On October 7th, Rav Shahar Butzhak fought to defend Ofakim, armed with just a pistol. During the battle, Rav Shahar was shot multiple times. He lay bleeding on the sidewalk for many hours until he was finally evacuated.
Three years later, his rehabilitation is still long and difficult. He has serious nerve injuries in his thigh and other parts of his leg that make daily life very hard.
Rav Shahar’s long and grueling rehab takes place at the Kaylie Family Rehabilitation Medical Center at ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran. It’s just a few minutes away from his home in Ofakim. I know all this because I work in marketing at ADI Negev, and have the great privilege of connecting with Rav Shahar and many other heroes
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As you may have figured out, Rav Shahar is a talmid chacham. He is the Rav of the Torani community in Ofakim, and is also a Ra”m in a Yeshiva in Sderot. Sitting with him earlier this week, he shared a beautiful Dvar Torah about rehabilitation, resilience, and faith.
The first injured fighter
Who was the first injured soldier in the history of the Jewish people?
Yaakov Avinu.
He fought the angel of Eisav through the night, and he was wounded.
וַיַּרְא כִּי לֹא יָכֹל לוֹ וַיִּגַּע בְּכַף־יְרֵכוֹ וַתֵּקַע כַּף־יֶרֶךְ יַעֲקֹב בְּהֵאָבְקוֹ עִמּוֹ׃ (בראשית לב:כו)
This injury left him limping:
וַיִּזְרַח לוֹ הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ כַּאֲשֶׁר עָבַר אֶת פְּנוּאֵל וְהוּא צֹלֵעַ עַל יְרֵכוֹ: (שם פסוק לב)
But what happens immediately after the injury? The angel has Yaakov hurt. This should be the perfect time to finish the fight.
But the next passuk says that the sun comes up, and Yaakov’s enemy quits.
שַׁלְּחֵנִי כִּי עָלָה הַשָּׁחַר
Rav Shahar asked me: why? Why did the angel want out? Yaakov was down. His opponent had the upper hand. He should have kept pressing.
Why the angel quit
Rav Shahar explained that the angel assumed that once Yaakov was injured, he would fall apart. He would get discouraged and want to give up.
That is not what happened. Yaakov kept fighting. He stayed resilient. He kept his hope and his faith.
The symbol of faith after a crisis is the dawn. After the darkness of night comes a new day. Things can get better. Things can improve.
This is what caused Esav’s angel to give up. He saw that, despite Yaakov’s injury, there was faith that things will get better. The dawn started to rise. At that moment, Yaakov won the battle.
(The fact that the Rav who is an injured soldier is named Shahar is also incredible.)
Three years later
Three years after October 7th, we see Yaakov’s mentality continued by his children. Over these difficult three years, we have seen that same resilience and faith throughout our nation. In bereaved families. In injured soldiers. In our brave reservists and their families.
That mindset has driven Israel, and especially the south where I live, to build like crazy. I drive around the Otef and see new homes and public spaces, new roads and junctions, everywhere.
We build because we have faith, we have hope, and a new dawn is rising.
The call from Gaza
This is not just the key to our own motivation. Just like in the fight against the angel of Esav, our enemies are on the lookout to see how we respond to tragedy.
On a recent Shtark Tank episode, David Guedalia shared the story of a phone call the IDF recovered from a Hamas terrorist who had infiltrated Ofakim. Rav Shahar and his friends were defending the city armed with mainly pistols, knives and rocks.
The terrorist called back to his comrades in Gaza and told them: don’t come here. The resistance is too strong.
Just like the angel of Eisav, our enemies are watching to see what happens when we are wounded. They are waiting to see how we respond when we are in a tough spot.
And when they see a new dawn rising, they give up right away.
P.S. Over the past three years, Shtark Tank has featured many heroic bereaved fathers, brothers and friends.
If you want to hear more: