Our organization, Belev Echad, brings wounded IDF soldiers to the USA for medical care and whirlwind restorative outings. At this point, we’ve probably run over 75 trips. Our community jumps at the chance to show appreciation and treat our heroes to the finest that NYC has to offer.
We’ve faced all kinds of challenges along the way, but our most recent trip was the most challenging yet. The wounds and injuries these soldiers carry are indescribable. While we’ve brought soldiers in wheelchairs and those missing limbs before, this trip was unique because the objective of the trip was to custom-make prosthetics for soldiers in need (and to receive treatment that isn’t available in Israel). This meant that we had many extremely complicated injuries all at once which made it extremely difficult to handle.
At the last minute, the mother of a wounded soldier called and begged us to add her son to the trip. Despite being full, we couldn’t say no to a mother’s desperate plea–these prosthetics are so advanced they literally change lives–so we added him to the group, making us essentially “overbooked.”
For the past two weeks, I’ve been troubled by the thought of one soldier in particular, “M,” whose injuries cause him indescribable pain 24 hours a day. M served in Israel’s most elite force. He is a career soldier and decorated hero.
On October 7, he rushed to help, saving many lives, until he and his team were ambushed by terrorists and completely overwhelmed. He was shot multiple times and has hundreds of pieces of shrapnel lodged in his body that cannot be removed. His injuries are so complex and unique, it’s a miracle he’s alive. He cannot sit for more than a few minutes; the rest of the time he needs to lie down. He cannot sit in a car.
I worried how we would manage. How would we transport him? Was it a mistake to include him? Perhaps we should cancel? Or bring him on a future trip? But he wanted to come and see the top NY experts, so how could we refuse?
In addition to figuring out how to manage M’s care, we had another Belev Echad trip planned–to Los Angeles–and two of our most valuable team members had to be leave to attend that, leaving us short-staffed on our highest-needs trip yet!
Thank G-d, our community got involved. One person donated a driver and car, and another donated their time to join the group. Another donated a hotel. And many people jumped at the opportunity to sponsor events and take the soldiers out at night to restaurants. Still, we were left with the problem of what to do with M, and I was genuinely unsure how to manage.
Then, on Friday afternoon, two days before the trip, I received a call from someone I’d never met, Jack,* who told me he knew M from his time in the army and wanted to join us for Shabbat. He was so excited that M was coming to NY and he really wanted to help in any way possible.
During the call, I asked Jack about his job, and he shared that he had volunteered to serve in Gaza for a few months, and when he returned to NY he was laid off. So I shared my concerns and asked if he could dedicate a full 9 days to being with M from the morning until late at night, so M could participate fully. Jack readily agreed and jumped on the mitzvah! I was so relieved and told Jack he’d taken away my primary worry of the previous two weeks.
I truly believe that when we push ourselves to do a mitzvah, G-d helps us find a way. I pushed hard to make this trip happen, despite the tremendous and complicated logistics, and G-d send Jack to help realize my goals. I believe that with any mitzvah, if you just make the decision to do something good, then Hashem will find a way to help you make your dream come true!
So go ahead and make your commitment to do a mitzvah. G-d will help you find a way to fulfill it!
*Names changed to protect privacy.