The yahrzeits of Israeli soldiers who fell in battle at the start of the IDF counter-assault against Hamas, a month or so after October 7 last year, are being marked right now, in mid-Mar-Cheshvan – the bitter, bitter Hebrew month of Cheshvan. (Yahrzeit is Yiddish for the anniversary of death.)

One of these slain heroes is my beloved young friend Yonadav Raz Levenstein, may the Heavens avenge his death. Yonadav had the physique of a giant and the soul of a singer-scholar. Given his size, enormous red beard, and outstanding military leadership, he was known as the "Viking" of the Givati Brigade's reconnaissance unit. Given his calm demeanor and erudite take on all things, he was revered at 23 years old as the wise old man of the unit.

He had married the love of his life, Hadar Karavani, just two months before being felled by Palestinians who popped out of a terror attack tunnel in Gaza. I remember Yonadav's Givati platoonmates dancing and singing at the wedding with such passion and power that the ground literally shook, and the heavens seemed to stir, too. He was the youngest son of my dear friends, the Levensteins: the late, great Dr. Michael and valiant Leora.

What I saw was astounding at Yonadav's yahrzeit gravesite gathering several days ago at Mt. Herzl and at many other recent cemetery memorial gatherings (far too many!). What I heard was heartening, and what I felt was fortifying.

Of course, there was anguish and longing, pain and pathos, bone-penetrating sadness at the loss of a promising life cut short, and acute compassion for the immediate bereaved family. All this folded into the grim reality of so many other one-year-old military grave markers arrayed in precise rows as far as the eye could see, immersing me in the enormity of Israel's national sacrifice.

But there was no despair. No regrets, and no wallowing in recrimination. No talk of giving up hope.

Instead, there was pride in the privilege of fighting for the freedom, security, and sovereignty of the Jewish people in the land of Israel. There was determination to battle on. There was resolve to win against all enemies. It was a tsunami of steadfastness, a demonstration of overpowering ideological devotion to Jewish destiny.

And there was buoyancy: enthusiasm to live a happy, meaningful, and productive life despite the tragedy – out of allegiance to the fallen soldier and, indeed, to the nation at large.

Young soldiers arrived straight from the battlefield and went directly back to the battlefield, who spoke of the morality and courage they learned from their fallen comrade-in-arms. There were battered and bereaved grandparents offering wisdom about the vicissitudes and vulnerabilities of life, while charging their other grandchildren to struggle on – since Israel's path is righteous, and its cause is just.

This is what social scientists call resilience. Broad segments of the Israeli public are fueled and redeemed by such resilience, driving them to take on myriad tasks of volunteer kindness and brotherly love.

This ranges from remarkable mothers holding down the home front to the hundreds of thousands of Israelis (and Diaspora Jews) who volunteer in myriad ways to make up labor shortfalls in fields, factories, and hospitals. From those who babysit for families of reservists away from home, to those who cook and bake for soldiers on the frontlines. From social workers and trauma specialists accompanying the families of hostages, the displaced, and the bereaved, to public diplomacy mavens who courageously take on the antisemites around the world.

In short, Israeli society is heroic, compassionate, determined, and resilient. It is a beautiful thing.

Despite the losses of the past year and the grim reality of continued battle that likely will be Israel's lot for years to come, most Israelis are also optimistic about the future. Dozens of in-depth polls and international indexes of "happiness" bear this out.

For example, a recent survey of Israel's younger generation (by Glikman, Shamir, and Samsanov of the Publicis Group) makes it crystal clear that Israel is blessed with the most believing youth – a generation of future leaders who are upbeat and keen enough to drive Israel towards every success despite the challenges ahead.

Fifty-nine percent believe that Israel is strong, will win all wars, and has a great future. Forty-nine percent say they are mobilized to the military or are volunteering in civilian frameworks and are "devoted" to the State of Israel. Eighty-two percent are prepared (to some or to a great extent) to pause the "good life" in terms of personal plans for work, study, and vacation in order to serve the country, and they are prepared to forgo travel abroad altogether.

The explanations given for such unbelievable optimism and commitment – despite internal Israeli disagreements and escalating external conflicts – range from the rich tapestry of social connections that bind Israelis together to shared cultural and national creeds.

