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Devora Hosseinof

My boys and girls, all of them

My words below aren’t words of wisdom, Torah, or advice. I’m not as smart as so many of the commentators and journalists who grace the pages of this daily.

Tonight, after Shabbat, news of 8 more fallen soldiers. I haven’t recovered from the deaths last week, from the tightness in my chest, the panic, from the horror for not just their family, but for all of us. I feel it a duty to read their obituaries and learn about their lives, their hopes, their dreams cut so tragically short.

I have 2 competing sentences at the tip of my tongue and I’m never sure which to scream first:

G-d, the true judge – ברוך דיין האמת

G-d should avenge their blood – השם יקום דמם

8 months into the war and I’m thrilled and proud to say that our community is still serving over 1,000 soldiers food each week. One home cooked meal out of 21 meals of manot krav. It would actually be funny if it wasn’t so lamentable.

Cans of anything that can be canned, and they throw in canned chocolate spread as a real treat. Woo-hoo.

These guys and girls are on THE FRONT LINE. They are the ones putting their lives at risk so that me and my family, all of us can live here. After 8 months of war, it’s so easy to lose sight of that.

When I see any soldier in uniform, and especially one with a gun, I don’t hesitate to say thank you. I can tell you with certainty that they appreciate it – a smile lights up their beautiful young faces. Until the day I die, those may be the moments I will be most proud of.

These are our boys and girls and they are sacrificing for me and I am so grateful.

Let’s face it. Loving kindness is missing in the world and sadly, in our country too. Maybe my one thank you can make a difference in one person’s life.

About the Author
Devora moved to Israel in 2011 to Zichron Yaakov. She is the future leader of the Israeli political party "Can't we all just get along".