Rabbi Shachar Butchak and his family lived for several years on the Gaza Envelope, forming deep connections and friendships with the residents of the secular kibbutzim. When they moved to Ofakim, Shachar became the rabbi of the Torah nucleus community. Rabbi Shachar didn’t expect that his past experience as the security first response team on Gaza Envelope would come in handy in his new role. On the morning of Simchat Torah, he received messages from the members of the Gaza settlements about terrorist infiltrations, and immediately went out armed. He fought in the streets of Ofakim while informing forces and calling for help, and was even wounded by gunfire, an injury from which he is still recovering from to this day.
