Captain Ziv Shilon, who had his left arm blown off fifteen years ago in Gaza, brought the crowd to tears as he raised the newly dedicated Torah at the Chabad shul of Rabbi Shmuel Bistritzky in Savyon, Eretz Yisroel.
By Anash.org reporter
Captain Ziv Shilon, an officer in the Givati Brigade who lost his left hand in an explosive blast on the Gaza border during an operation there 15 years ago, brought a Sefer Torah into a shul in Savyon and lifted the Torah with his prosthetic arm at the dedication at his local Chabad shul in Savyon, Eretz Yisroel.
The Torah was dedicated to the Chabad shul in the yishuv where Shilon davens on Shabbos. Shilon’s acquaintances from the army and Israeli public life, including former Mossad head Yossi Cohen, flocked to the event.
After completing the writing of the letters, the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived: Ziv Shilon, who had surpassed all expectations since the terrible accident that blew off his arm, proudly raised the Torah high among the crowd. The Jewish pride and joy were felt outpouring as those gathered looked on emotionally.
“The excitement was not only Ziv’s, but all of ours,” said his shliach Rabbi Shmuel Bistritzky. “The amazing story of Ziv, and his miraculous rehabilitation, is our great revenge, as a people, against our enemies. Seeing him lift the Torah, despite his limitations, was incredibly moving. Ziv has been uniting Jews for many years, and this time he did it together with the sefer Torah, which has united our people for thousands of years.”
At the seudas mitzvah, Shilon spoke about the great privilege of bringing in a Torah and asked the audience to stay focused on unity. “War is something temporary,” Shilon said, “Despite the difficult days, Am Yisroel needs to know that we will emerge stronger and more united.”
Shilon was injured when an IDF force moving along the border fence identified a suspicious device near one of the gates in the fence. Captain Shilon, 24 years old at the time of the incident, was critically injured after the device was remotely detonated, exploded, and severed his hand.
During his speech at the Torah dedication, Shilon described his personal story and the moments when the fingers of his right hand began to move after davening at the Rebbe’s Ohel.
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