Among those in attendance were bereaved families, the former Chief Rabbi Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Brig. Gen. Shay Taib, Head of the IDF Personnel Support Directorate, Yossi Levy, CEO of the Shomer Israel Union, businessman David Hager, members of Knesset, government ministers, soldiers, students of Haredi hesder yeshivot, rabbis of the Netzach Yehuda Association, and other senior figures.
One of the most moving moments of the evening occurred when the child Harel Erlanger, son of the late Master Sgt. Nehemia Erlanger, a graduate of the Haredi tracks in the IDF, took the stage. With a voice choked with tears, the boy recited the Kaddish prayer, as the large audience responded “Amen.”
The central memorial candle was lit by Rabbi Avihud Ben Yehuda, father of the late fighter Eviatar Ben Yehuda. Eviatar served his mandatory service in the Netzach Yehuda Battalion and fell in the line of duty during operational activity in reserve service. The ceremony symbolized the heroism of fighters who combined a Torah-based way of life with self-sacrifice in defense of the people and the land.
The spiritual highlight of the evening was the mass Shas completion initiative. Upon entering the hall, participants scanned a designated QR code that assigned each person a personal chapter of Mishnah. Within minutes, all tractates of the Shas were distributed, and together, in unison, a moving completion of the Shas was held, led by the Chief of Staff’s Advisor on Haredi Affairs, Avinoam Emunah, in memory of the fallen, accompanied by the prayer “El Maleh Rachamim.”
The assembly was accompanied by a vocal choir and emotional songs in the spirit of the Counting of the Omer period, and concluded with the singing of “Ani Ma’amin” and “Hatikvah,” along with a prayer for the safety of the soldiers.
Yossi Levy, CEO of the Netzach Yehuda Association, who arrived from operational activity, spoke in his address about the transformation of the Haredi memorial assembly: “Eight years ago we held the first memorial ceremony with only one hundred participants. Today we stand before thousands, as the demand from the Haredi public is so great that the venue can hardly contain them all. This is proof of a deep change—the Haredi public seeks to take part in remembrance and heroism in its own way. Our fighters, some of whom completed 365 days of reserve duty this year and others who are currently in the Gaza Strip, Doron Lebanon, are the spearhead proving that it is possible to serve in meaningful combat roles without giving up the values of the Torah.
