Bearing Witness: Why the Record Matters- Parashat Toledot
In this week’s reading of Parashat Toldot we read:
“וַיִּבֶן שָׁם מִזְבֵּחַ וַיִּקְרָא בְּשֵׁם י-ה-וָה וַיֵּט שָׁם אֹהָלֹהֹ וַיִּכְרוּ־שָׁם עַבְדֵי־יִצְחָק בְּאֵר” (Gen. 26:25)
Here Isaac builds an altar, names God, and the servants of Isaac make a covenant there. Sefaria+2My Jewish Learning+2
One classical insight is that this passage is not just about a religious ritual, but about preserving memory and establishing continuity. The altar, the naming of God, the covenant — all point to this moment being recorded and marked, so that what happened is not lost to the ravages of time.
As we reflect on the horrors of October 7, 2023, the most painful truths of captivity and murder, the essential question becomes: how do we ensure that what happened is known, remembered, and that the victims’ voices are not erased? Without that, we risk a silence that enables denial, blame-shifting, and moral failure.
Let us consider three testimonies—which differ in context, but converge on the same imperative: the record must be established.
Testimony 1: Eli Sharabi
Eli Sharabi’s book Hostage is the first memoir by an Israeli captive abducted on October 7 (from Kibbutz Be’eri) and held for 491 days by Hamas. The Times of Israel+1
He writes: “I never looked at death as an option. I always chose life.” The Times of Israel
Even more heartbreakingly: when he returned, he discovered that his wife Lianne and daughters Noiya, Yahel had been murdered on the very day of his abduction — and he did not know until after his release. The Times of Israel+1
Why this matters: His story is raw, unfiltered, a first‐person account of terror, captivity, hope, loss. He refused self-pity and instead wrote to give voice to others still held, still missing. The Times of Israel+1
In the language of Toldot: just as Isaac built an altar and called out God’s name in that place, Sharabi testifies in that dark place of captivity so that the world will know what happened. The act of telling becomes itself an altar of memory and covenant: “We bear witness. We will not forget.”
Testimony 2: Rom Braslavski
Rom Braslavski, taken hostage on October 7, held for years, tortured, starved, psychologically manipulated. He testified:
“It’s wrong to say that they tortured me … because I am a Jew. … They only tortured me for one reason, because I am a Jew.” Yahoo+1
He recounts how his captors demanded conversion, forced humiliation, deprived him of water and food, blindfolded him, inserted stones in his ears, stripped him naked and tied him, inflicted sexual violence to crush dignity. Yahoo
His mother reports that after his return he keeps saying, “I’m Jewish,” “I’m a strong Jew,” because identity was the target of his captors. www.israelhayom.com
Why this matters: The meticulous detail of his testimony—of the torture, the deprivation, the psychological war—is not gratuitous. It is the necessary record to show what happened to a human being whose only “crime” was being a Jew in that moment. The record counters the silent assumption of plausibility or dismissal. It is the altar of memory raised in darkness.
Testimony 3: Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Liberation of Ohrdruf Concentration Camp
In April 1945, General Eisenhower inspected the newly-liberated Nazi camp Ohrdruf (a subcamp of Buchenwald) and was confronted with piles of corpses, charred remains, tortured survivors. National Park Service+1
He wrote:
“The things I saw beggar description … I made the visit deliberately in order to be in a position to give firsthand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to ‘propaganda.’” National Park Service
He ordered that all nearby U.S. units not engaged in combat tour the camp, that photographs and film be taken, that German civilians be brought in to witness what had happened. National Park Service+1
Why this matters: Eisenhower understood that the past must be documented so that future generations could not credibly deny the atrocity. He treated the record itself as a moral imperative — the altar is the camera, the ledger, the testimony of survivors, the witness of liberators. In the words of Toldot, a covenant is established, and we name the atrocities so that we may never forget them.
Why All This Matters: Theological, Psychological, Moral
- Theological dimension.
In Toldot we learn that our tradition values narrative, continuity, name-calling, covenant. To remember is to sanctify. Isaac’s altar is more than bricks; it is the work of memory. Our ancestors did not bury their stories in the soil of oblivion—they raised monuments, told the tales, appointed witnesses. So too, when we hold and publish these testimonies, we are participating in the tradition of remembrance, every bit as important as offering sacrifice. - Psychological necessity.
Victims of trauma carry a burden of silence or the temptation of invisibility. To speak is to reclaim voice; to testify is a step toward healing. For both Sharabi and Braslavski, speaking out is not only for the world, but for themselves—it is part of the process of surviving, of living after. But the speaking is not an either/or: the psychological healing and the public record go hand in hand. As one of the survivors put it: “Surviving is building from lots of small victories.” AP News
When victims are silenced, the trauma remains stifled; when their testimonies are erased or dismissed, collective memory is impoverished and moral failure intensifies. - Moral and historic imperative.
