Hatzalah Paramedic at Ukraine Border Amazed by Shliach’s Request

The following was written by Hatzalah Paramedic Elad Bachar who is assisting refugees at the Ukrainian border, which he shared on Social Media:

A small (big!) story about coincidences and how everything is written in Heaven.

We stop at a remote gas station on the way from the border of Moldova – Romania towards Chisinau, tired and needing coffee and something sweet for the soul.

We finish drinking and walk towards the car, and suddenly meet a nice 12-year-old boy with a big black yarmulka on his head, I start talking to him in Hebrew and ask about his parents, I get in the car and a nice family of 6 comes out to me who tells me an amazing story, a story I did not believe I would hear in 2022, a story that sounds like it was taken from a script of an action movie with a happy ending and throughout this amazing family smiling and happy.

The father of the family is a Chabad Shliach from the city of Sumy (40 km from the Russian border and 1000 km from the Moldova border) and he tells me about an amazing and scary journey that began on Thursday morning and ends 32 hours later in Chisinau, Moldova, a journey where the family traveled 32 hours non-stop.

They were planning to get to Kishinev 2 hours before Shabbat, but traveling on scary and snowy roads when there is a war around you, you have no idea if you will reach your destination and if you can save your family … a story that makes you think what would happen if… and makes you think what you would do with your family, with your neighbors and friends, with all the things that are in your home…

A story that illustrates to you how life can be a “roller coaster” with ups and downs and puts you in proportion to your own life and the materiality that surrounds us … I want all whoever happens to read this story to think for himself, what would he do? How would he feel? What would be inside the 3 suitcases he would take for escape? How he would handle a 32-hour ride with a car full of children and 3 suitcases?

The end of the story is happy, we met the rabbi and his family by chance, modest and kind people, and after the rabbi finished telling about the journey he and his family went through, the rabbi turned to me and asked me if I was interested in putting on tefillin?

How much mental strength can a person have in such a difficult situation but still busy thinking about the other and doing good for all around him?

I put on tefillin with tears in my eyes, happy for the privilege that has fallen on my part to help others, help people who so need the kind word and warm hug.

We, as Jews and Israelis, should always remember our past and are committed to helping every person, regardless of religion, our grandparents were refugees 80 years ago and the whole world “closed doors” and we need to open our hearts and open our doors to anyone who desires it.