Israeli hostages walk free on Hoshana Rabbah, the final day of Sukkot

Hoshana Rabbah, the seventh and final day of Sukkot – the biblical Feast of Tabernacles – marks the climax of the holiday. Today, as on every Hoshana Rabbah, synagogues across the world echoed with the ancient plea:

“Hoshana lema’an shimcha – Save us for the sake of Your Name.”

During the morning procession, worshipers circle the synagogue seven times with branches of willow and palm, chanting the biblical words of Psalm 118:

“Hoshana – Save us, we pray, O Lord!”

This day has long been called Yom HaYeshuah HaGadol – the Day of Great Salvation.

This year, its meaning feels especially fitting.

For two long years, Israel has fought, prayed, and wept for its sons and daughters to come home. Today, on Hoshana Rabbah, those prayers have been answered.

The hostages, held in captivity since the war began, are finally free – and a day once marked by cries for salvation has become a living image of redemption.

Remarkably, this Hoshana Rabbah falls exactly one day before Simchat Torah on the Hebrew calendar — completing two full years since October 7, when the war began.
The convergence is striking, reminding Israel that sorrow and deliverance often meet in God's appointed time — not by coincidence, but by divine design.

This, too, adds to the sense among many that the timing of the hostages’ release bears the mark of mercy.
More than a diplomatic achievement, it is a moment when a nation’s faith and tears converge in thanksgiving.

The fragile sukkah, the temporary booth we dwell in during this feast, symbolizes human vulnerability under divine protection.
It reminds us that Israel’s security – and our own – does not depend primarily on walls, power, or human plans, but on the presence of God, who shelters His people “under the shadow of His wings.”

Sukkot is also the season of prayers for rain – for life itself – in the Land of Israel, with water symbolizing renewal and blessing. Just as the first rains revive the dry ground, the news of the hostages’ return revives a weary nation. As the Book of Nehemiah tells of the first Sukkot celebrated by those returning from Babylonian captivity:

“So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; ... And there was very great gladness.” Nehemiah 8:17

Today, two years after their captivity began, Israel’s hostages too can once again sit in the sukkah – the fragile shelter of joy – together with their loved ones.

Yet the story reaches further: many captives have been freed only in death, and the nation of Israel remains surrounded by threats and still awaits its full redemption – just as in the days of Nehemiah.

This Hoshana Rabbah, as the hostages return home, the message resounds with renewed power: Israel’s well-being and security rest not on merit, but on God’s faithfulness to fulfill His promises — in His time and according to His plan.

Israel’s story — ancient and modern — has intertwined once more: faith meeting fact, prayer meeting providence, and hope confronting the challenges ahead.

As the sun sets on this final day of Sukkot, Israel breathes again — a people still in mourning, yet tasting freedom.

The cry that echoed through generations, “Hoshana – Save us, we pray,” has been heard again.

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