Chayal’s Angels are Bringing Relief to Israel’s Warriors

Tasha Cohen
Founder and CEO, Chayal’s Angels

 

I got into my little red car on October 8th and started driving. I had just found out that one of my oldest friends had lost her little brother, who was not only a son, brother and friend, but also a twenty-year-old IDF Golani soldier with a heart
of gold. 

After his funeral, there was no way I could go home to sit in my sorrow alone. Everything felt upside-down, and we were realizing that Israel was at war. Also, I needed to do something to support our soldiers, young men and women who, in serving and protecting our tiny country, were seeing sights we could only ever imagine from horror movies.

I started driving and I never stopped. I drove twelve to fourteen hours a day for weeks, delivering hot meals to soldiers and life-saving equipment to bases across Israel. The best was driving soldiers back and forth from base, hearing their stories and dedication to protecting our people. At a time when the country was immobilized in grief, shock and fear, I was driving up and down Israel, fueled by hatred of Hamas, and dedicated to channeling it into doing good. 

Soldiers would invite me to sit for a coffee at almost every base, sometimes, because rockets were en route and it wasn’t safe to drive yet, and sometimes, out of pure gratitude for showing up. 

 

I started driving and I never stopped.

Those first days and weeks of war, millions of volunteers churned, cooked, fed, called, collected, delivered, and showed up —with most of the focus understandably on the South and the people most affected. Yet, I was hearing from many reservists called to the front lines— the miluimnikim, in the north. Over 300,000 reservists had been called up for duty. Men in their 30s, 40s, 50s —who were not as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as they used to be, yet still prepared to protect the country at all costs. 

As I got to know them and their stories, I also learned they were in major physical pain - and I knew exactly what they needed. 

You see, I intimately understand the struggles of physical pain. For the past two decades, I have suffered from chronic pain due to a spinal injury that often leaves me bedbound. Through various therapies and treatments, I triumphed over my pain and now live a vibrant, active life. I felt compelled to focus my efforts on providing physical therapy to thousands of soldiers and reservists to ensure they continued living full, energetic lives after this war.

So I did what I know how to do. I organized. Utilizing my skills as an operations manager, I put out a call for volunteer therapists who were willing to visit bases, asking for those who could help our soldiers and reservists feel more peace in their bodies, despite their own pain and the suffering all around them. 

I also learned they were in major physical pain - and I knew exacted what they needed.

On October 27, five therapists signed up. And as weeks of war turned into months, the need grew and Chayal’s Angels was born. Today, over 125 therapists volunteer and visit bases, and over 3500 treatments have been delivered. Physiotherapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, acupuncturists, sound healers, and bodyworkers of all kinds drive to bases and deliver hands-on healing to soldiers on the ground. The bases we visit can hold twenty to three hundred soldiers, and we can provide hundreds of treatments per day.

Our physical therapy sessions welcome men and women who arrive in agony and leave smiles of relief. They tell us how we provide them with the touch they need, the quiet to pray, and perhaps most importantly, the renewed energy to keep on going, knowing that all of us have their literal backs.

These days, multiple bases contact me daily, and our therapist teams visit bases three to four days a week. As the war wages on with no end in sight, it’s imperative that Chayal’s Angels keeps going, so that we can keep our fighters going. What we do gives them direct physical, emotional and spiritual strength to continue — not only to protect Israel, but to protect their spirits too. 

 

About Tasha Cohen: 

Tasha Cohen was born and raised in North London and made aliyah in 2012.  In Israel, Tasha has lived primarily in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Herzliya and Pardes Hana. 

Prior to this nightmare, her career has been split between operations management and the field of childcare. Two years ago, Tasha went after a dream of learning carpentry and started to work at it, and just before the war broke out, she had left her position to find her true path. Once she saw a need, it was clear that this work was where she had been heading her whole life. 

Connect with Chayal’s Angels at www.Chayalsangels.org 

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