Rabbi Doron Perez, father of Captain Daniel Perez z”l, who was kidnapped and murdered on October 7th, spoke to Kan Moreshet about the last Tishrei holidays he had with his son and the sense of loss that has accompanied the family since that day.
"Rosh Hashanah is especially difficult," Rabbi Perez said. "It was the last holiday in which my two sons stood beside me in the synagogue - Yonatan on one side and Daniel on the other. Since then, every time Rosh Hashanah comes around, I remember that this was the last day that we were destined to have as Daniel with us."
Rabbi Perez continued to describe life between gratitude and pain, in which, "almost every day is a combination of immense gratitude that Yonatan was saved, alongside terrible pain that Daniel is not with us. I learned that you can live with a broken heart and a whole heart at the same time."
Rabbi Perez also explained the meaning of the holiday and quoted the words of the sages, "In the Torah Rosh Hashanah is called 'Yom Teruah,’ which, on the one hand, represents joy, but on the other - brokenness and crying. So it seems that it represents both - joy for all the good that is in the world, but also great pain for what is missing."
He addressed the families of the hostages: "We knew what it was like to have 163 days during which we thought Daniel was alive. We cannot explain that kind of torture. Therefore, I cannot judge mothers who speak from the bottom of their hearts. We were in the same situation, and now we have suffered the loss for 715 days. It is unimaginable."
Rabbi Perez concluded with a message of hope and faith: "I hope we return all the hostages very soon, and that we all have a good year, with health for our soldiers and the entire people of Israel."