Why there’s a picture of a brave IDF soldier hanging in Momentum’s chocolate shop

Plus, 5% discount discount – offer closes Thursday!

Have you been to visit us recently? If you have, you may have noticed a picture of a smiling soldier next to his hospital bed surrounded by balloons and an oversized teddy bear with Gilad Netanel printed on its bathrobe:

The picture is accompanied by a letter from Gilad thanking the staff at Momentum for their gift and well wishers.

The soldier’s name is Gilad Cohen and his father Itsik is head of sales at Momentum. Two of Itsik’s sons, both paramedics, are in combat duty in the military and ever since the war broke out, we’ve been praying for their safety. A few days before Pesach last year, Itsik’s wife told me that she only has sporadic contact with her sons and she doesn’t even know if they’ll be home for the seder night. I was in awe of her quiet courage.

Last June, we heard the heart-stopping news that Gilad had been critically injured in Gaza. He’d been driving in a jeep with fellow combatants when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle. Shrapnel pierced Gilad’s intestines and as he bled, he gave hurried instructions to his comrades, ultimately saving his own life.

Within minutes of the attack, Gilad was flown to Tel Aviv’s Ichilov hospital and within an hour he was undergoing surgery, the first of several. The road to recovery was long and brutal. Gilad’s slight frame was not built to confront the hard, steel face of cruelty. But Gilad fought for his life like he’d fought for all of Israel, and here he is, in this picture, smiling again.

Boruch Hashem, our brave soldier is doing well. May we hope and pray that neither he, nor any other of the IDF’s courageous soldiers, need ever face the battlefield again.

Now let’s talk about happier things.

Like chocolate. And Purim. And giving chocolate for Purim. This year, we have an extraordinary collection of chocolate, wine, fresh flower, and gift arrangements. This is just a sampling: