Shelly Shem Tov, mother of Omer who has been held hostage in Gaza for 14 months, shared on Sunday morning details about how her son found solace in his faith during captivity.
"My son was kidnapped on October 7, about 14 months ago," Shelly said in an interview with Radio Kol Chai radio. "He was kidnapped along with Maya and Itay Regev, and when they returned, we heard things from them about Omer. They spent part of the time underground and part of the time above ground."
"One of the stories we heard from Itay Regev was that they talked about how they missed having Shabbat meals with the family. Two days later, by some miracle, they received a small bottle of grape juice."
"They looked at each other and said, 'God’s ways are hidden.' Since Omer was a little boy, he’s been making Kiddush at home, so he knows the Kiddush by heart. When Friday came, they took some salted pretzels, put a piece of toilet paper on their heads (instead of a kippah -ed.), made Kiddush, and recited the blessings."
She also spoke about her son's spiritual strength. "Omer started keeping Shabbat in captivity. Every day, starting at five o'clock, there was a power outage, and they received flashlights. But on Shabbat, Omer didn’t turn on the flashlight and stayed in the darkness."
"I always say: they took his freedom, but they can’t take his faith. His faith allows him to survive the inhuman conditions he’s in."
Shelly commented on the ongoing negotiations for a deal and said, "It’s a roller coaster. On one hand, there are very strong feelings of hope, and on the other hand, a great fear that it may not move forward."
"One of the things every parent remembers the most is the moment when their child got lost, even when it was only for a few minutes. We don’t count the days, we count the minutes, and Omer and the other hostages have already been gone for over half a million minutes."
She added that she has not received any signs of life from her son since Itay and Maya returned. "Since Itay and Maya came back, we haven’t received any signs of life from him, but we are sure he will hold on and come back to us soon. I have also been greatly strengthened in my faith during this time. I have been keeping Shabbat for two years now, and have become deeply connected to the haredi community."
"The hostages are in the hearts of everyone, the heart of the entire Jewish people in Israel and around the world... We feel it with all our hearts, and it really gives us strength," she said.