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Yankele Gave Two Fingers for Am Yisrael

Thursday, March 28, 2024 - 1:30 PM

Our community just hosted an incredible group of 10 severely wounded IDF soldiers. Our community treated these heroes to the finest restaurants, Broadway shows, helicopter rides, a Knicks game, shopping, spectacular views, Times Square and everything else Manhattan has to offer, as well as a visit to the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Ohel in Queens.

But more than we gave to them, they gave to us. These soldiers visited our homes and inspired our community. At our Shabbat of Thanks, Yankele* shared his story.

Yankele, 31, enlisted in the Givati Brigade in August 2012. On October 7th, he was called up from the reserves to fight and serve his country. After fighting for 75 days in Gaza, on December 15th, while searching for and uncovering tunnels with his team, Yankele entered a house in Khan Yunis. In the dining room, he found a cupboard suspiciously positioned right in the middle of the room and asked for permission to fire. Permission was granted.

He fired at the cupboard and three terrorists burst out. He was able to neutralize all three, but then a fourth emerged and fired a volley of bullets at Yankele. Yankele was hit in the stomach multiple times, as well as in his shoulder and hand. Because of his hand injury—he ended up losing two fingers—he could no longer operate his machine gun, but managed to take out his handgun and kill the terrorist with that.

Within 10 minutes he was evacuated to the hospital for surgery.

During his hospital stay, Yankele received a call from the Belev Echad staff inviting him to come visit the Belev Echad house in Kiryat Ono. It took some nudging but eventually Yankele stopped by, and as soon as he did, a light came on in his eyes, he fell in love, and as he says, “It saved my life!”

I watched Yankele throughout the trip and what I saw is a person who does not see himself as a hero at all. Yankele saved so many lives, and our Sages teach, saving a single life is like saving an entire world. And yet, he is so humble. He sees himself as someone who follows his mission and simply does what he needs to do.

We may not be active soldiers, but there’s much we can learn from Yankele. We are all spiritual soldiers. Our mission is to conquer the world and make it a better place, to illuminate the world with G-dliness and purity. Our challenges don’t compare with those of a soldier in Gaza, but nevertheless we face hurdles on our quest to transform the world. Like Yankele, we need to do the right thing, without fanfare, with simple humility. Just doing the right thing to elevate our world and bring Moshiach and the Final Redemption, when we will experience peace in Israel and around the world.

*Name changed to protect privacy.

Moshe*, our heroic soldier!

Thursday, March 21, 2024 - 6:41 PM

This week, our community is hosting ten severely wounded IDF soldiers. These soldiers have all been injured in Operation Swords of Iron and they are in NY to recuperate from their injuries and to receive love from the community.

One of these soldiers, Moshe*, shared his story, and I was blown away.

Moshe, 21 from Beit Shemesh, enlisted in the Golani Brigade in March 2021. On October 7, he was on the Kissufim base when Hamas attacked. Moshe was in charge of communications and radioed for help, only to find out that terrorists had overrun the entire south of Israel and they were on their own.

They were 10 soldiers up against an enormous amount of Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated Israel and their base and were firing RPGs, missiles, machine guns and grenades at them rapidly. The IDF soldiers tried their best to defend themselves.

Moshe heard a fellow soldier cry out for help so he raced over to help him. On the way, he was shot in the face. The bullet struck his jaw on the right side of his face and came out his neck on the left side.

His friend placed two fingers over the hole and had to keep them there for eight hours to save Moshe's life. There was no other option; no way to evacuate. By keeping his fingers there for hours upon hours he saved Moshe’s life.

Moshe has already had multiple surgeries to reconstruct his jaw, and faces multiple more upon his return to Israel.

Where were we when Moshe shared his story with me? Eating dinner at Wolf and Lamb Steakhouse!

Because of extensive nerve damage, Moshe finds it extremely painful to eat. He suffers with each bite. “Why eat steak?” I asked him. “Why not stick to yogurt and other soft foods that won’t cause pain?”

“Are you kidding?!” he exclaimed. “And let the terrorists defeat me? Every time I eat, it’s a victory over Hamas. I will eat and enjoy my steak, even if it’s painful. I won’t let them make me change anything in my life.”

So he enjoys every bite even though he is in pain from the nerve damage.

“What a hero!” I thought to myself. There is much we can learn from this young man!

Being Jewish requires sacrifice. It’s painful. We have to push ourselves past our comfort zone. Wake up a little early and put on tefillin, even though you’re exhausted. As difficult as it is, turn your phone off for 25 hours of Shabbat. Set aside time each day to study Torah, no matter how busy and overworked you are.

This week, as we celebrate Purim, we read all about the wicked Haman and the lengths he went to to try and kill all the Jews. Switch the “n” for an “s” and Haman becomes Hamas. And indeed, Hamas—the modern-day Haman—is trying their hardest to destroy us.

The story is both historic and contemporary.

But we will not be defeated. We survived then and we’ll survive now. It’s painful. It’s difficult. But just as Esther gathered the Jews together to pray and fast and beseech G-d for salvation, we will remain committed to our heritage and prevail over our blood-thirsty enemy.

