Rabbi Zvi Elon has dedicated much of his life to serving both Israeli society and the global Jewish community. After several years as a community rabbi in Uruguay and later in Caesarea, he went on to pursue advanced rabbinic and military training in Israel. Today, he serves as the rabbi of a battalion in the Northern Nachal Brigade, guiding soldiers not only through the challenges of military life but also through spiritual growth. Rabbi Aron White spoke with Rabbi Elon about his experiences during the recent conflict, witnessing a religious and spiritual awakening among soldiers, and the unique role of faith in moments of national crisis.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Could you share a bit about your background and how you arrived at your current role?

Certainly. I’m married to Chen, and thank G-d we have five children. We currently live in Or Akiva. In 2005, my wife and I went on shlichut to Uruguay, where I served as the community rabbi for six years. After returning to Israel in 2011, I became the rabbi of Caesarea for seven years. Since 2018, I’ve been involved with Diaspora Jewry through the Mizrachi movement. For three years, I served as Mazkal (Secretary General) of World Bnei Akiva, and more recently, I returned to Mizrachi work.

Around 2020, I joined the Military Rabbinate course. Having spent many years abroad, it was initially challenging to reintegrate into a combat framework as I was classified as a foreign resident. After several attempts, I was advised to join the officers’ course of the Military Rabbinate, which offered a pathway to re-enter a combat unit. Within the course, there is a specialized track designed for those returning to combat service.

Can you explain what the Military Rabbinate course entails and the role of a military rabbi?

The course lasts nearly two months and has two main components. The first is professional rabbinic training. This covers halachic guidance for the military context: issues of kashrut, observing Shabbat on base, and wartime questions – everything from prayer logistics to practical concerns, such as whether it is permissible to deliver snacks to soldiers on a patrol during Shabbat.

The second component emphasizes one of the most solemn roles of a military rabbi: assisting in the evacuation of fallen soldiers. This can include handling casualties or, in the worst-case scenario, partial remains in a mass-casualty event. The training prepares rabbis to navigate these profoundly difficult situations with both professional skill and spiritual sensitivity.

After the rabbinic portion, there is a standard officers’ course at Bahad 1, the IDF’s primary training base. Upon completing this, battalion and brigade commanders often recruit graduates for combat units. That is how I joined the reconnaissance battalion of the Northern Nachal Brigade in November 2022.

As a battalion rabbi, how many soldiers do you oversee?

Approximately 500.

You had been in reserves before the recent war. How long had you been active with the battalion overall?

It’s funny to even think about “before the war” – it was just a completely different life. Before the war, we actually had more reserve days than regular soldiers, because we’re in the command echelon. Every time there was a commanders’ training… But ultimately, end to end, until October 2023, I think that besides the officers’ course, I maybe did about a month in total.

Then the war breaks out, and it was just a regular Simchat Torah in shul. Suddenly, the phone starts ringing – and that’s it. I ran home for a moment to talk, went back to the synagogue, and told all the reservists there to go home and grab their phones. We live in a very calm area. We didn’t know anything, didn’t hear anything. I live in Or Akiva. There were no sirens, nothing unusual – the streets were completely normal.

It was nine in the morning – just two-and-a-half hours after it started – and my phone already had five or six messages from the battalion commander: “We need to get ready to leave.” By noon, I got in the car and drove. We were dispatched straight to the north. I even argued with the battalion commander – I told him I wanted to go south to help – but he said, rightly, that I didn’t understand: “You have to go up north. The story is in the north.”

By the afternoon, still on Shabbat, we reached a place called Yimach HaMachsanim, where all the battalion’s equipment was stored. We drew equipment and slept there, but by 4 a.m. we moved further north and took positions on the border fence. Already early Sunday morning, we were deployed. In hindsight, the rapid mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reservists in the north deterred Hezbollah from attacking – which we now understand was their plan. Just today, an article reported that 3,000 Hezbollah fighters were prepared to enter. But they saw the numbers – between October 7 and 8, suddenly there were almost 150,000 soldiers along the northern border. It was unreal.

Many observers noted a religious awakening among soldiers in the early days of the conflict. Did you witness this firsthand?

Absolutely – I already saw this on October 7th itself. Immediately after Shabbat, I organized a havdalah ceremony for a few religious soldiers, but as I was about to start, others came over and said: “Wait, wait.” Within minutes, nearly the entire battalion – about 500 soldiers – joined. We recited, “He who separates between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations,” and everyone responded “Amen!” It was remarkable.

In the days that followed, I brought a Sefer Torah to an open field along the fence. Our first Kabbalat Shabbat was Parashat Bereishit. We had no siddurim, so I recited the Amidah aloud, and 50–60% of the soldiers participated. Every day during those first weeks, we held prayers and shared Torah teachings, even under the most challenging conditions.

Was there any resistance from secular soldiers, or concerns about religious coercion?

None. Not a single incident. Everyone participated willingly. They joined for Chanukah candle lighting, kiddush on Friday nights, and even Tefillat haDerech before entering Lebanon on Tzom Gedaliah. The engagement was voluntary, enthusiastic, and heartfelt.

How do you explain this spiritual awakening?

First, I’m in a unit whose vast majority is Ashkenazi – Nachal’s recon – with many kibbutzniks. It’s not a community that, before October 7th, you’d define as traditional or religious. Not at all. But I wasn’t surprised for a moment, because Rav Kook taught us: this is Am Yisrael – you just don’t always see it tangibly. We merited to see it with our own eyes. 

And it’s not just the soldiers. Take Chef Eyal Shani – famous for his shrimp restaurants worldwide – sending a package for all the soldiers, personally dedicating it: “With love and thanks to our soldiers,” writing in his own hand, “kosher lemehadrin.” It turns out he made sure to have kashrut supervision in his restaurants in Israel so he could prepare food for soldiers – and not just soldiers – for Am Yisrael.

What about criticisms from Charedi communities that the army conflicts with religious observance? How do you view that?

I think that anyone who wants to strengthen their faith, love of Israel, and love of Torah – one of the most powerful places to do that is fighting shoulder to shoulder with your brothers in the army, in a state of self-sacrifice for the Jewish people.

Are there halachic challenges? Without a doubt. But we learn to face challenges throughout life. I’ll say carefully that we need to believe in ourselves more – that we can stand up to those challenges. And today the army knows how to provide solutions for soldiers who need them. Regarding kashrut and Shabbat, and even modesty – it’s truly challenging, but for someone seeking solutions, especially in regular army service, it’s possible to find them.

I understand the difficulty. But when you live in the moment and experience the power of devoting yourself to the Jewish people – of giving your life for them – it gives you a tremendous spiritual boost. I can say this broadly from my reserve duty: looking at the whole battalion, everyone grew spiritually. Everyone.

As a military rabbi, did you also have people coming for heart-to-heart talks – questions about direction in life? Did it show up that way too?

Spiritually transformative experiences went beyond communal prayer. During the war, two soldiers decided to marry, inspired by the urgency and responsibility of building a Jewish home in Israel. We made them a wedding in the field. It was insane. And what convinced them to marry was the war – they understood they needed to build a Jewish home in Israel. That’s very personal. There were also numerous heart-to-heart talks – about relationships, reservists with problems at home, about educating children, about direction in life.