In a moving Jerusalem gathering, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef praised President Trump and called Israel’s hostage return a divine sanctification.
Jerusalem’s Hayazdim Synagogue was filled with emotion and gratitude on Saturday night as hundreds gathered for a special reception ceremony honoring former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef. The event drew a distinguished audience — city rabbis, rabbinical judges, yeshiva heads, and members of the Chief Rabbinate Council — united in thanksgiving for the long-awaited return of Israel’s hostages.
During his weekly Torah lecture, Rabbi Yosef spoke movingly about the hostage release deal and extended heartfelt praise to U.S. President Donald Trump, calling him a “Righteous Among the Nations” for his pivotal role in securing the captives’ freedom.
“We are privileged to hear of the hostages returning home,” Rabbi Yosef said. “The price is indeed high, but thank G-d they are coming back — thanks to a kingdom of kindness, America, and the Righteous Among the Nations, the U.S. President.”
The Chief Rabbi also provided profound halachic insight into the moment, explaining that during the upcoming Sukkot festival, the freed hostages will recite the Shehecheyanu blessing three times — once for the sukkah, once for the four species, and once more in joyful thanksgiving for seeing their parents again after two years in captivity.
“It will be a sanctification of God’s name,” he said.
Rabbi Yosef further instructed synagogues across Israel to sing “Nishmat Kol Chai” during Simchat Torah in celebration of the miracle, expressing national gratitude that “our sons and daughters have been released to good lives and peace.”
Amid the joy, he also spoke with sorrow for the fallen hostages whose bodies are expected to return under the agreement:
“Those killed for being Jews will sit in the first row of Gan Eden,” he declared, “because they were killed as Jews — sanctifying God’s name through their very being.”
In a rare behind-the-scenes revelation, Rabbi Yosef disclosed that senior defense officials consulted him during the war on the sensitive halachic issue of declaring death for missing hostages, to release their wives from the painful status of “agunot” — women unable to remarry due to uncertainty about their husbands’ fate.
“A great effort was made so that not a single woman remained an agunah,” he emphasized, reflecting the fusion of compassion, faith, and duty that defined Israel’s spiritual response throughout the conflict.
Rabbi Yosef’s words, blending faith, national unity, and gratitude toward Israel’s allies, resonated across the nation. His description of President Trump as a “Righteous Among the Nations” underscores how deeply Israel values genuine friendship — especially from those who stand firm against terror and champion the sanctity of Jewish life.
