Rabbis of LA | Rabbi Yanky Kahn’s Fourth Wartime Trip to Israel – for Purim

It’s been five and a half months since Hamas attacked Israel, and Chabad of the Valley’s Rabbi Yanky Kahn was ready to head back to Israel. It will be his fourth trip there, and his bags are packed and taking up the lion’s share of the space in the airy, high-ceilinged living room of Kahn’s Tar- zana home.

“How can we not go?” he replied when asked why he’s heading back to a war zone. “How can you not go when you realize you can make a big difference?” But what keeps driving him back to the war? Giving his wife, Rebbetzin Hindy Kahn, a sly glance, the rabbi, who is known for his humor, took a beat and, with perfect timing, said “my wife.” Both the rabbi and his wife laughed heartily at his one-liner.

His mood quickly turned serious as he explained the timing for this trip. A chap- lain in the IDF who Kahn had befriended sent him an urgent text: “Yanky, we need megillahs for Purim.” That was all Kahn had to hear. Tens of thousands of soldiers have to hear the megillah over Purim, he explained. “How are they supposed to hear the megillahs?” Kahn asked. The answer, he said, was simple. “By us going back.”

The rabbi was able to get six megillahs donated. He calculated how many soldiers they could reach: “Each megillah could be heard every hour, somewhere else.” You multiply six by 24 and “thousands of people are going to hear the megillah because of Chabad of the Valley and people who are donating the megillahs.”

He named Howard Elyashar, an accoun- tant from Encino, who obtained sponsor- ships for the megillahs. Rabbi Kahn packed 20 pairs of tefillin which were donated by Dr. Esther Schmuel of Encino. He also com- mended two women for their extraordinary efforts. The rabbi mentioned Adinah Finn, who has been helpful in “collecting stuff for us.” And Ziporah Okhovat, an Encino at- torney, “has been vital in collecting a lot of money for Chabad for Eretz Israel.”

The rabbi’s luggage also included 10 iPads that could be used by rabbis to iden- tify the bodies of those killed in the war. They could take fingerprints and identify the person, Kahn explained.

It’s a different load from what he brought in October on his first wartime trip. The packages then were filled with clothing and toys. “So it is actually changing,” he said, “changing every time. Each trip, we are adapting to what they need.”

One big difference on this is that the rabbi will be accompanied by Chana, his 17-year-old daughter. “Once we land in Israel,” he said, “we will be buying mishloach manos (Purim baskets) to give out to the soldiers for Purim. You see, this is what keeps us going. There is so much need.”

He wants to make sure the soldiers are remembered. It’s “so easy to forget,” he said. “Easy to say ‘I have done my mitzvah.’ But there is so much need.”

And with each trip the support from his Valley community has only grown. Mem- bers want to make the trips themselves, he said, they want to help financially. “How,” he asked,” could I not be optimistic?”

Kahn then listed his itinerary. One day would be devoted to visiting Israelis who lost children and to all who lost a spouse. The plan is to go to the homes of seven families with whom Rabbi Kahn has a personal connection. One family has four children. The Kahns will deliver toys and new clothes, plus an iPad for the children and financial help for the mother. Another family with many children lost a son. The Kahns are taking them to dinner.

How does the rabbi find these families out of the many who are suffering? “My mother, Rachel Leah Kahn, is a very holy lady,” he said. “For years, she has been working with social workers in Israel. Long before Oct. 7, she was aiding orphans and widows, quietly, especially before holidays. “Lately, she has been helping me identify families who have large needs. She cries when she tells me.”

Three families came to the mind of Rabbi Kahn. The Applebaums have seven children. The father volunteered for the IDF on Oct. 7. He was murdered on Oct. 11. Then there is the Morrell family, with whom all of the Kahns have become very good friends. When the Morrells were visiting the Valley, the Kahn children went out with them for pizza. When the Morrells returned to Israel, their son was killed. Rabbi Kahn and Chana attended the son’s shloshim (30-day memorial). Another family the Kahns visited have five children under age five. Their father was murdered.

Kahn wanted to thank his employer, the Chabad of the Valley, for “tirelessly working for Eretz Israel,” and for being unusually supportive, covering for him on his numerous trips to Israel.

The rabbi noted that he and the commu- nity have formed many relationships that did not exist before Oct. 7. Among them is IDF Capt. Yigal Dilmoni who spoke last week at Chabad of the Valley. He has been fighting in Gaza since the beginning of the war, the rabbi said. “On our last two trips, he took us around and showed us everything they are doing. We bought a lot of stuff for the soldiers.”

Each trip is unique and each builds on the preceding ones. Rabbi Kahn’s goal is to help every Jew, “all of our brothers and sisters, to bring them help and support – whether megillahs, tefillin, food or toys for the children. Whatever they need, that is what we do.” His motto: “We just can’t stop. Every person is holy.”

Kahn will be returning to Israel next month for Passover. “Then we will see. Maybe the war will be over.”

Jewish Journal: What is your favorite food?

Rabbi Kahn: Shwarma. I’ve never had time to visit Moshe’s Falafel in Jerusalem on these trips but we stop there when we travel as a family.

J.J.: What do you do in your spare time?

RK: Try to understand different cultures.

J.J.: Most interesting place you have visited outside of Israel?

RK: Italy. I was ordained in Venice.