Purim 2025 Sermon

Shabbat Shalom, everyone!

For those I have yet to meet, my name is Omri Barkin. I am the co-founder and CEO of HiN, an acronym for Healing in Nature, an organization dedicated to helping IDF combat veterans heal from their service through nature, research, and community.

I want to share with you why I founded this organization—why this mission is deeply personal.

My Journey: From the Battlefield to Healing in Nature

Like many young Israelis, I was drafted into the IDF at age 18. I served as a combat soldier in Maglan, The IDF Special Forces, and saw firsthand the unimaginable challenges of combat. 

I witnessed things no young person should have to see, and when I returned home, I wasn’t the same person.

Like so many combat veterans, I carried an invisible weight on my shoulders.

Luckily, my father, Rabbi Nir Barkin, who had served in the IDF himself, saw what I was going through. He reached out to his St. Louis friend, Adam Wallis, and asked him if he would be willing to take me to his wilderness ranch in Montana. At the time, I didn’t know what to expect, but I went. And then, something incredible happened.

At the ranch, away from the noise, the expectations, and the chaos of the world, I found space to breathe again. I spent my days chopping wood, riding horses, and being in the mountains. For the first time since my frontline service, I felt peace. Nature, the simplicity of life outdoors, and the support of a small community—this is what healed me.

I made a promise to myself: I would share this experience with others.

The Birth of HiN – Healing in Nature

I returned to Israel with a vision. I knew that my experience at the ranch wasn’t just luck—it was something real, something that could help other veterans like me.

But I didn’t just want to create a program based on personal experience. I wanted to ensure it was backed by science and research. That’s why, together with some of the world’s leading experts—from Harvard, Cambridge, and TAU—we built a structured, evidence-based healing program for IDF veterans.

We don’t just take soldiers on a trip to nature.

We prepare them before, support them during, and stay with them after.

We create a long-term healing journey, not a one-time experience.

And the results? They are life-changing. Alumni story  I want to share with you the personal story of Dylan, 34 years old,  HiN’s alumnus. Dylan, originally from Los Angeles, CA, made Aliyah at the age of 18 to serve as a lone soldier in the paratroopers. Following the October 7th attack, Dylan was called up for his reserve duty. Initially, Dylan and his comrades were training for a mission in Gaza, but his unit was redirected to the West Bank for a few months before finally being deployed to Gaza, where they played a key role in securing Israel's safety.

After months of intense combat, Dylan received a message that his mom was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He immediately returned home to be with her. When Dylan's team signed up to join HiN, he had a difficult decision to make. Stay with his mom or join HiN. After long conversations with his mom, Dylan decided to join his team and the program as his mom said that he needed to start his personal healing process. At K Bar L Ranch in Montana Dylan and his team underwent group sessions with psychologists and alternative therapies that taught them how to move, breathe, and process their experiences. They received the tools to build resilience and reconnect with themselves. On our last day at the ranch, Dylan was notified that his mom was moved to a hospice and shortly after that, she passed away. Dylan mentioned to me in a conversation after the program that Healing in Nature was life-changing.

Since then, Dylan and his unit have been deployed again—this time to Israel’s northern border, engaging in critical operations in Southern Lebanon. Currently, he is on a well-earned break and will be rejoining his unit for another deployment in May 2025.

Dylan’s journey embodies resilience, dedication, and the urgent need for healing. He is one of many who have given everything for Israel and now deserve the opportunity to rebuild and move forward.

The Urgent Need Today

HiN is currently preparing to support 60 combat veterans—paratroopers who were the first responders in Be’eri on October 7th, 2023. These are soldiers who went into the heart of the battlefield to save civilians. Many of them have since been fighting in Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank, and now, as we stand here today, they are in Syria.

These heroes need our help.

And that brings me to why I am standing before you today, on this very special Shabbat

The story of Purim is about courage, sacrifice, and stepping up when your people need you most. Queen Esther risked everything to save the Jewish people, and in doing so, she reminds us of a fundamental Jewish value: when we see suffering, we must act.

The Torah tells us:

מֹאזְנֵי צֶדֶק אַבְנֵי צֶדֶק אֵיפַת צֶדֶק וְהִין צֶדֶק יִהְיֶה לָכֶם (ויקרא יט לו) 

“You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest HiN” (Leviticus 19:36)

Tzedek—justice—is about fairness, about making sure those who give so much for us are not forgotten.

One of the four mitzvot of Purim is Matanot La’evyonim — giving to those in need. Today, I stand before you not for myself, but as a Shaliach, an emissary, and a messenger, for my fellow veterans - those who sacrificed everything for Israel, for the Jewish people, and for the values we hold dear.

They fought for us. Now, it is our turn to fight for them.

How You Can Help

Each healing journey at HiN costs $10,000 per soldier. This covers everything—from therapy and expert guidance to food and logistics.

I ask you today to join me in this mission. Whether you can sponsor a full journey or contribute in any way, every donation makes a difference.

Together, we can ensure that this year’s 60 veterans—those who ran into fire on October 7th—get the chance to heal, rebuild, and move forward.

I could stand here all day and talk about HiN. But what matters most is action.

This year, let’s not just tell the story of Esther and Mordechai - let’s live it.

Let’s stand up for those who stood up for us.

Tzedek, justice, means giving these heroes the healing they deserve.

Thank you for listening, for your generosity, and for being part of this mission.

Shabbat Shalom.