Location: Mitzpe Gadot (Golan Heights)
Subject: Paradigm of Israelite Military Leadership – “Follow Me”
Reference: Sefer Bamidbar Perek 27 Posuk 17 Rashi
Written by: David Magence
When Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu to prepare to die, he responded as a true leader, asking Hashem to appoint as his replacement a leader “who will go before the Nation and come before them, who will lead them out and bring them in.”0
Rashi quotes the Midrash that Moshe said: “Not like the kings of the nations, who sit at home and send their armies to war, but as I myself did, fighting against Sichon and Og.”0
This approach is followed by Zahal (IDF), where the battle cry is “Acharai” (Follow me). As a result of this approach, there is always a high percentage of casualties sustained by officers.0
Among the many memorial sites for our fallen soldiers, the monument at Mitzpe Gadot which was a Syrian military position which dominated Kibbutz Gadot, and from which the kibbutz was shelled numerous times, lists the fallen soldiers’ ranks. One can see that there is a significant percentage of officers who fell in battle in the Golan Heights in the wars protecting the Jewish State.0
