The rav of the IDF’s Ba’ad 1 officers training base has always dreamt of closing the base’s dining hall on sukkot, but lacked the funds to set up a large sukka that would be capable of serving the military’s prestigious base. That all changed this year, after Rav Yaakov Pinto of Los Angeles decided to step forward and donate the necessary funds to turn this dream into reality, Kikar reports.

Two large sukkot are being constructed, each 150 square meters (about 1,500 square feet), to accommodate the large population of the base.

The base’s rav, Rabbi Major Sharon Tzabari proudly announced that anyone member of the military wishing to eat and/or sleep in one of the base’s sukkot may do so, calling on soldiers to begin making decorations to magnify the beauty of fulfilling this mitzvah of the yomtov. The rav stresses this applies to “all”, shomer shabbos and non-shomer shabbos soldiers alike. 

In addition, the IDF’s Ground Forces Branch has received NIS 100,000 in donations towards building sukkot for soldiers in the field, explains the branch’s rav, Rabbi Lt.-Colonel Yitzchak Ben-Yosef. The rav stated that just like the military rabbinate does not make a distinction during the year between frum and non-frum soldiers, the same holds true on yomtov.

Elsewhere, the Pinto Center in Ashdod, run by the same R’ Pinto from L.A., this week distributed 207 holiday packages to the needy. R’ Pinto’s community in L.A. donated NIS 70,000 for the families of needy soldiers to enable them to celebrate the yomim tovim in dignity. Packages were distributed before Rosh Hashanah as well.

The rabbi’s connection is a strong one, leading him to donate a sefer torah during Operation Cast Lead as well as siddurim to IDF units.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)