UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) -- A Simchat Torah celebration on the Upper East Side took on extra meaning Monday night as Jewish people around the world marked the holiday and the return of the remaining living hostages held by Hamas.

Rabbi Joshua Davidson, the senior rabbi at the Temple Emanu-el on Fifth Avenue, told PIX11 News, "It's been something we've been hoping for and praying for, for 2 years. It was 2 years ago on Simchat Torah that Hamas invaded and committed atrocities that are unfathomable."

Davidson and members of the congregation processed around the Temple with the Torah before heading back inside to unroll it, as is tradition on this holiday.

Cathy Kagan, a congregant, said: "It's a wonderful time and a day of peace, and kind of closure in a way, but it's a day of s

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