"We Will Never Leave Them"; The Companions of the Fallen Soldier's Family Speak

Last Thursday evening, at the 'Tzvia' high school yeshiva in Lod, hundreds of people gathered, including rabbis, public figures, and artists, most wearing masks. At the center of it all was a single Torah scroll and two emotional parents. "I have been through a lot in life, but this is one of the most moving things I have done," says Yonatan Amran, a Torah scribe living in Bnei Brak. "I have worked with the Hidabroot organization for several years, writing Torah scrolls for them. A few weeks ago, the organization decided to donate a scroll in memory of Amit Ben Yigal, the soldier who fell while on duty during Lag BaOmer.

Yonatan Amran, Torah scribe

"Amit's story touched many, and one of the moving aspects is that so many people participated in writing this scroll. It was important for us to reach out to great rabbis from all sectors to write letters in the scroll, and that's what we did. We visited countless rabbis, including Rabbi Binyahu Shmueli, Rabbi Elbaz, Rabbi Arush, and Rabbi Amar, who greatly strengthened Baruch, Amit's father, telling him that his son hasn't died but merely moved to another place, that the soul continues to live. Baruch said he felt Rabbi Amar was like a father to him, and he was amazed to hear such powerful encouragement.

"On the second day, we went to rabbis in Bnei Brak, and afterward, we traveled to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who also wanted to participate in writing the scroll. One of the rabbis told Baruch that he has immense merit in strengthening the people of Israel, more than he even realizes. He sanctified Hashem's name by accepting what happened with faith, without anger or resentment towards Heaven. When we were with Rabbi Elbaz, Baruch shared with him that he and Amit z"l used to attend Selichot at his yeshiva, making it a very emotional closure.

"Rabbi Arush told Baruch that every Jew has a precise time when they must leave this world, and it doesn't matter where they might be at that time. Furthermore, the rabbi said that it is a great merit to die as he did - in sanctification of Hashem's name. Rabbi Akiva wished to die sanctifying Hashem's name, and eventually, that is what happened to him. Honestly, I've written many Torah scrolls in my life, but this one touched me particularly because I knew it was a scroll for the entire people of Israel and that this heroic soldier had managed to unite all the layers of the nation through his death."

More Than Royalty Martyrs

One of the touching stories related to the writing of the Torah scroll in memory of Amit z"l is the story of Adi Palach, an 18-year-old student living in Netanya, who formed a powerful bond with Amit and his family, prompting her to take an especially impressive action. "When I heard Amit's story," says Adi, "I connected deeply and became very saddened by what happened to him. For a whole week, I did nothing but read articles and information about him from morning till night. I was immersed, and it was hard to move on. At a certain point, I realized I had to go to his family. I reached them during Shiva, but there were many people, so I couldn't reach Nava and Baruch, Amit's parents.

"The Shiva days ended, but Amit continued to occupy my thoughts. Two days after the Shiva, I received a message from my high school teacher that I won a scholarship for an essay I wrote on the fighting youth of the Warsaw Ghetto. I was very sad that week, but that news cheered me up. Immediately, the scholarship connected in my mind to Amit, as he was also a fighting youth and had posted about how the Holocaust motivated him to enlist in a combat unit, so I decided to donate the scholarship money to something related to him. I consulted my teacher, and he recommended donating the money to teenagers who cannot afford to visit Poland.

"I wrote a post about this idea, and it reached Baruch, who somehow understood that I intended to donate the entire amount to writing a Torah scroll. Instead of correcting him, my family and I decided to double the scholarship amount and donate it both to the teenagers and to writing the scroll. On Thursday morning, the day of the Torah scroll dedication, Baruch called me, said he was very touched by the donation, and invited my whole family to the event. Of course, we attended, and that was the first time my family met Baruch. I decided to donate the amount specifically to the Torah scroll dedication because I am very connected to mitzvot and believe that doing mitzvot brings blessings to life. I come from a traditional family and want to advance and learn more and more."

Choosing Life and Continuity

So how did this really happen, and what led to the decision to write the Torah scroll?

"It was a few days after the disaster where I lost my only son," explains Baruch Ben Yigal, Amit's father, may his memory be a blessing. "A woman named Shifra from the Hidabroot organization called me and offered me the partnership with them in writing the scroll. She connected me with Yisrael Cohen from the organization, and as soon as I understood the magnitude of the merit and that the organization is associated with Rabbi Zamir Cohen, of whom I can say only good things - we started the exciting process.

Rabbi Zamir Cohen and Amit's father, may his memory be a blessing

"The people from Hidabroot took me to all the great rabbis of Israel, to the chief rabbis, and it greatly pleased and strengthened me. The climax, of course, was during the Torah scroll dedication that deeply moved me. The rabbis told me that the essence of what a Jew possesses is the soul, not the body, and in this sense, Amit lives on. The soul is eternal, as is the Torah, and so I feel immense joy that Amit is immortalized in a Torah scroll."

One of the interesting people present at the Torah scroll dedication was Rabbi Eitan Shenrav, a resident of Lod, whose daughter Rina was murdered ten months ago in a terror attack during a family trip near the Dolev locality in the Mateh Binyamin region. "Yossi, Baruch's brother, is a member of the community where I serve as a rabbi," he explains. "Since Amit was killed, Baruch has come to pray with us every Shabbat, and we have a strong and close relationship. On Lag BaOmer, the day Amit fell, I was with my wife and some of the kids on the way to the Rina Lookout, and suddenly we heard that a Golani fighter was killed during an operational activity. Since I myself served as a Golani fighter and later as a rabbi in the brigade, I immediately felt a strong connection to the soldier. Moreover, I feel a strong connection to soldiers who are killed because they simply sanctify Hashem's name. To die for the sanctification of the land is a great merit. We do not expect it, and we do not seek it, but for those whom it happens to – there is nothing higher.

