Stories Of Strength, Faith, And Courage For Our Seder Table

By: Rabbi Johnny Solomon

Seder night is a time for national storytelling. With this in mind, here are four powerful stories to share at your Seder table.

The Four Sons

R’ Shmuel and Talia Slotki’s seven children held different religious and political views, and their Shabbat table often included intense debates—but always while sitting around the same table, as one family. Noam, the eldest, was married to Adi and they had a daughter, Netta Yehuda. Though raised religiously, Noam was no longer observant. His brother Yishai, a twin to Yonatan, was married to Avia and they had a newborn daughter named Be’eri Shachar, inspired by the beauty of Kibbutz Be’eri.

On the morning of October 7, 2023, having heard about the attacks in Southern Israel, Yishai left his home in Be’er Sheva to defend Kibbutz Be’eri, and when Noam heard what his brother was doing, he joined him. En route they encountered terrorists near Kibbutz Alumim. Armed only with handguns, Noam and Yishai fought side by side against the heavily armed attackers. Sadly, both were killed. Reflecting on their deaths, their father Shmuel said: “Noam, the older, was without a kippah, while Yishai was religious. Yet despite their differences, they lived together, they loved each other, and they went out together to save the Jewish people.”

Baruch Shomer Havtachato

On October 7, Aner Shapira attended the Nova festival with three friends. When the attacks began, they found shelter in the roadside shelter (migunit) in Re’im where 23 others were hiding. At that moment Aner stood by the entrance and announced to all those inside: “I am a sergeant of the Sayeret Nachal and I am going to take responsibility here.”

When the terrorists began throwing grenades into the shelter, Aner picked up the grenades and hurled them back towards the terrorists. All those in the migunit were astounded by his heroism and they knew that Aner was going to keep his promise to do whatever he could to protect them. Eventually the terrorists fired an RPG into the shelter, killing Aner. Of the 27 men and women who were in the migunit, 10 are alive today because of Aner’s courage.

Dayeinu

On October 7, Arnon Zamora fought near Yad Mordechai, and also in Nir Oz, Be’eri and Sderot. Yet despite leading his unit with courage and bringing all his soldiers home safely, Arnon believed that as long as there were hostages in Gaza, his mission was incomplete. On June 8, 2024, Arnon led the daring rescue mission to free Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan, and Andrey Kozlov. Sadly, Arnon was killed during the fierce gun battle that took place during the rescue. Arnon’s story evokes the spirit of Dayeinu: had Arnon accomplished only one of his many acts of courage, it would have been enough. Yet for Arnon, there was no ‘enough’ when it came to protecting his people.

Eliyahu Hanavi

Towards the end of the Seder we open the door for Eliyahu HaNavi, who we are told is there to protect us. On October 7, having heard the sound of gunshots, Captain Eden Nimri and the four other soldiers in her team ran for shelter in the Nachal Oz outpost where 24 unarmed female soldiers had gathered. Eden took command and she positioned herself at the doorway while she instructed her fellow fighters to cover the other entrance.

Eden deliberately drew fire toward herself to allow others to escape, and when her ammunition ran out, Eden fought the terrorists with her bare hands. 17 of the 29 women who were in the shelter are alive today due to Eden’s heroism.

On Seder night we celebrate freedom, so please share these stories on Seder night about those who gave their lives for the sake of our freedom. Chag Sameach! nRabbi Johnny Solomon is a Rabbi and Posek who works as the Chief Learning Officer (CLO) at WebYeshiva.org where he also provides online spiritual coaching and halachic consultations to men, women and couples as #theVirtualRabbi. He is a member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau (Mizrachi.org/speakers