For the past two years, Kobi Kalfon has regularly journeyed to New York. With his son, Segev, chained beneath Gaza, kidnapped during the Palestinian attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Kobi would enter the Old Montefiore Cemetery in Queens to pray at the Ohel, the resting place of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.
This past Saturday night, Kobi returned to the holy site, this time together with his son, Segev, who’d endured 738 days in brutal captivity. Side by side, father and son recited Psalms. These were prayers no longer in plea, but in gratitude and thanks. For two years, Kobi had cried out for his son’s redemption. Now he stood at the same sacred place, his prayers having been answered, and his son beside him.
“I’ve visited here so many times throughout these difficult years,” Kalfon said. “We came to pray at the Ohel, and every time we left strengthened to continue our fight.
Along with Segev Kalfon, former hostages Matan Angrest, Nimrod Cohen, and Bar Kuperstein also traveled to the Rebbe’s gravesite to express their gratitude at the place where their families had prayed throughout their ordeal.
Since Oct. 7, the Ohel has become a place of pilgrimage and prayer for families of 250 hostages seeking comfort and strength. In November 2023, 170 family members of hostages made a collective pilgrimage to New York to pray at the Rebbe's resting place, and throughout the two-year ordeal, the families returned again and again, finding solace and strength in prayer at the resting place of the Rebbe
Other former hostages held in Gaza, including Noa Argamani, Edan Alexander, Omer Shem Tov, Agam Berger, Eli Sharabi, Sasha Troufanov, and Ohad and Raz Ben Ami likewise made visits to the Rebbe’s resting place following their release after hundreds of days of torture and abuse.
Prayers of Thanksgiving
The former hostages who visited the Ohel were released from captivity on October 13, 2025, and came to the United States following an invitation from Trump, who hosted them at the White House on November 20 to honor their courage and resilience. While the remains of two hostages are still being held in Gaza, Saturday night’s visit to the Ohel celebrated the near-complete return of all the hostages.
“Here, we cried, we prayed, and we strengthened each other,” Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, who welcomed the families and hosted the visit on behalf of Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters, told them. “To be able to return with you all is so moving; we are closing the circle.”
Former hostage Matan Angrest noted to the group that until then, their families had only been there to pray on their behalf. Now, they returned to say thank you.
Angrest was the sole survivor of his unit during the attack on Nahal Oz on Oct. 7. Pulled from his burning tank, bleeding and unconscious, he was taken deep into Gaza, where he endured torture throughout his captivity.
Though not religiously observant until then, Angrest asked his captors for a Siddur and tefillin. “I insisted on putting on tefillin and getting a Siddur and Chumash,” he recalled. “I demanded from the captors to receive those things.”
Remarkably, his captors complied. A senior Hamas official personally brought him the Siddur. “As part of my routine, I prayed three times a day: morning, afternoon, and night,” he said. “It protected me. It gave me hope.”
“Every time I'm in New York, I come to the Rebbe's Ohel,” said Chagai Angrest, Matan’s father. “We began this journey when our son was in hell. Thanks to these prayers, we came out stronger. We came now to say thank you.”
Former hostage Yosef Chaim Ohana, long familiar with the Rebbe’s teachings as a student at Chabad schools in Israel, visited the Ohel with his family on Friday. Ohana’s father, Avraham, was among the 170 family members who had traveled to the Ohel in November 2023 to pray for the safe return of their loved ones. Ahead of this past Sukkot, he expressed his faith in G‑d that his son would be returned to him before the end of the holiday and bought a lulav and etrog for him. Miraculously, Yosef Chaim returned on the last day of the holiday and was able to perform the mitzvah on his own lulav.
Rabbi Simon Jacobson, who accompanied the hostages on their visit, reflected on the resilience of the Jewish people through generations of suffering. “We are only here because of our forefathers, who gave us this strength to withstand all challenges,” said Jacobson to the group. “The Ohel connects us to our roots. You all are living proof of that resilience and the eternality of the Jewish people.”
Start a Discussion