Emil Tesler discussed his experiences serving in the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks, during a memorial service Sunday evening in Arlington Heights.
Karie Angell Luc/for the Daily Herald
A soldier who served with the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza in the months after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks shared his experiences Sunday at a memorial ceremony in Arlington Heights.
Emil Tesler, previously a member of IDF special forces mainly in the West Bank from 2018 to 2020, had moved to Toronto to start a new life working in security and as a locksmith.
But on Oct. 7 last year, as he was celebrating the Simchat Torah holiday, he received word that his brother, Din Tesler, was in danger while working security at a music festival where hundreds were killed by Hamas terrorists.
He packed four suitcases and rushed to Israel, where he was reunited with his brother, who survived by hiding in bushes before being rescued by the IDF.
Emil Tesler told an audience during a memorial service Sunday in Arlington Heights that the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks in Israel, and his service in the Israeli military since, has strengthened his faith.
Karie Angell Luc for the Daily Herald
The next day, he joined the IDF reserves.
“(My brother) cried to me badly, ‘Please don’t go. They will kill you,’” Tesler, 25, told his audience at the memorial service hosted by the Chabad Jewish Center of Arlington Heights.
In November, he entered Gaza with his unit, clearing the ground path for units to follow in the Netzarim corridor.
“I will never forget it,” he said. “I saw my friend stepping in a booby trap and the explosion. Thank God, no one got killed.
“We always kept belief, because God’s with us,” he added.
Tesler said the events of Oct. 7, and his experiences since, have strengthened his faith.
Rabbi Yaakov Kotlarsky of The Chabad Jewish Center of Arlington Heights addresses the audience Sunday during a memorial service for the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel.
Karie Angell Luc for the Daily Herald
“You see me right now with the tzitzit. You see me with the yarmulke. I was not this kind of guy before,” he said. “Oct. 7 changed me. And I hope it changed everyone.”
Tesler was preceded by a speech by the chabad’s rabbi and co-director, Yaakov Kotlarsky. There was also a lighting of five candles, corresponding to the five levels of the soul in the Kabbalah.
“When a person leaves this world, their soul ascends on high,” Kotlarsky said. “But part of their soul stays down here in this world. When a person loses their life, they are not lost forever.”
Those attending included Bob Silverstein of Elk Grove Village.
“This young man is an ordinary citizen who felt that he wanted to do the right thing for his country,” he said of Tesler. “And he did it. He made a personal sacrifice, and he is prepared to do more.”