English Blog

Did He Give His Legs or Did He Lose Them?

Thursday, May 30, 2024 - 10:34 AM

Last week, I met an extraordinary hero, *Avshalom, who left an indelible mark on my life. Our Belev Echad community just finished hosting 11 wounded IDF soldiers for a 10-day restorative trip. Each soldier has an incredible story, but Avshalom's courage and resilience stand out.

On October 6th, Avshalom returned to Israel from a trip to South America. He had already been discharged from the army and had no requirement to go back and serve. But when war broke out on October 7th, instead of going straight to Ben Gurion airport and heading back to South America, he went to the south of Israel and joined his unit.

Avshalom and his friends from the Maglan unit were among the first to enter Gaza following the October 7th terrorist attack. On November 10th, during a search for terror tunnels in Beit Hanoun, his team encountered a hidden 100-kilogram bomb. Hamas terrorists detonated it, killing four soldiers and severely injuring six others including Avshalom. Despite losing both legs above the knee, damaging one eye, and injuring his right hand, Avshalom's positive attitude and warm smile inspire me daily.

At one of our breakfasts on the trip, I referred to Avshalom as a tremendous hero who gave his legs for Am Yisrael. Someone else pointed out that my choice of words was inaccurate, and that actually Avshalom lost his legs rather than giving them.

This subtle difference in language got me thinking—the distinction between giving and losing is profound.

Losing implies victimhood, a circumstance beyond his control, but giving implies a heroic act, a choice made for the greater good. Avshalom had already finished his army service but chose to re-enlist after October 7th, knowing the risks. He chose to fight and protect Am Yisrael against ruthless terrorists.

He is a true hero who gave his legs! He didn’t lose anything.

In the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s words, “There is no greater merit than to give of your own body to defend the Land of Israel and the holy nation of Israel.”

This dichotomy applies to our daily lives: there doesn’t exist a single person in the world who does not face obstacles and challenges. Not necessarily on the same scale as Avshalom’s challenges, but we all have them. We all deal with frustrations and pain, but we have the power to choose how we respond. Do we let circumstances defeat us, or do we transform them into opportunities for growth and empowerment?

Every day, we can ask ourselves, “Did I give or did I lose?” Because if we give, we are heroes, and if we lose, we are victims.

When I spend 10 minutes in the morning wrapping my tefillin and reciting the Shema, am I giving 10 minutes or am I losing 10 minutes?

When I give $1,000 to charity, am I giving $1,000 or am I losing $1,000?

When I go out of my way to visit a friend in the hospital, am I giving my time or am I losing it?

In the face of persistent antisemitism and ongoing conflict, Avshalom's story teaches us that even in darkness, we have the power to choose. We can choose to give—to sacrifice for something greater—or to let circumstances control us.

The choice is ours, every morning, every day.

Let us rise to the challenge, fulfill an extra mitzvah today, and bring goodness into the world.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Uriel Vigler

*Name changed to protect the privacy of the individual

What Would You Do In Your Final Moments?

Thursday, May 23, 2024 - 2:30 PM

This week I met an incredible hero: Yarin. Our Belev Echad community hosted 11 wounded IDF soldiers for a 10-day restorative trip. Each one has an incredible story; this is Yarin’s.

Yarin served in the Givati brigade. On November 18, 2023, after fighting in Gaza for a few weeks, his unit was tasked with entering the Jabalia refugee camp.

They went in around 8pm, and the mission continued until around 4am. They had just gone to sleep when they were awakened by a loud boom at 5am. Chaos erupted. The armored vehicle they were in had been hit by an RPG missile. They had to get out of the vehicle which was quickly filling with smoke, only to be fired on yet again—with another missile as well as gunfire. They were under heavy terrorist attack.

At this point, Yarin was completely unable to see or hear anything, and he was terrified. When his vision returned, he noticed his entire body was covered in blood. He had been shot 4 times.

Certain that these were his final moments in this world, Yarin lay down and recited the famous prayer “Shema Yisrael … ”

A medic arrived and began treating his wounds. He looked back, realizing a fellow soldier’s quick actions had saved them.

