12 Tevet 5784
December 24, 2023
Dear K.I.N.S. Family
The past two days have been filled with emotion and opportunity, as our students spent Shabbat on Kfar Etzion and today, visited with a family who lost their son in the war and worked with young children who have been displaced from their homes.
We spent our first Shabbat in Kfar Etzion to get to know the kibbutz community better. To do so, we davened with the Kibbutz, and on Friday night, we divided up for home hospitality with members of the Kibbutz.
I had the pleasure of eating with the Rav of the Kibbutz, Rav Moshe, and Chaviva Spetter. As I introduced myself to him, we discovered that twenty-one years ago, the year my son Yaakov, z"l was killed in a car accident at camp, we had spent the month together at Moshava. He and his wife were a young couple on shlichut, and he served as the Rosh Kollel while I served as the Rosh Midrasha.
Since the war began, Rav Spetter has been in the army, and this was the first Shabbat he was home, which was true for many of the host homes we ate at. This says so much about the people of the Kibbutz - that they were willing to have guests on a "first Shabbat."
After kiddush and before the meal began, their daughter left for shmira - a new task in the Kibbutz which involved watching the video monitors of the newly installed surveillance system, and one of the many things that changed on the Kibbutz since the war began. In fact, Rav Spetter told me that when he came home on Thursday after being away since October 9th, there were many things he noticed, from the soldiers at the entrance, the changes in the hours of stores, the chayalim living on the Kibbutz, and of course the many members who are still serving in the army and away from their families.
But my experience was unique; there was a home where two families came together since both husbands were in the army, another where multiple members had just come back from service, and homes where many were still serving in the war.
On Shabbat morning after Tefilla, we had an outstanding presentation by Rav Yonatan Billet. Rav Billet is a teacher in Yeshivat Mekor Chayim that is known for both scholarship and spirituality. He told us about the origins of the Kibbutz and used the life of Chanan Porat to tell that story.
Chanan Porat was raised in Kfar Etzion. As a four-year-old, he was evacuated along with all the women and children during the War of Independence and was one of the few children of the Kibbutz whose father wasn't massacred by the Arabs on May 13, 1948 (the day before the declaration of the State). Following the Six-Day War, Chanan led the charge to re-establish the Kibbutz (and found Yeshivat Har Etzion).
Everyone told him his dreams were impossible, and many, even the widows, discouraged him. But he didn't listen.
Said Rav Billet, "Do you know how many first grades were opened this year in the Gush? There were 63!" (And don't forget that in Israel, a classroom can have as many as 40 students!).
Before Chanan Porat passed away, he left instructions that on his tombstone, they should write - בנפשו יביא חלומו (lit. with his life he brought about his dreams). Rav Billet used this to challenge our students, telling them there are two types of people in this world - those with stories and those without. Both types of people may experience the same things. But one type moves on, while another says "wow!" and always has a story to tell.
This trip has definitely been a "wow" experience, and I pray that our students will have so many stories that they will share and that will shape their dreams for the future.
One of the many things I have learned over the past few trips is that you can't ask an Israeli, "How are you?" Because no one is the same, and the war impacts everyone. This was brought home again after breakfast this morning as I spoke with one of the women on the Kibbutz who works in the Chadar Ochel. She told me that she hesitates to turn on the news every morning because she is afraid of what she might hear. And today was an especially difficult day, as we learned that 11 soldiers were killed in Gaza. But then she added that her mother called her unexpectedly this morning, and she was afraid to pick up the phone, not knowing why she was calling. B"H it was just for something small - but if you want to understand some of the underlying tension here - that's a perfect example.
The first thing we did today was visit the home of Jen and Robert Airly in Ramat Beit Shemesh. Their son, Binyamin, hv"d, was killed in Gaza on November 18th, and they had just finished his shloshim. They spoke with us for over an hour and told us about him and their grief and their faith. And what amazing faith they have.
She was asked if she would went back in time was there anything she would want to change. And her answer was, "No, everything that happened was the will of Hashem."
Recently, they found an "I Want" list that their son had composed when he was sixteen with everything he aspired to accomplish, everything from not speaking lashon hara to doing mitzvot more seriously. His mother described this list as a gift from G-d. And she challenged our students to take upon themselves one mitzvah in memory of her son and to bring the geulah sooner. She also passed around a journal for people to do just that. Afterward, some of our kids were so inspired they discussed creating their own "I Want" list.
And there was so much more she shared. Her faith in Hashem is exceptional. One more example was when a friend felt they couldn't make a simcha in the middle of the war. She told them what Rav Asher Weiss told her: Everyone has a role in this world; her role for the moment is to mourn, and her friend's role is to make a Simcha.
From there, we went to an exclusive 5-star hotel called Kramim. It's a hotel that is so fancy it doesn't allow children as guests. But for the past few weeks, it has been host to the community of Shlomit - 80 families with more than 350 children.
Shlomit is 6 kilometers from Gaza and .5 kilometers from Egypt, and on October 7th, four members of the Kibbutz were killed defending a neighboring community of Prigan. After the 7th, they were evacuated with only twenty minutes' notice.
At first, they stayed stayed in Kfar Etzion. But soon then, they were moved to the hotel. There is a room for a gan, and there are rooms for school; there is even a classroom in the manager's offices. We came to provide some respite for the parents and enjoyment for the kids - working with 5-9-year-olds.
After hearing about the heroism of the four and the challenges the families face, I had a chance to meet the hotel manager. I told him how amazed I was with what he was doing. And he told me how amazed he was with what we were doing. It was as if we were talking right past each other - he couldn't get over the fact that parents would send their children to volunteer, and I couldn't get over everything he was doing for the evacuees.
And then I went to see our kids in action. I am so proud of how they played with these children, brought such joy into their day, and the creativity and compassion they showed. I even joined in, sitting on the floor and playing a game of "Duck, Duck, Goose." It was an absolute joy to be there, and we've already heard from the families asking that we come back - that this was the first time a group had come and given the children such a meaningful and fun time. And we will go back!
We ended today with learning. The girls had a chance to study with world-renowned scholar Dr. Jeffrey Saks, and the boys went to Yeshivat Har Etzion for night seder and shiur. Both learning groups had a great experience, and I thank Amudim (a women's seminary where Dr. Saks teaches) and Har Etzion for creating opportunities for us.
In this week's parsha, Yaakov Avinu gathers his sons and declares that he will tell what will happen בְּאַחֲרִ֥ית הַיָּמִֽים - at the end of days.
Rashi, quoting the Midrash, explains that Yaakov intended to tell his children about the Messianic era, but G-d took away his prophetic powers, and therefore, he was unable to do so, offering instead his final charge to his children.
But the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Isaac Herzog, ztz"l, the grandfather of the current president of Israel, suggested that Yaakov did reveal what would happen when he said in the following pasuk: הִקָּבְצ֥וּ וְשִׁמְע֖וּ בְּנֵ֣י יַעֲקֹ֑ב - Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob.
In other words, he explained what will happen in the Messianic era - the Jewish people will coalesce and come together, listening as never before.
On each of my visits to Israel since the beginning of the war, what has struck me is the faith of the people, their willingness to work together, and, most importantly, their unity. It is as if the words of הִקָּבְצ֥וּ וְשִׁמְע֖וּ are coming to life in this time of great challenge and danger.
May this continue, and may the geulah shlaima arrive quickly, the hostages be released and those who threaten us be removed from this earth.
B'vracha,
Rabbi Leonard A. Matanky
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