Israel War Reports 2023

11.16.23

Dear Members,

I am writing to you from the airport at the end of a physically and emotionally draining trip that was incredibly meaningful and ultimately inspiring. We began the day with a painful reminder of the dangers that our brothers and sisters in Israel face daily as there was a terrorist attack on the road towards Efrat – right by the tunnels – which was the very road we intended to travel on. The soldiers on duty noticed that something was awry and when they stopped the suspicious car the terrorists came out with their guns blazing. Fortunately, they were quickly neutralized preventing a terrible tragedy (as they then discovered an array of weapons and fake Israeli uniforms inn the car) but it was at a heavy price as one brave solider was killed and others were wounded. May all of them be healed fully and quickly.

Our plans had to be altered and instead of meeting a group of talented educators who work in different roles at Ohr Torah Stone, we had an extended session with Rabbi Kenny Brander who shared with us the difficult challenges that these principals, and his entire organization faces. How do you deal with the need for increased security? How do you support your graduates who are in the army? How do you deal with the fact that so many of your students and staff have close connections to someone who was recently killed? These are but some of the questions that he, and all yeshivot and midrashot are facing during these unique times. One of his staff members, Rabbi Ohad Tahorlev, joined our discussion and described the incredible sensitivity that the army exhibits when dealing with the passing of soldiers. He noted that he feels a lifelong responsibility and connection to the families of these heroes who died “al kiddush Hashem”.

From there we paid a shiva visit and participated in the escorting of one has died to his burial and we got to experience how these events are not just personal but really national expressions of mourning. In both instances the deceased was a soldier who had fallen in battle. In the former case, we waited on a long line to be menachem (comfort) his elderly parents, and were amazed when his father comforted us. He quoted the seforim that we should learn each day and above all noted that we must respect all Jews regardless of their religiosity, affiliation, and political views. In the latter situation, the soldier was a young man and the streets were lined with people paying their final respects. In an unusual occurrence the family got out of the van that was transporting them and were embraced by their community. The father, with pain in his voice, said that his son was “a gibbor” before shouting “Am Yisrael Chai”. The family, and all those gathered, sang Hatikva and Ani Ma’amin; it was a powerful moment.

We then went to the Vert Hotel for two purposes: The first was to speak to the displaced residents Sedorot who are housed there indefinitely, and the second was to watch an incredible play designed to help children deal with the traumatic experiences that they went through. (Some of them were in safe rooms for days straight and saw sights that no children should see.) The latter event was extremely well done and it was heartwarming to see the childrens’ reactions during the play. To illustrate how small the Jewish world is, the head of this acting group and one of the lead actresses were the father and brother of our own Bat Sherut – Michal Lubar. Meeting the people of Sedorot, mostly women as the majority of the husbands are presently in the army, was particularly poignant as they told us their personal stories. While they are being well taken care of in the hotel, they have lost their independence, do not how long they will be there, and want to return home but must now overcome their shattered sense of security.

Finally, we ended the day, and the trip, by meeting with the parents of Adi Vital- Kaploun who was killed on Oct. 7^th. There was an addition layer of meaning to this session as Adi was the niece of our dear colleague Rabbi Reuven Tradburks who organized our entire trip. Hearing about this exceptional woman and the manner in which she was murdered was heartbreaking, as there is a power to knowing the stories of the individual victims. The story of how her two small children survived is an incredible tale but it deserves a letter all its own. The strength of her parents and her mother’s decision to mark the shloshim by singing Hatikva emphasizing the phrase that we will be “am chafshi b’artzeinu” was a moving conclusion to this three day whirlwind.

I look forward to seeing you all over Shabbat and sharing more of this transformative experience.

11.15.23

Dear Members,

I am writing this note on the way back from an army base near Gaza as one of the most emotionally powerfully days of my life comes to a close. Today we saw harrowing sights that shook us to our core as we saw, firsthand, the horrific destruction inflicted upon us by our enemies and heard not only from family members who lost loved ones, but spoke to survivors of these terrible atrocities. At the other end of the emotional spectrum we saw the truly unbelievable resolve of Am Yisrael and felt the energy of our brave soldiers as they are poised to fight against evil.

There is no way to fully do justice to some of the stories that we heard today. Each individual tales deserves a letter (if not a book) of its own, but I will try to capture the essence of our experience in this limited format.

Starting in chronological order, as we were waiting for our bus to arrive we saw all the inhabitants of Kfar Maimon (a small moshav) who are staying together as a community in a hotel in Yerushalyim. We heard the miraculous tale of how they were saved on that fateful day of October 7th.

From there we went to the Saroka hospital which is where all those injured - civilians and soldiers - were taken after the vicious attacks by Hamas and where, even now, wounded soldiers are brought. Seeing the trauma ward and hearing how they dealt with the tragedies that came their way (their success rate under difficult circumstances was extraordinary) was impressive but spending time with some of the wounded was the moving part of the visit. My group met with one of the heroes of the battle in Sederot who downplayed his own actions while commenting on the miracles that he experienced.

The next part of the trip is simply hard to put in words as we went to Kfar Aza and saw scenes that were beyond painful. We saw the burnt houses and the deliberate destruction that our enemies cruelly did to us. We heard how they methodically and savagely tried to wipe out the entire kibbutz. We met with two incredible women who described what they went through on the fateful Shabbat, and we heard how their boyfriend/son gave his life to save his girlfriend. We were amazed by their strength and resolve in the face of what had happened. They asked us to tell their story and let the world know what happened in their peaceful yishuv; a place where the people worked hard to collaborate with their Palestinian neighbors and where terrorists came to kill them just because they were Jews.

While that experience was harrowing, our next visit reinforced many of those feelings as went to Ofakim which is one of the cities in the region that was brutally attacked by our enemies. Here too we heard the powerful stories of family members who lost their son, brother and nephew (respectively). We heard how each one of them did acts of heroism that prevented the death count from being higher than it tragically was. We saw the actual places where this battle was fought and where civilians ultimately neutralized the terrorists. Here too the strength and faith of those we spoke with was really inspiring.

Finally we went to an army base to spend time with soldiers; to give them chizuk and to draw strength from them as well. We passed through Sederot, a booming city of 36,000 that is now deserted, and arrived at our destination. The incomparable Rav Rimon was there and his talk to the soldiers and the ruach, and dancing, that flowed from his remarks was such a marked contrast to our earlier experiences. You could feel the power of Am Yisrael and it strengthened all of our beliefs that when united we will indeed defeat our enemies.

It was a wonderful way to end a challenging day but it really is a microcosm of the history of the Jewish people. We have endured horrors, survived, and ultimately persevered. However, as Rav Rimon pointed out, this time is different because now we finally have an army to defend ourselves. May HaShem help our brave soldiers so that they are successful in their mission and all return safely.

R'Blau