As he was being evacuated by helicopter, he saw his best friend, Shlomo, lying on the ground, killed.

Yarin went through months of surgeries and rehabilitation, and he still has a bullet lodged inside of him which doctors will hopefully be able to remove. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope this 10-day restorative trip will give him strength for his upcoming surgeries when he gets back to Israel.

Listening to Yarin’s story, I was blown away. With all the chaos around him—literally in a war zone, on an active battlefield with heavily armed ruthless terrorists—what did he do when he thought his life was about to end? He lay down and connected with G-d, saying Shema—the prayer Jews have said for millennia.

What would you do in your final moments? What would you think about? Throughout history, our people have turned to the Shema. This is what makes our nation so strong!

We can all learn from Yarin, too, and follow his example in our day-to-day lives. We’re often surrounded by chaos. Not an active battle scene, but chaos nonetheless. We’re inundated with a constant stream of noise and news. But we can take a moment every day to stop and recite the Shema, preferably while wearing tefillin. A momentary reprieve.

Do it for Yarin. Do it for our soldiers. Do it for the hostages. Do it for yourself. You’ll see, it will pay dividends.

I Almost Lost $58,550 This Week

Thursday, May 16, 2024 - 4:56 PM

My bank phoned me on Tuesday morning asking me to approve a wire transfer to Kathryn Combs.

I didn’t think much of it at first. My Bank is very careful about fraud, so I get these calls multiple times a month. I didn’t recognize the name, but I wasn’t overly concerned; our bookkeeping office sends ACH payments routinely.

I emailed our bookkeeping office to check in, and they forwarded me an email from my wife with an invoice for $58,550 attached and a note asking them to take care of it immediately. That sounded strange, so I sent it to my wife and she said, “No, that wasn’t me!”

I examined the email closely and realized not only was it fraudulent, it was extremely sophisticated fraud. The thieves had clearly done their research!

They made their email address so similar to my wife’s, even my bookkeeper—who is extremely sharp-eyed and careful—believed it. Not only that, the email included a back-and-forth conversation between my wife and another senior staff member about the invoice, both using email addresses that could easily be mistaken for authentic. They even nailed the tone and content! It was exactly how they would communicate. And everything was so professional; there was nothing that made the invoice look “off.”

Thank G-d, the bank called to verify and we were able to stop the transfer from going out.

Once I breathed a sigh of relief, I realized we can all learn a tremendous lesson from my encounter.

The reality is that every single one of us is “impersonated” on a daily basis, and we need to discover who is the “real” me and who is the “impersonated” me. We are hacked, so we fall into a bad mood, or resort to anger, or give in to temptation. When we lose our cool with other drivers, or snap at a coworker, or eat that “almost kosher” sandwich, that is because we have been impersonated.

To discover the “real me” we need to recognize the hack, peel back the layers, and find the pure core, the good and loving essence.

The real me is the person who loves G-d, is kind and generous and friendly. The real me goes out of my way to help others and serve G-d. The real me goes to minyan even when it's hard, eats kosher even on vacation, and is respectful to my parents even after a challenging day at work.

So, have you been impersonated? Who is the real you?

Antisemitism Today Is Worse Than the 1930s

Thursday, May 9, 2024 - 4:37 PM

This week, we tried opening a new bank account for Belev Echad—helping wounded IDF soldiers. We filled out all the paperwork, got all the approvals, and thought we were good to go. But then we received the following email:

“Unfortunately our bank does not have an appetite for this type of business. This is due to the nature of business. I do apologize for any inconvenience caused. If you have any questions, please do let me know.”

In other words: We don’t want to do business with an organization that helps wounded Israeli soldiers. Wow. I suppose we should be grateful at least it came with an apology (not!).

The World Zionist Organization published a report this week noting that the current state of Antisemitism is worse than the 1930s, with social media spreading hatred like wildfire.

To think that our grandparents who lived in Europe in the 1930s experienced less Antisemitism than we are in 2024 boggles the mind!

