Prime Minister Netanyahu Wears Tefillin of Fallen IDF Soldier

By COLlive reporter 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared a photo of himself on social media putting on Tefillin on Sunday.

He wrote:

“Let all the peoples of the earth see that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they shall be afraid of you.”

“Ruchama, the mother of Moshiko Davino, may his name be remembered, who fell in the operation ‘Protective Edge,’ brought me his Tefillin.

“The Tefillin that were with him all the time during the battles are the only item that survived the explosion in which Mosheko fell.

“The scent of the fire’s dust still remains on the Tefillin’s cover.

“I promised Ruchama that I would dedicate the Tefillin for the elevation of Mosheko’s soul and for the elevation of all our fallen.

“That’s what I do today with holy reverence. May the memory of our fallen be blessed and kept in our hearts forever.”

The photo drew excited responses online as this is possibly the very first time that Netanyahu has been photographed wearing Tefillin.

For years, the many Lubavitchers that Netanyahu interacted with have encouraged him to put on Tefillin – for himself and as an encouragement for others.

Netanyahu hails from a family that followed the revisionist Zionist leader of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, who was proudly secular yet conservative. In his autobiography, he stressed Israel’s right to the Holy Land on historical and political grounds and not biblical grounds.

Netanyahu has long been an ally of religious parties, but it wasn’t clear how that personally influenced him. He famously has been impacted by meeting the Rebbe, and had many opportunities to put on Tefillin which he skillfully turned down.

Some have noted that since the October 7 massacre, Netanyahu has been mentioning “Hashem” in his speeches, similar to the faithful tone of his hero and former prime minister Menachem Begin.

Netanyahu certainly can use the prayers as Israel continues a prolonged war with the Hamas terror regime in Gaza, who has not released all the hostages. Last week, President Joe Biden announced a selective weapons embargo on Israel, despite Republican and many Democrat objections.

“What a rare picture. You surprised us. Yeshar Koach,” Yariv commented online on Netanyahu’s new photo. Yomtov wrote: “I am crying with excitement because Netanyahu is a person of substance and depth, and until today he has not agreed to publish a picture of himself with Tefillin.”

Netanyahu, who is a left-handed and famously draws illustrations with his left arm, put on the Tefillin on his right hand.

The Rebbe once said, “The observance of the Mitzvah of Tefillin, especially by military personnel themselves, and more so by those that stand above them and lead them, instills the greatest fear and dread upon every enemy and adversary.”

The Shliach Rabbi Or Ziv of Chabad of Katamon in Jerusalem was one of the people who helped make it happen. “Something that I have worked on for a few years and especially in the last half year is finally finally going to happen,” he wrote earlier today.