LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor,

The following story was related by a soldier in Israel. He wrote and emailed it to his uncle here in the U.S., whom I know personally.

It has been a couple weeks, but I have some time now, and I wanted to write about a nes that happened to me during those first few days of hell. My unit was called in on Shabbat morning. No Tzav 8 (emergency call-up notice), no ishurim (exceptions), no official order, nothing. Our brigade commander saw that the south needed a battalion to respond ASAP, so he told us to come in.

Four hours later, we got on our Humvees, and headed straight to Kfar Aza. Our weapons had been handed to us on the spot; we had never shot them, didn’t have time to clean them, and had no idea if they worked, and the sights definitely had not been zeroed in. The weapons in the Reserve units are notorious for being unreliable and usually do not even shoot properly before a good clean, or in some cases, a visit to the armory. That is how we went into combat. We walked into the Yishuv, and were engaged by terrorists within the first few minutes of walking. A few minutes later we encountered one hiding in a bush with an AK-47, waiting to ambush us. My rifle worked perfectly, firing every shot, cycling every round, hitting my targets. Not a single jam. I thanked Hashem for giving me a rifle that worked right off the bat. After three days of fighting, it was clear my rifle was in pristine condition.

On Tuesday night, we finished clearing Kfar Aza, and were switched out by another battalion. We were sent up to a base so we could rest, shower, and finally clean and check our weapons. We went to the range. Immediately, I got a jam. Another round, another jam. And another. They were getting worse, so I had to start using the pliers on my utility knife to clear them. We ended up having to take it to the armory, so they could switch out all the internal parts – to basically rebuild it from the inside. The gun just didn’t work! It was a broken rifle. It was broken from the moment it was handed to me on Shabbat morning. But for me, in those few days in Kfar Aza, it worked to perfection.

I heard similar stories from many other soldiers in our battalion. I look forward to the day where I can stand in my shul on Shabbat, at krias HaTorah, and recite Birkat HaGomel for this miracle and the countless others that Hashem performed for us.

Hinei lo yanum v’lo yishan, shomer Yisrael!

Z.K.

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Dear Editor,

It has been said that Rabbi Yisroel Spalter in conversation with Imam Dr. Abdul Hamid Samra discussed their message to their respective communities. As community leaders, the two concluded on a goal that is practical in all our lives, “Don’t demonstrate for peace, demonstrate peace.”

A.C.

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Dear Editor,

 I discovered an amazing hotline - Growing Every Day - that is the answer to anyone seeking chizuk, or perspective on the situation in Eretz Yisrael, and the world in general. Rabbi Moshe Sorotzkin, author of Keitz HaGeulah is the featured speaker. The rav discusses current events within the process of the geulah through the lens of Chazal. Rabbi Moshe is the son of the famed Rosh HaYeshivah, Rav Yitzchok, and son-in-law of Rav Mattisyahu Salomon shlit”a.

Growing Every Day can be reached at, 848-777-GROW (4769).

Behatzlacha,
B.G. 

P.S. There are amazing daily short shiurim on a myriad of topics. The sefer is a must purchase item.

Bio – Dr. Fred Naider is a recent Oleh to Israel and was a Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry at the City University of New York. He lives in Rehovot and has two grandsons in the IDF.