Written by Rebbetzin Holly Pavlov about the soul stirring Pidyon haBen of the son of Gaby & IDF Commando Ariel (Orion) Siegelman:

Ariel hails from Atlanta-his words touch the Nation of Israel.

Yesterday was the Pidyon Haben of the son of our former student Gaby and Ariel Siegelman. It was very special, as is each and every simcha. Yet, there was something particularly poignant here.

The father of the baby is a commando in the Israel Defense Forces. He is currently training for a mission in Gaza, and is supposed to enter the strip later this week. He came in his uniform, being allowed only a few hours to get from Gaza to Jerusalem and back again.

In fact, his commanding officer did not want to allow him to go, saying that it was impossible to travel back and forth without a car. Do the Pidyon in absentia urged the commander. Not to be deterred, Ariel immediately stopped another soldier, a stranger, and asked if he had a car on base. When the soldier responded in the affirmative, Ariel explained his situation, and shortly after, he was driving to Jerusalem in the car of a fellow Jew and soldier; a stranger, yet a brother.



Miraculously, Ariel was at his son's Pidyon. He spoke, urging his guests to learn Torah with all their strength. "You are the commandos in the Beis Midrash" He described how difficult the fight is at the front, how cold, how exhausting, how frightening, and he exhorted the community to push themselves in Torah learning like soldiers on the battlefield. "We are doing our job for you, you must do your job for us", he said.

We were all awed by his words, his bitachon and courage. He said; "When you are tired, too tired to get up for minyan, or when you are unable to focus in the Beis Midrash, please think of us soldiers, who push ourselves to get up in the shivering cold of the desert, who are forced to focus to fight our enemy. Push yourselves to get up, push yourselves to learn. We need you to learn for us."

Ariel said how torn he was by being called up for war with a new baby in the house. Emotionally he did not want to leave his wife and son, but he knew that civilians were being attacked, people were being killed. "My blood should be boiling knowing that my brothers and sisters have been hurt. I don't know anyone who was killed, but I should be feeling their loss as if it was my own. Because the House of Israel is one family."

The mother of the baby, Gaby, cried, hearing her husband's words. She said she was alright until now, fine until her husband returned, wearing his uniform, clearly focused on the mission he is about to fulfill. She told me "It is a matter of bitachon, isn't it? We trust Hashem that what should be, will be."

Ariel said that the IDF is treating this as a war, not a military action. In a military action, the troops must be exceedingly cautious about who they hurt or shoot. Many times, this causes casualties on our side (like in Jenin in 2003). But when at war, they kill - no questions asked. The IDF bombs any place where rocket fire comes from, regardless of whether there are human shields present. This is a war being fought to clean up Gaza as much as possible, not just to calm things down for while.

May our soldiers be blessed with success in their mission. They are fighting to protect us, the House of Israel. May our Father in Heaven protect each and every one of them.