14 Tevet 5784
December 26, 2023
Dear K.I.N.S. Family
What an amazing day this has been! From the morning and through this evening, we've had once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
It all began back in the orange orchard of Moshav Eitan, where, in addition to picking oranges, our boys had a chance to package and sort them, and our girls had a chance to work side by side with 12th-grade girls from Ulpana Merkaz Shapira.
The Ulpana is a Bnei Akiva girls' school in the same Shafir region as the orchard, and Shafir has been part of JUF's "Partnership Together" project for over twenty years. Just last year, I hosted the principal of the Ulpana at ICJA, and today, he brought his students to meet ours.
By the time we were ready to leave, the girls were "old friends," begging for more time to hang out together, inviting our girls to come for Shabbat and trading Instagram accounts. But the real beauty of this "mifgash" was that it was proof once again of the sense of global Jewish peoplehood - the reality that no matter where we're from, we have so much in common that binds us together.
A bit later, as our kids were busy picking oranges, a truck from Leket Israel pulled up to the orchard. I doubt that most of the kids noticed it - but I did.
For those who don't know, Leket Israel is the largest food bank in Israel that, before the war, helped to feed more than 175,000 people weekly, and since the war, has been assisting farmers with their harvests and buying produce that farmers are unable to export.
The truck pulled up because the oranges we were picking were being divided into two categories: the larger ones, fit to be sold in supermarkets and the smaller ones that were being donated to Leket. Which led me to tell the kids that what they were doing was not only helping a farmer whose produce would have rotted without volunteer support but also feeding those in need! Two mitzvot in one.
When we returned to Kfar Etzion, we had the honor of hearing from Rav Doron Perez, the CEO of World Mizrachi, but for today's visit, the father of two sons who were in the battles of October 7th. His older son, Yonatan, was wounded in the battle but is now back with his unit. However, his son, Daniel, was wounded and abducted from his tank.
Rav Perez spoke for about twenty minutes. During that initial presentation, he was entirely composed, as he described the difficult choice he and his wife had to make about whether or not to postpone Yonatan's wedding, which was scheduled for October 17th (they didn't), and the different phases of Daniel's classification, first as "missing," then "abducted," and most recently learning that he was wounded before he was abducted. Rav Perez then opened the floor to questions.
The first question was asked and answered. But then, one of our students asked him "How they could celebrate at Yonatan's wedding?" and his tone changed. He began to weep, explaining to the kids that he never knows when he'll start to cry. It comes, he said, "in waves," but it also passes, which it did, but not fully.
He told us that before the wedding he had decided to put Daniel's absence and situation out of his mind, which proved impossible, because the mesader kiddushin began the wedding by recognizing not only those who were there but also those who were not, and then leading everyone in reciting chapter 130 of Tehillim - all before the chuppah began.
Said Rav Perez, "Those were the most difficult three minutes of my life." But he in the end he said a friend called to say that the wedding was as the "happiest, saddest, most beautiful and holiest wedding" she had ever attended.
Moving away a bit from the specific trials he faces, Rav Perez spoke of the difficult choices the government must make in fighting "two wars" - the war to retrieve the hostages and the war to eradicate Hamas. Each of these "wars" requires different actions and different measures of success. How to balance the two, he explained, is something that he will trust the war cabinet to choose.
But he also noted that when Hamas attacked Israel, "they unleashed unimaginable pain and unexpected unity." The pain we will overcome because we are a resilient people. While the unity we pray will only grow as we see the extraordinary response of the entire Jewish people to this historic moment.
Befire he concluded, he asked everyone to have his son, דניאל שמעון בן שרון, in their prayers - which I know we will. I also know that this conversation will have an impact on our students as they continue to learn what it means to live in Israel during this war.
Our next stop was for a barbecue at the military base of Yishai, the home of the Duvduvan unit of Tzahal. Duvduvan is an elite unit that executes secret missions to combat terrorism, primarily in Yehuda and Shomron and now in Gaza.
HaRav Yosef Zvi Rimon, the Chief Rabbi of Gush Etzion, organized the event, and he brought his full warmth and talents to it. He spoke with the soldiers, hugged them, offered them brachot, gave those who wanted a shiur, and then talked to all of us, encouraging the soldiers and using our students as an example of how all Jewish people are on their side.
One of the most beautiful things he said was when he pointed to his suit and told the soldiers that he had hugged so many soldiers while wearing it that it was now a "holy garment." When he said it, it reminded me of a comment attributed to Rav Soloveitchik, ztz"l, who once referred to the uniform of the Israeli soldiers as holy garments.
And then we sang, and we danced - the chayalim with the boys and the chayalot with the girls. It was so moving, looking around and seeing the full range of klal Yisrael singing "Am Yisrael Chai," "V'ha'ikkar lo l'fached klal," and other songs.
As the food was served, I scanned the scene and saw the soldiers sitting and talking with our kids, telling stories and thanking them. In fact, one of the things that struck me the most was the number of people who approached me to thank me for coming and bringing the students. Here they were, soldiers who risked their lives fighting a war, and they thanked us for coming to Israel to volunteer.
Why? I believe it is because by coming, we show them that they are not alone and that their battles are for Am Yisrael. A little later Rav Rimon reinforced that idea to me when he told me that was speaking to a soldier about lighting Chanukah candles, and he asked the soldier if it bothered him that his family was having a Chanukah party without him. Said the soldier, "It would only bother me if they didn't. Because I am fighting so that my family can celebrate!"
Due the secrecy of the Duvduvan unit, we were not allowed to take pictures of the soldiers or the base, and even when a Major spoke to us, he only used his first name, "Rafi." He described the duties of Duvduvan, and then he told our students that "this is a historic moment for the Jewish nation. Being here at this time is something you will never forget because you are now part of history." And then, he, too, thanked us for coming.
Our students continued to speak with chayalim, listening to their stories and answering their questions. In a wy, it was the next step to the morning's gathering with the girls from the Ulpana because it was so very natural, young men and women who all cherish their identity and their role in the future of the Jewish people, being together, learning from one another and enjoying each other's company.
As I write these words, I am in the airport, about to fly back to Chicago. But I'm so proud that our students will continue volunteering until January 10th. But even more, I'm thrilled that I and my students were able to have the experiences of these past ten days, experiences that have confirmed to me the unique character of our people and taught them the power and beauty of being part of a ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש - a nation unlike any other, a people that cherishes life, regales in our newfound unity and continues to inspire each other through the values of Torah and klal Yisrael.
As I told the soldiers, may all of our chayalim return home to their families soon, shlaimim u'b'shalom!
B'vracha,
Rabbi Leonard A. Matanky
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