"What kept me going": Yelena Trupanov on the moment she found faith

Yelena Trupanov, a hostage survivor released from Hamas captivity while her son Sasha remained in Gaza and her husband Vitaly was murdered, speaks in an interview with Eliya Aviv on the "Tzav HaChayim" broadcast about her spiritual journey. Trupanov describes how the uncertainty about her family was the hardest part of captivity, and how faith sustained her. She recounts her return to religious observance, keeping Shabbat and kashrut, and calls for unity.

Yelena Trupanov, a hostage survivor released from Hamas captivity while her son Sasha was held in the Gaza Strip and her husband Vitaly was murdered at Kibbutz Nir Oz, was interviewed by Eliya Aviv on the "Tzav HaChayim" broadcast. In the interview, Trupanov said that the hardest part of captivity was the uncertainty about her family, not hunger or thirst. She described how faith sustained her, and how from the moment the terrorists broke into her home, she began a spiritual process that led her to observe Shabbat, kashrut, and prayer. Trupanov, who grew up in Soviet Russia without Judaism and immigrated to a Kibbutz of Hashomer Hatzair, said that everything she went through was meant to bring her back to her Jewish roots. She called for unity and an end to baseless hatred, and linked the rescue of the Flydubai plane to an open miracle from heaven.