On erev Rosh Hashanah, Panamanian Jewry breathed a
sigh of relief at the good news of the release of the son of
one of the prominent Torah and chessed pillars of the
community, who was kidnapped while on a business trip to
Colombia.
A week earlier, two young Jewish men visited Colombia on
business. While there, they were taken hostage by
professional kidnappers, who are very active in that South
American country. One of the hostages was released almost
immediately, to enable him to report to the parents of the
other young man about the abduction of their son.
For two days, the parents waited tensely for contact to be
established with the kidnappers to negotiate for the release
of their son, while in yeshivos throughout the world, many
prayers were recited for the release of David Yosef ben
Frieda.
On erev Rosh Hashanah, the gates of Shomayim
were opened, and the prayers of tinokos shel beis
rabban as well as those of the bnei yeshivos and
the kollel students were received, and the young man
was released.
