It was an evening our community will carry with us for a long time. Young Israel of Queens Valley had the extraordinary privilege of hosting IDF soldier Yosef Green and his wife, a young couple whose faith, love, and resilience left our neighborhood profoundly moved.
From the moment they stepped into our sanctuary, we sensed that this was not merely a talk—it was testimony. Yosef, just 23, served as a frontline machine gunner in Gaza and Lebanon. Standing beside him was his wife, who held their family together while pregnant and alone, never knowing whether her husband would return home. Together, they allowed us into their world with honesty, dignity, and an unwavering belief in emunah.
A Love Tested by War
Their story began simply—two eighteen-year-olds who met while volunteering, became close, and fell in love. Although they planned to wait until after Yosef’s military service to marry, they quickly realized that their commitment to one another couldn’t wait. They married at 19, with hopes of building a peaceful life together in northern Israel.
After eighteen months of service, Yosef’s release date arrived. She baked a cake. She made countdown calendars. She filmed him leaving base for “the last time.” Life was about to begin.
Days later—on Simchat Torah morning—everything changed.
Yosef was called back to service immediately. His gear had already been returned; his weapon had been turned in. The machine gun he was hastily issued jammed during testing, but there was no time. He was sent straight into battle. His wife watched him pack his bag and walk out the door, unsure if she would ever see him again.
A Young Wife’s Strength
What followed were weeks of anguish. Days without communication. A pregnancy progressing without her husband by her side. Images from Gaza flooding the news, leaving her to wonder constantly if he was safe.
But then came her turning point.
“If my soldier is in Gaza,” she said, “and he knows that his wife at home is in bed and broken, how will that help him fight?”
She chose strength—not for herself alone, but for him. She returned to work, surrounded herself with friends, and sent letters that showed Yosef she was holding steady.
And then came the outpouring: flowers at her door, cookies from strangers, care packages from Jews around the world. Every trip she made to see Yosef, her car was filled with donations meant for other soldiers.
“We really felt that love,” she told us through tears. “Everyone here was part of it.”
Miracles at the Front
Yosef’s accounts of combat were difficult to hear—yet filled with unmistakable miracles.
One morning, after a sleepless night in Gaza, he begged Hashem for strength. During a random supply drop, he opened a box labeled Daven for His Protection. Inside were his mother’s homemade cookies—sent through several hands and miraculously delivered to his exact location.
On the first night of Chanukah, his unit blew a hole in the side of a house to avoid a booby trap. Only later did they discover a terrorist hiding directly behind the chosen wall with a machine gun aimed at the entry point. Any other angle, and the soldiers would not have survived.
Another explosion struck their vehicle, killing a 24-year-old soldier and injuring others. Yosef survived because his backpack absorbed the shrapnel.
Perhaps most astonishingly, an accidental injury while cutting frozen hamburgers kept him home on medical leave while his unit deployed to Lebanon. That deployment suffered devastating casualties.
“Hashem kept me home,” he said quietly.
Throughout four and a half months of combat, he never removed his tzitzit and never missed putting on tefillin. With his commander’s permission, Yosef woke early every morning to daven before entering battle.
Returning Home — and Moving Forward
Transitioning back to civilian life was challenging, but Yosef made a decision: “You can stay in bed all day, or you can get up and inspire others.” Today he coaches youth baseball, works in real estate, and carries a renewed appreciation for every person and every moment.
He ended the evening with a video of his emotional reunion with a young man with Down syndrome who had prayed for him daily. The joy between them was indescribable.
Then he gestured toward photos of the fallen—soldiers barely 20 years old.
“Just look at their smiles,” he said. “That tells the whole story.”
A Night We Will Never Forget
We are deeply grateful to everyone who attended and made this program meaningful. A special thank you to Queens Shmira, whose volunteers ensured a safe and well-organized evening for the packed crowd, and who personally arranged transportation for Rabbi Peretz Steinberg, rav emeritus of YIQV, allowing him to join us comfortably.
As we left the sanctuary, many of us found ourselves embracing neighbors, wiping our eyes, and absorbing the weight of what we had just heard. Yosef and his wife offered us a gift—a reminder of the sacrifices our soldiers make, the miracles that protect them, and the love of klal Yisrael that binds us together.
May Hashem continue to watch over every soldier of the IDF and bring them home safely.
IDF Soldier Inspires Queens With Tale Of Courage & Faith
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