I was planning on going to the Kotel today for the mass prayer but suddenly, I have two funerals to attend. The father of fallen soldier, Yonatan Netanel, z'tzl, is a friend from the neighborhood, and a teacher of two of my sons during their years in Talmud Torah. The father of fallen soldier, Dr. Dagan Wertman, z'tzl, is a neurologist that treated my parents.

The word "Hasid" means a righteous and saintly person, who is fervent in the proper and joyful performance of the Torah's commandments. Often, when you hear the word "Hasid," you picture a devoted Jew dressed in black clothes, a follower of Rebbi Nachman or Chabad. But the original meaning of the word is much different, as King David describes in a Psalm which we recite every day:

"Let the Hasidim be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud upon their beds at night. The exalted praises of G-d are in their mouth, and a double-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance upon the nations, chastisements upon the peoples, to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the written judgment - this is the honor of His Hasidim. Halleluya." (Psalms 149)

The True Hasid

The soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, who are risking their lives for the honor of G-d and the Jewish People, they are the true Hasidim. May the Almighty fight alongside them until the enemy is utterly crushed.