Former hostage Rom Braslavski has made a tremendous Kiddush Hashem since his release from his torturous captivity in Gaza, choosing to turn to Hashem and Yiddishkeit as he struggles to rehabilitate his life and deal with severe post-trauma symptoms.

Now, as part of his teshuva process, he made the decision to remove his tattoo.

“And you shall not place a tattoo upon yourselves,” he wrote, quoting the issur from the Torah. “Abba, thank You for the zechus of removing the tattoo from my body. Abba, thank You for the zechus to be free and happy. Abba, thank You for the zechus of being Jewish. Abba, thank You for the privilege of not being a hostage in Gaza.”

“Thank You for the zechus to rectify myself.

“I will never forget that during my darkest days in Gaza, in the intense heat of August and September, the terrorist forced me to wear a jacket so that no one would see my tattoo in case someone managed to break into the place where I was being held. That tattoo was what identified me as a Jew.

“The irony is that a true Jew is not supposed to have a tattoo on his body.

“Today, months after the moment when Hakadosh Baruch Hu, through His nissim and wonders, chose to free me from the house of bondage and redeem me from my suffering, I am strong and stable enough to decide to remove this tattoo with laser treatments from my body, and to endure the pain—but for one purpose alone: to serve and devote myself to Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

“I am willing to suffer physically again and again, and I am prepared to die in agony for Him. I will do everything to please my Father in Shamayim, always.

“Abba, thank You for my captivity in Gaza, and thank You for the suffering I endured. Thank You for every hardship You placed in my life.”

Earlier this week, Braslavski shared a video relating his difficult battle with post-traumatic symptoms but emphasized that he chooses to wake up every day and thank Hashem.

“This captivity was both my curse and my blessing from Hashem,” he said. “This captivity shaped me—it shaped my character. But now that I’m free, I’m dealing with very severe post-traumatic stress. It’s very difficult to return to life after such a tremendous upheaval.”

“My question is this: Am I going to return to life, or am I going to remain a captive in Gaza? Am I going to get up and strengthen myself again and again and not let them win, or am I going to lock myself in my room and not let the sun come in? Because if I do that, they’ve won—not me.”

“They’ve won—not me—if I fall into depression and sadness. That’s not something I’m willing to accept. Every day I make the choice to open the blinds, get up early, and let the sun into my life. To let the sun brighten my dark face. Dark on the inside, bright on the outside. And the light on the outside slowly seeps into my soul.”

“The post-trauma and the severe trauma I went through. The bodies I saw, all the blood I saw, all the people who died whom I carry on my shoulders, all my friends who were murdered—that’s reason enough not to get up.”

“But time and again, I choose to rise from the blow I’ve been dealt. To thank Hashem: ‘I give thanks before You, living and eternal King, for mercifully restoring my soul within me; great is Your faithfulness,’ because Hashem, in His mercy, saved me from that house of bondage.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)