(Day 735) Swords of Iron – “From captivity to Tabernacle Joy”

Chaim starts by saying that it is with very mixed feelings that he and his fellow IDF soldiers are watching the arrival of US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kuchner to finalize the deal which will bring this war to an end. He lists some of the conditions that Israel had to agree to, including the release from prison of some of the very worst Hamas terrorists and murderers, many of whom are serving life sentences but will now be let out early. He also mentions that many IDF troops have already been redeployed out of Gaza and others have fallen back to defensive positions away from Gaza City.

Be that as it may, Chaim also acknowledges the message from Prime Minister Netanyahu that this is a great day for Israel because the hostages might soon be home, although there are many soldiers who are still deployed in Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere. Even in Gaza, the war is not over, as soldiers have been killed and wounded just this week.

But Chaim is grateful to all his comrades, and the politicians, and diplomats, and everyone else who contributed to this moment when the hostages are finally on their way home.

He says a special thank you to President Trump for his efforts, but he says there’s mixed emotions because he doesn’t trust Hamas and there was also talk about Israel promising not to annex Judea and Samaria. Chaim compares these territories to a kind of “Pac Man” shape around Jerusalem, and he says that it might be a mistake to make a commitment not to annex and leave open the possibility of allowing the creation of a Palestinian State in these areas. Chaim says the potential for Hamas to pull tricks and make an attempt to go for this outcome is very real.

However, he’s very happy to be anticipating the return of the hostages, and in this context, he quotes Jeremiah 31:16; “Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.”

He also makes the connection between this verse and the surge in Aliyah that is currently happening.

He also quotes Nehemiah 8:16-17; Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the roof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the Water Gate and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim. So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness.

This is a passage about captives returning to Israel on Simchat Torah. The hostages were taken on Simchat Torah two years ago. If the last of them are returned on Simchat Torah two years later, that would be a story of Biblical proportions.