This year will mark the first High Holy Days that the hostages who survived their Gaza captivity will be able to observe with their families. Some might fast, others might not, but most importantly, all will have the choice to observe the holiday as they please.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that being deprived of the decisions of how much to eat, when to eat, how to eat, and who to eat with \u2013 was a big, huge issue in Gaza,\u201d Aviva told The Jerusalem Post.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen somebody goes through something like that\u2026 and has been starved and doesn\u2019t have any way to control what goes into your tummy and how much you eat and who you eat with and when you eat and what you like to eat\u2026 Everything of that was completely and utterly taken away,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"Released](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/737738.jpeg\"\/)
Released Israeli hostage Aviva Siegel marches with teenagers from Kibbutz Kfar Aza to Jerusalem after a five day march from Tel Aviv, December 28, 2023 (credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG\/FLASH90)Keith and Aviva Siegel\u2019s Yom Kippur after captivity<\/p>\n
The Siegels, 67 and 65, were kidnapped from their Kibbutz Kfar Aza home on October 7.<\/p>\n
Aviva spent 51 days in captivity; Keith spent 484. They lost their home, and at least 60 of their close-knit community were killed.<\/p>\n
They have previously disclosed that they were starved, denied water, physically and mentally tortured, and watched other hostages be sexually assaulted<\/a>.<\/p>\n Aviva said that though she will not be fasting this year, she feels as if she has fewer questions than last year, when there were still 20 living hostages in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cThen, I had these questions, asking myself: \u2018[Since] they are starving, how come you can\u2019t just be hungry for one day, just like them?\u2019 Or \u2018Is it okay not to fast anymore while we still have hostages in Gaza, being starved every day?<\/p>\n \u201cI remember looking at the food and saying, \u2018No, you decided that you have a different relationship with that in yourself. You\u2019re not going to fast anymore.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n This year, however, she doesn\u2019t feel like she will have any questions.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of what I went through, and this year because all the hostages are here, I don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to have questions. Maybe it\u2019s not going to be easy for me to eat, but it\u2019s going to be different than last year.\u201d<\/p>\n In her opinion, for released hostages to have the ability to make their own decisions is incredibly important.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that the decision of what we need to do as hostages who came back is to decide. We have that in both hands. And we need to take that because it was taken away in such a brutal way.\u201d<\/p>\n Keith seconded her thoughts, noting that the conscious choice to abstain from eating is very different than being denied food.<\/p>\n \u201cFasting and starvation are two completely different things for me,\u201d Keith said. \u201cI don\u2019t see any connection between those two.\u201d<\/p>\n For him, Yom Kippur was never about fasting but about taking the time to reflect on the past year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe core essence or significance of Yom Kippur is not the fasting. It\u2019s the heshbon nefesh (taking stock of the soul),\u201d Keith said.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, I can observe Yom Kippur and have it [be] very meaningful and significant and not fast.\u201d<\/p>\n Keith told the Post that in captivity his faith also took on a different meaning.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was in captivity, Judaism, or my Jewish identity, became different.\u201d He had prayed frequently while in captivity.<\/p>\n \u201cThe terrorists were constantly trying to convince me to convert to Islam. I think the more they did that, I started to think more about my Jewish identity and my faith.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if that would have happened if they had not tried to convince me to convert to Islam, but they did, and it was ongoing, so I thought a lot about it,\u201d Keith said.<\/p>\n \u201cI really felt the strength and the resilience by praying, saying blessings, thinking about my Jewish faith and identity,\u201d he said, adding that he frequently thought about victims of the Holocaust<\/a> and other disasters throughout Jewish history.<\/p>\n \u201cI kind of felt like: The ones who survived, they survived. And I will survive for those who did not survive, kind of like it is my duty, or my mission, or responsibility, in their honor.\u201d<\/p>\n How captivity changed Keith Siegel\u2019s Jewish faith<\/p>\n The Siegels come from differing backgrounds.<\/p>\n He is from North Carolina; she is from South Africa. He moved here in his twenties, while she made aliyah when she was 9 years old.<\/p>\n He is more soft-spoken, thoughtful, and purposeful with his words. Keith said that growing up in a traditionally Jewish home, he felt a significant amount of pressure to observe holidays, especially Yom Kippur, in the way his parents did.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a child, I did it because it was what we did. And to\u2026 You know, be a good kid. Please my parents, do what they do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Aviva is usually quicker to respond of the two of them, and has a very direct way of speaking. Once or twice during our conversation, they provided the words the other was searching for, which I found really endearing.<\/p>\n In our conversation, Keith and Aviva frequently mentioned anecdotes about their families.<\/p>\n They currently live in Gazit near their daughter and their grandchildren, and mentioned how they frequently meet with them to do Friday dinners or havdallah on Saturday.<\/p>\n When Keith was still in Gaza, the Siegel\u2019s children, grandchildren, and extended family all gathered every Friday to say a special bracha that their daughter, Shir, had written.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll never forget the first time that Shir read the words (to the Bracha). Every word went into my heart, and cut my heart into pieces. We were all crying like babies next to the Shabbat table,\u201d said Aviva.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was important because\u2026 it made everybody feel together and cry together. Those are moments that feeling together, [as] part of family, were very very very strong.\u201d<\/p>\n Yom Kippur still carries a special significance for both of them, though. Both told the Post stories of their loved ones and what the holiday meant for them growing up.<\/p>\n Keith fasted when he was growing up to \u201cbe a good kid,\u201d though he never really felt like it gave him any spiritual fulfillment. When he moved to Israel when he was in his 20s, he stopped fasting for the most part.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I moved to Israel, I kind of felt like it was the\u2026 I\u2019m not sure whether to call it the ultimate, but just by living in Israel, the holidays are so much a part of not only the religion but the culture; I can feel Jewish just by living in Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n Aviva spoke about how, when she was young, she and her grandmother spent a lot of time together on Yom Kippur.<\/p>\n \u201cYom Kippur for me was a very special day. I used to connect with my grandmother, who used to fast with me. We had this special relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n Aviva said that the Yom Kippur she experienced during the 1973 war has remained a prominent memory for her. She remembered that her grandmother continued to fast, despite being told not to.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll never forget the Yom Kippur War; we were stopped in the middle of the fast. I remember going to her and telling her, \u2018You need to stop fasting.\u2019 Because we had been told that nobody fasts from this minute. I remember her saying, \u2018No, I\u2019m going to fast until the end.\u2019 There are so many things and emotions about that day.\u201d<\/p>\n Aviva also revealed details of her captivity. She said that she decided in Gaza that she would not fast when she returned to Israel. She was starved and suffered for 51 days, so why should she punish herself more?<\/p>\n \u201cIn Gaza, we spoke about it with the other hostages who were with us. I remember myself saying, \u2018I\u2019m not going to fast anymore,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened to me is the worst thing that happened\u2026 that could ever happen to anybody. I\u2019ve been punished, and that\u2019s enough. I don\u2019t deserve to be punished again and to be hungry and starved anymore. \u201cSo I\u2019ve got a completely, utterly new relationship with Yom Kippur.\u201d<\/p>\n After their release from captivity, the Siegels moved to live near their daughters Shir and Elan\u00a0and their grandchildren.\u00a0They can do\u00a0kiddush on Friday nights with them and focus\u00a0on spending time with family.<\/p>\n![\"Keith](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/737739.jpeg\"\/)
Keith Siegel and families of hostages attend a Security Affairs and Defense committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, July 8, 2025. (credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG\/FLASH90)How the Siegels are rebuilding their lives after captivity<\/p>\n