Prophet of Our Time
When we think of people who are featured on the front cover of Time Magazine, we typically expect to see influencers from the business or finance sectors or well known figures from culture, academia, politics and even presidents. For example, in the past, icons like Taylor Swift, Elon Musk and Volodimir Zelensky have been portrayed there.
But on October 27, 2025 the person whose photograph appeared on Time Magazine was not anyone you might expect. It was an image of a man in jeans and a short sleeve shirt, standing at the shore. Behind him is the sea and his glance is directed toward the East.
Out of all celebrities who could’ve been chosen, out of all of the politicians or all of the financiers, this man, in my opinion, is the most deserving of this honor.
The man, who I am talking about, is former hostage Eli Sharabi.
Just about a year ago, on February 8, 2025, Jews around the world gasped at the shocking images of three released hostages: Or Levi, 34, Ohad Ben Ami, 56 and Eli Sharabi, then 52.
The images of these three hostages looked very much like the photos from 1945 of the people who were liberated from the Nazi concentration camps.
When news around the world showed the footage released by Hamas of Or, Ohad and Eli, everyone saw the truth. There could be no doubt that Hamas, in spite of their claims, had treated Israeli hostages in an inhumane way.
Yet, like with Holocaust deniers, it made no impression on those who continued with their agenda of demonizing Israel, Israelis and Jews.
Despite the personal stories of Holocaust survivors and the well documented evidence of atrocities that were committed by the Nazis, there are more people than you think who refuse to believe, refuse to admit, refuse to face the fact that the genocide of Jews was real and systematic.
As with Holocaust deniers, many, including United Nation officials, continue to doubt the unmistakable evidence of rape, war crimes and mistreatment of the hostages by Hamas.
It was hard for victims to share the story of surviving the Holocaust. For many years, the majority of survivors kept silent because it was too painful to share their experiences or because they did not think that anyone would believe them. Nevertheless, we know of many men and women who were brave enough to speak. These brave survivors spoke publicly and took it upon themselves to educate Jews and non-Jews alike of this dark time in world history.
On January 29, I was honored to hear former hostage Eli Sharabi address a crowd of few hundred people at Temple B’nai Abraham in Livingston. I was also privileged to meet with him prior to the interview.
When Eli entered the room, I felt like I was holding my breath. I already was in awe of this man; in awe of his inner strength, courage and resilience. But at that moment, I was moved even more by his humble demeanor. Here was the man who in less than a year met with some of the most influential people of the world and who authored a book which was on the 10 New York Times bestseller list! And yet, he remains such a humble man!
I went up to him and said, “I cannot believe I am actually seeing you!” To which he simply replied, “Why?” And to be honest with you, I was at a loss for words at that moment. What I wanted to say was, “ I cannot believe I am meeting a man who has been through unimaginable hell, who lost his wife, his two daughters, and one of his brothers (who was killed by Hamas in captivity). I am standing beside you – a man who had every reason to give up and give in, but instead who found the strength of spirit to retell the story of his ordeal, knowing that each time to you relay the story of the survival in Gaza tunnels for 491 days, you relive the horror again.
How, how is he able to do that when the events are still so fresh; when the heartache for his loved ones is as sharp as on the day he learned of their murder (which was on the day of his release)? Nonetheless, he chose to see the good in the world and he chose to serve, not only as an eye witness, but as someone who is calling for the unity of not only Jews but of all people around the world.
At the end of his book after visiting the graves of his wife and daughters, Eli Sharabi writes, “This here is rock bottom. I’ve seen it. I’ve touched it. Now, life.”
And so that image on the front of Time Magazine is the image of the man who chose life! He is breathing in the salty air of the sea, he is looking forward, he is looking toward the East, toward Jerusalem, toward the faith of his people, toward God. He is the prophet of our time!
He is like Moses, who led the Israelites through the parted waters of the Sea of Reeds to freedom. He never lost faith and hope and neither would we!