Moshe, you are our hero and we will forever be grateful to you!

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Uriel Vigler

*Name changed for privacy reasons

Can You Imagine a Stress-Free World?

Thursday, March 14, 2024 - 11:18 AM

Imagine a world without any fear.

A world with no stress.

A world without sadness.

I had a glimpse into such a world this past Sunday. In fact, I step into this world almost every week when I visit my son’s yeshiva in upstate New York.

It’s a yeshiva where 55 boys study Torah day and night. They have no smartphones, no television, no radio. They are completely disconnected from the outside world. What they do have is lots of Torah, some basketball, some swimming, and no stress—it’s a blissful utopia.

It’s a world I’m envious of. This is how I lived my life as a student, and I often wish I could go back and recapture the experience.

I spent two hours there this week, studying Torah with my son. It’s so refreshing to disconnect from the world, delve into the intricacies of the Talmud, connect to what’s true, and forget about everything that’s wrong with the world for a few hours.

For these boys, this is how they live their lives until they grow older and are ready to “take on the world.” Their learning fortifies them, sharpens their minds, and gives them the strength to withstand all the challenges that this world has to offer.

When the world frightens us into thinking, “What will be? How will Jews survive with so many enemies and the growing antisemitism all over the world?” it’s those years of Torah study that fortify us. We know the answer: G-d is the one Who saved us time and again—like Esther and Mordechai in the Purim story—and G-d is the one Who will continue to save us.

When we wake up with the weight of the world on our shoulders—worried about work, bills, and all sorts of other problems—we can tap into the knowledge that everything that happens is directed by G-d and shrug off the stress.

When the world tells us to be sad because there is so much pain and suffering, we tell the world, “That’s true, but we’re commanded to be happy during the month of Adar. G-d is in control and has a master plan, so relax, be happy.”

“But I didn’t go to yeshiva,” you might say. “I didn’t fortify myself.”

Well, good news—it’s not too late.

Start your day with a little bit of Torah. Study it. Learn it. Absorb it. Until it becomes with you—part of who you are and how you think.

Turn off your phone and your devices for Shabbat. Disconnect from the world for 25 hours and connect to G-d, your family, and your community.

Create that stress-free environment for yourself. Lean into the belief that G-d is in control, and you won’t believe how much easier life gets.

A Thief In Our Chabad House!

Thursday, March 7, 2024 - 3:19 PM

When I walked into my office on Sunday morning, I immediately knew something wasn’t right. I was the last one to leave the night before and I’m meticulous about turning the lights off, but now they were on. The door was open, something I am even more careful about. I lock the door every night and double-check it; growing up in South Africa, it’s second nature to me.

At first, I thought perhaps one of our cleaners forgot something and came back to retrieve it, but then I noticed a mess on the floor.

Fortunately, we have state-of-the-art cameras and I started looking back to see what I could find.

Lo and behold, at 7am that morning a thief broke into our offices. I saw him clearly on the cameras working on the lock for all of 20 seconds before gaining entry, while still somehow leaving the lock intact. I thought that lock was state-of-the-art, but apparently not!

I then watched him helping himself to whatever was around. He looked closely at the Torah, luckily it was of no interest to him. He liked some toys lying about. And he grabbed an Amazon package which I am sure he did not notice contained only some brochures, which are of no value to him.

In total, he was in our Chabad house for about 3 minutes—very quick work!

He even saw a $20 bill lying around on one of the desks but did not touch it.

Of course, we filed a police report and they came and took it seriously. Thank G-d, this was not an act of antisemitism. Just a New Yorker who broke into a few buildings on a random Sunday morning.

We’re fortunate we have cameras and that nothing substantial was taken or destroyed. It was a hassle, but nothing more, thank G-d. But I found myself wondering—why? What is the lesson here? What does G-d want me to learn from the experience?

And I thought of Rabbi Zusya of Anipoli, who learned a number of methods of serving G‑d from a thief.

a) Thieves worked quietly without others knowing. In our Divine service, it's admirable to do good deeds without broadcasting them to others.

b) A thief goes to great lengths—even placing himself in danger—to achieve his goals. This guy could’ve easily been caught; I’m often in my office at 7am. We should be fearless in our service of G-d and our commitment to His mitzvot.

c) Minor details are critical to the thief. The police noted how quickly and expertly he unlocked the door. By paying attention to the smallest of details, we will become experts in our service of G-d.

d) A thief works hard! I mean, look at this guy—no sleeping in on the weekend! Up early and hard at work by 7am. If only we had this dedication in our tasks.

e) Thieves work quickly and efficiently. This one spent less than three minutes in our Chabad center. Surely we can embrace that alacrity and use it in our service of the Creator.

f) Thieves are confident and optimistic—qualities we should emulate.

g) Perseverance: If he does not succeed the first time, a thief tries again and again.

If we commit to doing a mitzvah—going to shul, lighting Shabbat candles, eating only kosher—and we struggle to keep the commitment, we just have to keep trying. Commitment. Perseverance. Just like the thief.