Harav Lau is moved: "My picture is dipped in his blood and buried in the soil of Eretz Yisrael". Exclusive

The story of Netanel Yahalomi hy"d, who was buried with the IDF's identity disc bearing the picture of the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv- Jaffa, Harav Yisrael Meir Lau, managed to move us all, even the Rav himself.

In a talk with Harav Lau, he sounded deeply moved.

No, he does not know the young man, not his family either, "but if there is a young man in the world who sees in you a role model, it certainly obliges you not to disappoint," he says.

When he heard of the story, he was surprised, but it seems he is used to surprises of this sort: "People who were moved by the book "Al Tishlach Yadcha El Hana'ar" ("Out of the Depths" in English) – by many of them, especially youngsters, it has turned into a role model".

Yahalomi's story has evoked a forgotten memory of a letter, which is carefully filed in one of the Rav's many files which contain letters he gets from the public.
This is a story which has never been told before, he says.

"From the thousands of letters which came from readers of the book, I have one letter which contains quite a few pages.

"It was sent by a soldier who lay in the Rambam hospital recuperating from his injury. The days were at the end of the Second War in Lebanon, a short while after the book came out. "The Rav does not know me," the boy started his moving story, "but I feel obliged to write to the Rav from my bed in hospital, because the story of the Rav saved my life!"

The Rav found it hard to believe what he read, but the letter was written by a serious man who identified himself by name. He was one of those hard casualties who were transferred from Binat Jabail by helicopter straight to the Rambam hospital. He had to undergo a few operations and suffer most terrible pains. "And behold, one of the operations, which was a central and important one to save the soldier's life, did not go well," the Rav tells the story of that soldier, as stems from his letter.

"Since there was a danger to his life, the doctors decided to re-operate. But the soldier refused. He turned to his parents and said, "I have lived until now, you were wonderful parents, but I can't carry on any longer. I've had it, leave me alone for the few days I have left to live. I'm not prepared to carry on suffering the pains any longer."

The parents did whatever they could to convince their son to sign his consent for the operation, but when they saw he is adamant, they gave in. A short while after he came to his decision, they gave him a farewell party with friends and members of the family, they hung up balloons, posters, brought him gifts.

"It was at 3am, the soldier found it hard to fall asleep, his pains increased, and all of a sudden he felt an object in his bed, a parcel. He opened it and in front of him was the book "Al Tishlach Yadcha El Hana'ar" ("Out of the Depths" in English). It seems that his friend brought the book as a gift.

He was very surprised. A book? By a Rav? A birthday gift? After all, this is a secular boy, and he didn't really connect. His acquaintance with the author was through seeing him on television or hearing him on the radio, but from there to reading the book, and about the holocaust – was a long way.

"And still, at night, he couldn't fall asleep, he took the book, the hour was a little after 3 am when he read the first page, at 1pm he finished the entire book, from beginning to end. 10 hours."

"A minute after he closed the book, a shout was heard from his room. The mother, who stood in the corridor was alarmed and came in, she thought something bad had happened. "What happened?" She asked him anxiously. "Mom, bring the forms, I've decided to sign, I'm going for the operation".

"He explained: "If this man," he said and pointed to the book, "went through what he did, without the backing of a father or mother, without friends, without family, he suffered cold, hitting, hunger, torture, hard torture each day, and he achieved what he did – who am I to have the right to make you sad? Because of my self-comfort and my will to refrain from pain I will let you suffer? No, I'm prepared to suffer and not disappoint you, I would like to learn from him".

He signed, he had the first operation which lasted many hours, the operation was successful and he was about to be released from hospital. A minute before, he sat down to write this story down and send a personal and moving letter to the Rav. "Without you," he wrote, "there would not have been someone to write this letter," tells Harav Lau.

Years passed, this turned into a phenomenon. "When a person fights for something, he sees a role model in my book. A torch for revival, Yahalomi too hy"d".
"Am I moved by Yahalomi's story, as his mother related it to President Shimon Peres who came to menachem her? Of course I am moved. To think about it, that your picture, even a picture from your childhood, is dipped in thee blood of a holy boy and buried in the soil of Eretz Yisrael, it gives you the shivers!"

The Rav points to the fact according to which Netanel was handicapped but fought for his right to serve as a fighting soldier.

"Only one who has the right education for the love of Jews and the love of Eretz Yisrael, can do this. Only the Chinuch.

"When it is drawn from the springs of the Jewish tradition, our heritage which knows to appreciate these values, there is no wonder that he fought for his right to fight for the homeland, for the existence.

"They told me about him that each spare moment he used for learning Torah, he was a boy with a high soul. And therefore, he moved me greatly," Harav Lau ends his emotional words.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!