Mossad chief Dedi Barnea's secret weapon is his Breslover brother Zohar
And so, she decided to give him the name “Zohar,” in honor of the holy kabbalistic foundational work revealed on Lag B’omer by Rabi Shimon bar Yochai. More than 50 years later, Lag B’omer was still a momentous day for Rabbi Zohar Barnea, but this time the circumstances were like nothing he could have imagined.
Zohar Barnea is the brother of David (Dedi) Barnea, the clever, brave, and daring Mossad operative who was appointed to head the international secret service organization last June. Lag B’omer last year was just a few weeks before the appointment, and Dedi asked his chareidi Breslover brother to pray for his success at the tziyun of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai.
Those prayers were not only answered when Dedi was appointed Mossad chief, but that very night, when Zohar Barnea and his 14-year-old son found themselves on the “staircase of death,” where 45 people lost their lives in Meron on Lab B’omer night. Reb Zohar and his son were spared, but the long moments during which he battled to save the lives of those around him, and the horrific scenes that he witnessed in the process, have left him traumatized nearly a year later.
But Zohar Barnea has been through a lot in his life, and he knows how time, and the accompanying spiritual work, can help the nefesh heal. He’s traveled his own journey, always aware, he says, that Hashem has constantly been holding him up. Why should this challenge be any different, he asks?
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