By all accounts, the war in Gaza was gruesome and tragic. One of the sad aspects of war, any war, is that it dehumanizes both combatants and victims. It causes people to behave in ways that are uncivilized. In modern warfare, because of the use of the skies for weapons, combatants most often do not know or see the victims of battle. Casualties are usually reported as numbers, not as human beings. I’ve been sadly struck by the way in which the human toll of war has been reported as a statistic. I am saddened by the huge losses on the Palestinian side of the conflict. Each of the people killed was a human being, created in the image of God. As a Jew and a Zionist, my heart aches for the Israelis who were killed in Gaza and Israel. I’m troubled by the lumping together of the soldiers who fell in battle into a group statistic, one that has been compared to losses in other wars. I’m troubled because each of those soldiers was a human being, a vital person pulsing with life and potential. Each of those soldiers left behind family and friends, hopes and dreams, and each of them would surely have made meaningful contributions to Israeli and human society. They are more than statistics, more than a footnote to an ugly war.
In this week’s parasha, we again read the Ten Commandments, reminding us of the moment that God revealed His essence to the People of Israel at Mt. Sinai. I think of the Kabbalistic teaching that God spoke not only to a nation, but to each individual that day. Indeed, the commandments appear in the singular, not the plural, form. Each individual was addressed personally by God. This reminds us that each person matters; each soul is endowed with Divine light and has innate and eternal value.
This Shabbat is known as “Shabbat Nachamu,” the Shabbat of comfort. Coming immediately after Tisha B’Av, a day of national mourning, Shabbat Nachamu begins a period of healing and renewal from loss and tragedy. For us today, and especially for Israelis, this is not merely a historical memory, it is a reality. On this “Shabbat Nachamu,” I ask that we pay tribute to the soldiers of the IDF who gave their lives in the defense of the State of Israel. Indeed, they gave their lives in the defense of the Jewish nation. I ask that each of us pay tribute to their lives by speaking their names. Below, I have included the list of the soldiers who were killed in Operation Protective Edge. Sometime over Shabbat, read the list. As you read each name, consider that they had their whole lives in front of them. Imagine them smiling or laughing, enjoying the pursuits in life that brought them joy. And humbly thank them for their sacrifice.
Sgt. First Class Adi Briga, age 23, of Beit Shikma.
Cpl Meidan Maymon Biton, age 20, of Netivot.
St.Sgt. Eliav Eliyahu Haim Kahlon, age 22, of Safed
Corporal Niran Cohen, age 20, of Tiberias.
St. Sgt. Moshe Davino, age 20, of Jerusalem.
NCO Sgt. First Class Barak Refael Degorker, age 27, of Gan Yavne
Cptn Liad Lavi, age 22, of Sadeh Nitzan
CWO Rami Kahlon, age 39, of Hadera
Lt. Roi Peles, age 21, of Tel Aviv
St.-Sgt. Matan Gotlib, age 21, of Rishon Lezion
Sgt. Nadav Raimond, age 19, from Shadmot Dvora
Sgt Dor Deri, age 18, of Jerusalem
Sergeant Sagi Erez, age 19, of Kiryat Ata
Sgt Barkai Yishai Shor, age 21, of Jerusalem
Sgt. Daniel Kedmi, age 18, of Tzofim
St. Sgt. Liel Gidoni, age 20, of Jerusalem
Major Benaya Sarel, age 26, of Kiryat Arba
Cpt. Liran Edry, age 31, of Ezuz
St. Sgt. Noam Rosenthal, age 20, of Meitar.
St. Sgt. Shay Kushnir, age 20, of Kiryat Motzkin
Capt. Omri Tal, age 22, of Yehud
Sgt First Class Daniel Marash, age 22, of Rishon Lezion
St.-Sgt. Guy Algranati, age 20, of Tel Aviv
St.-Sgt. Omer Hay, age 21, of Savyon
Second Lt. Hadar Goldin, age 23, of Kfar Saba
Capt. Tsvi Kaplan, age 28, of Kibbutz Merav,
St.-Sgt. Gilad Rozenthal Yacoby, age 21, of Kiryat Ono,
Maj. Tzafrir Bar-Or, age 32, of Acre,
St. Sgt. Oz Mendelovich, age 21, of Atzmon
St. Sgt. Bnaya Rubel, age 20, of Holon
Second Lt. Bar Rahav, 21, of Ramat Yishai
Sgt. Adar Barsano, age 20, of Nahariya
Maj. Amotz Greenberg, age 45, of Hod Hasharon
St.-Sgt. Eitan Barak, age 20, of Herzliya
Stf.-Sgt. Daniel Pomerantz, age 20, of Kfar Azar
Stf.-Sgt. Shachar Tase, age 20, from Pardesiya
Sgt. Max Steinberg, age 24, of Beersheba
St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul, age 21, of Poriyah
Sgt. Ben Oanounou, age 19, of Ashdod
St. Sgt. Moshe Malko, age 20, of Jerusalem
Sgt. Nissim Sean Carmeli, age 21, of Ra’anana
NCO Ohad Shemesh, age 27, from Beit Elazari
St.-Sgt. Oded Ben Sira, age 22, from Nir Etzion
Lt.-Col. Dolev Keidar, age 38, of Modi’in,
Sgt. Shon Mondshine, age 19, of Tel Aviv
Cptn Dmitri Levitas, age 26, of Jerusalem
St.-Sgt. Evyatar Turgeman, age 20, of Beit Shean
Sgt. Nadav Goldmacher, 23, of Beersheba
Chief Warrant Officer Kasahun Baynesian, age 39, of Netivot
Lt. Paz Eliyahu, age 22, of Kibbutz Evron
Captain Natan Cohen, age 23, of Jerusalem
St.-Sgt. Jordan Bensemhoun, age 22, of Ashkelon
Second Lt. Yuval Haiman, age 21, of Efrat
St.-Sgt. Shahar Dauber, age 20, of Kibbutz Ginegar
St.-Sgt. Li Mat, age 19, of Eilat
St.-Sgt. Tal Yifrah, age 21, of Rishon Lezion
St.-Sgt. Yuval Dagan, age 22, of Kfar Saba
St.-Sgt. Avraham Grintzvaig, age 21, of Petah Tikva
St.-Sgt. Gal Bason, age 21, of Holon
St.-Sgt. Guy Levy, age 21, of Kfar Vradim
St.-Sgt. Guy Boyland, age 21, of Ginosar
St.-Sgt. Amit Yaori, age 20, of Jerusalem
NCO Master Sgt. (res.) Yair Ashkenazy, age 36, of Rehovot,
I want to conclude this post with a well-known poem by a woman known only as Zelda. Born as Zelda Schneersohn Mishkovsky in 1914, this poet for the ages lived much of her life in Jersualem until her passing in 1984. One of her most famous poems is entitled “Each of Us Has a Name.”
Each of us has a name
given by God
and given by our parentsEach of us has a name
given by our stature and our smile
and given by what we wearEach of us has a name
given by the mountains
and given by our wallsEach of us has a name
given by the stars
and given by our neighborsEach of us has a name
given by our sins
and given by our longingEach of us has a name
given by our enemies
and given by our loveEach of us has a name
given by our celebrations
and given by our workEach of us has a name
given by the seasons
and given by our blindnessEach of us has a name
given by the sea
and given by
our death.
May the memories, and names, of Israel’s fallen soldiers be for a blessing.