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They Saved a Seat for a Man They Had Never Met.
For 738 days, one Jewish family kept an empty chair at their Shabbos table for hostage Rom Braslavski. When he was finally released… he came to fill that seat.
One Family's Love Became a Lesson for All of Us.
Yehudis Shoshie Abramson never knew Rom. She couldn’t rescue him. She couldn’t negotiate his release. But every day she chose one act of Ahavas Yisrael. She prayed. She cried. She left him a place at her family’s table. And after 738 unimaginable days… that chair was finally filled.
"We didn't just save a seat. We held onto hope when the world told us it was lost."
WHEN HE COULDN’T FIGHT, THEY FOUGHT FOR HIM.
A Seat of Hope Finally Filled:
After 738 Days, Former Hostage Rom Braslavski Took His Place at the Table
Shortly after October 7, Yehudis Shoshie Abramson set a permanent place at her family’s dining room table for hostage Rom Braslavski, despite never having met him.
That empty chair became known as “The Seat of Hope.”
As other hostages returned home, Rom’s fate remained unknown.
We davened for his safe return.
“I used to hug the place card by his spot, hold it close to my heart, cry, daven and even kiss it. Please Hashem, let Rom feel the prayers and love.”
After watching a video about him, Yehudis Shoshie learned Rom had been a security guard at the Nova Festival who repeatedly chose to stay behind to save others. He handed out water, moved bodies, treated the wounded, and got kidnapped in the process.
Every guest that entered their home learned about Rom.
When Hamas propaganda videos surfaced showing Rom
emaciated, it made it even harder to hope.
“Rom can’t fight his fight now. We have to fight his fight for him.”
Yehudis Shoshie placed the verse “לא אמות כי אחיה ואספר מעשי קה” at his place setting, poured water into his cup so he might “feel energetically hydrated,” placed food on his plate, and constantly visualized him becoming freed from Gaza with a huge Smile on his face along with all the other hostages following after him.
When Rom was finally released after 738 days of being held in the darkest Gehenom in this world, friends told Yehudis Shoshie she could remove his place setting.
She refused.
“The seat will remain Rom’s until he sits in it alive and well.”
After learning JBN had brought Rom to the United States, she contacted us. We arranged a call, and through tears she told him:
“Please come sit in your seat. We’ve been waiting two years for you.”
Despite an incredibly busy schedule before returning to Israel, Rom agreed to come.
On Sunday, the miracle became a reality. As family and friends looked on through tears and applause, Rom removed the photo collage that had hung on his chair for nearly two years… and finally sat in his Seat of Hope.
Prayers and Faith saved his seat until the Miracle arrived. 🇮🇱❤️
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Imagine If Every Jewish Home Had One Empty Chair...
Imagine if every Jewish woman chose one Jew each week to love a little more. Imagine if we prayed for strangers. Forgave faster. Called someone lonely. Invited another family. Stopped judging. Started listening. Imagine what Klal Yisrael could become.
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