New IDF shul honors N. Woodmere’s Cyrus Wolf

By KEPHERD DANIEL kdaniel@liherald.com

A new synagogue at the Rehavam Base, headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces’ Homefront Command’s Search and Rescue Unit in the city of Ramla, was opened in the memory of Cyrus Wolf, a North Woodmere resident who died in 2007. He was 74.

The synagogue is a gift from Florence Wolf, of Lawrence, and her family in honor of her husband. The shul will help ensure the soldiers are mentally and spiritually nurtured and have a place to relax throughout their service.

“This was really the most incredible way to memorialize my father,” Trudy Stern, Wolf’s daughter, said. “He was very involved in the community and in the shul, in particular, the five towns. The shul for him was a communal place for people to gather and for people to connect with one another.”

The IDF Homefront Command is responsible for preparing and assisting the civilian population in times of crisis, as well as post-crisis reconstruction. The Search and Rescue Brigade is a highly skilled force under its command that operates search and rescue missions in Israel and around the world, aiding in rescue and recovery from incidents such as terror attacks, floods, and other natural disasters.

Wolf was a respected leader in the Five

Towns, a generous benefactor and someone who thrived on bringing Jews together. For Wolf, a synagogue was a place where he and his family united and connected with their Jewish community, and this gift presented on his behalf was the perfect way to honor his memory. The construction of the synagogue, and ceremony, were facilitated by the Friends of the IDF.

“It was absolutely incredible,” Stern said. “It really concretized all of our feel- ings and being in the shul with the soldiers and, praying with them and speaking with them and hearing from them how important it is to have the synagogue at their base. It was a real honor and a privilege for my family, to be able to work with the FIDF in doing this and in providing this wonderful synagogue for the IDF.”

Col. Elad Edri, commander of the Search & Rescue Brigade, helped cut the ribbon on the new building and addressed the crowd along with FIDF national Chair, Fred Gluckman and Ed Wolf, who represented the family. The chief cantor of the IDF, Lt. Col. Shai Abramson, recited a Yizkor prayer in memory of Cyrus Wolf, and another for the safety of Israel and its soldiers.

“We are deeply grateful to the Wolf family for their incredible contribution to the Homefront Command Base,” Gluckman said a news release. “It is a privilege to partner with such generous and mission-driven philanthropists to provide a synagogue as a community gathering place for the soldiers. We echo their intention to provide those who defend the homeland with a place to form a stronger community through reflection and prayer.”

FIDF’s construction projects give the young men and women of the IDF a taste of “home away from home” while they are in service, organization officials stated in the release.

FIDF aims to create environments where soldiers can relax, connect with each other, stay in shape, commemorate and celebrate special days, and simply feel themselves again outside of uniform.

Projects range from individual structures to comprehensive well-being complexes and include recreation and sports centers, cultural and educational facilities, synagogues, memorial rooms, auditoriums, and soldiers’ homes.