Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote the following message on Yom Hazikaron – the national Memorial Day, along with a photo of him wearing Tefillin:
On Memorial Day for the fallen soldiers of Israel’s wars, as in previous years, I put on tefillin in memory of one of our heroes who fell for our rebirth and our freedom.
This year as well, I met with the Rebbe’s Shliach, Rabbi Or Ziv, who brought the tefillin with him. Each time, they belong to a different fighter—a beloved son, a hero of Israel. Each year, a different story. A different heart. An entire world.
This year, I had the merit of putting on the tefillin of our hero Sean Carmeli of blessed memory.
Sean, a lone soldier who came from the United States to defend the State of Israel, chose to bind his fate with the fate of our people—out of deep faith, out of a sense of mission. He fell in battle in Gaza, but his spirit continues to live within us, in the heart of the nation.
When I put on his tefillin, I feel the profound connection between the generations—between a tradition spanning thousands of years and the heroism of our own time; between a quiet prayer and an act of self-sacrifice beyond compare.
In that moment, as the straps are wrapped around the arm and the heart, I offer a silent prayer in his memory, in memory of all our fallen, and for the future of our people in this land.
“And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the Name of Hashem is called upon you, and they shall fear you.”
May the memory of our fallen be blessed and forever preserved in our hearts.
