Tuesday was a packed day for the delegation of 28 shluchim who are visiting Eretz Yisroel, with visits to shiva houses, Chabad Houses and IDF bases. Along with moral support, they donated thousands of dollars to local shluchim.
By Anash.org reporter
Tuesday was a packed day for the delegation of 28 shluchim who are visiting Eretz Yisroel, with visits to shiva houses, Chabad of Sderot, IDF bases and command centers, and an uplifting visit to IDF soldiers.
In coordination with Chabad in Israel, the group is scheduled to spend a few days in Israel visiting soldiers, the wounded recovering in hospitals, broken families who have lost their homes, families in mourning or awaiting the fate of their loved ones in captivity, and government officials.
The visit was arranged in line with Rebbe sending shluchim after Kfar Chabad terror in 5716. Then, a horrific terrorist attack in Kfar Chabad left the Jewish people in Israel devastated and the Rebbe sent a special group of shluchim to uplift them and raise their spirits.
On Tuesday, the group started their day with a visit to a shiva house in Be’er Sheva, where the family of Danil Kimenfled hy”d was sitting shiva. Danil, a resident of Camden County, was in Southern Israel on Simchas Torah and was killed by the cursed terrorists. The shluchim spoke to his family and offered their condolences on behalf of the worldwide community of shluchim.
The delegation then visited Ashkelon, where they were welcomed by local shliach Rabbi Menachem M. Lieberman. He showed them the school run by Chabad of Ashkelon that suffered a direct hit from a missile fired by Hamas ym”s. Before leaving, the shluchim gave Rabbi Lieberman $12,000 in cash, telling him to use it to purchase whatever he needs to protect himself and the other shluchim.
Their next stop was the IDF Army Command Center in Ashkelon, where they met high-ranking IDF personnel, and received an update on the war efforts.
Next was the Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva, where the shluchim visited civilians who were wounded in the Simchas Torah attack and the subsequent missile barrages, as well as IDF soldiers injured in military operations. During the visit, a ‘red alert’ missile siren sounded, causing them to scramble to a bomb shelter in the hospital.
An awe-inspiring visit to Chabad of Sedrot followed, where the delegation met local shliach Rabbi Moshe Zeev Pizam and heard from him about the attack on Simchas Torah and his efforts in the days since to provide physical and spiritual sustenance to locals.
While enjoying a meal there, Rabbi Chaim Mentz of Chabad of Bel Air, CA, got up and told the shluchim about some of the heavy expenses Chabad of Sderot has incurred in the past two weeks. Within two minutes, the shluchim around the table pledged $30,000, which Rabbi Mentz promised would be given to Rabbi Pizam before the end of the trip.
The shluchim were then welcomed at the IDF Command center in Sderot, and visited the Police station that was hijacked by terrorists on Simchas Torah, forcing the IDF to demolish the building with the terrorists ym”s inside to eliminate them.
The final visit of the day was to an IDF base where soldiers are stationed, waiting to enter Gaza by foot. The shluchim distributed cards from children in America to the soldiers, and then held a huge barbecue with live music and joyous dancing, encouraging the soldiers who are risking their life to protect the Holy Land and their brethren who live there.
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