As fighting continues between the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas in Gaza—and casualties continue to mount with three soldiers killed and many wounded on Wednesday when a booby-trapped building in Khan Younis that was housing a tunnel collapsed around them—Chabad rabbis are doing their best to bring comfort both to the wounded and to the bereaved in hospitals and homes across Israel.
During the day, a total of 27 soldiers were wounded during operations in Gaza, according to an IDF spokesperson.
Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch, has been in Israel all week, talking with families and soldiers, and providing encouragement and support in the face of the ongoing conflict. He visited the Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv, along with Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov, director of the Chabad Youth Organization in Israel, where he spent time with a number of wounded soldiers, thanking them for their self-sacrifice in playing their part for Israel’s security.
Many of the soldiers spoke about their fallen comrades and the Divinely orchestrated circumstances that allowed them to live.
In response, Kotlarsky shared a few verses that the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—would cite with regard to security of the people of Israel: “The Guardian of Israel neither sleeps nor slumbers” (Psalms 121) and Israel is “the land upon which G‑d’s eyes are trained from beginning of the year to the end of the year.” (Deuteronomy 11:12)
One of the wounded shared that his tefillin, which he wore daily, were left in a destroyed tank deep in Gaza. On the spot, Rabbi Menachem Kutner of the Chabad Terror Victims Project, who had been accompanying the senior rabbis, presented him with a new pair. Despite his multiple wounds, the young man managed to put the tefillin on his head.
Earlier in the day, the rabbis had visited the Pomerantz family from Kfar Azar in central Israel; they were sitting shiva for their son, Sgt. Daniel Pomerantz. Before entering Gaza, Daniel had left a message for his parents to read in the event of his death. It read, in part: “Know that I am happy to have been born to this family … that I signed up for the Golani brigade and that I did my best … if you are reading this, I’ve finished my career, but I have fought honorably and I am happy. You can be sure that I’m happy! It’s important that you know this.”
With tears streaming down his cheeks, Kotlarsky told Daniel’s mother, Col. (Res.) Varda Pomerantz—former head of the IDF casualties department, who had, for so many years, shared such unpleasant news with countless families—that he had been touched deeply by her eulogy.
She spoke about her son, who had celebrated his bar mitzvah with Chabad Rabbi Levi Gopin of nearby Ramat Ef’al. Now, the rabbi was arranging prayer services in the bereaved home of his young protégé.
Joining the Effort From Abroad
For those wishing to help in the effort from abroad, Chabad.org has set up a special web page where people can dedicate a mitzvah and write a note to IDF soldiers in general.
Mitzvahs and notes can be specifically directed to the wounded, and printouts will be hand-delivered by staff and volunteers of the Chabad Terror Victims Project.
For more news, impressions, mitzvahs and prayers related to “Operation Protective Edge,” click here.
For those wishing to pray for the wounded, the following is the notice containing the Hebrew names of those who were hospitalized as of last Friday, along with their mothers’ names, which are to be used in prayers for a speedy and complete recovery.
Readers can click on the photo of the ad below for a full-size image of the ad for easier viewing of the names of soldiers hospitalized at the end of last week. The list will be updated as new names become available.
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