emissary) in 2019. Wearing the boots he and his 
brigade received as a donation from Detroit’s 
Federation, he gave an emotional reflection of 
what it was like to be in combat after Oct. 7. 
During his earlier army service in the 101st 
battalion in 2021, he served at the Nachal Oz 
base, one of the areas that would be brutally hit 
on Oct. 7. He also spent 15 months serving on the 
Lebanon border and, as a staff sergeant, trained 

new soldiers toward the end of his service. 
Lachman said the end of his initial service 
in peaceful August 2023 was the happiest time 
of his life. As the youngest of three brothers 
to serve in the IDF, he remarked that, at last, 
his mother would be able to sleep at night. 
Lachman’s ambitions to start a photogra-
phy business and travel were abruptly put 
on hold as he and his brothers returned to 
reserve duty following the Oct. 
7 massacre. 
Immediately after the attacks, 
Lachman said his brigade headed 
south to the front lines. On the 
way, he received many texts and 
emails of support from his “fam-
ily of friends” back in Detroit. 
On arrival at the reserve base, 
he and other reservists found “a 
mess” of aging, decaying uniforms 
that had sat in sweltering ware-
houses since the war with Lebanon 
almost 20 years before. Eventually, 
they received replenished outfits 
provided by the generosity of federa-
tions from Detroit and across North 
America. 

A sample of the cards 
given to each attendee 
with a victim of the 
attack or the war.
continued on page 10

The crowd of 4,000 stands as members 
of the Michigan Board of Cantors sing 
“Acheinu,” a prayer calling for the release of 
Jewish and other captives taken on Oct. 7.

DAVID SACHS 

IDF soldier Alon Lachman conveyed 
his emotional experiences after the 
Oct. 7 massacre. 

After IDF soldier 
Alon Lachman 
spoke, Shinshinit 
Shira Rafalovitz 
played “Shir 
Lama’alot” on 
the violin.