I think that Israel is also a deeply believing nation, one of the most "religious" societies in the modern world, and this is a central source of resilience. As "secular" as many Israelis are in their lifestyle, they are simultaneously deep believers in divine providence over the Jewish people.

By and large, Israelis sense that they are on a grand meta-historic journey, a journey pregnant with spiritual powers and loaded with a moral heritage that has sustained the Jewish people for thousands of years and returned it to the land of Israel. They know that no Jew lives in Israel merely by chance or on a whim, but rather that there is a guiding hand behind the modern renaissance of Jewish life and peoplehood.

Look at all the prayer assemblies in every corner of this country. Witness the mass Kabbalat Shabbat ceremonies at the hip Tel Aviv Port and Jerusalem Train Station entertainment spaces every Friday night, attended by hundreds. Listen to pop music lyrics on mainstream supposedly "secular" radio stations – songs of spiritual longing with words drawn from the Bible and traditional prayers. You feel the spiritual searching underway, with increasing intensity since the atrocities of October 7.

In data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics, 80% of self-declared secular Israelis say that they "believe in the G-d of Israel." Eighty percent! In my view, this means that four-fifths of "secular" Israelis are not truly secular! They believe in the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jaco,b who remains active in Jewish history. And this, I think, is a central source of Israeli resilience in the face of so much adversity.

Alas, antagonistic-to-religion Israelis (a super minority of the public) drown in their own rancor and displeasure at such statistics. Supposedly "enlightened" but in fact downbeat and blinkered, they are scared by "true believers"– whether they mean believers in God or believers in Jewish rights to the land of Israel.

What they don't understand is that "religious" and "believer" need not mean, and generally doesn't mean, insular, intolerant, or irrational. Rather, it means contemplative, proud, determined, and resilient. It means faith in G-d, confidence in Jewish-Zionist rights, and trust in the Jewish future.

The late, great British Chief Rabbi Lord Dr. Jonathan Sacks wrote: "The Jewish People have been around for longer than almost any other. We have known our share of suffering. And we are still here, still young, still full of energy, still able to rejoice and celebrate and sing. Jews have walked more often than most through the valley of the shadow of death, yet they lost neither their humor nor their hope – because of faith in G-d."

On Yonadav's yahrzeit, in his honor and memory, it is appropriate to acknowledge the deep wellspring of identity, loyalty, and purpose that animates this nation. It is important to know the gutsy optimism and amplify the patriotic faith authentically expressed by Israel's younger generation and much of Israeli society. The Jewish people cannot afford anything less robust.

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Thousands of Israelis gathered at a cemetery in Rishon LeZion on Monday evening to pay their final respects to Jordan Cooper. He had returned to Israel to serve as a reservist following the outbreak of war on October 7 and had no family present at his funeral due to flight cancellations.

I am completely heartbroken.

Jordan Cooper, a lone soldier who came all the way from the U.S. to serve in the IDF, died tonight due to an unexpected, rare allergy attack.

May his memory be forever a blessing. pic.twitter.com/Oi7JIjXit2

— Vivid. (@VividProwess) August 13, 2024

 Cooper passed away on Monday due to complications from an allergic reaction. Cooper had immigrated to Israel as a lone soldier and returned to the United States after completing his service. When the war broke out, Cooper returned to Israel and served about 200 days of reserve duty since October 7 as a combat soldier in the 6228 Reconnaissance Battalion of the Alon Brigade (Northern Nahal Brigade).

Video: Thousands attend funeral of lone soldier Jordan Cooper (Credit: Levi Noishtat)

Due to numerous flight cancellations, Cooper's family could not reach Israel to participate in the funeral. As a result, they asked the Israeli public to accompany him on his final journey. Thousands of citizens responded to the request and arrived at the Ganei Esther Cemetery in Rishon LeZion to attend his funeral.

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The IDF announced Saturday evening the deaths of two soldiers in the northern Gaza Strip. They were named as Staff Sgt. Yair Avitan, 20, of the Paratroopers Brigade's 890th Battalion, from Ra'anana; and Sgt. First Class (res.) Yakir Shmuel Tatelbaum, 21, of the 7th Armored Brigade's 77th Battalion, from Ma'ale Adumim.

