The mission of Sam Fried’s life began in childhood, instilled by the Zionist values of his family, community, and schools. From an early age, he dreamed of wearing the IDF uniform in service of Israel. Like many reservists abroad, the Hamas attack on Simchas Torah caught him by surprise and he rushed to catch the flight to Israel to reenlist. Last Sunday, he returned to his parents in Jamaica Estates and met with Rabbi Josh Goller, who invited him to speak at the Young Israel of West Hempstead on the impact of the support of prayers on the soldiers.
“They say that they need our prayers. For those who need strength to defend our people, our nation, we will begin with t’filah,” Rabbi Goller said. Fried’s lecture was sponsored by all of West Hempstead’s shuls in a show of unity that included T’hilim by their rabbis, and the prayer for the Jewish state in a duet by young chazan Craig Resmovits of the a cappella group Six13, and Mayer Davis, the former longtime chazan at Manhattan’s Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun.
“Thank Lonni and Howie Fried, Sam’s parents. A parent of a chayal loses a lot of sleep. The worry and angst are quite difficult. What does it take to raise a young man or woman who has so much pride that they would fight for Israel? It takes a strong belief in a Jewish homeland, a certain maturity, energy, and focus second to none,” Rabbi Goller said. He first met this family when he served as the assistant rabbi at the Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, before taking the pulpit at West Hempstead, his hometown.
“What’s a soldier? You picture tough and gruff and then you meet the IDF. You speak to them on the street or at the airport. They are so kind. They give you chizuk. It makes us appreciate them even more, if that’s possible. Sam epitomizes what it means to be a caring, compassionate Jew. He gave up a job in finance to stand shoulder to shoulder with chayalim,” he said.
Inspired to Serve
Following the introduction, Fried spoke of his education at the Yeshiva of Central Queens and at Ramaz. “I remember in the summer of 2006, hearing the story of a soldier who jumped on a grenade, Roi Klein. He gave his life. I was nine years old. I was in a summer camp in New Hampshire. I developed a strong feeling for Zionism. I got to a point, maybe this is something I want to do, serve Israel.” Fried’s grandfather fought in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, and his father was an avid watcher of the History Channel and Military Channel. His father’s friend shared stories of his experience as a paratrooper in the First Lebanon War.
“I was a scrawny little kid. I’m gonna do it, and I did it. As everybody was going to yeshivah, I was going into the Israeli army,” he said. He physically prepared for the army, but his parents were apprehensive and asked that he graduate from college. With a degree, career, and girlfriend, perhaps he would reconsider risking his life abroad.
“Four years came and went. I got a job and a girlfriend, but I wanted to be in the army. I told my parents that I’m graduating college and I’ve registered for Machal. I was 22 years old.”
Fried took the exam for military service in early 2020, during the Covid lockdowns. He was accepted into a paratroopers’ brigade. Fried felt that he had a unique role in his unit. “How am I gonna be the best possible soldier? I was older than most soldiers with me. The only American in the team and four years older. My commanders were 18 to 20. My commander is one and a half years older than me. I need to be the big brother in this group and was as much a rookie in this group.”
He served as a heavy machine gunner. “You’re leading the entire company, 100 people. Then came May 2021, when 4,500 rockets were shot at Israel. We didn’t have to go into Gaza. We went into Jenin. I felt that for the first time I was truly protecting the Jewish people.” His service in that year concluded at a base on the Gaza border that was overrun by Hamas two years later.
“I came home and had a big struggle. What do I do now? Start a regular job like everyone else? It didn’t bring me a level of fulfillment. I was among the 95 percent of soldiers who never shot a gun. You do your army service four times a year.”
Going into Combat
On October 6, Fried was in Manhattan with a friend on the night of Simchas Torah, hopping between shuls and falling asleep at 4 a.m. “One of the kids who wasn’t Shomer Shabbos said that Israel is at war. He put the TV on. It was an immediate shock,” he said. Fried and his friends went to the [Edmond J.] Safra Synagogue on East 63rd Street and found everyone crying. “It was an outrageous feeling. I asked the rabbi for a heter to open the phones. We ran back home and there were 30 missed calls. I called my lieutenant Yotam and he said to get here as fast as possible.”
He called the consulate, which promised that if 150 lone soldiers join, a flight could be arranged to Cyprus with a boat to Israel. But first he was advised to “make shalom bayis with your family before you leave.”
Upon his return to Israel, his unit was reunited. In Hebrew, Sam is known as Simchah. “As their big brother, if there’s a need, I will be there. It’s a certainty.”
They were initially sent to the Shomron, making arrests in a refugee camp, and then trained for combat against Hamas. “We had three stints in Gaza, 41 days in total, with 21 days being the longest stint. Our mission was pretty simple: We’re taking over a city. Kill Hamas. Find as much information as you possibly can. Find tunnels. Find weaponry.” They worked under the assumption that the hostages were dead, and that any building could be a hideout for terrorists. “We were likely to be ambushed. You’re gonna be at a disadvantage all the time. We trained for this. This was our history. Here was my opportunity to be part of history.”
Miracles in Gaza
Fried spoke of the spiritual mood during battle and how his unit stayed focused on their mission. “A lot of it comes from Hashem. Before we went in, I had a speech for my team. There’s only us and this is what we have to do. Don’t think about anything else. Think about the team. We’re brothers in arms. It’s very much life and death.”
Concerning death, Fried said that if it were to happen, it should be meaningful. “On my team everybody is alive. You are completely numb to your surroundings. You’re not necessarily scared to die; you’re scared to die stupid. To die saving the Jewish people is a kiddush Hashem. An injury or an IED hit compromises the mission. Be the most efficient, not a liability.”
He said that his unit was aware of Jews worldwide praying for their success. “The money is amazing, gifts are great. What’s stopping the bullets? Your t’filah. A lot of us had close calls.” He then provided examples of miracles from his time in Gaza.
“We had intelligence on a house that we were supposed to go into. My lieutenant Yotam had a weird intuition about that building. Let’s shoot a grenade launcher in to make sure. We took 100 meters back. The place exploded. The house was just gone. A three-story house. If we had run into there we would have died. Yotam saved all of our lives. Miracles like this are happening all of the time.”
Another time, the unit survived a long and intense exchange of gunfire. “One of my friends, Asaf, said, ‘I’m not religious but I want to thank G-d.’” Fried advised him to recite T’hilim. “‘I want more,’ he said. T’hilim are broken down by day.” On that day, it was Mizmor l’Asaf. “He was like, wow! The rest of the war he was saying T’hilim every day.”
With social media fueling morale on both sides of the war, Hamas makes videos of its missions, putting red triangles above IDF personnel. “My lieutenant was identified. They chose not to attack and shot three RPGs at night, when we were sleeping.” It was dark, as there is no electricity in Gaza. “A massive gaping hole between that window and our window. They shot within 75 meters of us. They went just a little bit above. Unbelievable nissim. Non-religious people on my team said that this doesn’t make sense. It felt like a miracle every minute. Every prayer that you continue to do is saving lives.”
Looking Ahead
Concerning his career and relationship, he expressed gratitude to his employer for holding his job in place during his service in Gaza. “I worked at a bank for less than a year and they kept my job.”
In the meantime, among Israelis, the opinion is that the job must be finished, with awareness that a bigger attack could take place on the northern border. “We have to make clear to the world that we will not walk like sheep to the slaughter.”
By Sergey Kadinsky
