Feeding the soldiers, feeding the soul
Former Teaneck resident helps bring a barbecue to a base overrun by terrorists
Two years ago, we made aliyah from Teaneck.
On a recent night, as a volunteer with Grilling for Israel (grillingforisrael.com), an organization that has been providing barbecued meals for soldiers since 2020 (and has provided more than 150,000 meals at bases throughout the country, north to south, and east from Kiryat Shmoneh to Shizafon near Eilat and Yesha, to infantry, air force, navy, observers, border police, and intelligence and tank units), I had a profound experience which I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
It happened at Machaneh Nachal Oz, the base that Hamas terrorists overran an October 7, as it also attacked nearby kibbutzim and other communities.
We were told to set up in open space between some buildings. What we hadn’t realized at first was that this was the exact spot where the Hamas terrorists invaded. They went from there to attack the building where the female observers — tatzpitaniot — of the Combat Intelligence Collection Corps, who had issued warnings of Hamas training, had been working.
Before we set up our grills and the tables that soon would be laden with food, we were asked if we wanted to go into the building, to see for ourselves the destruction that our enemies brought upon us.
As we entered the bullet-ridden, burned-out building, we learned that the terrorists killed their victims with machine gun fire. As if that weren’t enough, some of the terrorists climbed to the roof and threw explosives and flammable liquid into the building. Fifteen of the 22 people slaughtered there were burned alive.
As we walked through the darkness in the building, we saw the melted furniture and computer stations that are now covered with memorial candles and flowers left by others who had come to bear witness.
We stood in that room, along with some Israeli visitors, to say Kaddish.
On our way out we saw a small window through which a few of the women had escaped, only to be captured by the terrorists outside. We were then taken to the migunit — the shelter — where more people were killed. Fifty-five people on the base were murdered that day. We also were taken to the spot where 10 hostages were put onto vehicles and taken into Gaza. It was where we had parked our cars.
Pausing a moment, we went on to set up our tables, which we loaded with delicious food — hamburgers, steaks, brisket, veggie burgers, bourekas, fresh vegetables, salads, home-baked cookies, and sweet treats. Our servers — volunteers, both regulars and a group of law professors and their families who had come from the United States — stood ready to serve our brave chayalim and chayalot, the male and female soldiers who had just come in from Gaza, still armed, wearing helmets and flak jackets, their boots coated with dust and sand. Many of them had not eaten all day, and others were about to go into Gaza. Their Jeeps were waiting for them. (We sent them with meals to go.)
They could not stop thanking us for both the food and our support, especially nine months after the war started. In the beginning so many groups had come, they said, but now it was just us. They told us how much strength they derive from our support and how much it means to them.
As they were eating, I told them that we were there to thank them personally for all that they do to protect us, the State of Israel, and the people of Israel. It is because of them that we sleep at night, knowing that they are there to shield us. On behalf of all of us, I wished them health and success in all their missions, and that they and the hostages return in peace.
So from that place of destruction and horror we were reminded of the incredible resilience, strength, and commitment of these brave soldiers, both men and women, who are giving everything for us.
(Every time I do these barbecues, I try to look carefully at the soldiers’ faces, praying that I will not see them on the news as fallen heroes.)
As we left the base that night with the images of what we had just seen, I felt even more committed to doing this work and continuing to share this story with others. We hope that others can join us, both in volunteering and in providing resources, so that we can continue to do what we do.
Sara Rudich-Prager has been a Jewish day school administrator, adult Jewish educator, and development director in Rockland County, Maryland, and Bergen County. She and her husband, Elliot Prager, made aliyah from Teaneck and now live in Modi’in.
comments