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Lapid Prays For The First Time in 6 Years After Kidnapping

Lapid Prays For The First Time in 6 Years After Kidnapping

According to Arutz Sheva, Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid visited the home of kidnapped teen Gilad Sha’ar in Talmon today and discussed with Gilad’s mother (Bat-Galim) how much Israel has changed in the week since the boys were abducted.

First Bat-Galim told Lapid about a groom who stopped off at their home on the morning of his wedding as a sign of support (brides and grooms are said to have a special merit to bless others on the day of their weddings). Then Lapid told Bat-Gilam “I too won’t be able to look in the mirror knowing that I didn’t do the maximum” (to free the boys). “I haven’t prayed for six years. Since the bar mitzvah of my son I haven’t been in a synagogue. When the story of your sons broke, I looked through the entire house searching for my grandfather’s siddur (prayerbook). I sat and prayed,” Lapid explained.

Lapid is not the only secular Israeli politician turning to Jewish observance as a way to shake the Heavens and bring back these teens to safety. On Wednesday it was reported that Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar has begun to observe Shabbos and attend Torah lessons.

President Shimon Peres met with the parents of the three kidnapped boys on Thursday at his home and explained “Three families like this can lift up a nation to heights previously unknown, and I’m not exaggerating. It’s been several days that Israel is different, unified, joined, praying, fighting.” Racheli Frankel, mother of Naftali, reportedly told a group of rabbis from the RCA today on a telephone conference “The chareidim have been amazing, the chilonim have been amazing and the unity we feel is much more than a cliche.” She then noted that one of her visitors said that if Hamas knew how much these abductions would bring our nation together, they never would have taken those boys.

May we continue to unite, to go outside our comfort zone to create spiritual merit for our sons, and fill the world with more light and more love than it had a week ago. Rabbis are calling for Shabbos candles to be lit fifteen minutes early today. If you don’t normally light Shabbos candles, please consider lighting this week for our boys. And may we hear good news very soon!

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Allison Josephs

Allison Josephs is the founder and executive director of Jew in the City has been involved in the field of Jewish Outreach for over twenty years and is the Partner in Torah mentor to actress Mayim Bialik. She was named one of NJOP’s Top Ten Jewish Influencers and one of the Jewish Week’s 36 under 36. Allison has been quoted or written about in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, People Magazine, NYPost, Daily News, TMZ, The Daily Beast, and Hollywood Reporter. She has appeared on numerous television and radio networks including CBS, ABC, Fox5, TLC, Associate Press TV, and NPR; her articles have appeared in publications including The Washington Post, JTA, Jewish Week, Jerusalem Post, The Forward, and Kveller. Pearson Education, the largest textbook company in the world, produced a video segment on Allison’s life for the Judaism chapter of their textbook. She is a sought-after international lecturer whose corporate clients include Con-Edison and NYU Langone and hosts a weekly podcast on the Nachum Segal Network. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in Philosophy and lives with her husband and four children minutes from the George Washington Bridge.