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By: Ezzy Morgenstern
Since Simchat Torah morning, Major Ezzy Morgenstern has been doing his part to protect the Jewish people. As a chaplain to a brigade currently in Gaza, he brings little nuggets of resilience, faith, and miracles from the front.
Visiting Home
I’ve been home three times since the war broke out more than 40 days ago. Some visits were just 10 hours and others were a full day. I was once given off on Friday afternoon. As I drove, I worried I wouldn’t make it home before Shabbat.
Even as I got closer to home, I considered going back to base. You see, once the sun set, I would not be allowed to continue driving home, since it would be Shabbat. But I would have no problem driving to base, since I would be reporting to active duty, and saving lives overrides Shabbat.
It was a strange thing to think about.
Ultimately, I made it home in time. My niece was visiting and was Facetiming with my sister when I walked in.
It was such a beautiful surprise for her and for my kids, whom my wife had not told I’d be home for Shabbat.
Visits like those are the fuel that keeps me going.
Morale
Morale is high. Our troops are motivated to root out evil and are not afraid to do what it takes to secure the safety of their country, and really for the good of the world.
At the same time, when there’s talk of a ceasefire, they worry: Will their work be for nothing? I tell them not to read the news, since there is nothing we can do about it in any case. Instead, I tell them to pray that our leaders will make the right decisions. Which decision is right? Whatever Torah dictates. We do our part and let G‑d do His.
When our men first went in, they were all hoping to quickly free the hostages and bring them home. As time goes by, it hurts to know that we’ve not yet accomplished this, but the determination is as strong as ever.
Every day is different. There are times when we meet so little resistance we feel like Hamas has been completely washed out. At other times, there is stiff fighting, and we need to work as hard as ever.
Small Miracles
Each day that everyone comes “home” from the battlefield is a day of miracles. Sometimes, we get to see those miracles.
Many of our men—even those who do not consider themselves religious—have taken to wearing tzitzit.
One day, one of our men was hit by a large piece of shrapnel. It got tangled in his tzitzit, and he was unhurt. These stories are so commonplace that they go almost unnoticed.
Another such event on a larger scale:
Right when we were going in, it seemed that one of our tanks had been hit by Hamas. From our remote command center we could see that communication had been knocked out and a tremendous amount of heat was coming from it.
An hour later, they got on the radio and everything was just fine. What happened? It turned out that the rocket intended for the tank had hit a tree—and there are relatively few trees in Gaza—and the heat we sensed was actually from the burning tree.
The tree was burnt to a crisp, but our men were fine.
