On Wednesday, March 26, former hostage Luis Har shared the experience of his abduction and time in captivity with the Heschel student body. Har, a citizen of both Israel and Argentina, was taken from Kibbutz Nir Yitzchak along with four others, with whom he is close and had been staying on Oct. 7. He was freed by an IDF operation in February 2024, after being held hostage in an apartment building in Gaza for 129 days. 

As Har spoke primarily in Hebrew, Rabbi Dahlia Kronish concurrently translated his story to ensure that students of all Hebrew backgrounds would understand Har’s words. This element of translation made the emotionally heavy program particularly unique. 

The addition of an English translation allowed students more time to digest what they were hearing about Har’s time in captivity. Had Har spoken in English, there would have been less breaks in his speaking and therefore less time for students to really comprehend his words. 

Har explicitly described how he was constantly surrounded by weaponry and was violently taken captive. When discussing such traumatic events, it is important to respect the gravity of what we are hearing. Without realizing it, the administration allowed for this to happen by translating the program and thus giving students more time to process. 

Consequently, the student body was able to find great meaning in the program, finding Har to be an incredible story-teller and speaker.