Miriam Noll's son, Staff Sergeant Moshe Shmuel Noll, a soldier in the haredi Netzah Yehuda Battalion, fell in battle last week when an explosive device detonated in the Beit Hanoun area in northern Gaza. In a conversation with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News, Miriam spoke about her son and his incredible energy and character.
"Moishy went straight from crawling to running. He never sat still. I guess he had a lot to pack into his very short life. He was constantly on the move," the mother reflects.
With this energy, though, Moshe was afflicted by severe learning disabilities. Despite these disabilities, which included dyslexia, he battled to succeed: "He made it his business to learn how to read, and he took full advantage of the help he was given. He started with children's comic books, and he worked his way until he could read a full children's book. At prayers, he only knew what he would memorize. For his bar mitzvah, it took six months for him to memorize his Maftir (Torah reading). He worked with a teacher to learn week by week, a little bit more, and a little bit more, so by the time he graduated high school, he knew the entire morning prayer by heart."
As opposed to many in the haredi community, Moshe enlisted in the IDF; Miriam explains the process and decision: "The special yeshiva where Moshe studied is for boys who can't sit and learn, it's called Kfar Zeitim, and the program there is that the boys who graduate go straight to Netzah Yehuda. So he went with five of his friends to the army."
She noted that while she tried to convince him to enlist in a non-combat unit, he always responded: "I might not be good at reading or writing, but this I can do. Somebody needs to defend our country, and I am proud to do it. I am not a quitter, and I'm going to serve my country, the full term. I'm happy to be doing it." She shares that they saw this as a great "kiddush Hashem" - a sanctification of G-d's name, since "he used the skills he was given to serve his people and to serve Hashem in the way he was gifted to."
Miriam added that, as sad as they are about his loss, they celebrate his life and his dedication. "If this is the number of years that G-d has allotted to him, we are very proud that he went out fighting for his people."
She reminisced that while he may not have been booksmart, Moshe knew how to connect with everyone. "He looked for things that connected him to everyone around him, not what separated him. If you ask every one of my children, he was their best friend. He knew how to meld with anyone he was with. We're going to miss that warm, welcoming, listening ear, he gave the best bear hugs in the world, and it's going to be very hard for our family to continue without him."
Moshe's mother shares two lessons that she thinks everyone should learn from him, the first: "Don't let difficulties define you. With Hashem, you'll be able to overcome. Once his teacher asked him: 'I'm shocked at how difficult it is for you to read, why aren't you unhappy, why aren't you depressed?' He replied: 'It's enough of a challenge for me to tackle the reading, do I need to add depression on top of it?' He was happy, despite the difficulties. As long as he was making progress and working on getting better, he was happy; he knew he was doing what he could and fulfilling his role."
The second message that Miriam wants everyone to learn from Moshe is one of unity: "Let's look at what unites us, not what divides us. He saw everyone as one big family, and I think it's very important for everyone to have that unity in order to defeat that enemy."
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