Whoever saves one life is considered as if they saved an entire world.” - Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5 This verse is often used when we stand in awe of lifesaving events. When even just one person saved we consider it to be miraculous. Thus is the Jewish sancitity of each of us, we choose life, always. Only now, after seeing the live h*stages return home, am I learning what this phrase truly means. Here is Alon Ohel. He is a classical-jazz pianist with bright dreams and music that moves through his...

We're watching these two come back to life. In February of last year, we saw these two, emaciated and imprisoned. Pale and so far gone. In our hearts we knew there was a chance that we would never get them out alive. They were forced to watch other h*stages be released while they we kept behind. We prayed and wept and screamed and the months kept passing. By Tisha Ba'av we saw Evyatar David, barely able to stand, being forced to "dig his own grave" by H*mas. It didn't look like he would be...

Sasha and I spent the morning together on the day I interviewed him. We gathered food for breakfast and sat outside overlooking the sea. Every few moments, another therapist approached him; telling him how often they thought of him when he was in captivity in G*za, how they prayed for him. One woman told him how surreal it was to see him in real life, after a poster of him sat on her couch for a year and half. Most people said, "I'm sure you get sick of hearing this, but..." and then showered...