Approximately 500 people packed Cong. Ohav Emeth (OE) in Highland Park for a talk by Dr. Yair Ansbacher on Sunday evening, Oct. 6, in memory of those who were lost on Oct. 7. Ansbacher is a counter-terrorism advisor to the Israeli police and Prime Minister’s office, a national security researcher and expert, an educator and author, founder of the “Eitan” pre-military preparatory school in Mishor Adumim, and was among the first fighters to arrive at the Gaza border on that tragic day last year.

Following welcomes and introductions by event organizer Rivka Sonts and OE’s Rabbi Eliyahu Kaufman, Ansbacher began his presentation about hidden and seen miracles since Oct. 7. “Not all the miracles are as sweet as the one where Prime Minister Netanyahu is speaking about Israel at the United Nations while the Israeli Air Force eliminates Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.”

Ansbacher then presented his background, education and work experience that represented his credentials to speak about the war. His ability to speak about miracles comes from his belief in God and in the nation of Israel.

“It isn’t usually that simple,” said Ansbacher. Miracles are cloaked in initial bad news as well, such as the IDF soldier, a friend of Ansbacher’s, who had been shot. The bullet landed very close to the soldier’s spinal column resulting in severe injuries. Not long ago Ansbacher received a phone call from the soldier’s wife saying that her husband just completed his first 10K run.

It is becoming clearer that the source of terror in the world is the nation of Iran and the proxies that it funds. “It is no coincidence that when Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran in 1979, his first foreign visitor was Yasser Arafat. For what reason would an ultra-religious Shia meet with a secular Sunni?” Their connection was their mutual hatred of Israel.

The original plan, as developed by Iran, was to have all proxies attack Israel at the same time. With Hezbollah in the north, Hamas in the south, aided by the Houthis, the goal was to isolate the Israeli military from the population centers in the middle of the country and destroy the air force. It was a major miracle that when Hamas jumped the gun and attacked on Oct. 7, the other terror players did not join in.

Ansbacher recalled checking his phone continuously as he and his unit were traveling to their assignment of freeing Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak. Driving along Israel road 232, “the road of death,” he remembered smiling that Hezbollah was not joining in.

As barbaric as Hamas was, the addition of the well-trained Hezbollah would have been more catastrophic. Hamas had less sophistication, fewer weapons and poor discipline — stopping to take photos, delay and call their parents. Had Hezbollah attacked first, the picture would have been much different.

According to most military sources, to clear the south of Israel from the invading Gazans should have been a month-long effort. It was a huge miracle that the clearing took only 36 hours.

Another miracle was the abundance of heroism that was shown throughout. Israel’s attackers thought that the response by Israelis to the incursion would be screaming, panic and chaos. Instead, the world saw the last images of a schoolteacher from Kibbutz Be’eri who stuck her tongue out at the camera she knew was videotaping her execution.

And the teenaged boy with a gun held to his head being told to tell the people in a safe room that it was safe to come out. In his last breath, the teen yelled that there were terrorists all around and that they should stay inside and not come out. “The terrorists expected a nation of sheep and lambs that could be led to slaughter, but found heroism instead,” said Ansbacher. Local police armed only with 9mm handguns held off and killed well-armed terrorists that outnumbered them.

For each dead policeman, there were multiple dead terrorists across the road. Ansbacher related how his 4-year-old daughter wanted to play with him. She would be a princess and he would be a prince. When asked if she wanted the prince to save her, she said, “Of course not, I can save myself.”

Why is this so important? Told with much emotion, Ansbacher recalled that his grandfather refused to buy him a toy gun. As a Holocaust survivor who was the sole family member to survive, he hated guns. But on Ansbacher’s first trip home on leave from IDF service, his grandfather told him to give his weapon a kiss. The Hebrew word for gun is from the same root as the word for kiss. “As an IDF soldier you have the privilege and duty to protect the ones you love, your family, your nation,” said Ansbacher’s grandfather.

Ansbacher concluded with a reminder that Hashem loves the Jewish people and will take care of all Jews as long as they remember who they are and that they are part of Hashem. “When we do the right things Hashem puts miracles in our hands. What is going on in the region is important for the entire world. We are writing the next episode of the bible as we speak,” he stated.

Sonts had met Ansbacher in March at a conference and offered to help. In addition to arranging for his presentation at Ohav Emeth, she helped coordinate 20 other speaking engagements for him around the country.

Stacey Schwartz of Edison said, “It is important to try to hear speakers that come to our area. Hearing their stories is fascinating, combining them with spirituality is compelling.” Adina Edery, Ansbacher’s host in the Northeast, said she respected someone who has studied military strategy and gives perspectives based on fact and not merely opinion.

Kaufman reflected that while “Oct. 7 changed all our lives forever, the massive turnout is indicative of our community’s profound connection to Israel. It is a support all good and moral people should have especially in the existential fight Israel is waging against the forces of utter evil and terror. We are proud to have hosted Dr. Ansbacher, a noted scholar, member of the IDF and a true living hero who helped beat back the enemy on Oct. 7.”