ב"ה

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Bring Them Home, Now!

Thursday, October 26, 2023 - 4:00 PM

Our hearts are broken, shattered. 224 of our brothers and sisters are in captivity. 1400 murdered and thousands more wounded. How could this happen?!

We have no answers, only outrage. This unfathomable, barbaric massacre has shaken every Jew to the core. We are angry! Outraged. Stunned into silence. And we feel helpless. Anti-Semitism is raging and the world doesn’t care—not about us or about Israel. What will be?

Hamas is keeping 224 of our brothers and sisters hostage in their labyrinth web of tunnels winding for miles and miles under Gaza like a hidden city. It’s unbearable to think about.

It was during Operation Protective Edge in 2014 that the existence of these weaponized tunnels came to light, and it’s assumed that Hamas is keeping all the hostages there. The IDF will do everything in its power to search those tunnels, but what can we do?

We have to pray for the hostages and for the success of the Israeli army, but what else can we do? We are all antsy, we want to help. If we’re not soldiers, what action can we take?

Well, we’ve already started doing it. Brand new tunnels have come to light since the barbaric massacre on Simchat Torah: tunnels of love.

During this war, we’ve dug deep into ourselves and discovered powerful tunnels of love crisscrossing our nation, connecting us to one another and to our brothers and sisters in Israel. We are, regardless of outward differences, a nation that cares deeply.

As Jews, we have displayed the most incredible love towards one another. There are so many units in the army that are requesting different items: fleeces to keep them warm, sleeping bags, army boots, helmets, bullet-proof vests, tefillin, tzitizit … you name it. And whatever they want, Jews from all over the world have united and created WhatsApp chats and fundraising efforts to find, buy and distribute supplies, all in the shortest amount of time. It’s incredible to witness!

Jews who have been displaced from their homes due to missile attacks have been embraced and fully taken in by strangers, simply because they are their fellow Jews.

We are a nation like no other.

Hamas may have built tunnels of terror, but we are building and maintaining tunnels of love. We may be different on the outside—one seems to be secular, another ultra-Orthodox, one a kibbutznik, another chassidic—but when it really matters, we know how to ignore the external differences and dig deep, focusing on our commonalities: we are one nation, with one heart and one soul.

We are helping complete strangers in their time of need. The giving is unparalleled. It’s astounding!

There is not a Jew who hasn’t been shaken to the core. We feel the pain of the hostages; we feel the pain of each family that has had to be uprooted from their homes. We feel the terror of the children when a missile strikes and the anxiety of a whole country living on the front lines.

While we may be far away physically, the power of the spiritual is infinite! These tunnels of love that we are digging will find their way to our hostages, and give strength to our powerful army to find them and dig them out. May it happen very quickly!

Oy! What Will Be?

Thursday, October 19, 2023 - 3:20 PM

Like millions of other Jews, I woke up on Simchat Torah morning and went to shul. We’d had a vibrant, electrifying party the night before, and I was in good spirits. We’d be reading the end of the Torah and starting over again with Bereishit, and I was anticipating a large crowd.

But when I got to shul, I started hearing snippets.

“There’s been an attack … ”

“Jews have been kidnapped … ”

“Hamas overpowered them … ”

“They have murdered so many …”

“Army bases have been run over …”

It came to us in bits and pieces. People came to my house to update me throughout the afternoon. It was absolutely terrifying.

In a matter of hours, the world as we knew it had gone.

Our people experience the most brutal attack since the Holocaust; the devastation and loss is unbearable. Our very own Raz Mizrachi, one of our Belev Echad soldiers, was murdered.

No one knows what will happen now. War is imminent but hasn’t really started yet. At the same time, troops are mobilizing and we’re facing enemies on all sides—Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, not to mention sizable crowds around the world celebrating the massacre of our brothers and sisters. It affects all of us.

