Dear Soldier,
I am a high school student… The war you are fighting in the Holy Land has grabbed my full attention. I am standing behind you and believe in what you are fighting for. You are fighting for Israel, my home, and a safe haven for Jews and any others wishing to practice religion peacefully all over the world.
I thank you from the deepest place in my heart for putting yourself in harm's way for the fight against any enemy of freedom. You are my hero. I am praying for immediate peace and success in all of your missions. May G‑d bring salvation to all those in need and peace to the Land of Israel.
Thank you for your dedication to Israel. Love…
We are on our way back from the front lines, having just delivered hundreds of letters from people all over the world to the Israel Defense Forces soldiers who are so courageously fighting the Gaza War.
The letter above is just one of the many we hand-carried to the soldiers—letters filled with emotion and encouragement, hope and love.
I felt tears gathering in my eyes and chills going down my spine. It was such a moving momentWe arrived at about noon with the letters as well as soft drinks, cookies, candy bars and pocket-size Psalms. We also brought tefillin so that the soldiers could put them on.
Not too long after we arrived, there was a three hour ceasefire called, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, so that humanitarian aid could be brought into Gaza.
We found the delivery of these letters, which is a joint project of Chabad Youth Organization in Israel and Chabad.org, to be an amazing way to connect with the soldiers. Their reactions, first to us being there to bring the letters, and then to the messages of the letters themselves, was phrased by one soldier as, "We can't believe that people around the world are thinking about us."
We gave the letters to the soldiers to keep and take back into battle with them and you could see on their faces how meaningful this was to them. They were putting little missives of hope and love into their pockets.
Rabbi Chuni Vogel of Chabad-Lubavitch of Wilmington, Delaware, accompanied us on this visit. He later told me that this is "a day I will remember forever."
"Coming to the soldiers," he said, "and telling them I was here from America to give them blessings and support brought huge smiles to their faces. It was clearly so meaningful.
"As we translated the letters for those soldiers who did not speak English, we could see their awe at the fact that here were people who did not know them, but who had such love and admiration for them just because of who they are—the defenders of Israel.
"As we were leaving and gave them our heartfelt blessings that they should come back safely, they looked us directly in the eye and in solemn voices, said a loud and unified 'Amen!' I have to tell you that I felt tears gathering in my eyes and chills going down my spine. It was such an unbelievably moving moment."
At four on the dot, everything changed, the ceasefire ended...For three hours the soldiers had been relaxing, meeting with their commanders, talking to us. At four on the dot, everything changed, the ceasefire ended. Everything returned back to business again. They jumped into their jeeps and were back on their way into the battle.
What was so astounding for us all was the wonderful feeling we had that with them were those tiny missives of hope and encouragement, admiration and respect, to help carry them through the dangers they were facing.
I want to close this note with the text of another letter sent by a child:
Dear Soldier,
Israel and the Jewish people exist today because of you and all the soldiers of the IDF. Thank you for devoting your time and energy, your spirit, life and heroism to our people. We appreciate your sacrifice and pray that you get home to your family safely and speedily.
May G‑d bless you and watch over you during this mission to rescue Israelis from the flow of bombs, and for all the days of your life. I will light my Shabbat candles in your honor until this battle passes. Best wishes for a fair peace in the land of Israel.
Your Friend…
We are on our way to Sderot right now to help out there as well.
You, too, can write to IDF soldiers by clicking here. You could also choose there a mitzvah to do in merit of the IDF soldiers and those that are being attacked with rockets from Gaza.
Your letter and resolution will be printed out and delivered to the soldiers with your love and your admiration.
Click here to see day by day galleries of the letters being delivered to the soldiers.
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