{"id":25346,"date":"2025-06-01T20:00:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T17:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?p=25346"},"modified":"2025-06-01T17:10:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T14:10:58","slug":"defending-israel-with-torah-and-steel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/defending-israel-with-torah-and-steel\/","title":{"rendered":"Defending Israel with Torah and Steel"},"content":{"rendered":"

The day after Simchat Torah, Rabbi Avraham Zarbiv, a dayan<\/em> (a rabbinic judge in a religious court), at the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court, got into his car and drove to Sde Teiman.
\n“Everyone saw clearly what happens when, even for one day, there isn\u2019t a functioning army,” he says. “There was real fear \u2013 maybe this was the beginning of the destruction of the Third Temple.”<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t called up. No orders were issued. But in Sde Teiman, he was already known \u2013 from his past service as a fighter in the Givati reconnaissance unit, from earlier operations, and from long-standing familiarity.<\/p>\n

A Dayan in a D9<\/strong>
\nWithin days, he was back in action: first with observation teams, and later as one of the founding members of the combat engineering (tzma\u201dh) unit.
\nHe learned something he had never done before \u2013 how to operate a bulldozer \u2013 right there on the ground. Before long, he was a fully active D9 operator, serving on the front line. Eventually, he developed a method for efficient demolitions \u2013 a method that would go on to save soldiers\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis wasn\u2019t a rational decision \u2013 it was burning inside me. I couldn\u2019t sit at home while soldiers were fighting for our existence,\u201d he explains.
\nBut Rabbi Zarbiv, 53, a father of ten and grandfather of eight, brought more than combat experience with him to the battlefield. He carried with him entire worlds of spirit, Jewish law, and Torah \u2013 which he wove into each day and night, between dangerous engineering operations and efforts to uplift the morale of the troops.<\/p>\n

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Rabbi Zarbiv in a D9 | Photo: Courtesy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Backpack on His Back, holy book in Hand<\/strong>
\n“Not a single day in the army went by without me learning Mishnah<\/em> and halacha<\/em>,” says Rabbi Zarbiv. Even during his regular army service in the reconnaissance track, carrying 60\u201370 kg packs, he refused to leave his books behind.
\n“On one march we covered 150 kilometers. When the company commander checked what each of us was carrying, he found my Mishnah Berurah<\/em>. It wasn\u2019t a compact edition like they make today \u2013 it was big. He said to me: \u2018You\u2019re not taking that.\u2019 I told him: \u2018If it doesn\u2019t come with me \u2013 I\u2019m quitting. This is a volunteer unit, right? So I don\u2019t have to finish the course.'”<\/p>\n

The commander didn\u2019t believe him \u2013 but found a solution. He sent a jeep to bring printed copies of the book for him to use in the field. “That was my stand back then. And I\u2019ve always moved between these worlds \u2013 and never felt a contradiction.”<\/p>\n

Halachic Questions from Gaza<\/strong>
\nSince then, his military service has always been accompanied by learning \u2013 but this year in Gaza, that connection took on a new meaning.
\nEven after long hours maneuvering a bulldozer in hostile terrain, he found time to strengthen the spirit of those around him.<\/p>\n

“I sat with the soldiers, talked to them, answered halachic questions. On Shabbat, I would give a talk \u2013 to remind everyone why we\u2019re here.”<\/p>\n

Watch Rabbi Zarbiv recite the Traveler’s Prayer from his D9:<\/strong><\/p>\n