Today is Yom HaZikaron, the day we honor the memory of the soldiers of the Israeli Army who sacrificed their lives for the establishment of the State of Israel and its continued existence. The young soldiers who gave their lives in the wars of Israel are the great heroes of the Jewish State. “The silver plate” on which the State of Israel was delivered to us. As Rabbi Eliezer Melamed says in his book Penine Halakha: “These soldiers, most of them very young, sacrificed everything, so that we can have our land, where we can fulfill our greatest dream: returning to our land to serve HaShem and observe His Tora … we should be inspired by their sacrifice and devotion to dedicate our lives to sanctify the Name of HaShem (leqaddesh shem Shamayim). “
AHARON HERSHLER z “l
The Ministry of Defense considers that the first Jewish victim of Arab terrorism in Israel was Aharon Hershler. Hershler was killed on January 1st, 1873 at the age of 23 years, and is buried on the Mount of Olives, הר הזיתים, the oldest cemetery in the world that is still in use. Hershler was a student of the Kolel “Shomere haHomot”, and he studied Tora day and night. Hershler was born in Hungary in 1850, son of the prominent Rabbi Yosef Shmuel Hershler. The Hershler family lived in Mishkenot Shaananim, the first Jewish neighborhood built outside the Old City. Records indicate that in 1872 there was abundant rainfall, which meant that Jews were not forced to buy water from the Arab residents of Shiloah (Silwan in Arabic). In response, the Arab residents decided to attack the Jews and plunder them. Several Arabs stormed the Hershler house on January 1. Aharon interrupted his studies of the Tora, confronted them and began to persecute them. The bandits opened fire on Hershler and shot him 12 times. Hershler was taken to the hospital where he died of his injuries, after four days of agony. Hershler left a wife and a daughter.
May HaShem treasure the souls of the heroes of Israel and the victims of terror, in Gan Eden.
May He bless their families and give them the strength to endure the insurmountable pain of the loss of their loved ones.
May He bless the soldiers of Israel and her inhabitants, and protect them from our enemies.
May He grant AM ISRAEL strength and victory, and bless Israel with peace. AMEN
Please light a candle today in memory (leiluy nishmat) of their souls
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