This past Monday, our hearts were filled with joy!

 

After 584 unimaginable days in captivity, Edan Alexander finally came home. He is one of ours, not just in the broad, overarching sense of Am Yisrael, but truly one of ours. As everyone in our community knows, Edan grew up in Tenafly, is known personally to some families at Schechter Bergen and his story has lived in our hearts. He, and all of the hostages, have shaped our daily routines and occupied our thoughts since October 7, 2023.

 

Since October 7, our school has created a “new normal.” We now gather each morning as one Kehillah, standing together in our gym, naming the number of days the hostages have been held, and singing Hatikvah as a symbol of our solidarity, our prayer and the promise of hope. Each day as the number has gone up it has only strengthened our solidarity and resolve never to give up until every last hostage has been released.

 

We have reminded our children that standing with the Jewish people is a lived commitment. In the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, we have taught them what it means to “pray with their feet.”

 

Over the past few months, our 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders have joined the weekly Friday morning walk in Tenafly. This walk is a quiet, yet powerful act of solidarity organized by local community members. Week after week, they walked not just for Edan, but for every hostage. They walked to make sure our community and the world remembered. They walked so his family would know they were not alone. The sight of our children, heads held high and hearts open brought inspiration and comfort to every adult present; we know that because they told us so - they were amazed to see our children there.

 

We often say at Schechter that we don’t just teach our values, we live them. But never was that truth felt more than it did on Monday. Our children have learned that solidarity isn’t a slogan. It’s action. It’s showing up, again and again, even when the world moves on.

 

Edan is free and we thank God. When we heard the official news, I announced it over the loudspeaker which was followed by cheers and then the Bracha Matir Asurim. And yet, even in this moment of celebration, we cannot forget the others who are still not home. This tension between the joy of redemption and the pain of those still held in captivity is seared into our collective story and in our hearts.

 

It seemed somehow fitting that Edan was released on Pesach Sheni, the 'second Passover.' This day exists in the Torah for those who were not able to celebrate the Exodus on its proper date, for those who were far away or ritually impure. It is a second chance at freedom. It's as if Pesach Sheni wants to make sure we understand that no one should ever be left behind. 

 

Our walking is not complete, our prayers call for further actions, and our presence is required. In that light, how fitting it is for all of us to show up to this Sunday’s Israel Day on 5th (Celebrate Israel Parade) to let the world know that we stand and we walk in solidarity. It is not too late to join us!

 

May we soon witness the safe return of every living hostage, and may our children continue to walk through the world with courage, conviction, and compassion carrying with them the eternal hope of our people.

 

“Od lo avdah tikvatanu" - Our hope has not yet been lost