Let every soul praise the Lord

On Simchat Torah, October 7, 2023, I rushed out of synagogue in the middle of the holiday prayers and jumped straight into the hell unfolding in the settlements bordering the Gaza Strip. There, our battalion fought the bloodthirsty Nukhba terrorists in Kfar Aza face-to-face until we regained control of the place. Immediately afterward, we had the privilege of continuing to serve as frontline combatants — in the North, in Khan Younis, in Metula, and in Al-Adaisseh in Lebanon. In light of the great miracles the Lord has bestowed upon me, I felt compelled to express my gratitude for returning safely from the battlefield, and for remaining physically and mentally whole. I began delving into the topic of Praise and Gratitude in Jewish Scripture, studying it in depth. Out of that study, this book came into being. Alongside an overview of Gratitude in Jewish tradition, this book also contains the wartime journal of myself and my comrades, in which I recount and document our experiences and battle stories from the Iron Swords War. I invite you to join me in this thank-offering to the Lord, in my modest attempt to shed light on the many ways of expressing Gratitude and Praise to Him, and to suggest a positive perspective on the complex times in which we live. This book is dedicated to the memory of my dear, beloved friends who fell heroically while defending our nation in Khan Younis and Al-Adaisseh — Nitsan Schessler, HY"D, and Yedidiah Bloch, HY"D.