Today, on the Jewish calendar, is Pesach Sheni, which in the times of the Temples was the make-up date for those unable to bring the paschal sacrifice a month earlier. It is also, traditionally, the anniversary of the death of a legendary wonderworker named Rabbi Meir Ba’al ha-Nes, Meir the Master of the Miracle. Tamar Marvin writes:

Rabbi Meir Ba’al ha-Nes has become a popular, saintly figure, thought to be an intercessor on behalf of the needy, particularly for the finding of lost belongings.

Beginning in the 18th century, various hasidic groups established charitable foundations, some of which continue to the present, to raise funds on behalf of those in need in the Land of Israel; their collection boxes became near-ubiquitous in the later 19th century. Today you can buy a portrait of Rabbi Meir Ba’al ha-Nes on TzadikimPortraits.com; read a graphic novel about him; or visit [a] semi-official website dedicated to Rabbi Meir or another devoted to his tomb. In times of need, giving charity and calling upon the God of Rabbi Meir to answer you three times is always a possibility; should one need to find a lost item, there is a special formula to say before invoking Rabbi Meir’s memory.

Who, then, is Rabbi Meir Ba’al ha-Nes? He is strongly and most commonly identified with the great, storied [2nd-century] Rabbi Meir, mentioned thousands of times on the pages of the Talmuds, the consummate sage, disciple of Rabbi Ishmael and especially Rabbi Akiva, ordained under threat of death, . . . as well as the descendant of the late-converted Roman emperor Nero, the student of the notorious talmudic heretic Elisha ben Avuyah, and the husband of the exceptionally learned Bruriah.

Even if the agreement with Hamas to secure the release of some, and possibly all, of the remaining hostages—and the bodies of those no longer alive—is a prudent decision for Israel, it comes at a very high price: potentially leaving Hamas in control of Gaza and the release of vast numbers of Palestinian prisoners, many with blood on their hands. Nadav Shragai reminds us of the history of such agreements:

We cannot forget that the terrorists released in the Jibril deal during the summer of 1985 became the backbone of the first intifada, resulting in the murder of 165 Israelis. Approximately half of the terrorists released following the Oslo Accords joined Palestinian terror groups, with many participating in the second intifada that claimed 1,178 Israeli lives. Those freed in [exchange for Gilad Shalit in 2011] constructed Gaza, the world’s largest terror city, and brought about the October 7 massacre. We must ask ourselves: where will those released in the 2025 hostage deal lead us?

Taking these painful concessions into account Michael Oren argues that they might nonetheless be necessary:

From day one—October 7, 2023—Israel’s twin goals in Gaza were fundamentally irreconcilable. Israel could not, as its leaders pledged, simultaneously destroy Hamas and secure all of the hostages’ release. The terrorists who regarded the hostages as the key to their survival would hardly give them up for less than an Israeli commitment to end—and therefore lose—the war. Israelis, for their part, were torn between those who felt that they could not send their children to the army so long as hostages remained in captivity and those who held that, if Hamas wins, Israel will not have an army at all.

While 33 hostages will be released in the first stage, dozens—alive and dead—will remain in Gaza, prolonging their families’ suffering. The relatives of those killed by the Palestinian terrorists now going free will also be shattered. So, too, will the Israelis who still see soldiers dying in Gaza almost daily while Hamas rocket fire continues. What were all of Israel’s sacrifices for, they will ask. . . .

Perhaps this outcome was unavoidable from the beginning. Perhaps the deal is the only way of reconciling Israel’s mutually exclusive goals of annihilating Hamas and repatriating the hostages. Perhaps, despite Israel’s subsequent military triumph, this is the price for the failures of October 7.