For over a year this picture of Liri Albag has joined us in prayer at Westchester Jewish Center. There is a seat reserved for her in the sanctuary and the chapel. Anytime we pray, she is with us.

Many communities and individual chose specific hostages to keep in mind at the outset of their abduction. For me, it was a way to remember that each one of the 251 hostages was an individual with hopes, dreams, fears, friends and family. We got to know a little more of the story of each person by focusing on them one at a time. And at Westchester Jewish Center, we have Liri.
I did not know Liri or even know anyone in Israel who knew Liri before October 7th, but I now think of her as "our Liri" and when the news broke an hour or two ago that "our Liri" is on the list of hostages to be released tomorrow, my heart skipped a beat. She has become so much more to me than her picture.
I am cautiously grateful for all 4 of these women, Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy, to be returned to the loving arms of their family. I hope they know that those arms extend across the ocean to us here in Mamaroneck, NY.
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