The Chabad Mohel With an M16 Rifle

By Ido Carmel

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak (Ika) Gladzayler and his family have been Shluchim for 18 years in the community of Givat Ela – which has about 700 families. A green and pastoral community in the Jezreel Valley in northern Israel.

In addition, he manages ‘Olam haSat’am’ – a program of experiential workshops on Judaism in public schools in Israel. He is also a Sofer Sat’am, and Mohel.

A well-loved and well-known man in the area who, together with his family, Rebbitzen Pnina and their seven children, make Judaism accessible in a positive way. They host on Saturdays and holidays and are very active in the community.

Rabbi Ika, on social media there were pictures of you performing a circumcision with an M16 rifle on your shoulder. What can you tell us about this picture?

I was in the middle of a long reserve duty service in the IDF. My friend, the Shliach from Kfar Yehezkel asked me to circumcise his son. I had just received a short break to visit my family, and on the way I entered the moshav to perform the Brit Mila with great joy. This is how our life is at this moment.

You mentioned that you are in reserve service. What exactly is your role there?

I’m trained in locating missing people and bodies, and part of the 5703 battalion in the Home Front Command.
I was called to do reserved duty and I volunteered to do anything that was required. In the first few weeks of the war, we were sent to the Shura camp, where we did sacred work with the bodies of the victims. Later on we were sent to the ‘Sde Yemen’ camp in the south.

The Shura camp became famous throughout the Jewish and non-Jewish world as the most mentally difficult place to be in – ‘Valley of Shadows’, a kind of Auschwitz in terms of the sights. Can you tell us a little about how it is to serve in such a place?

The answer is that it is truly impossible. The sights are shocking, strong smells of death, long day and night shifts, an unimaginable number of mutilated corpses, and a real dead silence.

So how did you do it anyway?

The commandment of honoring the dead stood before our eyes. The commandment is to bring them to the burial of Israel as quickly as possible. It’s interesting that the whole incident happened during the Parsha of Bereshit in the book of Genesis, where we read “For dust you are and to dust you shall return.” This stood before my eyes in the important activity of bringing the murdered to eternal rest.

What gave you strength during your service there?

The awareness that, no less important than honoring the dead, is honoring the living – the families of the victims. We saw them sitting outside, waiting, wrapped in blankets at the entrance of the camp, waiting to hear about their missing loved ones. The recognition and understanding that the quality of our work would bring comfort to the families and enable them to bring their dear ones to their final resting place gave me a lot of strength to complete my mission.

You mentioned that you and your colleagues were sent to the ‘Sde Yemen’. It was publicized that among the bodies of the terrorists, there were Jewish bodies who had arrived there by mistake. What went through your mind?

A feeling of great satisfaction and emotion. Compensation for what we endured as part of our mission to face the evil was worth the effort, and in doing so, we saved and brought to the burial of Israel a number of holy Jewish bodies.

A rabbi a Shaliach, in the midst of a battle with guns and blood, performing a task as delicate as a circumcision. How does it connect?

Many of my activities are in the realm of holy work. Sometimes, as part of my duties, I conduct burials, and the strength required for this is beyond comprehension. Therefore, the event of the brit milah balanced and provided me with a little joy after what I had seen and experienced
during my service.

I heard that your father, Rabbi Simche Galadzayler from Afula, was involved in the First Lebanon War (Operation Peace for Galilee), in the same field of identifying bodies that you are now involved in. Do you think your son will also be involved in this?

Certainly, my son will be a dedicated and diligent shalich. I see it in him. I would be very happy if by then, with the coming of the righteous Moshiach, we will be busy only with joyous things like bar mitzvahs, weddings, and circumcisions.

I saw that beyond the reserve service you are also active with soldiers in the area. Where does the energy come from?

When I know that shlucha Pnina, my dear wife, provides community support and operates the Chabad house and also takes care of the children and the home, it allows me to demand and give more of myself, to organize shipments of pampering equipment for the soldiers or to host them for a luxurious Shabbat meal with the taste of a home. I couldn’t have done it without the support from my home and community. And in addition, as I felt about myself that joys cause the soul to be lifted, it is very important to me to lift the spirits of the soldiers physically and spiritually.

You are coming to the conference in New York this week. How will this year’s conference be different from previous years?

On a general level, due to the war, many are unable to attend from Israel this year. Personally, I am arriving with a great emotional baggage, and here, with the Rebbe, is the perfect place to unload and request, for all of Israel, that we all merit peace, security, and complete redemption. To pray for the release of the captives and the healing of all the wounded. Many soldiers and commanders have sent me requests to mention them before the Rebbe.

What do you wish for yourself, your community, and the Jewish people in these days, and do you think that after the war, the nature of your activity will change?

I wish that we will soon experience better days of complete redemption. And in response to your question, I believe that the Jewish people will no longer be the same. We will be, with God’s
help, be more united, better, and our activity will be focused on uniting the fragments, uplifting the people of Israel, and preparing ourselves and the whole world to receive the Moshiach.

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