This past Shabbos we had the great zechus to host Judith Raanan who, together with her daughter Natalie, were abducted on October 7th and were the first to be released. They are American citizens from Evanston, Illinois, and they traveled to Israel to celebrate Judith’s mother’s 85th birthday at Kibbutz Nir Oz, and were captured on the morning of Simchas Torah.
Sixty-five locals, Jews and gentiles, joined us for an incredible Shabbos dinner to hear Judith share her story, which is mind-blowing and jaw-dropping. She spoke about how she kept kosher in Gaza, how much Shabbos does for her spiritual wellbeing, how she protected Natalie any way she could during their time in captivity, and how Hashem had a plan for her despite the horrors they endured.
Listening to her speak reminded me of millions of Jewish women—heroines—who, throughout the ages, stood up proudly and resolutely as Jews to defend their people and ensure the continuity of Torah with no fear or concern for the ramifications.
We hear the stories of the Jewish mothers in Egypt under Pharoah’s cruel decrees. The stories of Yehudis on Chanukah and Chana and her seven sons. We know about Queen Esther and how she stood up to Haman, and Yael with Sisera. We know of Deborah the Prophetess and Chana the mother of Shmuel, but there were so many other Jewish women who led our people with resilience and unwavering commitment to Hashem through some of the harshest times in our history while raising their beautiful families to be upstanding, devoted Jews. How many women went into freezing mikvahs to fulfill the mitzvah of family purity? How many Jewish women throughout the ages operated clandestinely to provide their families with kosher food? Women like Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson who stood by her husband Rav Levi Yitzchak to ensure he can write Torah commentary while exiled by the communists to remote Kazakhstan. Women like Sulika Hachuel, who was from a prestigious rabbinic family in Tangiers, Morocco. At the young age of seventeen, she refused to convert to Islam at the Sultan’s request and was put to death publicly, dying with true Kiddush Hashem.
Of course, we have the incredible story of Doña Gracia Mendes Nasi, or Chana in Hebrew. She was one of the richest women in the world and did everything she could to strengthen and build Jewish life across Europe and Asia Minor, including leasing swaths of land from the Ottomans in Tiberias to develop it for the Jewish community. Doña Gracia was born in 1510 in Portugal to a family of anusim, Jews who were forcibly converted against their will, who fled from the Spanish Inquisition to nearby Portugal. Though her husband Francisco passed away almost thirty years before she did, the widowed philanthropist used all her connections and power to find safe places for Jews, setting up an underground network to help Jews leave Portugal. She eventually fled to Venice, Ferrara, and finally Constantinople, where she assumed a role of leadership in the Sephardi world. One determined woman was transformational because she knew who she was and led Jewry through some really tough times.
Spending all of Shabbos with a special Jewess like Judith made me think about how much I have received from the women in my life. I grew up with my amazing mother, Chanchy, of blessed memory, who was the kindest, gentlest, person who always sought to bring simcha to whoever she encountered. My feisty Bubbe Esther Goldman, of blessed memory, who was a wise woman, knew her “customers” and spent a life caring for those less fortunate. My Israeli Savta, Chana Brook, whose spirituality was unparallelled and who managed, despite the financial strain, to raise ten children who never felt like they were missing anything. And of course, my Chavie, who is not only a powerhouse Jewish leader that rocks the world with so much positivity, she is a woman who lives with bitachon, a total and unquestionable trust in Hashem that is awe-inspiring and remains my guiding light through thick and thin.
In our double parashah of Behar and Bechukosai, which will be Menny’s bar mitzvah parashah next year (save the date), we read about the laws of Shemitah, the Sabbatical year, when we leave our fields as hefker, ownerless, and trust that Hashem, the One Who sustains us all, will make sure that we have sufficient parnassahuntil the new crop of the 8th year starts producing a new batch of food. It requires so much bitachon, but that’s what it means to be a Jew, someone who lives like Chavie, with a Shemitah-like mentality no matter what’s cooking, and does so with a peshitus, a simplicity that is like, “Duh, He’s got this and we’ll be fine.”
Back to Judith. I want to share with you ten things I learned during my Shabbos with her, and I hope it inspires you and gives you perspective as it gave me.
There is nothing that we Jews truly want more than peace. Even someone who witnessed and experienced pure evil still seeks to see the good in all people and believes peace is achievable.
Don’t ever mess with a Jewish mama. The things Judith did in captivity for her daughter Natalie are heroic and awe-inspiring. They nurture with tenderness, but are lionesses at heart.
Even evil terrorists have a soul. Like Rachel Edry from Ofakim, Judith had a way with the terrorists and managed to work them, so they’d see her humanity too and act accordingly.
Captagon (Fenethylline) is truly the Jihadi’s drug. Judith watched one of her captives take it and within sixty seconds switch from being somewhat rational to totally psycho. It’s a drug that normalizes rape, cruelty, barbarism, and necrophilia for the perpetrator.
Faith in Hashem can be experienced even under the harshest of circumstances. She washed her hands for bread, made blessings, spoke to G-d, prayed, and retained her spirituality in the face of utter unholiness and evil.
Israeli politicians are stuck between a rock and a hard place. There are hostages who need to be rescued, a country that needs to be protected, an enemy that needs to be defeated, and an army with brave men and women who deserve better leadership. If only they had listened to the Rebbe, zt’l, who advised them to never give back an inch of land, never negotiate with evil, and never rely on other countries, including America, we’d be better off today.
One person who remains focused under duress can save lives. Judith saved many lives by staying on target while being dragged around at gunpoint. She played the terrorists and it worked to save a few neighbors in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Those who have been blessed to be rescued live with internal turmoil. They re-live their time in captivity and many can only find remedy by channeling the memories into action, either by sharing their story or helping others in some creative fashion. They also think about the remaining hostages and their families all the time.
Israel’s leadership was a bit too cocky, boasting about their capabilities while forgetting to publicly recognize that Hashem runs the world. Hamas and their evil supporters exposed Israel’s vulnerabilities and also its arrogance. It’s a good time to remember that humility is king and Hashem runs the show.
We are resilient. There is a world with billions of good people that celebrate Jewish resiliency and the gift that is our Jewish family. We stand tall and embrace those who see the Torah truth and stand with Jewry while we continue to illuminate the darkness with the light of Torah because there’s nothing the haters hate more than light, love, and Jewish joy!
And so, I salute all the Jewish women for providing our foundation: L’chaim and may all of you go from strength to strength in serving Hashem. n
Rabbi Chaim Bruk is co-CEO of Chabad Lubavitch of Montana and spiritual leader of The Shul of Bozeman. For comments or to partner in our holy work, e-mail rabbi@jewishmontana.com or visit JewishMontana.com/Donate.
