Last Friday I accompanied ten severely wounded IDF soldiers and victims of terror to the Ohel, the resting place of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Queens. This trip was part of the ten-day Belev Echad trip, where we give the soldiers an experience of a lifetime.
The entire group felt moved by the experience at the Ohel. It was an opportunity for each of us to pray intensely, pouring out our hearts for everything we need.
I noticed that Dror Z., in particular, was exceptionally emotional and I found a moment to quietly and gently enquire what he had prayed for at the Ohel. “I prayed for the sick people in my family to have a speedy recovery, and I prayed for the wellbeing of my friends,” he said.
“What about you?” I asked. “Did you pray for yourself?”
To my surprise, he answered, “I’m ok. They really need the prayers.”
I thought about it.
I knew Dror's story well.
Dror served in the Nachshon Battalion and was severely wounded on duty in Tulkarm in December of 2005. There had been warnings of possible attacks during Chanukah, especially in crowded places, and the IDF was being particularly careful at the checkpoints.
Dror was at a checkpoint when a Palestinian taxi arrived. It looked suspicious so the commanding officer asked the passengers to get out. One man wore a bulky coat which he was asked to remove. Instead, he detonated the explosives he had hidden under it and the officer was killed instantly. Dror was severely wounded. His feet had been hit directly and he had to undergo multiple surgeries over the next few years. He spent years in hospital and rehabilitation, but thanks to the efforts of his unit, dozens of families and children were spared from the attack.
As a result of his injuries, Dror suffers from severe and excruciating pain on a daily basis. Yet here he was, at the Ohel, with the opportunity to pour out his soul to G-d, and ask for a speedy recovery, and what does he do? He doesn’t think of himself and prays for others instead!
What a powerful lesson for all of us, as we approach the festival of Shavuot when we celebrate the giving of the Torah. We read that when the Jews camped in front of Mount Sinai, they were “Like one man with one heart.” Rashi explains that every other time the nation camped in the desert there was fighting and strife, but this one time there was peace and unity. When faced with the importance of the giving of the Torah, their differences suddenly melted away and became completely irrelevant and unimportant.
If we follow Dror’s example, and put other’s needs before our own, we will be well on our way to once more becoming a nation that is “Like one man with one heart,” and G-d will usher in the era of redemption where suffering and pain will cease, and all will be instantly healed.