Don’t let your difficulties define you and focus on what unites us.
Staff Sergeant Moshe Shmuel Noll HY"D, a brave combat soldier in the Netzach Yehudah battalion, fell in battle in Gaza on the 12th of Tammuz at age 21.
Moshe (“Moshie”) grew up in a haredi, Chabad home, but due to his severe dyslexia, attended special schools geared for boys with learning difficulties.
At the levaya (funeral), Moshie’s Rabbi at Yeshiva Kfar Zeitim described how Moshie taught himself to read at age 17 by borrowing the Rabbi’s children’s books and practicing for an hour in bed each night. Moshie also learned to daven by working with the Rabbi to memorize a small section of the siddur each week, until he knew the entire shacharit service by heart. Despite all the difficulties, Moshie was always smiling. When the Rabbi asked him how he managed to be so happy, Moshie responded: "It's hard enough for me with my challenges, should I add the difficulty of sadness to it?!"
At the same time, Moshie had exceptional emotional intelligence. He was the “best friend” of every sibling and a listening ear for other boys in his battalion. He focused on what he and the other person had in common despite differences in background or religiosity.
Moshie often spoke about his dream of getting married, building a home and raising children. His family has commissioned a special Sefer Torah (in Alter Rebbe script) to serve as Moshie’s legacy instead. The hachnasat sefer Torah (dedication of the Torah scroll) will be the closest they’ll ever come to walking Moshie to the chuppah. To participate in this special mitzvah, please use this link https://www.charidy.com/Chessedvrachamim/27691 or send an email to [email protected].