We live in an era in which denial, minimization, victim-blaming all too easily surface. Some blame Israel, some blame the victims of October 7. Some say “it cannot be true.” But the comparison to Ohrdruf reminds us: those who documented and preserved found photo-evidence, vetted survivors, brought troops, historians to the site. They said: “This happened. See it. Know it. Bear witness.” The same must hold now. Failure to record is failure to resist distortion. As in Toldot: the altar is a marker. We must raise it. - The interplay of memory and hope.
Remembering is not only about the past—it shapes our future. In Sharabi’s case, he says: “I wrote it so people understand what it was like… so they will not remain indifferent.” United with Israel+1 And we see: Documenting generosity to victims is an act of hope: hope that the world will stay alert, hope that perpetrators will be held accountable, hope that the dignity of the victims will be honoured.
So What Can We Do?
- We can support the survivors: listen to their testimonies, amplify their voices, honour their pain.
- We can insist on the record: encourage publication, translation (as with Sharabi’s memoir), reliable documentation of what happened.
- We can reject victim-blaming: when I hear someone shift the blame to the victims of October 7, I remember Braslavski’s words: “They only tortured me for one reason, because I am a Jew.” If we rewrite the story to blame the victim, we lose the altar of true memory.
- We can teach our communities: Just as Eisenhower ensured troops and civilians visited the camp, we must bring memory into communal spaces—our synagogues, schools, books, Sunday conversations. Awareness isn’t optional.
- We can continue to hope: In a reading of Toldot we may think of Jacob and Esau, of struggle and blessing, of renewal. The memory of horror does not imprison us—it summons us to choose life, to build, to bless, to raise a covenant that endures.
Closing Reflection
“This week we read: ‘May the pleasantness of Adonai our God be upon us; may the work of our hands be established for us — our work, may it be established.’” (Psalm 90:17)
In the shadow of October 7 — and in the light of Sharabi’s and Braslavski’s testimonies — we are confronted with the work of our hands: testimony, memory, justice, hope. Like Isaac’s altar, we must build markers in the world; we must call out names, we must say this happened. And in doing so we establish our work, we consecrate memory, we commit to the covenant of “never forget”.
May those who suffered be honoured by our remembrance, may survivors find healing in the telling, may the world recognise the truth, and may we all choose the work of life.
Notes
Biblical and Classical Sources
The Hebrew Bible / Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures. Jerusalem: The Jewish Publication Society, 1985.
Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzḥaki). Commentary on the Torah: Bereishit (Genesis). Translated by Rabbi A.M. Silbermann. Jerusalem: Judaica Press, 1990.
Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Naḥman / Nachmanides). Commentary on the Torah: Bereishit (Genesis). Translated by Charles B. Chavel. New York: Shilo Publishing House, 1971.
Sforno (Rabbi Ovadiah ben Jacob). Commentary on the Torah: Bereishit (Genesis). Translated by Raphael Pelcovitz. Brooklyn, NY: Mesorah Publications, 1997.
Sefaria. “Genesis 26:25.” Accessed November 12, 2025. https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/606500.
Modern and Historical Sources
AP News. “Freed Israeli Hostage Eli Sharabi Says He Chose Life Every Day during 491 Days of Captivity.” Associated Press, October 28, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/dd57a453fee3212fcaa56ce23b36b36c.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. “Eisenhower and the Holocaust.” U.S. National Park Service. Accessed November 12, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/eisenhower-and-the-holocaust.htm.
Israel Hayom. “Rom Braslavski: ‘In Exchange for Food, I Was Told to Convert to Islam.’” Israel Hayom, October 15, 2025. https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/10/15/rom-braslavski-in-exchange-for-food-i-was-told-to-convert-to-islam.
The Times of Israel. “Freed Hostage Eli Sharabi Reportedly Unaware His Family Was Killed on Oct 7.” The Times of Israel, July 21, 2024. https://www.timesofisrael.com/freed-hostage-eli-sharabi-reportedly-unaware-his-family-was-killed-on-oct-7.
———. “I Always Chose Life: Ex-Hostage Eli Sharabi Launches Memoir of Captivity and Survival.” The Times of Israel, October 26, 2025. https://www.timesofisrael.com/i-always-chose-life-ex-hostage-eli-sharabi-launches-memoir-of-captivity-and-survival.
———. “Ex-Hostage Eli Sharabi’s Autobiography Sets Israeli Record for Fastest-Selling Book.” The Times of Israel, October 29, 2025. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-hostage-eli-sharabis-autobiography-sets-israeli-record-for-fastest-selling-book.
United with Israel. “Eli Sharabi’s Memoir Hostage Becomes Israel’s Fastest-Selling Book.” United with Israel, November 3, 2025. https://unitedwithisrael.org/eli-sharabis-memoir-hostage-becomes-israels-fastest-selling-book.
Yahoo News. “Because I Am a Jew: Rom Braslavski Describes Torture in Hamas Captivity.” Yahoo News, October 15, 2025. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/because-am-jew-rom-braslavski-192446006.html.