prayer with a song – “As for our brothers, the whole house of Israel, who are given over to trouble or captivity”. Nehora Yeshiva Director, Rabbi Avraham Greenboim: “Since the disaster occurred, we wish to act for the people of Israel. The yeshiva students who added study programs and prayers, sought to be bound to the international Jewish message by which we are not whole until all hostages return, using the empty table to illustrate it. We adopted the Sabbath Table initiative, which has become a symbol around the world, to say that we are an integral part of this struggle. These days, we pray for the wellbeing of the hostages and the success of the IDF soldiers”.
A pashkevll of unity: Pashkevils in Yiddish in Meah Shearim for the return of the hostages. Haredi women have taken the initiative of posting the names of the hostages along with a call in Yiddish to read Psalms. Since the war began, pamphlets with the pictures and names of the hostages have been circulated, where everyone is given the opportunity to “adopt” a hostage and read Psalms for them until they return.
“Since the war began, we felt the need to do something for returning the hostages. It was unlike any other disaster. I decided, together with friends, to distribute the names of the hostages among the women of the neighborhood, where each one undertakes to read Psalms for one hostage. When I discovered the desire to join the effort, I printed adverts in Yiddish and posted them in order to increase awareness. The venture was a success and it was even copied in Borough Park, USA”, said Shifra, a resident of Meah Shearim.