A special event was held on Saturday night at the Hayazdim Synagogue in Jerusalem, where many gathered for a traditional reception ceremony with former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef.
The event was attended by city rabbis, rabbinical judges, yeshiva heads, and members of the Chief Rabbinate Council.
During his weekly Torah lecture, Rabbi Yosef addressed the expected release of the hostages and referred to US President Donald Trump as a Righteous Among the Nations for his role in the efforts to secure their freedom.
“We are privileged to hear of the hostages returning home. The price is indeed high, but thank G-d they are coming back - thanks to a kingdom of kindness, America, and the Righteous Among the Nations, the US President,” he said.
Rabbi Yosef also outlined unique halachic aspects related to the occasion: the released hostages, he said, will recite the Shehecheyanu blessing three times during the Sukkot festival (Feast of Tabernacles).
“There are three Shehecheyanu blessings here,” he explained. “They will bless for the sukkah, for the four species, and for their parents: Shehecheyanu for seeing them again after two years. It will be a sanctification of God’s name.”
In addition, Rabbi Yosef instructed all synagogues to sing Nishmat Kol Chai during Simchat Torah in gratitude “for the miracle that they have been released to good lives and peace.”
Expressing sorrow over the fallen hostages whose bodies are expected to be returned as part of the deal, he added, “Those killed for being Jews will sit in the first row of Gan Eden (paradise) because they were killed while they were Jews.”
Concluding his remarks, Rabbi Yosef revealed a behind-the-scenes detail: During the war, senior defense officials came to his residence for consultations regarding the halachic determination of death for hostages, in order to release their wives from the status of “agunot,” women unable to remarry due to uncertainty about their husbands’ fate.
“A great effort was made so that not a single woman remained an agunah,” he stressed.