Less than a year-and-a-half ago, Capt. Zev Shilon lay bleeding and wounded near the Israeli-Gaza border. Both of his hands were almost completely severed, and he says his thoughts turned to the world to come.
“My physical strength was gone, and it was only with G‑d’s help that I was only able run back to base, dragging my right hand,” the former commander of an elite unit in the Givati Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces told a packed audience on Feb. 13 at the Binyanei Hauma International Convention Center in Jerusalem.
His talk was the high point of an evening celebrating the Chabad centers that serve hundreds of communities throughout Israel—from the Golan Heights and Metullah in the north to Eilat in the south.
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov, director of the Chabad Youth Organization in Israel, was joined by Chabad rabbis who painted vivid portraits of their accomplishments in cities and towns throughout the country, serving Jews from all socio-economic backgrounds.
During the weeks and months of his recovery at the end of 2012 and into 2013, Shilon connected with Rabbi Menachem Kutner of Chabad’s Terror Victims Project. “He gave me and my family strength during the most difficult times,” Shilon recalled emotionally. “He was with us all the way, helping us—and so many others—along the long road to recovery.”
Shilon eventually joined a Chabad-sponsored trip to New York, where he and others like him got the chance to enjoy the sights and sounds of the city that never sleeps. Through the warm welcome they received in many Chabad centers in the United States, Shilon says he was exposed to the Rebbe’s unique form of leadership, which “captured his heart.”
“The Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory] did not refer to us as ‘wounded soldiers,’ ” Shilon explained, “Rather, he insisted on referring to those who gave their very bodies for the safety of their fellow Jews as the ‘exceptional soldiers.’
“At the Rebbe’s Ohel [in Queens, N.Y.], I prayed that I regain use of my right hand. Just a few weeks later, on Chanukah, the Rebbe’s blessing came to fruition when Rabbi Kutner came into my hospital room to light the Chanukah candles with me, and I was able to do so with my right hand.” Shilon’s left lower arm and hand had been amputated, and he freely gestured with his prosthetic hand throughout his talk.
Looking ahead, Shilon expressed his personal goal of returning to his brigade and picking up where he left off, working to ensure that Israel and its citizens remain safe and secure.
Concurrently, with Purim just one month away, he spoke of Chabad’s plans to “flood the entire country with Purim gifts and joy, as only they know how.”
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