Flipping through the new cookbook released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum ahead of Shavuot, one can get no further than the second recipe without receiving a gut punch — when the book was published, Amit Buskila, the author of the recipe for the Moroccan tomato-based condiment matbucha, was still presumed alive. But on May 17, the IDF announced that her body had been recovered from Gaza.

Each recipe in the cookbook features a picture of a hostage and a short description of them provided by their relatives. Buskila is described as “an accomplished stylist living in Ashdod” who is “resilient, joyful, beautiful and radiates positivity.” Buskila, who grew up in a Moroccan household, participated in the last season of the competitive culinary show “MasterChef Israel.”

The 75 recipes spread across 180 pages comprise a combination of the favorite dishes of both living and deceased hostages — those who were known to be dead at the time of the book’s release have “z”l” (an abbreviation for zichrono livracha, or “blessed be their memory”) printed next to their name. 

Leading off the collection is a note of hope from Luis Har, who was rescued from Gaza by Israeli forces after 128 days in captivity. “Food is something optimistic, but only when we will be able to sit together around the table. When we will enjoy the recipes we’ve created, it will provide me with closure. I’m already looking forward to the day I will be cooking with everyone,” the message from Har, alongside his recipe for “Grandpa Luis’ Pizza,” says.

The book, titled Shavuot of Longing: Their Recipes on Our Tables, was printed at the Be’eri printshop, the main source of income of the kibbutz, which was one of the communities hardest hit in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, with 101 people killed and another 31 taken hostage — 11 of whom are still in captivity, seven of whom are known to be dead.

Itay Shenberger, who initiated the book on behalf of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, told JI the project seeks to keep hostages top of mind by increasing the sense of connection between members of the public and the hostages.

“Our call to action for all the public is to choose one recipe or one of the hostages that they can feel super connected to, and make the recipe and dedicate the food to the hostage. I think it’s a way for people to bond with the hostages,” Shenberger explained. 

As of this week, 75,000 copies of the book had been sold worldwide, mostly in Israel but also in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the U.K. A digital version is also available for purchase, and influencers have taken part in the initiative to help raise awareness of the cause. Funds raised from the book will go to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, to support hostages’ families and to help fund the organization’s operations and media campaigns. At the Israeli Embassy’s Yom Haatzmaut gathering in Washington last month, attendees were gifted copies of the book.

“It’s hard for us to imagine going through another holiday without them, as these occasions magnify the void we feel, even as life seems to continue around us,” reads the introductory text. “They are not here with us yet, but in mind and spirit, we are there with them. Our hearts ache as we feel the anguish of captivity experienced by our loved ones still held in Gaza.” 

“Shavuot in Hebrew means ‘weeks,’ but we’ve been endlessly yearning for their return for many months now. How we yearn for the day when we will be able to prepare the recipes found in the book with them,” the message continues. ”How we wish for the day when we will see them enjoying their favorite dishes, and how much joy will fill our homes if we knew they were already here.”

The recipes are divided into categories of sun vegetables, “fruit of the land,” tahini-based dishes, pastries, cheesy dishes — traditionally eaten on Shavuot — grains, citrus and fish.

Carmel Gat’s chocolate log recipe can be found in the “grains” section of the cookbook, beneath a photo of her smiling face and a note reading, “Carmel likes to travel the world, either alone or with friends, and enjoys meeting new people of all genders and backgrounds. She always takes care of everyone and supports minority rights. Carmel loves music and attending rock concerts.”

Shay Dickmann, a cousin of Gat, 39, told JI the project helps give the hostages “their personality back.” 

“It’s important we remember that they are people, just as we are, and they used to have joy in their life and still can,” Dickmann said. “If you’re cooking something for someone for Shavuot, just remember that they [the hostages] are supposed to be able to do that as well, and that they should come back and do it again.”

Dickmann described Gat, an occupational therapist and “a free spirit,” as a compassionate woman who “always listens to you very carefully with her eyes, ears and whole heart, and she might also give you very good advice — but she also might not, she might just give you the space to pick your own thoughts and arrange them.”

“Nothing that Carmel does is conventional,” Dickmann said, mentioning accounts shared by released hostages about Gat, who returned from India several days before she was kidnapped from her parents home in Kibbutz Be’eri, leading yoga sessions for other hostages in Gaza and trying to raise their spirits.

“I really hope that she is still holding on to the hope and the freedom that she can over there and I know that helping others is something that really characterizes her,” Dickmann added, noting that Gat is a stereotypical firstborn who looks out for others and gains strength from it herself.

Fallen soldier Sgt. Itay Chen’s cataloged recipe is homemade jachnun, which his mother, Hagit Chen, says is his favorite food along with pancakes, pizza and hamburgers. Hagit described the book as “a nice gesture for the hostages, to get to know them as people.” 

“All hostages are suffering and me as a mom, I am still stuck on Oct. 7,” Hagit told JI. Itay, 19, a citizen of Israel, the U.S. and Germany, served in the IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade’s 75th Battalion; the army announced in March that he had been killed by Hamas on Oct. 7 following a battle with terrorists, and his body was brought to Gaza for use as a future bargaining chip.

“Itay is a fun-loving, bright light for his family and friends and a talented basketball player who loves shooting hoops with his brothers,” his mother said. “We terribly miss Itay and it’s hard to believe what we were told  — that he will not come back alive. So I still hold the hope that the intelligence made a mistake about him.”  

Over the weekend, just before Shavuot, four hostages — Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv — were rescued from Gaza in a special operation. 

Ziv, who according to his relatives is “the most fun-loving uncle” and “dedicated brother and husband,” will be able to enjoy his rose cookies together with his family, “his top priority,” when Jews around the world sit around their tables this week to celebrate the dairy-themed holiday. 

For the families of these four released hostages, their yearning to be reunited with their loved ones after eight long months has been answered. But for the families of 120 hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza, it will still be a “Shavuot of Longing.”