Nachal Oz is a small kibbutz whose name is now etched into Jewish consciousness. Located just 800 meters from the border of Gaza, this otherwise quiet farming town was at the center of the inferno on October 7th. At the adjacent Nachal Oz army base, 53 soldiers were killed and 10 were captured, and on the kibbutz, 15 people were killed and 8 kidnapped. It was only in June 2025 that the residents were told they could return to the destroyed kibbutz.
In February 2026, a unique event took place – a hachnasat Sefer Torah on the kibbutz. The Torah was dedicated in memory of Captain Daniel Perez, who died on October 7th defending Nachal Oz. He had been based on the Nachal Oz military base, and had fought for hours in the fields between the base and the border, preventing a worse infiltration into Nachal Oz.
The theme of unity pervaded the celebrations. The Torah was dedicated by the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, providing a moment of connection between Jews from chutz la’aretz and Israel. Led by Rabbi Ya’akov Trump and Alan Weichselbaum, this was another Sefer Torah the shul has dedicated in honor of fallen soldiers. The Torah was also donated to a unique pre-army academy called Meitarim; the student body of this academy are one-third religious, one-third secular and one-third masorati (traditional). Finally, the Torah connected the legacy of one heroic soldier to a new generation of soldiers, training to take their place in the IDF.
It is customary at a hachnasat Sefer Torah for any incumbent Sifrei Torah to be brought out to “greet” the newly dedicated scroll. At the Meitarim academy in Nachal Oz, there was already one existing Sefer Torah – one dedicated in memory of Naftali Fraenkel, one of the three boys kidnapped and killed by Hamas in June 2014. The memory of both kedoshim, Naftali Fraenkel and Daniel Perez, now became connected and joined.
As the last letters were completed, and the sounds of signing and dancing filled the air, one could almost touch the palpable holiness of the moment. Young and old, men and women, religious and secular, Israel and Diaspora – hundreds of Jews danced together, celebrating a Torah that remembers, that sanctifies and that unites.
