Approximately nine months after being released from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, captivity survivor Bar Kupershtein visited on Wednesday the memorial for the victims of the massacre at the Supernova Music Festival in Re'im.
In photos from the visit posted to his Instagram page, Kupershtein is seen wearing tefillin, reciting the Shema at the spot from which he was abducted, and even writing a letter in a special Torah scroll that was brought to the site.
On the morning of October 7th, 2023, Kupershtein worked as the deputy security officer at the Nova festival. When the terror attack began, he chose not to flee, but rather returned repeatedly to the hellfire riding an ATV to evacuate the injured and provide lifesaving care. During one of the evacuations, he stopped to tend to partygoers who were wounded before being abducted to Gaza.
During his time in captivity, his mother, Julie, launched the "Tefillin for Every Hostage" initiative, under which his personal tefillin were loaned to thousands of young people in Israel and around the world as a merit for his safe return.
Following his release, Kuperstein shared that prayer had been one of his greatest sources of strength during captivity. “When I heard my captors praying, I realized that if they pray, I have to pray and strengthen myself even more."
After returning home, he also organized a mass tefillin-laying event at Hostages Square.
Kuperstein's visit to Re'im came just days after he told his followers on social media that he was excited to move into a new apartment and wanted “to start from scratch."
After asking for help obtaining basic furniture and household items for his new home, he was inundated with thousands of offers of assistance from members of the public. “I can't keep up with all the messages. It moves me to tears to see how everyone wants to help," Kuperstein wrote in response to the outpouring of support he received.