Last week, I made a journey to Kibbutz Nir Oz to hear the story of an extraordinary young man.

Sagui Dekel-Chen returned to his kibbutz to perform a concert on its lawn before more than 3,000 people. His story is almost impossible to comprehend. On October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded Nir Oz, Sagui fought back to defend his kibbutz. He was shot, wounded, and taken hostage. He then spent 498 days as a hostage in Gaza.

During those 498 days, Sagui composed songs in his head and committed them to memory. When he finally came home, he brought those songs with him. And now he was performing them in the very place where his heartbreaking story had begun.

It was possibly one of the most incredible concerts I have ever attended — not because Sagui is a professional singer. In fact, he was humorously upfront about the fact that he isn’t, which made him all the more endearing. What made the evening so meaningful were the songs themselves: songs about what happened to him, his family, and his friends in Nir Oz on October 7, and about what he endured during the many months he was held captive by Hamas.

I think part of Sagui’s astounding strength lies not only in his determination to embrace life as part of his........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)