The tefillot of SAR Academy and High School students were answered.
Last Friday morning, SAR Academy welcomed Omer Shem Tov, a recently freed hostage who returned after 505 days in Hamas captivity. Accompanied by his parents, Malki and Shelley, Omer stood on the very steps where students, faculty and staff have gathered countless times in tefillah for the hostages.
The Shem Tov family was greeted by 1,000 students, faculty and staff members, as well as chayalim from Sayeret Maglan visiting through the Peace of Mind program. Congressman Ritchie Torres joined the gathering, standing in solidarity and reciting the prayer for the return of the hostages in English.
One of the most deeply moving moments came from SAR eighth grader Mikayla G., who had been given Omer’s name to daven for. Since the beginning of the war, she kept his photo in her siddur and prayed for him daily. She created a bracelet of hope and placed it on his photo at Ben Gurion Airport. Today, she was able to present a matching bracelet to Omer in person.
It was a morning of tefillah, connection and community—spirited, uplifting and unforgettable.
A moment that reminded all present: Hashem truly hears the prayers of children.
A moment that reaffirmed: our tefillot, our voices, our unity—they matter.
Afterward, at SAR HS, Omer addressed students and faculty and told his story, from captivity to release.
“Every day my faith grew stronger,” he said of his time in captivity under Hamas in Gaza. At 23 years old, Omer was held captive for over 500 days following the deadly terror attack by Hamas in 2023. “I woke up and said Modeh Ani every day,” he says. He explains how he spoke to Hashem daily, thanking him for everything he has given him and asking him to send strength to his family. “Throughout the ordeal, I felt prayers and love from Israel but the light never went out for me.”
Omer explains that he learned how to establish bonds with the terrorists and recognize who the leader was so he could try to create a favorable relationship with him. After one of the IDF attacks, the terrorists found a book the soldiers left behind with the story of Joseph getting out of the pit and becoming the king. Omer negotiated that he would cook, clean, dig in the tunnels and do electrical work for the terrorists if they let him keep the book and he read it over and over but it kept him going. In times of darkness, Omer also turned to humor to survive. When a terrorist asked him about his professional dreams, he told him he wanted to be an actor and the terrorist asked him to do an imitation of him which he really loved. This led to Omer having more of a relationship with him which helped him survive. To gain an understanding of what was happening in the outside world, Omer learned Arabic after five months by listening to the terrorists talk but he didn’t let on that he could understand them.
Finally, the time came for him to be released. He and two other hostages were being transported to the release point and they started singing Shir Hamalot loudly together which was a truly moving moment for him. Seeing his parents and siblings was pure happiness for him. In the helicopter on his way back to Israel, he wrote on the message board that he wanted a burger and there were thousands of burgers waiting for him at the hospital when he arrived.
“I have a mission to bring back the 58 remaining hostages that are still there going through hell,” he says. He thanked SAR and the Jewish community for continuing to pray and do everything they could to bring him home. His story of resilience and bravery will always be an inspiration to Klal Yisrael.
Welcome home, Omer.
May we be zocheh to welcome them all home.
Am Yisrael Chai.
