In Tribute to Fallen Hero, Netanyahu Donns His Tefillin
In a deeply emotional moment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu donned the tefillin of IDF hero Yossi Hershkowitz, HY”D, who was killed in battle in Gaza. The moment, shared with millions on social media, took place exactly 37 years after Netanyahu’s historic visit to The Rebbe on Beis Iyar. The tefillin were placed on him by shliach Rabbi Or Ziv, honoring Hershkowitz’s memory as both a soldier and educator whose legacy continues to inspire Am Yisrael • Full Story, Photos
In a powerful and symbolic gesture, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared a video Monday morning showing himself donning the tefillin and tallit of fallen IDF soldier Master Sergeant (res.) Yossi Hershkowitz, HY”D.
The tefillin belonged to Hershkowitz, who was killed in battle, and were placed on the Prime Minister by Rabbi Or Ziv, the Rebbe’s Shliach to the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem. This Mitzvah comes exactly 37 years after Netanyahu’s iconic Beis Iyar visit to The Rebbe in New York, a trip organized at the time by Rabbi David Nachshon, chairman of Chabad’s Mitzvah Tanks and the Tzivos Hashem youth movement in Israel.
During his meeting this week with Chabad representatives, Netanyahu was shown rare footage from that 1988 visit, in which he can be seen receiving a dollar and blessing from the Rebbe.
Alongside the video of the tefillin moment, Netanyahu published a message honoring the memory of Hershkowitz, describing him as a true Jewish hero.
“I have the privilege of putting on the tefillin of Master Sergeant (res.) Yossi Hershkowitz, HY”D,” Netanyahu wrote. “Yossi, a wonderful educator, was filled with true Ahavat Yisrael. When he was called to the front lines, he said goodbye to his devoted wife Hadas and their five children—Bari, Hillel, Tal, Shira, and Neta—in order to defend our shared home.”
The Prime Minister noted that even while stationed inside Gaza, Hershkowitz continued to send encouraging videos to his family, students, and the broader Israeli public.
“Yossi embodied both gentleness and strength,” Netanyahu said. “In one hand he held a weapon, and in the other, his violin.”
Concluding his tribute, Netanyahu added, “We will turn the sorrow of Yossi’s fall—and that of all our heroes—into a niggun, a melody of strength, the melody of a generation of victory.”
The moment struck a deep emotional chord among others, many of whom have followed Hershkowitz’s story and been inspired by his dedication both as a soldier and educator.
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