The soldier who courageously eliminated the terrorists in the Yerushalayim terror attack two weeks ago became visibly emotional and choked up as he shared a powerful letter from the Rebbe that he opened to in Igros Kodesh.

The terror attack occurred at the busy Ramot Junction on Monday morning, 15 Elul, at 10:00 a.m. Two terrorists armed with makeshift “Carlo” submachine guns opened fire on dozens of people waiting at a Ramot bus stop. Panic ensued as the crowd fled for cover. Tragically, six Jewish lives were lost, and the kedoshim were mourned across Eretz Yisroel and the Jewish world.

Amid the chaos, this soldier – an off-duty commander in the newly formed Chashmonaim unit – ran directly into the line of fire. With the help of a few armed civilians, he eliminated both attackers within moments, preventing what could have been an even greater massacre and saving countless lives. In recognition of his bravery, the Israeli government later awarded him a medal for heroism.

After the attack, while visiting a local Chabad House, the soldier opened a volume of Igros Kodesh for a bracha from the Rebbe. The page he opened left him and everyone around him spellbound and in tears, as he read aloud the Rebbe’s words from a letter sent to several IDF soldiers who were injured during the Yom Kippur War and honored for excellence in their service.

The Rebbe writes about the medal awarded by the government to the soldier for “putting himself physically in the line of fire to protect Jewish lives in Eretz Yisroel.” The Rebbe continued that the zechus of his mesirus nefesh to save Jewish lives will stand for him.

Free translation of the Rebbe’s letter:

“I hereby acknowledge receipt of your letter, and I was pleased to read about the improvement in his health. May it be Hashem’s will that his recovery be near and complete – that is – that he returns to full strength and is entirely healthy and whole.

“It is understood that this in no way diminishes the commendation given to him for his self-sacrifice in defense of the holy people in the Land of Israel, protection carried out physically. I am referring specifically, in the language of our sages, to the minor bodily or blood harm caused by the wound, etc. This constitutes actual mesirus nefesh, not merely in intention or potential. This merit, that he risked his blood in defense of the holy people in the Land of Israel, remains even after his recovery, and it will stand for him all the days of his life in this world and the next.

“And if a commendation given by flesh and blood – even when placed in a box – does not diminish the merit of the one who excelled and earned it, all the more so it is with the commendation inscribed in a person’s own flesh and blood, as it is said, “By your blood you shall live” (“בדמיך חיי”), that this merit exists and endures forever, even after complete recovery, without any physical mark remaining.

“May it be Hashem’s will that, through true health – both bodily and spiritual – he will remember and recount the wonders and miracles of Hashem, and that in a state of peace according to Hashem’s will, ‘I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down and no one shall make you afraid… and I will be for you as Hashem, and you shall be My people.'”

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