Entering an Ark of Faith

10/24/2025

This week, I read Eli Sharabi's new book Hostage, in which he documents the story of the 491 days he spent in Hamas captivity. It is powerful, deeply moving and a very human read, and highly recommended for anyone who felt connected to the plight of the hostages these last two years.

One striking section is where Eli describes how Jewish traditions gave him strength, and how, though not a religious man, he found himself in Gaza's tunnels connecting to Jewish traditions as a way to find strength.

"In all the hard moments—the fights, hunger, humiliating searches, and conflicts between us—we try to create moments of strength. Moments of togetherness. Many of our shared moments revolve around tradition and faith.

"I’m not religious, but I’m no stranger to Jewish tradition. I come from a traditional family. I spent many hours in my childhood in a synagogue on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. I make Kiddush with Lianne and the girls every Friday night.

"And even though I lead a very secular life, and I’m perfectly happy with that life, these traditional spaces give me strength. They give me fulfillment.

"Even in the early days of captivity, I find myself murmuring Shema Yisrael again and again, almost unconsciously. Like a mantra to keep me grounded.

In addition to reading Eli's book this week, I also read the weekly Parsha, Noach, which tells of when G-d commanded Noah to build the teivah, an ark for him and his family so they would be saved from the flood that would destroy the world around them.

The Baal Shem Tov, the holy mystic and 18th-century founder of Chassidism, notes that the Hebrew word for Noah's Ark, teivah, also has a second meaning and is often translated as “word.”

Accordingly, G-d's command to Noah to "enter the ark," can also be read as a command to "enter the words."

The Baal Shem Tov explains that in addition to G-d instructing Noah to enter the Ark (teivah) to save himself and his family from the flood, he was also instructing all of us that whenever we feel a flood around us and struggle to stay grounded and find sanity in an otherwise insane world, we should enter the teivah — the “words” of prayer and Torah, which will protect us from the howling winds around us.

As we now celebrate the return of all the living hostages and hear their stories of survival, one recurring theme many of them have shared is how they were saved from the flood of Hamas terror by entering the teivah, by finding comfort through the words of prayer and Torah.

In a particularly moving description in Eli's book, he describes how he and the group of hostages he was with would make Kiddush every Friday night with a cup of water.

"And every Friday night, we do Kiddush. No matter what we’ve been through during the week, what fights we did or didn’t have, whatever our frustration or sorrow or pains, we gather in silence. The four of us.

We listen to Elia, holding a cup of water in both hands, reading in a trembling, quiet voice: Yom hashishi vayechulu hashamayim vehaaretz vekhol tzeva’am... The sixth day, and the heavens and the earth and all that filled them were complete..."

Friends, we are not in Gaza's terror tunnels, and we were not taken hostage by Hamas, but every human being lives in some sort of flood, every person carries a burden of their own, and we all seek to find comfort and peace and meaning in our own lives.

And we all have some wine in our homes and don't need to substitute it with water.

In honor of the released hostages, in connection with this week's parsha, and for the sake of living a grounded and meaningful life, let's all enter the teivah.

So tonight, "no matter what you've been through during the week, hold a cup of wine in your hands, and read in a trembling, quiet voice, Yom hashishi vayechulu hashamayim vehaaretz vekhol tzeva’am... The sixth day, and the heavens and the earth and all that filled them were complete."