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Dropped His Start Up To Fight In The War

Thursday, December 28, 2023 - 9:13 AM

When I turned on my phone after Shabbat two weeks ago, I found a message from someone I didn’t know.

“Hi Rabbi Vigler,” he wrote. “My name is Doron Levy. I served in the IAF (combat special forces) from October 8th until a week ago. I've just arrived in the city and am looking for a place to stay for a little while. Can you please help me?”

It turns out that Doron and his co-founders have a start-up company called “Colors AI.” They had investors lined up and were preparing to launch, but then October 7th happened. Doron and his team could not stand by; they dropped their business, canceled their meetings, and immediately lined up to volunteer with the army.

They spent the next weeks with their units, fighting to protect their country and their people—fighting for all of us. And all the while, they were being bombarded with calls from their investors wanting updates about the launch. Some understood and some didn’t, but regardless, Doron and his co-founders weren’t going to abandon Israel.

By December, however, they realized that the company would completely collapse if they didn't come back, so they flew to the US. That’s when Doron messaged me for a place to stay. He came with a vision, but needed help to bring it to fruition.

Knowing Doron and his co-founders dropped their business at a pivotal point to fight for us and protect our Holy Land, I was grateful for the opportunity to repay them even in a tiny way.

Thank G-d, we have an undeniably strong community here at Chabad Israel Center. Because of our extensive work helping wounded Israeli soldiers with Belev Echad, we have an enormous network of volunteers dedicated heart and soul to our brothers and sisters in Israel.

So I put out the request on one of our many community WhatsApp chats. “Does anyone have any leads for a soldier who just returned from battle?”

Within 3 minutes, I had 12 leads! It’s incredible to witness how much people want to help. What an incredible nation we are.

Thanks to the generosity of our community, I had the luxury of giving Doron the best option—an empty studio apartment in a luxury building, donated by the owner to help Doron get settled for the first few weeks.

I also met with Doron and asked him to send me a short blurb about his company. Maybe some of our friends would want to partner with him and help fund it.

I sent it around and—voila!—people were very interested indeed! Turns out Doron and his team have an incredible idea, which you can read more about on their website: www.colors-ai.com

Shortly thereafter Doron messaged me that he was able to close the first round of funding and will be forever grateful to our community!

The third Chabad Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek, taught: If you help someone with their livelihood, even a small amount, the gates to the Heavenly Chambers will open for you.

Thank you, Hashem, for giving us the incredible merit of helping a Jew with his livelihood, and thanks to our incredible community for always stepping up.

An Aliya 45 Years in the Making

Thursday, December 21, 2023 - 10:09 AM

I found myself standing outside last Shabbat, looking for a minyan—a position I have not been in for a very, very long time. Our minyan has been thriving, but this week was tough. People are sick, people are away, and we only had 9 people for mincha. I was determined to find a 10th.

Now, having been out on the streets tracking Jews basically my entire life my radar is pretty good. So when Mike* walked past, I had a pretty strong indication that he was Jewish. I greeted him with “Shabbat Shalom” and he responded in kind.

“Do you mind helping us with a minayn?” I asked. “We need a 10^th man.”

He declined.

I tried to pressure him just a little. “The sun’s going down and we cannot pray without you. It’ll just take five minutes …” (I meant five Jewish minutes. You know, mincha, Torah-reading, Torah class, and then maariv.)

Again, he declined.

“Do it for Israel,” I said. “Israel needs you.”

And I meant it! Every Jew, no matter who, no matter where, can do something for our brothers and sisters in Israel. We are all in this war together. An IDF soldiers can fire bullets at terrorists and save lives, and we can fire spiritual bullets by wrapping tefillin and coming to pray.

At that, he agreed, and followed me inside.

Now, when you do a mitzvah or a sin, there’s always an “Oy!” and an “Ahh.” When you sin, first you feel the “Ahhh,” and then later on the “Oy!” hits you. But when you do a mitzvah, in the moment you might feel the “Oy!” but later you experience the “Ahh.”

And Mike, doing this mitzvah almost against his wishes, definitely felt the “oy.” He agreed, but was palpably annoyed.

When we got up to the Torah reading, I called Mike up for an aliyah. “When was the last time you were called up to the Torah?” I asked. Turns out it was 45 years ago! 1978! That was the last time he went to shul.

We were honored to have Mike join us and give him an aliyah after so many years. And Mike discovered that he actually enjoyed the experience, so much that even when an 11th man joined, he stayed.

Now I know why our regulars didn’t show up this week. It was all orchestrated by G-d so that I would bump into Mike and bring him inside for his first aliyah in almost half a century!

So, go outside and do a mitzvah for Israel. Bring a friend to shul. Help a coworker lay tefillin. Bring Shabbat candles to your neighbor—or better yet, invite them over to light with you and stay for the meal.

Shabbat shalom.

*Name changed to protect privacy

We Are A Nation Of Light!

Thursday, December 7, 2023 - 3:08 PM

Last week, I received the following email:

“Rabbi Uriel Vigler,

“You are invited to an exclusive private screening of unfiltered footage from the events of October 7th. We believe your presence at this screening is invaluable, considering your influence and impact. Your insights and perspective on this matter are highly regarded and would contribute significantly to the discussion.”

I took the weekend to think about it, and after careful reflection I declined. I simply cannot handle the close-up look at the atrocities. It’s just too painful.

And yet, my thoughts are constantly on Israel. My mind is in Gaza with the soldiers; my heart is in the tunnels with the hostages.

When we consider the reality right in front of us, it’s hard not to despair. Israel is surrounded by enemies who seek her demise, soldiers are being killed every day, and Jews globally are the target of increasing antisemitism and disdain.

Today marks exactly 2 months since the October 7 war began. We are angry! What can we do? We want to roll up our sleeves and do something—anything—to make a difference.

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah! How do we mark the holiday? What do we do to commemorate the victory of the few against the many, the weak against the strong? We light the menorah, because a small amount of light dispels great swaths of darkness.

And indeed, we are currently in very dark times. Lies and accusations and undeniable pure Jew-hatred. It’s on social media, it’s on the streets, it’s in our businesses and places of work. But we know that the darkness time of night is just before dawn breaks, and the darkest part of our exile will be right before Moshiach comes.

So tonight, as you light the menorah, gaze deeply into the flames and see just how brightly it burns.

That is us—a nation of light. We shine! Our strength lies in light, in positivity, in love, laughter and G-dliness. In life. And that is why our enemies will never defeat us.

Happy Chanukah.