They couldn’t let go. Each one embracing the other again and again and again. He, together with all of the Jewish nationl, had prayed for him. And here he was.
Ohad ben Ami, a recently released hostage, had come to meet Maor Cohn, Ezer Mizion’s Lego Man.
“We talked about you all the time while we in captivity. You and some others. We live in an amazing country with people like you. Just knowing that kept up our spirits.”
“The hostages talked about me???”
“Yes! You do so much good for the kids suffering from cancer. They’re so scared and you make them happy. You build lego with them and give them confidence in their fight against cancer. You really love those kids. And I love you!”
Another hug. Their emotions spilled over.
“I can’t believe you and the others actually spoke about me. And I gave you strength without even realizing it.”
“Yes! Yes! Talking about the special people we know made us feel we had a wonderful country to come back to. I don’t need a lego set but what you do is amazing!’
They hugged again as Ohad shouted to a nearby nurse, “ He deserves it! He deserves it!”
Yes, Ohad is right. Maor Cohen is a very special person. How many people would drop everything and run to the hospital, lego set under his arm, when told that a child is depressed? How many people would spend hours at the bedside of a child , knowing that this might be her last day here in the world, bringing happiness to her during her last hours while imprisoning his own tears deep within him until they parted? How many people would rush to bring comfort and upon finding that the young patient had been moved to a hospital in the US, rush to make arrangements to travel there because ‘he needs me now’?
Ezer Mizion is replete with special people. To name just a few: there is Shlomo Porges, the ambulance driver who completely changed his schedule for the next day and drove over 400 miles to ensure Chen, a hospitalized soldier with a long road to recovery, be at the funeral of a close friend just killed in battle.
And there is the head of a Golden Age department who set up a visit for a depressed wheelchair-bound octogenarian to visit the place where he had fought like a hero in a battle so many years ago. There at the place of the battle, he regaled a group of current soldiers with his war stories. Once again, he felt valued and a productive member of the country he loved.
There is the young woman who traveled back to Israel, from halfway across the world, during her honeymoon when she was told that she was a match for a cancer patient and donating her stem cells could save his life.
Yes, Ohad. Eretz Yisroel is an amazing country and we are so glad to have you back.
