When The Journal interviewed Rabbi Yankee Kahn of Chabad of the Valley after his four trips to Israel, his two youngest children, Menachem Mendel, 10, and Effie, 12, sat quietly in the room. But before offering his views on his fifth trip to the war zone, Kahn invited his sons into the conversation.
“I was sad. I was really sad. I don’t know what I was expecting, but there was no one in the streets,” Efi said, barely whispering. Menahem recalled Efi finding the bullet next to the Nova Festival, where 360 Jews were killed on October 7. “They had finished piling stones for those who died at the festival,” Efi said. “I was sad.”
Speaking from a bigger picture, Rabbi Khan said, “People are trying to get back to normal life. You can feel it in the air. People are adapting. Families that were evacuated from their homes now have new homes and are adapting to a new life that is extremely difficult.”
One of the people Khan and his family met was his father, Shlomo, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, who told Khan that on October 7, all of his neighbors on one side of his house were taken hostage and all of the residents on the other side were burned alive.
When Hamas terrorists seized his house, Shlomo and his wife fled to a nearby bomb shelter. The Hamas terrorists spent their time making noise and destroying their property, eating away at the family’s food. “It was a small, modest house,” Khan says. “They came in and took whatever they wanted. They were unchecked.”
Shlomo told Kahn that he and his wife sat inside the shelter, desperately trying to keep themselves safe. The shelter had no lock on the outside, just a handle. He used his stamp collection to hold onto the handle. Shlomo stood there for eight hours, trying to keep his wife safe. The rabbi called it a “miracle” that they survived.
Outside of Jerusalem, Rabbi Rebbetzin Hindi Khan and her four children saw destruction everywhere they went. “I don’t think there is a single home in Israel that hasn’t been affected, with family and friends missing or injured, or fleeing to evacuation centers, fathers in and out of the military, mothers caring for all their children,” Khan said. “You can see the stress in every home. The impact is enormous.”
During their two weeks in Israel, the Khans traveled around the country, trying to visit as many people as possible: “We spent a lot of time near the Gaza Strip and a lot of time in the West Bank, meeting old friends, widows and people who had lost children.”
Rebbetzin Khan reflected on those first few days: “When we landed in Israel, we were walking through the airport and we saw all these signs about the hostages,” she said. “It made me emotional. These are family members, these are friends. These are people whose lives were taken, not just by name. I made sure to stop at each one, and then I felt like I connected with each one.” But it got even more emotional when we met the families of the soldiers, the Rebbetzin said. “We were all just crying.”
What will the rabbi or rebbetzin do to help them? “Believe it or not, we’ve danced with families whose children have been taken hostage,” says Kahn. “We’ve gone to restaurants with families whose children have been killed. Some of the families we’ve visited we’ve given money to. We were just trying to help them. Different families react differently.”
Rebbetzin Kahn recalled a particularly moving moment. When the families went to Hostage Square, “there were huge protests going on. It was the hottest day in Tel Aviv, and some of the family members were fainting,” she said. “Yankee gave a pair of tefillin to the hostage’s father. He said, ‘These are for your son when he comes home. I hope that when he comes home, he will wear these tefillin.’ The father was very moved and very happy to receive the tefillin. He was one of the people dancing with us. The hostage’s brother was there as well.” Rebbetzin Kahn said nine people from one family were taken. The wife and two children returned.
In their daily visits to Israeli families affected by the war, the Khans are constantly reminded of two immutable truths.
• Families react differently to tragedy.
• We Jews are one family throughout the world.
“Los Angeles is one of the largest communities in the world. It’s time for us all to realize that we are truly one family. The people of Israel are grateful that the Jews of Los Angeles are here and supporting us.”
“We live in one of the largest communities in the world, and it’s time to recognize that we are all truly one family. The people of Israel are grateful to the Jews of Los Angeles for coming and supporting them,” Kahn said in Los Angeles.
Near the end of their trip, the day after Passover, a terrorist attack occurred in Israel. Khan immediately took action. “We said, ‘Let’s do something for the police officers who are putting their lives at risk,’ so the Khans threw a pizza party for all the police officers in Jerusalem.”
Daily calls for help come in, which Khan responds to through Chabad of the Valley’s WhatsApp feed. (To donate, go to chabadofthevalley.com/israelrelief.) During each of his five visits since October 7, he has vowed: “We will win. The hostages will come home. The soldiers will come home safely. But each of us must do our job.” The war with Hamas is far from over, and Khan has no plans to rest. His sixth visit is scheduled for June or early July.
Each time Khan visits Israel, he brings gifts — toys, clothes, bulletproof vests, helmets, money — and for his next trip, he’s ordered 250 mezuzahs.
The rabbi expressed his gratitude to Jeff and Rita Weiss for supporting the trip, and to Shmuel Isaac and Dr. Kahn for sponsoring the 100 mezuzahs. “Our goal is to have a mezuzah on every military base,” Kahn said.
