Freed hostage Matan Angrest, the soldier abducted from his tank on October 7 and released in the recent hostage deal, traveled to pray at the tomb of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes in Tiberias to fulfill the promise his mother Anat made while he was held captive.
Matan Angrest reached the rabbi's tomb "to give thanks and praise for the miracles and wonders and to say the Nishmat Kol Chai prayer with a prayer quorum." His mother vowed in her heart that when he was freed, she would come with him to pray at the rabbi's tomb.
During his captivity, his parents consulted with Rabbi David Abuhatzeira and decided to give him an additional name. "Rabbis recommended we add a name to our Matan. We received the blessing of the Admor Rabbi David Abuhatzeira, and we added the name Shahar," his father Hagai explained on Kol Barama Radio.
According to Matan's testimony, he explained that he prayed throughout the entire period of captivity. At some point, he dared to ask a Hamas senior to bring him a prayer book, and the request was granted. "It gave me hope," Matan said when he returned. "I used it to pray three times a day."
Matan Angrest (22) was an IDF soldier when he was abducted and severely wounded from his tank at Nahal Oz. Fighting beside him in that tank were Staff Sergeant Itay Chen and Captain Daniel Peretz, who were killed in battle, abducted to Gaza, and also returned in the deal. With them on the crew was Tomer Leibovitz, who fell in the heroic battle on October 7, during which the soldiers saved many residents.
