BS"D
November 22, 2023 | י' כסלו תשפ"ד
Dear Friends,
It is difficult to describe certain feelings. It is difficult to describe the feeling when a combat soldier, secular Israeli high school student, young mother carrying two small children in her arms, and a seasoned farmer look you in the eye and thank you from their heart for being with them in their time of need. All I can say is that there is an incredible sense and feeling of Am Yisrael that we are experiencing at this time.
This morning we drove to an agricultural moshav in the south near Netivot, where we picked nearly 8,000 heads of cabbage together with a group of secular Israeli high school students (In retrospect we can now agree that grey wool suit pants and dress shoes weren't the best choice of attire for today). Moti Binyamini, the owner of the farm, directed us how to cut each head, as the 40 Thai workers who used to operate the 300 dunam farm left him at the outset of the war. Before we left, we saw the truck arriving to pick up the cabbage that we picked to deliver it to a supermarket (and help this second-generation Israeli farmer maintain his livelihood).
We spent the afternoon and evening with a special event for moms and kids in Tekoa in the Judean Hills. Most of the fathers in this 1,000 family hilltop neighborhood are out doing army service. Mothers have been home with their children for weeks on end. Our event included kids games and crafts, pizza dinner, and a musician with dancing. Countless women shared with me how grateful they were to be seen, have someone help them with dinner for their kids, and to see their kids just happy and having a good time. It was a moment of true joy.
Unfortunately, our next stop was the home of Dvir Barzani zt"l Hy"d. He fell fighting in Gaza this past week and our entire group went to his parents' home in Har Chomah to pay a shiva visit to the bereaved father, mother and sister of this courageous paratrooper. It was very emotional, and they were so appreciative that we came to be with them.
It really is difficult to describe these feelings and ending the day with a group debrief and Kumzitz at the Kotel gave some expression to them.
Besuros tovos for Am Yisrael,
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