The soldiers welcomed us as if we had come to announce the end of the war. We went from group to group, singing, dancing, talking, laughing, and of course, toasting L'Chaims.

We had no time to sleep. At the crack of dawn we took out our Tefillin from our Tallit bags and began asking the soldiers if they wanted to do this wonderful mitzvah.

Most of the soldiers were still asleep. I walked around looking for "customers," and happened upon a line of ten jeeps with two soldiers seated in each. The motors were running, the air was tense as they waited to go out on a mission. It must have been a combat foray, because they were armed and wearing bulky bulletproof vests and steel helmets.

I approached the first jeep and asked them if they wanted to put on Tefillin, and one soldier agreed. I then moved on and asked the driver the same question, but I was in for an unpleasant surprise.

The soldier was aloof, looked straight ahead, and didn't react to my question. I stood and waited for a reply. After a few seconds of silence, he turned to me and screamed (loose translation): "Get out of my sight, you parasite religious scum! If you don't get out of my face I'll tear you to pieces! I hate you vermin!"

I tried to force a smile and figure something nice to say, when suddenly the driver of the next jeep in line called out to me in a desperate tone of voice: "Rabbi, Rabbi! Come here. I want to put on tefillin." Happy to get away, I walked toward the third jeep. "Tell me Rabbi," he called nervously after I took a few steps and was still a distance from him. "If...if I put on Tefillin will G-d protect me?"

The man was obviously worried. Yesterday he was probably sitting in his hardware store selling pipes and tools when they called him up to reserve duty, and here he is about to enter the front lines.

"Listen, my friend," I said, "G-d protects you whether you put on Tefillin or not. Don't worry. He loves you as is, just because you are a Jew. But if G-d protects you, just like that, why not do something special for Him, and put on Tefillin?"

It seems the soldier in the first jeep who cursed me out, overheard this, because when I finished putting on the Tefillin with this soldier he called out, "Hey Rabbi! Come back over here!"

I turned around to see him rolling up his sleeve like he welcomed the Tefillin and motioned me to come over.

I took a few steps towards him. "What do you want? What happened?"

"Listen!" he replied " I want to put on Tefillin, too."

I gave him a look and an Israeli hand motion as if to say, "Are you for real?" And he replied:

"Listen, my friend. To put on Tefillin for ulterior motives, so I would go to heaven or to be religious, that's not for me. But to put on Tefillin for no reason at all, that I understand! That I'm willing to do!"

Awesome. The essence of the Jewish soul connects with the essence of the Mitzvah. It rejects and dismisses reasons and rationalizations, but altruistically embraces the deed itself. He/she inherently wants to do G-d's will, to unite with Him not only spiritually, but also physically.

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