Rav Shalom Myers has been busier than ever these past few weeks. His organization, Emek Lone Soldiers, usually supports hundreds of soldiers, but during the war, the number has doubled in size. Due to the massive reserves call-up in the early days of Operation Swords of Iron, Rav Myers noticed an immediate need for three things: critical military gear, shiurim to inspire soldiers on base and new tefillin.
When Rav Myers heard stories of critical gear being stopped at the ports by the army, he knew he had to jump into action. He got in touch with an IDF veteran living in New York who was able to procure military-grade equipment that was flown over by students coming to learn in Israel. He continues to work day and night to obtain the necessary gear for our soldiers.
Shiurim, inspiration and barbecues have been an ongoing project since the launch of Emek Lone Soldiers. The organization’s staff supports its Chetz Paratroopers (a religious elite troop) in the field and at home. Rav Myers recounts a visit to the paratroopers’ base in the south at the beginning of the war. He describes the scene as controlled chaos—beds everywhere, morale sky-high and 150% conscription response. He and his team have brought music, encouragement and Torah to hundreds of soldiers over the past few weeks.
Quoting one of the soldiers: “We want to thank Rav Myers for supporting us emotionally, financially, spiritually and concretely with food and supplies. He leaves his home and brings a wonderful atmosphere to our base, which gives us the strength to continue fighting.”
And another: “I have been serving in the military for the past two years in various areas—Israeli and Arab—and Rav Myers has been there every step of the way. He does what he says he will do, bringing us critical gear, supplies, food and support at a time of war. He’s there for us at every hour of the day. Truly a hero of Israel. God bless Rav Myers.”
The tefillin project started early on when a lone soldier—a Chabad Chetz paratrooper from France—was killed on the Gaza border trying to get a fellow soldier to safety. At the funeral, his father said that the only way he could think to give meaning to his precious son’s death was to ask people to take on the mitzvah of tefillin. He said he even did this on the plane on his way to Israel to bury his son. As an onen, he was not allowed to put on tefillin, so he asked men around him to put them on and make the bracha. Some were resistant, but once he showed them the photo of his son, many agreed. After the funeral, Rav Myers asked if the soldier’s father would like Emek to continue this campaign of buying tefillin for soldiers who are “not yet observant.” He said he would love that, and another project was born.
Emek Lone Soldiers does not generally work with non-observant soldiers, so this is a unique project they took on. There is a running list of soldiers who want tefillin and Rav Myers is trying his best. There is a lot of kiruv happening on the army bases right now, with more and more soldiers requesting kippot and tzitzit and, of course, tefillin.
With all these ongoing projects, Emek Lone Soldiers need donations more than ever to supply soldiers with critical gear ($500), hot meals on the front lines ($1,000 for a barbecue on the front lines), tefillin ($500 including a case) and tzitzit ($10), and to visit them and offer support. They have raised about $180,000 in donations so far. Emek has been serving IDF soldiers for the past 10 years and has charity status in Israel, the United States, Canada, England and Australia.
Please donate at https://causematch.com/els-israelwar/132160.
