On erev Shabbos YWN-ISRAEL reported that 16 members of a crew on board an IDF Navy Dabur patrol boat were injured as a result of a blaze. B’chasdei Hashem none of the injuries were serious and the soldiers were discharged from Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot on Friday night, well after the beginning of Shabbos. The young officer who accompanied them to the hospital did not know what to do for the frum soldiers, who explained it was Shabbos so they could not drive back to the Port of Ashdod, their base, and the hospital had no way of accommodating them.
While the navy does remain the least religious branch of the IDF, there is a growing presence of religious soldiers due to an expanded hesder yeshiva program that began a number of years ago.
The following report released by Kikar Shabbos was written by Yisrael Yaakov Yeret and it is directly related to this report.
My father had a dream his entire life, to open a motel in Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot to prevent chilul Shabbos. This dream was realized over 16 years ago Baruch Hashem, providing a solution to many religious people who must be with patients over a Shabbos or yomtov.
When the IDF personnel of the boat that caught fire were released on Shabbos, some were in quandary. The soldiers were treated in Kaplan Hospital and told they can go home. It was late Friday night and they did not know what to do. They could not remain in the hospital and they could not be transported back to the Port of Ashdod, their base.
The officer began searching for a solution and it was decided the motel was the only way to accommodate them, despite the late hour. The soldiers arrived at the door at 11:30 PM Friday night. They knocked lightly, aware of the late hour. The door opened and the first question was “do you want something to eat?” A table was set and a Shabbos meal appeared. As they were eating they were told “don’t worry, we have arranged beds for you. It will be fine”.
The female officer was amazed, citing that “What compels one to remain in a hole like this an entire Shabbos, just to see to it that those who are stuck have their needs taken care of”.
She continued, explaining in her eyes it is amazing that people leave the comfort of their home and remain in the motel all Shabbos to see to it that anyone seeking the Shabbos service is accommodated, without receiving any remuneration for the service.
It was truly a Kiddush Hashem to see how the young officer’s eyes had been opened by the chain of events and how the hesder soldiers had their Shabbos needs addressed.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
It is a mitzvah to discharge a patient from the hospital on Shabat because hospitals are dangerous places. I’m glad that the hotel was able to accomodate.
desperate for articles like these!
What an amazing Kiddush HaShem!
While my son was not one of the sailors injured, he is part of the hesder group attached to Ashdod base.
Its good to know that there is a solution for frum soldiers stuck at Kaplan over Shabbos.
I want to also commend the officer who kept trying to find a solution for the frum sailors, understanding their problem and with the help of the “bikkur cholim” finding a proper solution.
The Navy values the Hesder sailors very much and is trying very hard to accommodate their needs as Shomrei Torah and Mitzvos.
It was the Chief of the Navy himself who wanted to include the Hesder boys in the Navy specifically in these highly active Fast Attack squadrons. The Navy along with the IDF Rabbinate developed a special program of insuring that these frum sailors’ needs be met, from kashrus to all other aspects of religious life. Life on a very active patrol/attack boat is very intimate and so the efforts to make them comfortable for frum boys is a great one.
While things are not perfect, my son is very happy and proud to be a member of this very important and challenging squadron.