Seventh Graders Hear Powerful Talk by a Wounded IDF Soldier

Seventh graders had the privilege of receiving a visit from a wounded IDF soldier, who spoke about his experience on and after October 7 and his recovery journey. Barak, now 34, told students about how he was in the IDF reserves when Hamas attacked. In addition to receiving messages from his unit about joining the fight, he also received messages from his three brothers, begging him to save them. His brothers were at the Nova Festival, and one of them had been shot. Barak rushed to join his unit, believing that they would be able to rescue his brothers on the way. However, as they got closer, they saw bombed cars, and they began to learn about the magnitude of the danger. That was when Barak had to make a harrowing decision. Save his brothers, or continue onward to defend Kibbutz Beeri?

He knew that his injured brother would likely die without his help. If he asked to leave his unit and save his family, he would have been permitted to go. However, he told Ramaz students, he understood the core Israeli value of unity, of doing what is possible for the collective. So he decided not to save his brothers, and instead to try to save Beeri.

He did not go into detail about what he saw in the kibbutz. “It was so barbaric, I can’t even explain,” he said. He told students that all he could say was that, with everything he’s ever seen in media coverage about the horrors, “none of it is anything close to what I saw with my own eyes.” He and his unit entered houses, where they sometimes managed to save lives, and sometimes discovered everyone was already murdered. Many of his friends in his unit were killed in the process, some of them dying in Barak’s arms. He recounted one surreal moment, when he felt his phone ringing in his pocket, and realized it wasn’t his own phone: It belonged to his friend, who had given it to Barak as he lay dying, and the ringing was a call from his dead friend’s wife.

After that day, his task force’s main mission was finding the hostages. He eventually took part in a rescue operation, in a Gazan neighborhood filled with many hostages. Barak was the first person planned to enter a terrorist-filled house, meaning that he would almost certainly die; he told students that the job was volunteer based, so he had fully accepted his death and knew it was part of their necessary mission. However, he admitted to the students that he was scared. In particular, he was upset that he would leave behind his daughter, who was one-and-a-half years old. The night before the raid, he wrote his daughter one letter for every birthday until she turned 18, and another letter for her wedding night, so she could have him in her life after he was dead.

He told the students about the raid. It was dark, he explained, but soon a side of the house went up in flames; the fighters could see by the light of the blazing fire throughout the battle. A grenade exploded next to Barak, filling his entire body with shrapnel. He was then shot multiple times. Mangled and losing blood, he lay on the floor, dying. As bullets flew overhead, he told students he had complete clarity that he was dying, and that he was in a great deal of pain, but that he wasn’t afraid. He felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

All he hoped was that the terrorists would not kidnap him into a tunnel. So, he was prepared to kill himself. He tried to grab his gun to end his life, but his hand was broken in three places and he couldn’t reach it. He lost consciousness. He awoke in a helicopter. The last thing he remembers is hearing a medic tell others that Barak would definitely die, so they should not waste precious resources trying to save him. He lost consciousness again. But after five days, he awoke again, in an Israeli hospital.

Doctors tried to explain that they’d saved him and would perform more surgeries soon, but he did not believe them. Instead, he punched the doctors and ripped out his IVs, fighting the staff and trying to escape. He told students that, in his mind, he was still in Gaza. The doctors put him under again, and when he awoke next, he was strapped down. It took a long time for him to believe he was alive and out of Gaza. Among his many medical complications, he was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Barak was in the hospital for a year, in nonstop, extreme pain, unable to do almost anything and battling severe depression. To cope, he wrote letters to his daughter throughout his recovery. During this time, his daughter did not recognize her father at all. But since then, he has bound all his letters for her in a book, and he looks forward to her reading them when she is older. He also told students that his brothers all survived the Nova Festival; the brother who had been shot was in the hospital for two weeks before turning around and joining the IDF reserves.

When he was released from the hospital one year and 27 surgeries later, Barak told students that things were a bit better for him physically and mentally. However, he said candidly that, even now, the pain is constant: “There is no day that I do not wake up with pain or go to sleep with pain.” Doctors had to reconstruct multiple internal organs, and he is missing a great deal of his bones and joints, many of which were replaced with metal. Even so, he says the injury was the best thing that ever happened to him. “I felt like I was asleep my whole life and finally woke up,” he said, and that it showed him what is truly important. No, he does not think everyone should have to nearly die to learn the lessons he did. But he thinks everyone should learn to appreciate things in life.

Still, seeing all the anti-Israel sentiment in the media is painful for him, too. He emphasized that the fight for Israel is the fight for western values. He feels strongly that the young generation is the future, and so their virulent misinformation, hatred, and violence is “a very troubling sight.” However, he highlighted that when he sees Ramaz students, he feels encouraged. He told the students that they must not forget that they have a big responsibility, not just to Israel, but to humanity overall.

Students were deeply grateful to hear from Barak and asked thoughtful questions. For example, a student asked how the IDF soldiers feel about making such big sacrifices. He replied, “We have no other option. This is our home. If there is no Israel, something bad is going to happen to the world. I really believe that.”

When a teacher asked what advice Barak has for the children, he left them with an inspiring, vital message. He said that we should never run away from our identity — instead, we must “connect with it, understand our roots, and understand why we are part of this thing.” He emphasized that Jews value tradition and learning. Based on these values, he told students, “Keep your mind open, and study history, and don’t go along with things automatically. Open your eyes and see problems, study, be creative, and try to understand with your own minds what is going on.” That way, they can ensure that they contribute positively to the world around them. When he concluded his talk, everyone applauded.