Dear Families,
We always open this update with “Dear Families” because just like the Jewish people are a family, BFL is a family. One of the most powerful realizations we had after October 7th, and are continually experiencing, is that we can mourn and feel the loss of a family member we did not know. The same is true whenever a soldier is injured; it’s a family member in distress. As of yesterday we have been at war for 5 months, and during this time our incredible mentors have been tirelessly in the hospitals with our newly injured soldiers. Unfortunately, there have been almost 30 injured in one day just last week.
Later, when these soldiers are integrated into our programs, our greatest hope is that you will one day meet them in one of our communities or here in Israel and see them thriving.
Sometimes our programs can seem recreational and not about personal transformation, but it is often these very programs that are the most powerful vehicles for profound healing.
By way of example, we recently had an art workshop at our new Beti Achim near Haifa. During the workshop, one of our BFL leaders, Yogev, checked in on the group to see how they were doing. He saw one of our new members, Amit, holding a strange object he couldn’t recognize. Amit asked Yogev if he could guess what it was he was holding. “Part of an Iron Dome missile?” responded Yogev, as it looked like a twisted piece of metal. “NO,” said Amit and lifted his pant leg, revealing his newly amputated leg and prosthetic. Amit on left – faces blurred for security purposes.
Amit told Yogev that just a few months ago, while serving in the combat engineering unit near the Lebanon border, he stepped on a mine, which exploded and almost took his life. Thankfully, Amit survived but lost his leg in the process. Later, one of his teammates from his unit went back to the site of the mine and found part of Amit’s boot. This is what Amit was holding in his hand. For Amit, this workshop was about turning what was left of his boot and the trauma of this explosion into something beautiful. This is what BFL is all about – transforming suffering into growth.
Amit is just one of hundreds of our newly injured members who are reclaiming their lives. There is no doubt that Amit will emerge from this process not only stronger than ever before but also as a leader mentoring newly injured soldiers facing the same injury.
Shabbat Shalom from Israel,
Yaniv