Episode 84: Why soldiers wept when Ran came home, lessons from Tu Bishvat

This week, Israel finally brought home the remains of its last hostage, 24-year-old Ran Gvili. To outsiders, the sheer scale of the national sacrifice and the collective exhalation of relief that followed his return can seem like a mystery. Every nation honors its fallen, but few go to the lengths Israelis do to reclaim a body from the hands of the enemy.

In this episode, we use the upcoming holiday of Tu Bishvat as an entryway into the Jewish psyche. We explore the idea of "hesed shel Emet" -- the "true kindness" of a dignified burial, which is called "true" because it can never be reciprocated. We dive into a world where a dignified burial is more than a ritual; it is a declaration that even in death, a human being remains a reflection of the divine. Through the teachings of the Malbim and the Sfat Emet, we re-examine Tu Bishvat not as a simple children’s holiday, but as a sophisticated meditation on the human condition. From the sap stirring in the dead of winter to the "inner light" hidden within the shells of the Seven Species, we discover a "New Year of the Human"—a day that honors our unique mission to find meaning in our mortality and uncover the sacred within the broken.

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This episode was sponsored by an anonymous donor who asked to dedicate it to all our fallen soldiers and to the sacrifices of the reservists and their families, from October 7 until today. Thank you for your sponsorship.

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If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.

Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.