20 | NOVEMBER 3 • 2024 Yeshiva Beth Yehudah Special Edition J
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THIS PAGE: Mission participants visit with soldiers at an Israeli army base.

I joined a group of young women 
at their dinner table, and it took a 
few minutes to figure out how to 
communicate. Once we got past the 
initial shyness, smiles spread across 
their faces, and a few started talking 
to us in English. They came from all 
corners of Israel, plus several were 
Lone Soldiers from Russia, Ukraine 
and Peru. They shared their person-
al stories with us, and we explained 
our solidarity mission.
Toward the end of the meal, the 
“mission moms” went to the front 
of the group to sing the song we 
had been singing all week, “United 
We Stand” by Yaakov Shwekey. 
Soon the soldiers joined us, and the 
impromptu moment was so inspir-
ing. 
Yes, Israel is in the middle of a 
war it never wanted. Indeed, the 
tragic loss of innocent lives in both 
Israel and in Gaza is horrific. But 
in the midst of such sorrow, the 
soldiers for just a moment acted like 
any other young women might. The 
difference was these women had 
their assault rifles strapped to their 
backs, were dressed in combat boots 
and fatigues, and were ready to give 
up their lives for Israel. 
Even though we were there to 
give them support and to be their 
surrogate moms for the night, they 
gave us something in return, too. 
They showed us that it is OK to 
experience contradicting emotions. 
You can be in pain over the plight 
of the hostages and the despair of 
Oct. 7 yet can still feel joy. Their 
ruach provided an uplifting ending 
to what was an extremely emotional 
day.
The deeper meaning of “faith over 
fear” became abundantly clear in the 
many powerful and personal stories 
we heard from Israelis throughout 
our mission. A mother whose son 
fell in Gaza shared tales about her 
son and how they are honoring his 
memory; a man who lives near the 
Nova Music Festival site told us how 
he rescued hundreds of people from 
the terrorists; an aunt of a hostage 
talked about her nephew’s love 
for music and talent on the piano; 

injured soldiers who we visited at 
a hospital spoke of wanting to go 
back to the front lines; a nurse who 
was volunteering with her family 
on an Army base in southern Israel 
on Oct. 7 explained how she saved 
lives, even as she suffered three bul-
let wounds herself. Time and again, 
their stories spoke of hope, resil-
ience and faith over fear.
Our visit to the IDF Shura Base 
was especially poignant. On one side 
of the base, hundreds of those mas-
sacred on Oct. 7 were brought for 
identification and prepared for buri-
al, and that work continues today 
for fallen soldiers. On the other 
side of the base, the IDF rabbinate 
cares for hundreds of Torah scrolls. 
Some are more than 700 years old, 
many from villages destroyed during 
the Holocaust or from other places 
across the diaspora where Jews once 
lived.
The work the IDF does at Shura is 
sacred. We met with one volunteer 
who is the leader of the IDF Chevra 
Kadisha (burial society). She’s part 
of a group of women who cared 
for the bodies of female victims. 
She spoke of how she washed their 
bodies lovingly, as if they were her 
children. She protected them, and 
their modesty, even after such vio-
lent deaths. 
In the warehouse holding the 

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