GOOD MORNING! Over the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to spend time with a cousin of mine from Israel who was on break from his reserve duties in the Israeli army. My cousin is a sharpshooter in his army unit. His reserve unit came under heavy attack in Gaza and thirteen soldiers sustained critical injuries. In fact, his “spotter” was grievously injured – and for a time they despaired for his life. Knowing the severity of his injuries my cousin refers to his partner’s slow recovery as “nothing short of miraculous.”

Like almost every reservist, my cousin also has a career outside of the army. He worked in high tech for a few years before discovering his interest and talent for wine discernment. He chose to pursue this path and studied in London’s WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) and became certified as a wine expert at level 3. When not serving in the army he runs wine tasting events and advises others as a sommelier.

Over the last 25-30 years the worldwide kosher wine market has exploded – going from a paltry handful of quality kosher wines to several thousand kosher wines, many of which are ranked among the top wines in the world. There is therefore a burgeoning market of kosher wine consumers, with specialty kosher wine stores opening in many cities. Today there isn’t any excuse not to be using kosher wines for all your wine needs. For those of you living in cities with a nonexistent or poor kosher wine selection, please click here. It is another EXCELLENT way of supporting Israel by supporting the vineyards, wineries, and winemakers who may be short staffed and struggling due to reserve service.

Anyway, during this hiatus from the army, my cousin has been touring the USA as a featured speaker with the appellative, “Sharpshooter by Day, Sommelier at Night.” (He also runs unique winery tours in Israel; you can contact me for more information on either.)

Like many reservists, he will be returning to army service after his break. Reserve duty is referred to in Hebrew as “milluim – fulfillment” and reservists are affectionately known as “milluimnikim.” The standing army of Israel, known as the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), is primarily made up of 18-21 year old men and women who are participating in national compulsory service. Their bravery and heroic acts during this vicious fighting in Gaza – these young members of the Israeli “Tik-Tok generation” – have inspired and galvanized the Israeli populace.

After the tragic events of Oct 7th, the army called in their reservists to report for duty. Everyone answered the call – even those who had been outside of the country for many years. Israeli reservists across the world dropped everything they were doing and immediately booked their flights back to Israel. There was a historically high turnout of approximately 150% of that which was projected, to the point where there actually wasn’t enough equipment in storage to help properly equip all the responding reservists.

For two millennia, the Jewish people have been murdered, expelled, and otherwise subjected to crushing antisemitism in just about every country in which they have ever resided. There is subconscious trauma to the collective “soul” of the Jewish nation. But today we are living in a different paradigm; for the first time in two millennia – and for the last 75 years of the State of Israel – the Jewish nation has a military to call upon and Jews everywhere are answering the call, some to fight and others in support of those fighting.

By contrast, two years ago when Russia invaded Ukraine (which also claimed to be fighting an existential war), hundreds of thousands of eligible soldiers immediately fled the country. The astonishing disorganization of the Russian army, coupled with the fact that many citizens did not see the righteousness of the war caused a massive abandonment of personal responsibility. Their once vaunted army has suffered devastating losses – to the point that they have emptied their jails and conscripted hardened criminals into service.

The fact is that the Russian people gave Putin their freedoms in exchange for promises of a “Greater Russia” filled with prosperity and security. Now they are left without freedom, prosperity, or security.

Thankfully, the situation in Israel is vastly different. Reservists come from all walks of life – religious, anti-religious, and somewhat religious. They are lawyers, doctors, educators, engineers, plumbers, winemakers, field hands, etc. They are Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Tamani, Bukharian and yes, Christian, Muslim, Druze, and Bedouin too. Most tellingly, they are also fathers and mothers, and their service underscores their family’s commitment. Remarkably, they have come together in unity; a shared vision and mission of protecting their country and their people. They are fighting – and dying – side by side. They are focused on what unifies them; totally disinterested in their comrades-in-arms life outlooks, which, in other circumstances, might make them exceedingly different.

Of course, taking 350,000 people out of regular everyday life has had a profound impact on every aspect of the Israeli society. There are reports from those working in Israel’s highly regarded tech industry that some 50% of their workforce is in the army at present. These miluimnikim are doing exceedingly well – many have prior battle experience and/or have been in Gaza in the past. Thus, their age and experience have proven to be valuable assets in the military.

