A Beautiful Time in the Sukkah

The beauty of the holiday of Sukkot was enhanced even more this year by a very special gathering in the lovely Sukkah of Yaakov and Karen Cohen in Israel. The Cohens are among the original founders of Chabad Terror Victims Project (CTVP). They opened their Sukkah to a very special group of wounded Israel Defense Forces soldiers.

The soldiers had been to New York on an extraordinary trip in their honor which was under the auspices of CTVP, and hosted by the Chabad Israel Center in New York, under the direction of Rabbi Uriel Vigler.

It was the trip of a lifetime for these most deserving soldiers who have given so much in the defense of Israel and the Jewish People everywhere. The soldiers had stopped their rehabilitation treatments for two weeks in order to participate in the trip.

Everywhere they went in the greater New York area they were met with deepest gratitude and warm offers of friendship, sometimes even stopped by strangers in the street who wanted the opportunity to shake the hand of a true hero of the Jewish People.

The spirit of the trip was carried on in the warm hospitality the Cohens extended to the soldiers. This was enhanced even more by the delicious food and the spirit of camaraderie and joy everyone in the Sukkah experienced.

One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of a beautiful commemorative photo album of the New York trip brought to Israel by a representative of Rabbi Vigler’s community. The eyes of the soldiers lit up as they looked at the stunning photos which brought their trip to life again for them. Everywhere you could hear, “Remember that! That was such a wonderful day! We really had a good time there!”

Another very moving moment occurred when one of the soldiers wanted to play the guitar. His wounds had destroyed the movement in one of his hands but he was determined to play. So, in the spirit of “making lemonade out of lemons”, he asked one of the Yeshiva boys, who had accompanied Rabbi Yossi Swerdlov, to help him by being his second hand. It was a very emotional experience as the two teamed up together to play a beautiful and haunting melody.

Rabbi Menachem Kutner, Director of CTVP, shared moving words of Torah and talked about the beautiful meaning behind the holiday of Sukkot.

The Cohens told the soldiers how privileged they felt to be able to host them in their Sukkah. They talked about how the soldiers have done so much for Am Yisroel. And then they shared how it was that they have a home in Israel.

Yaakov explained that during the Intifada, he wanted to do something for Israel. He decided that the best thing he could do would be to purchase a home. It was his way of showing Arafat that he would not succeed at discouraging people from living in Israel. Then he shared that although he and his wife live in Maryland and come to Israel for visits, they tell people that they live in Israel and only visit in Maryland.

Rabbi Yossi Swerdlov then expressed the very great gratitude of everyone there to the Cohens who had so graciously and lovingly opened both their home and their hearts to these heroes of Israel. The Cohens have been pillars of support in the critically important work of CTVP, always ready to do whatever they can for victims of terror and war in Israel. Our gratitude and our HaKoras HaTov go out to them.

The evening came to an end all too quickly. The soldiers lingered in the Sukkah, reluctant to leave the warm hospitality of their hosts and the camaraderie of the CTVP volunteers and friends.