Rabbi Shlomo Goldfarb, a Major in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), spent 22 months on the front lines and in Lebanon, offering spiritual support and guidance to Israeli soldiers. On Thursday, July 3, he spoke at Congregation Machane Chodosh in Forest Hills about his experiences and insights.
Originally from Crown Heights, Rabbi Goldfarb made aliyah in 2004. Drafted into the IDF at age 24, he initially trained in infantry before being reassigned to chaplaincy. “We both came to the conclusion that I’d be more effective as a rabbi,” he recalled in a private interview. Since then, he has served in every major military operation: Lebanon in 2006, and Gaza in 2009, 2014, and 2019. Most recently, he served 576 consecutive days during the 2023-2025 war, primarily stationed in northern Israel.
“Only 16 or 17 soldiers were at our base on October 6, 2023,” he said. “By midnight the next day, we were 22,000.” One enduring mystery, he added, is why Hezbollah didn’t launch an assault from the north on October 7.
IDF rabbis serve not only as spiritual advisors but also as combat-trained soldiers who participate in planning and operations. “Chaplains in the IDF are there not just to answer the ‘how,’ but the ‘why,’” Rabbi Goldfarb said. “It makes a big difference.”
One of his first challenges post-draft was that bases lacked mezuzos. “People felt very uncomfortable sleeping in a room without a mezuzah,” he said. Nearly 600 were distributed during a large-scale mezuzah campaign.
Rabbi Goldfarb recounted a Hezbollah drone attack that targeted his base’s gas generator. Miraculously, the attack failed. “This was the day after we placed 36 mezuzos around our base,” he said. “You see how Hashem protects our soldiers.”
He described a Friday night meal a week after October 7, with nearly 600 soldiers and officers gathered together. Before Eishes Chayil and Kiddush, he had everyone sing “Oseh Shalom.” “I think we’re the only army in the world that asks for peace before going into battle,” he said.
As head of Division 146’s rabbinate, Rabbi Goldfarb supervised 57 rabbis in northwestern Galilee. One, Rabbi Avi Goldberg, was killed while entering a building to rescue soldiers. He had encouraged troops to recite Sh’ma Yisrael before combat. Rabbi Goldberg was the division’s only chaplain killed in action.
Rabbis played multiple roles: offering halachic guidance, conducting funerals, and supporting grieving families. Rabbi Goldfarb shared the story of Uriya Bayer, a non-Jewish IDF soldier whose family moved to Israel to atone for the Holocaust and dedicated their lives to serving Holocaust survivors. Halachic solutions were found to give Uriya a dignified burial. A fellow soldier even named his son after him.
The war created unique halachic dilemmas: Could a soldier carry t’filin in his backpack on Yom Tov? Could a soldier on an ambush mission eat wet matzah on Pesach to avoid crunching noises? Could one eat and drink on Yom Kippur while on duty? Rabbi Goldfarb and his team addressed these questions practically and compassionately.
On Yom Kippur, 12,000 laminated cards were distributed with a special t’filah granting permission to eat and drink for the sake of the mission. “Please, Hashem,” the prayer read, “with the power of eating and drinking on Yom Kippur, give me the energy to fight for am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael.”
The rabbinate procured 170 sukkos, far more than the Army’s initial allotment of 50. Portable sukkos were made in the US to meet halachic requirements. Rabbi Goldfarb’s sons helped deliver them.
Other efforts included hot kosher food trucks, Shabbos candle-lighting stands, and full sets of siddurim, sifrei Torah, and eiruvim. Religious life continued even in the heart of Lebanon: six-to-seven weddings, multiple bar mitzvahs, a bris milah, and even a pidyon ha’ben were held. Tens of thousands of matzos, menorahs, and megillos were distributed.
Now living in Kfar Vradim, five miles from the Lebanese border, Rabbi Goldfarb continues to serve his community alongside his American-born wife, Rifki, and their five sons. “All of Israel suffers from PTSD; it’s just a matter of degree,” he said. Even his fellow rabbis face serious mental health challenges.
Rabbi Yossi Mendelson of Machane Chodosh remembered learning with Rabbi Goldfarb in the Jewish ghetto of Venice, Italy. “Even then,” he recalled, “he said he wanted to be a rabbi in the Israeli army. Not just a rabbi with a book. A rabbi with a gun.”
Rabbi Goldfarb expressed deep gratitude to the Forest Hills/Rego Park community for its continued financial, spiritual, and emotional support. He presented a certificate to Rabbi Mendelson and Rabbi Judah Kerbel of the Queens Jewish Center, commemorating the chaplaincy work during the war. The certificate featured a T’hilim verse: “G-d will give strength to His people, and through His strength, they will achieve peace.”
The program concluded with a heartfelt prayer for the IDF led by Rabbi Mendelson and the attendees.
