Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Am Yisrael Chai

"Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world." -Talmud
In the wee hours of this morning, I woke up to go to the bathroom and before I snuck back in to bed, I couldn't help but open up my laptop to get an update on Gilad Shalit's homecoming.  Before we fell asleep, we were just moments away from receiving confirmation that Gilad was reunited with his family.  It was the most incredible feeling to go to bed not knowing what kind of news we would wake up to, but knowing in my heart that thousands of miles away in the Middle East, some sort of miracle was happening.
You see, I had heard and read it all.  Gilad was tortured.  Gilad was starved.  Gilad was brutally, verbally abused.  Gilad hadn't seen the sun in over five years.  Nobody knew what state he would be in physically, emotionally and mentally, when he crossed the border on to Israeli soil after so much time in captivity.  As the anticipation built after the news that he was to return home, so did the skepticism.  But he had become like a son to an entire nation who so desperately wanted to live to witness the end of his plight, and today history was made.


Welcome home, Gilad.  May you live a long, happy and healthy future...

image via www.jewishjournal.com 

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