Shabbat Honors IDF Soldiers

by Efrat Schochet

Hundreds of Manhattan’s Upper East Siders gathered together this past week for a unique Shabbat experience honoring ten wounded Israeli soldiers. The soldiers were here as part of a ten day trip organized and hosted by Chabad Israel Center of the Upper East Side, led by Rabbi Uriel and Shevy Vigler, together with Chabad Terror Victims Project. Not a dry eye was to be found in the room during the Friday night meal as each veteran shared his personal story of battle and injury.

On Shabbat afternoon every community of the Upper East Side (including delegations from Reform and Conservative synagogues) gathered together at Congregation Orach Chaim for a special Seudah Shlishit honouring the soldiers. Rabbi’s Vigler, Schmidman, Krasnianski, Lookstein and Kutner all addressed the crowd. The Upper East Side has not seen such a display of unity in many years. President of Orach Chaim Jamie Lassner, reported “The shul was packed as if it was Yom Kippur.” The unity prevalent was noted by all who attended.

Ofer Spitzer, the father of soldier Ben who accompanied his son to the U.S., recalled hearing the news of Ben’s injuries. He explained that at 2:30am one night, he opened his front door to two military officers. Instinctively he knew bad news was coming. He raced to the hospital to find his precious son lying helplessly on the bed, bandaged all over, with one arm gone and the other paralyzed. Spitzer described the raging terror that coursed through him as he lifted the sheets to assess what was left of his son. He was crushed when doctors told him his son would likely not make it through the night. During the course of that dreadful night, Ben was resuscitated forty times. Those present in the room cried as Spitzer said, “Besides for the physical difficulties, the pain that a parent must endure while watching as his child suffers so greatly is heartbreaking.”

On Motzei Shabbat, the soldiers were carted into a luxury limousine and driven to Times Square to say havdala. They then headed to the Hamptons where soldier Kobi entertained everyone with his musical talent on the piano while the rest of the group sang and drank beers till 6am. The owner of the beachfront home, who graciously hosted the soldiers, told them, “For 25 years I’ve wondered why I own this house. Today I discovered the reason.”

Monday saw the soldiers head north to Niagara Falls. Aboard the Maid of the Mist there was much laughter and joking, peaking when a spray of water showered the passengers, seeing them burst into spontaneous singing of “zochreini na!”

The trip came to a close amid tears and regrets. At the airport, emotions were running high as each soldier thanked Rabbi Uriel Vigler of Chabad Israel Center and Rabbi Menachem Kutner of Chabad Terror Victims Project for arranging the program and taking them away from their pain and suffering for ten days.. Members of Vigler’s Manhattan community were also affected by the extraordinary experience. As one congregant, in an email to Vigler, put it, “This undertaking was monumental. I attended the Shabbat afternoon program at Orach Chaim Shul and it was one of the most meaningful events in my entire life. Kol Hakavod!”