On Yom HaShoah, as Jews across the world paused to remember the kedoshim who perished in the horrors of the Holocaust, a deeply moving moment unfolded thousands of miles away — in the very place where so many Yidden were taken from this world al kiddush Hashem. Y., a combat soldier from Yerushalayim serving in the Netzach Yehuda battalion — the IDF unit comprised of Orthodox Jews — flew to Poland on Wednesday as part of a special delegation marking Holocaust Remembrance Day. Just a few short months ago, on Chanukah, Y. was seriously injured during a brutal encounter with terrorists. An RPG struck the area where he and his fellow soldiers were operating, killing his friend Uriel Peretz Hy”d, and wounding nine others. Y. himself lost a leg in the attack. Since then, he has been undergoing a grueling process of rehabilitation — physically and emotionally. But Y. did not retreat. With inner strength and emunah, he chose to rise above the pain. Now, standing on one leg, he made his way to the grounds of Auschwitz, where so many of our ancestors met their end, to stand as a representative of Israel’s fighters. “I stand here today in the name of my comrades-in-arms,” Y. declared at the memorial gathering. “For Uriel Hy”d, for the injured, and for all those who have fallen — so that we can continue to be a free nation in our Land.” By his side was Mr. David Hager, a noted baal tzedakah who has stood behind Netzach Yehuda for over 25 years, supporting the soldiers who have taken up the mantle of defense. At the memorial ceremony, he joined Y. and other soldiers in lighting a ner zikaron in memory of the six million, offering tefillos for the safety of the soldiers and the future of Am Yisrael. “Standing here next to Y., a chareidi soldier who gave so much for Klal Yisrael, I feel the power of the connection between generations,” Mr. Hager said emotionally. “Between the kedoshim of the Shoah and the brave defenders of our people today. Y. is a true gibor — a walking testimony to the unbreakable spirit of Netzach Yehuda and of Am Yisrael.”   (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)