Dear Family,
Happy Passover to you and your family!
I want to share with you an amazing story of freedom that took place on Sunday.
Like many of our Ethiopian brothers and sisters, Menale was born in a small village in Ethiopia. His parents dreamt of coming home to the Land of Israel, after an exile of over 2,000 years. With great difficulty, they made it to Israel, and Menale now had a new dream: to join the IDF as a combat soldier. Menale achieved his goal and served as an IDF combat soldier.
In 2014 Menale was called to serve in Gaza. During the operation Menale was injured in his head by shrapnel.
As many of you know, BFL is not just healing and reclaiming one’s life. Our mission is also to help our soldiers understand that their dreams are not lost, and sometimes we help them find new dreams. Menale loved to run. He pushed himself, and after recovering from a head injury he didn’t just join the running project, he dedicated himself to running a marathon in under 3 hours.
This two minute video shows Menale’s incredible journey.
This past Sunday, after many months of training Menale flew with 16 of us to Paris to run a marathon. Once in Paris, he continued flying, finishing in 2 hours and 45 minutes!
What is freedom? Freedom is not allowing your perceived “limitations” to define you. Freedom is not cheap, it comes from determination, dedication, and inner strength. This week Menale showed us all what it means to be free.
Wishing you and your beautiful families a Chag Pesach Sameach from Israel,
Yaniv
PS: Please take a moment tonight at your seder to say this Blessing for our IDF soldiers who will spend the night awake protecting our borders and keeping us safe.