Hadi Falach is not your average soldier. If you had asked me who he was a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have been able to place him, certainly not by name alone. But that was before the past few days. After this year’s hametz (leavened bread) sale, I’m sure I’ll never forget him.
The first time I heard of Hadi was three months ago, just after one of my closest friends was released from reserve duty. Akiva had served in the Nahal Brigade in Gaza for just over a year, and on his way home, he made a stop at the Kotel to thank Hashem for his good fortune. Not all of his platoon had been as lucky as he had been.
When Akiva and I found each other in the Old City, it was as if a day hadn’t passed. We prayed together under the clear winter sky of Jerusalem. As we made our way back to our cars, Akiva told me of the harrowing experience he’d just had a few days before.
Hamas had planted a trap not far from where Akiva was stationed. Just after Shabbat morning services, an explosion erupted like none he had heard before. He and his commanding officer ran to the site, finding four of their own dead and more injured. One of the injured was Hadi.
Hadi and Akiva had become close friends over their time in Beit Hanun, sharing many good conversations over coffee. One such discussion involved our practice of selling hametz.
Hadi, a Bedouin tracker for the Nahal Brigade for many years, couldn’t understand why the Rabbinut Harashit (the Rabbinate’s governing council) sold their hametz to any non-Jew they could find.
“Why shouldn’t they sell it to me, someone who’s spent much of his life defending the State of Israel?”
As Akiva arrived at the bomb scene, he noticed that Hadi had been seriously injured; he quickly worked to get him the medical attention he needed. As he held his hand, Akiva assured Hadi he’d get him a hametz sale this Passover.
Lifting spirits while in recovery
This was more than just an attempt to lift Hadi’s spirits. For the past three months, Akiva worked tirelessly to help his injured friend. Those three months were not easy for Hadi either. His injuries kept him in Sheba Medical Center for a slow recovery that’s far from over.
As Passover approached, Akiva spoke to many rabbis, but none were willing to change their preexisting arrangements on such short notice. That is, except for Rav Yosef Rimon. The moment he heard of Hadi’s desire to help Jews, both on and off the battlefield, Rav Rimon jumped at the opportunity.
The day of the sale, I was in the room where it happened. There were many benefits to being there. The first was getting to meet Hadi face-to-face. Beyond his warm and open demeanor, he exemplified something we all long for in Israel – coexistence.
Hadi comes from a Bedouin village that has a storied history of supporting the country and the Jewish people as a whole. This tradition led to his career in the IDF.
And despite the three separate injuries he has suffered, the current one being the most severe, Hadi is still committed to returning to his position upon release.
The additional merit I gained that day was meeting Rav Rimon. I’m not one who knows rabbis by name. Sure, there are some I’ve heard of before, but the Rav’s reputation preceded him. But how meaningful could one make a hametz sale? It’s a litany of technical Gagarin and an ounce of monetary exchange.
The moment Rav Rimon entered the room, all of my preconceived notions were dispelled. He focused almost solely on Hadi. “What an honor to sell hametz to a true hero of Israel,” he said.
The Rav understood not only the importance of this sale to Hadi but also to the greater Israeli society. Hadi’s desire to buy our hametz and Rav Rimon’s excitement to work with him, indicated both parties’ willingness to forge a future of comradery.
Hadi’s spirits were more than lifted by the event. He seemed to be floating above his wheelchair. But it didn’t end there. Multiple news outlets covered the story and this led to more sales for Hadi. Rav Rimon’s original plan was to sell the hametz of Gush Etzion alone.
But anyone who had heard of the hero soldier wished to join in. Caesarea sold their hametz to Hadi, as subsequently did the entirety of the IDF. In a sense, Hadi is the most important person in the army right now.
The tradition at a hametz sale is for the rabbis to give the non-Jew an amount of money as a gift, which is immediately used as a down payment to purchase the leaven. Hadi, however, refused this gesture.
He wanted to make the purchase with his own money because for him it wasn’t about the monetary loss or gain. It truly was an honor for him to help his fellow man.
I pray that this transaction will serve as a catalyst for Hadi’s swift and full recovery. And may we merit many more years of his service to us and our Home Land.
The writer is a rabbi, a wedding officiant, and a mohel who performs britot (ritual circumcisions) and conversions in Israel and worldwide. Based in Efrat, he is the founder of Magen HaBrit, an organization protecting the practice of brit milah and the children who undergo it.