Baruch Ben-Yigal is the father of Amit Ben-Yigal, h’yd, the 21-year-old IDF soldier who was murdered by an Arab during an operation in an Arab village west of Jenin on Lag B’Omer 2020. Amit was his only child and his whole world. After HaRav Chaim’s petirah, Ben-Yigal told Channel 14 News about his moving meeting with HaRav Chaim, z’tl. “We had a personal meeting,” he said. “They brought me into the room with the Rav. And his grandson Yanky said: ‘Saba, do you know who this is? This is the father of a hero in Israel.” “HaRav Chaim, z’tl, touched Amit’s dog tag that I wear around my neck and patted my face and began to cry. And he said: ‘You should know that your son is a hero of Yisrael and he is sitting the closest to the Kisei Hamalchus.’ And then he told me: ‘You should know that your son is together with Reb Shimon bar Yochai and Rebbe Akiva.’” “I’ll remind you that Amit fell on Lag B’omer, the day of the yartzheit of Reb Shimon Bar Yochai.” “His grandson Yanky told me afterward: ‘You should know, Saba doesn’t cry over everyone.’” “I left and I stopped at the gas station,” Ben-Yigal continued. “I was filling up my car and a woman approached me and said: ‘Hello Abba of Amit.’ I said hello. And she responded: ‘I dreamt about Amit, that he was sitting the closest to the Kisei Hamalchus, and Reb Shimon bar Yochai and Rebbe Akiva are sitting next to him.” “I was so astounded that I raised my hands and I asked the Borei Olam: “What do you want from me?” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The post Fallen Soldier’s Father: “He Patted My Cheek & Weeped, ‘Your Son Is With Shimon Bar Yochai'” [VIDEO] appeared first on The Yeshiva World.