Our grandparents watched their neighbors turn on them. They left Europe to escape Antisemitism. Many came to the US—the land of freedom and opportunity—to start over. And we have been able to be successful here in this country, more than any other period in history.

November 2023 saw the highest number of antisemitic incidents documented since 1985, followed by April 2024, with over 10,000 antisemitic incidents documented worldwide since the start of the war in Gaza.

The report also points to a 360% increase in antisemitic incidents in the United States since October 7th, 733% in Canada, and 433% in Australia.

So where do we go from here? These numbers are both terrifying and heartbreaking, and they don’t appear to be improving anytime soon. Social media—the very tools we use to enhance our lives—have made it so much worse. There is nowhere to hide.

Fortunately, we can always look to the teachings of our sages for comfort and guidance. Our sages teach that the darkest time of the night is just before dawn breaks. That’s good news for us! We’ve been in exile for 2000 years and experienced every variety of persecution. The fact that in 2024 Antisemitism is worse than it was in the 1930s is a strong indication that we are on the verge of finally experiencing the ultimate illumination—the coming of Moshiach and the Final Redemption.

The only thing we can do now is work furiously to catapult ourselves headfirst into that reality by standing proudly as Jews, increasing our observance of mitzvot, and adding blinding light to the world.

That is the only true answer to Antisemitism.

Five Lessons We Can Learn From the Protestors

Thursday, May 2, 2024 - 5:11 PM

The past couple of weeks have been rough for us Jews. Seeing the vile and hateful rhetoric coming out of the protests at college campuses across the country is like watching a horror film. All those stories of ancient pogroms and Jews being beaten in the streets, all the stories we heard from our grandparents and great grandparents … it’s coming to life before our very eyes, unfolding with such rapidity we want to stare openmouthed and look away in terror all at the same time.

A beast has been unleashed and is spreading its venomous tentacles all over social media, college campuses, high schools, businesses, sports, etc. And all of this is taking place in America—the place we fled to for safety. A place that was supposed to harbor and protect us. And now, Antisemitism unlike anything we’ve seen since the Holocaust is spreading its wings right here in our place of refuge.

The Baal Shem Tov taught that everything we see in life can teach us a lesson in our service of G-d—even these protestors! Here are some lessons I’ve found:

Someone in shul asked me the other day, “Why do they hate us?” But the only correct answer is that there is no rationale. Their hatred makes no sense. To counter this, we need to perform acts of love even if they make no sense. Don’t understand why you should keep Shabbat? Keep it anyway. Keeping kosher makes no sense to you? Embrace it anyway. That’s the call of the hour.
Their hatred runs deep and wide, its tentacles spreading across the globe, siding with bloodthirsty Hamas terrorists and ferrying that hatred throughout the world. The only thing we can do to counter this, is to spread love deeper and further than they can spread hatred. Help whoever you can whenever you can. Reach out to your fellow Jews. Love, love, love.
They have set up tent encampments, meaning they are protesting around the clock, day and night. To counter this, we need to ensure that our Judaism is alive and recognizable day and night. This means starting the day with Modeh Ani and washing our hands, and going to sleep by covering our eyes and reciting Judaism’s central tenet—the Shema.
Look at their passion! We need even more passion in our service of G-d and our fellow Jews. Bring your children to shul. Bring your neighbors to shul. Bring everyone you know! Study with passion. Give charity with passion. Host Shabbat meals with passion! Don’t be lukewarm about your Judaism.
They don’t want Jews on campus. They’ve physically barred them from entering and studying. Fortunately, we don’t need them for our studies. Come to shul or a Torah class and study with me. Visit Chabad.org and access the full gamut of studies for whatever interest or level of intensity calls your name. Sign up to Chayenu.org and study like you have never studied before.

The nation of Israel is compared to a slumbering lion. Well, that lion has been jarringly awakened by the nightmare unfolding before us. But lions are powerful! Let’s unleash that power with a great roar, and go out and do good in the world.

Our sages teach us that the power of light is infinitely more powerful than the power of darkness.

Look what the protestors have done with the power of darkness. Can you even imagine what we can accomplish with a little bit of love? Jump in and let’s find out!