This is the story of a former Israeli hostage by the name of Or Levy. Or went with his wife, Ainav, to the Nova Music Festival on October 7th. That morning, he and his wife were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists.
The Levys have a little son by the name of Almog, who was a year and a half at the time they were taken into captivity.
Or Levy spent a total of 491 days in captivity before he was released, shocking the world with his emaciated body and big smile.
For the first 52 days, Or was held with other hostages, and they were all told they could not speak. They were chained to a pole by their legs. For 52 days, he didn’t even hear his own voice. “I forgot what I sounded like,” he said.
He would put the blanket over his head and start to talk just to hear himself. The Hamas guard would hit him over the head, saying, “Quiet!”
There were no showers, only one piece of pita a day to eat, and he and one other were chained to a pole. Yet, he found solace and friendship with a fellow captive, Hersh Goldberg. Hersh gave him a quote which, at the time, he didn’t know was a quote from German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and made popular by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl.
“The one who has a why to live, can bear with any how.”
Or believes that this one quote changed his life. Every day, he thought about his wife, Ainav, and his son, Almog. And said, “That’s my why, why I want to live.”
When he was released, the IDF (Israel Defense Force) brought him back to a hospital in Israel. The first thing he asked was, Where is my wife? How is Ainav?”
“Unfortunately, she did not survive. She was killed on October 7th,” said the soldier. He began to weep, and then she said, “But let me show you something.”
The soldier took out her phone and played a video of his little son, who was one year old when he was captured and didn’t even speak yet.
In this video, Or sees his beautiful son Almog with his curly dark hair, saying with a big smile, “Abba Or is coming home!”
It was the happiest moment in Or’s life. The saddest moment and the happiest moment of his entire life happened on the very same day. That’s the blessing and the curse we learn from the Bible.
Or Levy chose to focus on the blessing. He chose life for himself and his son. They both smile all the time. Though he missed half of his now three-year-old son’s life. He lives for the now with his beautiful child.
And that, Or says, is his personal victory over the Hamas terrorists who tried to kill him. He dispelled the curse and embraces the blessings.
Or Levy keeps a reminder on his arm, a tattoo that says, “The one who has a why to live, can bear with any how.”
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