A Living Miracle: Exactly Two Years Later, Israeli Hostages Are Coming Home 

As the final living hostages captured by Hamas are transferred back to Israel, a deeply emotional and historically resonant detail has emerged: the culmination of the exchange process is occurring on the exact Hebrew calendar date of the October 7th massacre.

The date of the unprecedented terror attack in 2023, which saw over 1,200 people murdered and hundreds taken captive, was the 22nd of Tishrei, 5784, a day that coincided with the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah. Today, as the last of the living captives are being joyously reunited with their families, the Jewish calendar marks the eve of the 22nd of Tishrei, 5786.

The near-perfect two-year cycle, almost to the hour, of the hostages’ return on the very anniversary of their capture, as determined by the Hebrew lunisolar calendar, is being widely noted across Israel as a powerful, almost miraculous, closing of a painful circle.

From Horror to Homecoming on the Same Date

The October 7, 2023, attack began early on the morning of 22 Tishrei, shattering a day of intense national and religious celebration. The final stage of the hostage exchange process, which began with the return of a group of seven hostages, and later on the return of the final group with the remain 13 living hostages, will be concluded on the eve of the 22 Tishrei, 5786, when all the now former hostages will be reunited with their families.

For a nation that has viewed the two-year period since the massacre as an unyielding nightmare, this living miracle offers a profound, if bittersweet, spiritual symmetry. The return of the final captives on the anniversary of the day they were dragged into Gaza provides a moment of powerful symbolic closure for the families and the country.

Emotional and Political Resonance

The emotional weight of the date is inescapable. The Nova music festival massacre, the ransacking of border communities, and the moment the hostages were ripped from their lives all occurred on that date in 2023. Now, the final act of reunion against the backdrop of the same calendar day offers a unique narrative of redemption and resilience.

While the Gregorian date has become the standard international reference point for the tragedy, the Hebrew date holds deep religious and historical meaning. Throughout the past two years, the families of the hostages have publicly and privately invoked religious concepts, prayers, and calls for unity, often finding solace in the calendar's observance.

As the remaining hostages cross the border, their liberation on the anniversary of their capture solidifies the date, 22 Tishrei, as a moment forever etched in the national consciousness, not just for the devastating brutality it witnessed, but for the miraculous homecoming it eventually facilitated.