Beyond The Headlines A Weekly Glimpse Into The Israel You Won’t Read About In The News - Balak: From Captivity to Connection: A Shabbat of Healing, a Brit of Life, a Lesson for the Soul (Photos)

By Sivan Rahav-Meir/Translation by Yehoshua Siskin, Janine Muller Sherr
Posted on 07/07/25

Shabbat with Agam Berger 

The accompanying photo of me with Agam and Meirav Berger was taken on Motzaei Shabbat. When Agam was a hostage in Gaza, the Kesher Yehudi organization arranged so many Shabbatot in her merit, and now Agam herself participated in a Kesher Yehudi Shabbaton — a special Shabbat of gratitude.

Here are some highlights:

• On Shabbat afternoon, Agam and her family had a Q&A session with hundreds of graduates of pre-military programs. In answer to the question what gave Agam strength during her captivity she said, “My faith. It was clear to me that there must be some meaning to what I was going through. I knew that God was with me and that I had a special role to play.”

• On Friday night, participants attend a “tisch” with the chasidim of Toldot Aharon in Meah She’arim. In front of hundreds of enthusiastic chasidim, the Rebbe invited Agam’s father, Shlomi Berger, to the stage for a blessing. At the same time, Agam and Meirav were warmly welcomed in the women’s section and Agam was very moved by the women’s excitement. “I never imagined that you knew about me and were praying for me,” she told them.

• It was amazing to watch how many people approached Agam and instead of saying hello and introducing themselves, simply quoted the words from Tehillim that have become her mantra: “Derech emunah bacharti, I have chosen the way of faithfulness,” and then explained how this phrase has given them strength and helped them to face their challenges.

• The security guard at the entrance to the Jerusalem hotel where the Shabbaton took place told Agam that he had waited all Shabbat to be able to take a selfie with her. She responded with a smile: “You had a short wait. People waited for me for 482 days"...

• At the musical Havdalah ceremony at the conclusion of Shabbat, the entire Kesher Yehudi community: haredi and non-religious Jews from all over Israel who learn Torah togetheralong with survivors of the Nova festival and, of course, the Berger family, closed their eyes and sang “Acheinu—Our brothers, the entire House of Israel” together. It was a heartfelt prayer for the hostages and soldiers, for those who have been wounded or displaced, and for the entire Jewish people.

A Brit Milah During Shiva

 Dvir Sassi from Sderot sent me the following message: “Last Shabbat, my wife Shoham gave birth to our first child, a baby boy. Three days later, my beloved cousin, Ronel Ben-Moshe, fell in Gaza. We found ourselves receiving mazal tovs and condolence messages at the same time, and the brit took place on Shabbat, during the shiva.

“Just before Shabbat, Ronel’s parents reached out to us and asked that the simchah be joyous because that is what Ronel would have wanted.

‘We named our son Harel Chaim. Harel is one of the names of Jerusalem and the Beit Hamikdash, and we pray that our Harel will lead a holy life. Furthermore, both the names of our newborn Harel and our hero Ronel contain the name of God. Ronel, who fell four days before our son’s brit, was always full of joy and optimism and we hope that our Harel will take after his cousin and emulate his outstanding qualities.

“We added the name Chaim, which means ‘life,’ to express our fervent desire to continue to add life and sanctity to the Land of Israel.

“We have just seen with our own eyes the fulfillment of the verse in the Book of Yechezkel, 'When I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you: With your blood, live, and I said to you, With your blood, live.’ (In the attached photo you can see the special pillow that we designed for the brit, inscribed with a dedication in memory of our dear cousin.”

What’s in Your Cup?

Someone once made a cup of coffee in the office kitchen and on the way back to his desk he bumped into colleague and the coffee spilled out of his cup. Why did it happen? Wasn’t he paying attention? Or was it his colleague who bumped into him?

Regardless of why it spilled, there is no doubt that what was in the cup was coffee. If the cup had been filled with water, water would have spilled out and if it would have been full of orange juice, juice would have spilled out.

When we suddenly encounter an unexpected situation or a crisis as we did last month, we quickly learn what we’re made of. If, over the years, we have developed a negative mindset, full of sadness, anger, superfluous worries, catastrophic scenarios, and a tendency towards derogatory speech — this is what came out. But if we filled ourselves with faith, love, prayer, holiness, and joy — this, instead, is what came out.

Of course, we are all irritable, exhausted and anxious at times, but as the story of the spilled coffee teaches us — we must exercise caution in allowing what we read and see on social media to get inside and take up residence in our hearts, our minds, or our souls.

May we all fill our cups with positive, reassuring, and refreshing content!

(L to R) Sivan Rahav Meir, Meirav Berger and Agam Berger

Harel Chaim at his brit milah.