Would You Kill Baby Hitler?
4 min read
How one spark of responsibility ignited a nationwide response.
More than 20 years ago, I spent two weeks in Aish’s Executive Learning Program in Jerusalem. I didn’t know it then, but those ten days would change the course of my life.
I had the privilege of meeting Rabbi Noah Weinberg zt”l, the trailblazing founder and dean, in person. He wasn’t just a teacher; he was a force of nature. A visionary who looked you in the eye and saw your potential before you even knew it was there.
In a quiet moment in his office, he pointed out the window overlooking the Western Wall and the Temple Mount and said, “When you work for the Boss, you get the best office in the world.”
Then he turned to me and, with the full weight of his presence, said, “Step up. Own it. Be the solution.”
He said it with the kind of conviction that makes you realize: If Rabbi Weinberg thinks you can do it, then you can. He made me feel that just as he was larger than life, I could be too. And he instilled in me the urgency and the imperative to do so.
That message stayed with me. And it came roaring back to life on October 7, 2023.
In the wake of the attacks, my wife Eliesheva and I felt an urgent need to act. We saw a gap. Soldiers on the front lines needed strength, support, and practical nourishment. So we launched Beef Up Our Boys, a grassroots initiative to provide high-quality dried beef jerky to IDF soldiers.
Chaim and Elisheva at Tel Nof air base
It started small. But it grew fast. We’ve now sent over 100,000 packages directly to combat units across every front. Often, a soldier, spouse, or parent will ask for a few bags and end up taking enough for the entire unit. It gets emotional, especially when a mother just wants to send her child back to the front with something nourishing, comforting, and portable.
Beef jerky is expensive and hard to find in Israel, but it’s exactly what soldiers need.
Beef jerky is more than a snack. It’s a symbol of readiness. Used by elite troops around the world, it’s lightweight, protein-rich, and shelf-stable. It’s the food of those who are always prepared to move, to respond, to protect.
A happy lone soldier
But it also carries a deeper message. Just like the nutrients are locked into each strip of jerky, our strength, our courage, and our solutions are already inside us. Sometimes they just need to be drawn out.
The power is there. The mission is waiting. And when we respond, we discover we were always more capable than we imagined.
What began as a simple act of giving has become a living example of Jewish unity and responsibility, with people of all ages and backgrounds stepping up to make a difference.
Over 100,000 personalized, decorated bags have been created by schools, synagogues, and Aish programs. Children have written heartfelt notes. Teens have organized packing drives. Adults have donated time, money, and energy.
A message to one of the soldiers on the bag
When you see a need, you act. When you act with purpose, you inspire others.
One soldier told us, “I opened the bag and saw a note from a 7-year-old in New Jersey. I don’t know who he is, but I felt like he was my little brother.”
Another taped a child’s note to his gear.
A mother in the South said, “My son came home from reserve duty with a bag of jerky and a note. He said, ‘Mom, someone out there really cares.’”
To make this sustainable, we launched a factory to produce high-quality kosher beef jerky in a facility that had shut down on October 7, just kilometers from Gaza, turning compassion into infrastructure.
This isn’t a handout. It’s a product born from kindness but built for long-term impact. Profits will be shared with the communities near the Gaza border that have suffered so much.
When God gives you a mission, He also gives you the strength to fulfill it. You are never alone.
So the next time you see something that needs fixing, don’t look away. Ask yourself:
“Why did God show this to me?”
Yeshiva students writing messages on bags
Because if you see it, you can fix it. And if you can fix it, you must.
To learn more or get involved, visit beefupourboys.org.
Beautiful!
This essay is beautiful and deep and thank you for reminding me what you are doing and for growing your project so that it impacts our Boys and our people forever. How can we ever measure the good that each Chesed brings into the world?
may Hashem bless you and the work of your hands forever. ‘Bubby’ Brodie
Excellent Product, wonderful goal and priceless passion for our IDF Soldiers!