After the Yom Kippur War and its terrible losses, Rabbi Lau traveled to New York to visit the Rebbe. The Rebbe asked him about the mood in Israel, and Rabbi Lau told him that people are afraid and asking “What will be?” The Rebbe looked at him and answered, “A Jew does not ask ‘What will be?’ A Jew asks, ‘What can I do?’ ”

That is our response today, too. What can we do?

And the response has been overwhelming. Jews all over the world have rolled up their sleeves and jumped into action. The lion within us has been aroused.

We Jews are the most incredible nation. When we are attacked, we unite like a single entity.

We are all involved. We have war rooms up and running—raising money for army gear so every unit has what it needs.

At Belev Echad, the Israeli government tasked us with providing items that are vital for national security and we’ve raised millions of dollars for the effort. Ask Jews to give during times of crisis and the results are incredible.

Jews all over the world have stepped up and come together, donating money, volunteering, sending gifts and letters and even food to the soldiers and their families left at home in limbo.

When we are united, we are unbreakable.

So, what else can we do? Mitzvot.

We need to overwhelm the darkness Hamas brought with light—the light of Torah, mitzvot, Jewish pride and Jewish unity.

The spiritual power of a mitzvah cannot be put into words. It’s enormous. So choose something—something you can keep to—and commit to it. Shabbat, tefillin, kosher, mezuzah … whatever you choose it helps in a real and tangible way.

We’ve been trampled, pillaged, more brutally than we have been in almost 80 years. But we will prevail. We will triumph and make our homeland safer than ever.

There is no doubt in my mind: When we are this deeply united, no enemy can defeat us.

Farewell, Dear Raz

Thursday, October 12, 2023 - 12:49 PM

Our hearts are absolutely shattered by the murder of our dear friend, Raz Mizrachi, may G-d avenge her blood.

Raz, with the infectious smile and the voice of an angel.

Raz, just 21 years old, who had already survived a previous terror attack.

Raz, who had seen and experienced too much, but remained charming, exuberant, and giving.

Raz, brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists last week. May G-d avenge her blood.

I first met Raz a year ago, when she came to New York with 11 other severely wounded IDF soldiers through our Belev Echad program. As part of the rehabilitation process, Belev Echad brings wounded soldiers on transformational trips across the world.

Raz was the main speaker at last year’s Belev Echad gala, held at Chelsea Piers and attended by 1,000 people. One thousand people listened to her story that night, and were inspired by her courage and light. One thousand people had tears in their eyes as she described the moment a terrorist rammed his car, at full speed, into her and her fellow soldiers, in Sheikh Jarach in May 2021. One thousand people heard Raz’s account of being so severely injured, she thought she was going to die, but she persevered and survived. One thousand people were uplifted when she declared, “The terrorist did not win. I won. I was victorious. I am still here and I love Israel more than anything else.”

When she returned to Israel after that trip, she started working at the Belev Echad house. Everyone loved working with her, myself included. I communicated with her multiple times a day. She was incredible.

Above all, her infectious smile stands out to everyone who knew her. Despite her pain, despite the terrible fear she had experienced and the difficult recovery she had to endure, she was a happy, upbeat person to be around.

Raz returned to us just last month when my wife Shevy organized a women’s challah bake and candle-lighting evening. Raz spoke again, and also sang for the 300 women and girls who attended. Her charm was magnetic; her voice that of an angel. More than that, she was just so sincere and heartfelt.

When Raz arrived, she brought Shevy a gift—a framed picture of the two of them at the gala, smiling, happy. When I looked at it this past Shabbat, I saw she had engraved on the frame, “Forever.”

The last place she visited in New York before her flight was the Ohel, the Rebbe’s resting place, where she prayed. She told her mother that this visit gave her clarity and strengthened her connection with G-d. May He avenge her blood.

What can we do in Raz’s memory? We can take upon ourselves a mitzvah in her honor, such as lighting Shabbat candles, putting on tefillin, going to shul, davening daily, putting mezuzahs up in your home and business, giving charity on a regular basis in her memory, or any other mitzvah that speaks to you.

Raz, as you ascend with your loving smile and pure heart, please beg the heavenly angels to bring Moshiach.

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