Abducted while helping wounded festivalgoers on October 7, Bar Kuperstein endured 738 days in Hamas captivity, finding strength in prayer, Jewish tradition, and his belief that he was always in God’s hands.

By Hezy Laing

When Hamas terrorists attacked the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, Bar Kuperstein was working as a security guard and helping wounded partygoers. Even as gunfire erupted, he stayed to assist others. He was eventually abducted and taken to Gaza, where he spent 738 days in captivity before his release on October 13, 2025.

His ordeal would test him physically and emotionally. But in interviews after his release, Kuperstein, who was 23 when he returned home, described how faith in God and a connection to Jewish tradition helped him endure two years of fear, deprivation, and uncertainty.

Risking His Life to Help Nova Victims

Kuperstein was working at the festival alongside his best friend and fellow security guard, Din Tesler. A trained medic, he helped wounded partygoers and assisted efforts to open emergency exits as the Hamas-led attack unfolded.

Rather than immediately seeking safety, Kuperstein remained near the main road, helping the injured alongside police officers. His decision to keep assisting others placed him in danger, and Hamas terrorists eventually abducted him.

Images of Kuperstein bound on the ground circulated after his capture, as his family struggled to learn his fate. He would remain in Gaza for more than two years.

Finding Strength in the Hands of God

Kuperstein described the conditions he endured underground: little food, no sunlight, cramped confinement, and repeated beatings. He said he was held with five other hostages in a space no larger than a mattress.

The hostages supported one another through the ordeal, hugging and encouraging each other after beatings. Their solidarity became an important source of strength in circumstances designed to leave them feeling helpless.

Kuperstein also described a terrifying episode in which a guard threatened to kill three hostages and ordered the captives to choose who would die. He recalled praying desperately for God to save him.

His mother, Julie, had independently expressed a similar conviction when speaking with a Hamas guard who contacted her during her son’s captivity. She told the guard that her son was in God’s hands, not his.

The words became a family motto: “Always in the Hands of God.” Kuperstein later displayed a bracelet bearing the phrase, a reminder of the belief that sustained him through captivity.

Keeping Shabbat in the Tunnels

Kuperstein said his commitment to Judaism grew stronger during captivity. Despite the restrictions imposed by his captors, he and the other hostages insisted on marking Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, every Friday evening.

They recited traditional blessings and sang together, preserving a connection to Jewish life in the darkness of the tunnels. Kuperstein also recalled praying silently when he was initially forbidden to speak.

The guards sometimes tried to persuade him and other hostages to convert to Islam. They resisted, holding on to their Jewish identity even under extreme pressure.

For Kuperstein, religious observance was more than a ritual. It was a way to maintain a sense of identity, continuity, and hope when almost every other aspect of life was beyond his control.

A Dream Fulfilled After Freedom

Following his release, Kuperstein began speaking publicly about faith, gratitude, and the support he received from Israelis who prayed for the hostages.

One of his most meaningful moments came at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on October 31, 2025, when he joined his father, Tal, in putting on tefillin, the small leather boxes containing Torah passages that Jewish men traditionally wear during weekday morning prayers.

Kuperstein had described wearing tefillin again as a dream he held throughout captivity. He subsequently invited others to join him in a public prayer gathering, turning a deeply personal milestone into a shared expression of Jewish solidarity.

His story does not lessen the suffering he endured or suggest that faith alone can explain survival under such conditions. But his testimony offers a powerful example of how prayer, family bonds, religious tradition, and mutual support helped him face unimaginable adversity.

From the horrors of Nova to the darkness of Gaza’s tunnels, Kuperstein held on to his identity and his belief in a future beyond captivity. His return home gave new meaning to the words that had sustained him: always in the hands of God.