Rabbi Eitan Shenrav and Baruch Ben Yigal

"Shortly after Rina was murdered, while I was still in the hospital, the Prime Minister called to offer condolences, and during the conversation, I told him that Rina is a martyr of royalty. This statement was publicized in the media, and a few hours later, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner called me and said, 'I heard you said your daughter is a martyr of royalty, but that's not correct.' I was alarmed by what the rabbi said and asked what he meant, and he explained that she is on a much higher level than a martyr of royalty.

Rabbi Eitan Shenrav (mentioned in the article) and Baruch, Amit's father, may his memory be a blessing

"The rabbi explained that when an evil kingdom rules over us and wants to destroy us physically or spiritually, and we are killed because we continue to perform mitzvot – that is called a martyr of royalty. But when someone fights and is killed in the conquest of the land – that's higher than a martyr of royalty. Rina also fought for the land, because whoever travels in the land is de facto fighting for it.

"Thanks to Yossi, Baruch's brother, we formed a strong connection. As soon as I arrived at the Shiva, Baruch asked me where the baby was. Just over a month ago, a baby girl was born to us, and *Baruch Hashem*, Baruch, like us, believes in choosing life and seeing how we can move forward, how we can sanctify Hashem's name. Initially, Baruch thought of placing the Hidabroot Torah scroll in the synagogue of our community, where his brother prays, but I told him that in two months, with Hashem's help, we are dedicating a Torah scroll in Rina's memory, and suggested placing the Torah scroll in the high school yeshiva in Lod. In one of the study halls there, there was no Torah scroll, and Yossi's children study there as well.

"The study hall in Lod is a very unifying place. It is, in fact, a kollel operating within the yeshiva, where ultra-Orthodox and national-religious people study together. A Torah scroll symbolizes life, continuity, eternity, and Baruch's choice to dedicate a Torah scroll is a choice for life. We understand that there is continuity, and we do not allow despair to take over."

"From Today, I Have 20 Sons"

In the artistic part of the evening, several artists were invited to perform, including Harel Tal, Yishai Lapidot, the Jerusalem Boys Choir under the direction of Chanan Avital, Yaniv Madar, Moti Greenbaum, and Binyamin Danishman. After the event, Harel Tal expressed the following moving words: "I had the privilege of being a part of the special evening of the Torah scroll dedication in memory of Amit Ben Yigal, may his memory be a blessing. I was excited when I was invited to come and take part. I had the honor to perform and sing in honor of the Torah and Amit, in front of a diverse audience of good people, near and far, who felt a sense of belonging and came with much love. It was undoubtedly a special evening with deep feelings of connection to the people of Israel and the Torah..

"Throughout this period, it was so moving to see the people of Israel at their best, how everyone united around this story. Not one person was left untouched. You see a Jew losing his only son as part of self-sacrifice for the people of Israel and the Land of Israel, and you are simply in awe. A Jew full of faith, filled with immense and inexplicable strength, full of love..

"In my opinion, one of the special moments of this evening was seeing Baruch, Amit's father, embracing all the soldiers of Amit's team and saying openly: 'I want you to know that I lost one son, but I gained 20 sons. From now on, you are all like my sons. I am like your father.' To see a Jew rising from such a great crisis to such love, to such faith, to such a connection to the Torah and to the Creator of the World, it is not taken for granted and does not leave you indifferent. I pray along with all of Israel that Hashem will bless them with strength and inner strength, and comfort them and all of Israel, and that we soon receive the ultimate comfort and the rebuilding of Jerusalem".

Yishai Lapidot, who accompanied the Ben Yigal family and even participated in the dedication of a new ZAKA motorcycle in Amit's memory, said at the end of the event: "We received a gift from Hashem, that sometimes we have divine powers. We can revive and heal people. Doctors can fix the body, psychologists treat pain, and we, the artists, can revive the soul. Therefore, wherever we are needed, we must be present. Especially in a case like this."

Yishai Lapidot

"Amit was killed on Tuesday," recounts Chanan Avital, director of the 'Jerusalem Boys Choir.' "On Friday, a friend asked if I wanted to fulfill a mitzvah. I replied that I always want to fulfill mitzvot. He suggested we organize the choir boys and go to the family of the slain soldier. He said the soldier's father loved Shabbat songs very much. That's what happened. We came and started singing Shabbat songs with them: 'Lecha Dodi,' 'Ana B'Koach,' and more. It was very moving. Amit's parents were very happy we came.

"We brought the children home, and an hour before Shabbat, right after I returned, I sat down to write a song in memory of Amit. His story touched me so deeply, and the song just burst out of me. On Saturday night, I composed the melody, and on Sunday, we recorded it and also filmed a clip. We showed it to the family, and they were very moved. The evening before the Torah scroll dedication, we performed at Amit's memorial's thirtieth day, and thousands of people were there. It was a particularly powerful event. The important thing for me right now is to remain in contact with his parents. Until now, they have been well-supported, but from my experience, the difficult days are still ahead. Their pain is so great, and I indeed intend never to leave them."