APRIL 4 • 2024 | 19

in my life, and it highlights 
just how awful, terrible and 
deeply painful the attack at 
Nova was.
Rami became a go-to 
number (he pulled out his 
phone to show the 4,000 
messages) on that fateful day 
for young men and women 
hiding in trenches, behind 
trees and under dead bodies, 
to reach out beseeching to 
be rescued, and Rami did 
just that. Going back and 
forth, time and again, each 
time directly into the line of 
terrorist fire. 
Walking through Nova, the 
heart is shattered again and 
again and again as [photos of] 
the bright young faces look 
back at you, all taken way 
too soon, murdered in cold 
blood, for the crime of being 
Jewish and wanting to live 
and dance.
After, we headed to 
Kibbutz Kerem Shalom. The 
story of Kerem Shalom is 
uplifting. Dudi, a member 
of the kibbutz security force, 

described the battle he and a 
team of eight other security 
members waged against 
Hamas terrorists. 
Tragically, two members 
of the team were killed, each 
leaving behind wives and 
children, and one member of 
the kibbutz was badly injured; 
but, otherwise, the kibbutz 
members all survived, without 
any hostages taken. 
That evening, our group 
had dinner with an elite IDF 
unit. We sponsored a BBQ 
dinner for a group of 200 
soldiers. They were so deeply 
appreciative of the love and 
good food we provided. 

OUR MISSION 
CONTINUES
I worried that helping on 
a farm would not be very 
meaningful (or helpful), but 
I was wrong. The farmer told 
us that 90% of his workforce 
has been missing for the past 
five months, and volunteers 
are critical for his work. He 
told us that the strawberries 

we’d pick would be on the 
shelves in stores later that day.
We headed to Tel Saki, an 
army base in the north that 
has been out of use since the 
Yom Kippur War but was 
reopened after Oct. 7 due 
to the attacks from Lebanon 
and Syria. The soldiers were 
thrilled to receive a carefully 
assembled package focused 
on protecting them from the 
cold weather in the north.
One of the under-focused 
aspects of this war is the 
thousands of displaced 
families from the northern 
and southern borders. Life 

has been miserable for 
them. Families that lived in 
comfortable homes are now 
crammed into a single hotel 
room.
In Tiveriah (Tiberias), we 
met with some 250 families 
dislocated from their homes 
in Kiryat Shmoneh. Many had 
no time at all to pack properly 
before leaving. We were able 
to bring added joy to the 
children by bringing costumes 
for Purim. Naturally, we 
sang and danced together 
because that’s what Jews who 
are complete strangers do in 
Israel.

continued on page 20

LEFT: Igal Shaham and 
Annette Berenholtz deliver 
cards and gifts to IDF soldiers. 
Cards were sent by Cheder 
Lubavitch, Farber Day School 
and Hillel Day School children. 
BELOW: Meeting with some 
of the thousands of displaced 
families and providing Purim 
costumes for the children.