Book Review: Armed With Spirit

NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.
Book Review: Armed With Spirit, by Rabbi Shalom Hammer
Armed With Spirit, by Rabbi Shalom Hammer, is a book in which Rabbi Hammer really wrote via Whatsapp.
Rabbi Hammer's son enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces, the IDF, in the Nahal Brigade. As a religious soldier, his father felt it important to not just stay in regular contact with him but also to lift his spirits with spiritual messages - so he sent him a weekly dvar torah on the weekly portion of the Torah reading, or for holidays or other events. The divrei torah were nto just nice vertlach ont he parsha, but they were lessons relevant to a soldier int he IDF, deduced from each parsha. Those divrei torah sent to his son in the IDF are what became the book Armed With Spirit.
The personal touch and connection Rabbi Hammer worked to maintain and develop is touching on its own. Even more is that often his son, Soldier Hammer, would write back his own thoughts in response, and sometimes it would lead to some back and forth discussion, which is also included in the book. It is touching to see the relationship. It is touching to see the respect with which each holds the other.
I did find it very impressive that Rabbi Hammer was able to take a lesson relevant to a soldier in the IDF from every single parsha and holiday. That could not have been easy.
It is admirable, and I am a bit jealous, that Rabbi Hammer thought to do this and did it - a  feat on its own, as surely he and his son both had busy schedules and surely some weeks it might have been difficult to find the time or to remember to do it or even to come up with an interesting message to pass on.
I suspect that if all IDF parents could work to keep or develop a relationship with their soldier in a similar way, both our soldiers and we would all be the better off for it.
Armed With Spirit is not just a book, it is a look at the relationship between father and son both tasked in holy work.
You can buy Armed With Spirit on Amazon
NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.

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Book Review: Armed With Spirit, by Rabbi Shalom Hammer
Armed With Spirit, by Rabbi Shalom Hammer, is a book in which Rabbi Hammer really wrote via Whatsapp.
Rabbi Hammer's son enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces, the IDF, in the Nahal Brigade. As a religious soldier, his father felt it important to not just stay in regular contact with him but also to lift his spirits with spiritual messages - so he sent him a weekly dvar torah on the weekly portion of the Torah reading, or for holidays or other events. The divrei torah were nto just nice vertlach ont he parsha, but they were lessons relevant to a soldier int he IDF, deduced from each parsha. Those divrei torah sent to his son in the IDF are what became the book Armed With Spirit.
The personal touch and connection Rabbi Hammer worked to maintain and develop is touching on its own. Even more is that often his son, Soldier Hammer, would write back his own thoughts in response, and sometimes it would lead to some back and forth discussion, which is also included in the book. It is touching to see the relationship. It is touching to see the respect with which each holds the other.
I did find it very impressive that Rabbi Hammer was able to take a lesson relevant to a soldier in the IDF from every single parsha and holiday. That could not have been easy.
It is admirable, and I am a bit jealous, that Rabbi Hammer thought to do this and did it - a  feat on its own, as surely he and his son both had busy schedules and surely some weeks it might have been difficult to find the time or to remember to do it or even to come up with an interesting message to pass on.
I suspect that if all IDF parents could work to keep or develop a relationship with their soldier in a similar way, both our soldiers and we would all be the better off for it.
Armed With Spirit is not just a book, it is a look at the relationship between father and son both tasked in holy work.
You can buy Armed With Spirit on Amazon
NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.