Released hostage Sapir Cohen revealed more details about her abduction and captivity in Gaza, including the perek of Tehillim that she began reciting 30 days before October 7th,  the chilling statement her captor told her, and the fact that the Hamas terrorists had to protect her to prevent the “innocent” civilians from killing her when she first arrived in Gaza.

“A few months ago, I felt like something bad was going to happen to me,” Sapir began. “I thought that maybe I was coming down with some illness. And actually, I did find out I had some type of virus. I was told to recite a certain perek of Tehillim every day for 30 days. The 30th day was on October 7th.”

“I said this perek every day, and one day I started noticing the words and they weren’t about refuah – the perek speaks about war, that Hashem should save me. And I thought to myself, why am I davening this? What war am I davening to be saved from?”

On Friday, October 6th, Sapir, a resident of Kiryat Ata in northern Israel, traveled to Kibbutz Nir Oz to visit relatives. She woke up at 6:30 on Shabbos morning and heard loud booms on a scale she had never heard before.

A few hours later the terrorists arrived at Kibbutz Nir Oz. Sapir had rolled herself in a blanket and hid under a bed.

“They rolled me from the blanket,” Sapir continued. “I understood that it was better for me to get up and go. I got up and they took me out of the house and put me on a motorcycle with two terrorists.”

“We began the trip, the streets were full of people who came to video me. I looked at all the cameras with my head raised high. I told myself that at least my parents would see me and realize that I was abducted.”

“We enter the Gaza Strip, everyone is screeching – some had sticks, some had cigarettes. They came close to me and screamed at me and began beating me. I started protecting myself with my hands. They [the terrorists] put a shirt over my head to try to protect me so that I’ll arrive there alive.”

“I was very optimistic from the first minute there. I kept smiling and laughing the whole time. One day I saw one of the terrorists with a memorial candle that had ‘Sapir’ written on it. I got angry because I thought I had formed a connection with them. I said to him: ‘Why, why did you write my name?’ And he said: ‘I don’t like you. You’re my enemy. I don’t like you. But when you’re here, there’s light.'”

“I said to myself: ‘Hashem Yishmor, I heard this from a terrorist.'”

Sapir then continued speaking about the perek of Tehillim she recited for 30 days. “”Part of the tefillah that I davened – you’ll see how it’s not related at all to refuah – was:

צרי ואויבי לי המה כשלו ונפלו אם תקום עלי מלחמה, בזטת אני בוטח.
אחת שאלתי מאת ה’, אותה אבקש: שבתי בבית ה’ כל ימי חיי, לחזות בנועם ה’ ולבקר בהיכלו. כי יצפנני בסכה ביום רעה,יסתירני בסתר אהלו, בצור ירוממני.”

“This entire perek speaks about war. And thank you Hashem that I was saved.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)