Avitan leaves behind his parents and three younger siblings. He grew up and went to school in Ra'anana, graduating from the Amit Kfar Batya scientific-technological High School. He was buried at the Ra'anana military cemetery.

Shirit Avitan Cohen, Israel Hayom political commentator and Avitan's aunt, eulogized her nephew, "My sweet nephew fell in Gaza on Friday. Our Yair, you didn't even need to be in Gaza, but you insisted, so strongly insisted, on participating in this just war for our people. How worried we were every time you were there. Your grandparents lit trays of candles for you. Prayers to all the righteous just for you to return safely, and this time you didn't come back. There are no words to console your absence."

Ra'anana Mayor Chaim Broida said, "Our hearts break upon learning of the fall in battle of Staff Sgt. Yair Avitan, a son of our city, salt of the earth, who risked his life in defense of the country's security. The Ra'anana community shares the pain of the Avitan family, embraces them, and surrounds them in their difficult hour."

Tatelbaum was a student of Warrant Officer (res.) Elon Weiss, who fell in Gaza two weeks earlier. At the time, he wrote of his teacher, "The heart is broken. Elon Weiss, Teacher Elon. A great educator I had the privilege to know – so pleasant and right for his students and those around him. How I loved to joke with you at school, on trips, after classes, trying to annoy you as much as possible. A teacher loved by everyone without exception."

The deaths of Avitan and Tatelbaum bring the toll of the IDF ground operation to 318.

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Over 100,000 people participated in the funeral of spiritual leader Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, who died on Tuesday at the age 100 in the central city of Bnei Brak.

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Edelstein was the head of the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, where a funeral procession departed in the afternoon. He had been admitted to Bnei Brak's Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center for shortness of breath during the Shavuot holiday on Friday.

Some 2,000 police officers were assigned to secure the funeral. A number of roads in Bnei Brak and the greater Tel Aviv area were closed to traffic. Police began blocking certain roads at noon.

Edelstein became the leader of the "Lithuanian" stream of Ashkenazi Orthodox Judaism following the death of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky in Bnei Brak on March 18, 2022. He was also president of the Council of Yeshivas – an organization that supports Lithuanian-style yeshivas in Eastern Europe – and the president of the Council of Torah Elders of the Ashkenazi haredi political party Degel HaTorah.

Degel HaTorah is part of the United Torah Judaism political alliance in the Knesset.

Born in 1923 in the town of Shumyatch near Smolensk in the newly founded Soviet Union, his father and brother immigrated to pre-state Israel in 1934, settling in Ramat Hasharon before moving to Bnei Brak. His mother, a rabbi's daughter, had died of typhus.

During the coronavirus pandemic, he was one of a few haredi leaders to recommend that the community get vaccinated against the virus.

"Rabbi Edelstein was a spiritual leader of enormous stature whose greatness in Torah and reverence influenced our generation and will influence generations to come," Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement.

"This is a great loss to the world of yeshivas and the entire nation of Israel," he added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "the Torah world and the entire nation of Israel today lost a great scholar and leader."

Netanyahu continued: "Rabbi Edelstein always remembered his childhood years in Soviet Russia, where he was forced to study Torah in secret. In contrast, here in Israel, he had the privilege of spreading his wings openly in the Lithuanian yeshivah world. He never took this for granted. On the contrary, the responsibility for shaping the spiritual lives of Jews in Israel guided him day and night."

 Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews attended the funeral of Rabbi Aaron Chadash of the prestigious Mir Yeshiva on Thursday in open defiance of Health Ministry rules meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus. According to the guidelines, funerals are currently limited to 20 people.

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Chadash died at the age of 93, reportedly having contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, in October.

Thousands attended the funeral procession from Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood to the large Har Hamenuchot cemetery on the outskirts of the holy city.

According to The Times of Israel, several minor clashes between mourners and police broke out after authorities attempted to block the procession from advancing beyond the Kikar Hashabat intersection. In addition, two police officers were said to be lightly injured by rocks thrown by ultra-Orthodox youths.

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The Haredi community has been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic, which recorded one of the world's highest rates of infection before seeing a slowdown in September.

This article was first published by i24NEWS. 

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