A Day of Light

Today is a day of light. After two long years, all of the living hostages have been returned to Israel. Some of the murdered have also been brought home, and there will be an international effort in the coming weeks to recover more. Even in our joy, we remember.

This is the beginning of a fragile ceasefire and a complicated realignment in the Middle East.
Still, it is the right direction toward strength and security for Israel.

Last night I drafted a long, heavy message to the Congregation.
I didn’t send it.

Instead, I think this moment calls for one story among thousands: the story of Dani and Omri Miran.

Meeting Dani
In December 2023, I joined 20 rabbinic colleagues for a brief three-day mission to Israel, partly to be a witness to the horror, and partly to embrace our traumatized friends.

On our last night, we went to Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, a place that became the heartbeat of advocacy, art, and prayer for the captives. Our group was brought into a tent to meet Dani Miran, whose son Omri had been taken on October 7, 2023
Omri – the son – was abducted by Hamas terrorists in front of his wife and two young daughters at Kibbutz Nahal Oz. During the attack, his family was forcibly held, livestreamed by terrorists, and Omri was taken into captivity in Gaza.
Dani – the father – shared with us the last WhatsApp messages from Omri he received that morning. He told us how he feared his daughter-in-law and grandchildren had also been taken. And he shared his relief when he learned they had escaped to safety. But he also shared his intense grief over his son still being in captivity.

We, the 20 rabbis, sat in silence, knowing what our tasks would be in the days and months ahead.

Then Dani did something unexpected: He made us dance.
He said, “This is how I want to dance with my son again.”

 

Carrying Omri with Us
That night made Omri’s story personal. At our Congregational Passover Seder in April 2024, we set aside a chair in remembrance of the captives. I brought a bimah chair into the Social Hall, wrapped it in a tallit, and placed Omri’s photo on it. Ninety people heard his story; he was with us in spirit.

In September 2024, my wife and I returned to Israel. We volunteered for an afternoon at Hostage Square and, yes, Dani – the father – was there, as he had been nearly every day. I showed him the photo from our seder in Tyler. He began to cry, called friends over, and asked me to send it to him.

We told Omri’s story again at Beth El on October 6, 2024, during our community-wide commemoration of the first anniversary of the attacks.

In April 2025, terrorists released footage of Omri – cruel psychological warfare, yet a painful shard of hope for the Miran family.

The Past 24 Hours
My wife Jennifer is currently in Israel to visit our daughter, who is studying in Jerusalem for the year. On the morning of Monday, October 13, Jen and my daughter went to Paris Square in Jerusalem, near the Prime Minister’s residence, where the city gathered to wait and watch. Through the morning and into the afternoon, cheers erupted as the news came: the living hostages were being released, Omri among them.

They held chairs at the rally of those expected to return.

And in a moment of simple genius, someone placed a piece of masking tape over their heart – not with the number of days in captivity (which became a common practice/symbol of remembrance), but now with the single word: “HOME.”


Others followed suit in multiple languages. Jen lifted Omri’s chair – like at a wedding or bar/bat mitzvah; soon, others lifted chairs, and the square filled with dancing and tears.

Resilience and Joy
And so, we enter a new chapter – still heavy with mourning for those who were murdered, still urgent with the work of healing and rebuilding. And yet, how fitting that this week we celebrate Simchat Torah. Two years ago, that holiday was overshadowed by terror; this year, our dancing will be a dance of return – joy braided with sorrow, resilience intertwined with memory.

As I shared on the High Holy Days, Jewish history has a rhythm: from destruction to rebuilding; from pain to joy; from attempted annihilation to rebirth.

May we be worthy witnesses to these sounds returning.

Sending love and strength to this wonderful community on this wonderful day.