But this war has taken a heavy toll; aside from the tragic loss of life and widespread number of wounded, Israeli society is suffering the effects of reservists being called up to serve for the last four months. Some have businesses that have begun to collapse, nearly all have families with children who are struggling to cope with a parent that is absent for months.

Many of the milluimnikim are now being decommissioned and sent home, with some being told they will be recalled later. In our Miami elementary school, we filmed the emotional reunion of one of our reservist parents who returned home, surprising his children. You can view it here. Seeing the sudden joy (and emotional relief) of his children will touch your heart.

I am focusing on the milluimnikim because they are related to this week’s Torah portion. As mentioned, the army reserve duty is known as milluim. The etymology of the word comes from the Hebrew verb l’maleh, meaning to fill – in this case with the knowledge to fulfill a role. The first place that the word milluim appears is in this week’s Torah portion.

This week’s Torah reading contains the list of materials the Almighty asked Moses to collect to be used to construct the Tabernacle (Mishkan in Hebrew) and all of its utensils and service garments. The Tabernacle was the epicenter of ritual service to the Almighty when the Jews were in the desert and for about 400 years after they entered Israel (until King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem).

This week’s reading begins with the Almighty asking Moses to collect fifteen different materials to be used in the construction of the Tabernacle, its utensils, and priestly garments. These materials included gold and other precious metals, acacia wood, oils, certain spices, different colored wools, and a wide assortment of precious stones (the individual names of which are identified in next week’s Torah portion).

“And this is the offering which you shall take from them; gold, and silver, and copper. Blue, purple, and scarlet wools, fine linen, and goats’ hair. Rams’ skins dyed red, and goats’ skins, and acacia wood, oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for incense. Onyx stones, and filler stones to be set on the ephod, and on the breastplate. They shall make me a sanctuary and will dwell among them” (Exodus 25:3-8).

Exodus 25:7 speaks of “avnei milluim” and according to the great Biblical commentator known as Rashi these “filler stones” were called such because of their function, they were to be inset to fill a particular place. Here they were being embedded into the breastplate that was worn by the High Priest during his sacred service.

Yet this designation as merely “filler stones” is particularly odd. In next week’s Torah reading we find the actual names of the different types of stones, and they include exceedingly precious and valuable stones, including diamonds, rubies, emeralds, carbuncles, etc. The Torah referring to them as “avneimilluim” belies their tremendous innate worth.

The Talmud notes a well-known story that took place toward the end of the Second Temple Era in which one of the stones of the priestly breastplate went missing. The Talmud relates how the rabbis of the time entrusted to replace the missing stone were prepared to spend vast sums of money for this unique stone.

Some years ago, one of these precious stones was said to have turned up – and its provenance may have even been believable (there was a family history that included escaping from the Holy Land in the times of the crusades and a family legend about the Knight Templars). At the time the stone was examined it was determined that – if genuine – it was estimated to be worth in the many hundreds of millions of dollars.

So why are these precious stones merely referred to as “filler stones”? The answer, of course, must be that the innate value of the stone is indeed extremely precious, however its true value is only fulfilled as one of the priceless stones on the breastplate. Being part of the collective whole is what creates its sublime innate value – and by comparison it’s individual value is really that of just a filler stone.

I find it striking that the founders of the IDF chose this very same word – milluim – as the descriptive name for reserve duty. In the same manner, these precious souls of infinite value see themselves only complete when they participate as part of a greater whole – after all, there’s no “I” in team. These brave and individually priceless men and women only actualize their true innate value as part of the greater IDF fighting for their people and their land.

May the Almighty protect all who toil on behalf of the Jewish people and safely return all the soldiers and hostages to their families. Amen.

Terumah, Exodus 25:1 - 27:19

This week's Torah reading is an architect’s or interior designer’s dream portion. It begins with the Almighty commanding Moses to tell the Jewish people to donate the materials necessary for the construction of the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary.

The Torah continues with the details for constructing the Ark, the Table, the Menorah, the Tabernacle (the central area of worship containing the Ark, the Menorah, the Incense Altar, and the Table), the Beams composing the walls of the Tabernacle, the Cloth Partition (separating the Holy of Holies, where the Ark rested, from the remaining Sanctuary part of the Tabernacle), the Altar, and the Enclosure for the Tabernacle (surrounding curtains forming a rectangle within which was approximately 15x larger than the Tabernacle).