On the eve of Simchat Torah 2025, Israel finally breathes a sigh of relief. Two years after the most horrific day in our modern history, the last 20 living hostages are returning home. It was exactly on this holiday, two years ago, that the Hamas massacre began—when thousands of terrorists from Gaza invaded, attacked dozens of kibbutzim, abducted hundreds of civilians, and plunged a nation into shock and grief. Two years later, the circle has closed. The unimaginable has come to an end.

But as the joy over the hostages’ return mingles with the memory of suffering, a weighty question arises: What happens now? Will we, as a society, come together—or will we fall back into the toxic climate that preceded Simchat Torah 2023? I personally hope this holiday becomes a turning point. That Simchat Torah 2025 not only marks the end of a tragedy but the beginning of a new era—a time when we stop fighting each other.

“Hostage Square” in Tel Aviv was, for many months, the epicenter of...

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