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About The Ari Fuld Project

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“If life is easy, you’re living it wrong” – Ari Fuld


During the Second Lebanon War, Ari Fuld, who served in an elite IDF reserves paratrooper unit was miraculously saved from death – only because he ran into the field of fire to rescue his fellow wounded soldiers and brought them to safety.

After that life-changing moment, Ari completely rededicated his life to defending Israel and the Jewish people, helping IDF soldiers, and teaching others about the beauty and depths of Judaism.

On September 16, 2018, 7 Tishrei 5779, Ari was murdered by an Arab terrorist.

The Ari Fuld Project was established to continue the mission that Ari began and that Ari never gave up trying to complete, even with his dying breath.


About Ari Fuld

Ari was born in New York to Rabbi Yona and Mary Fuld. He moved to Israel on his own in 1991, where he studied at Yeshivat HaKotel in the Old City of Jerusalem, under the leadership of HaRav Aharon Bina.

In 1992, Ari enlisted in the IDF’s Golani Brigades where he served as the unit’s “MAGist”.

After being discharged from the IDF, Ari went to learn at Bar Ilan University and Touro College.

During his studies, Ari married Miriam Loecher and soon after the happy couple moved from Jerusalem to Efrat, Gush Etzion , where they raised their four children, Tamar, Naomi, Yakir and Natan Shai.

Ari joined an elite Paratrooper unit for his Miluim (IDF reserve service) and served as a cornerstone in Efrat’s counter-terrorist unit.

Never one to waste time, Ari, who also had Semicha (rabbinic ordination), taught in numerous gap-year Yeshivas. Others remember Ari as their teacher and mentor in the Tora Dojo karate school, or his in-person and virtual midnight tours in the Old City of Jerusalem, Hebron and other locations around Israel.

Ari was committed to the truth, to the Torah, to the IDF, to Israel and to the people of Israel. He would never shy away from confrontation to defend those truths when they came under attack.

On September 16, 2018, while standing in the parking lot of the Ramy Levi supermarket in Gush Etzion, a cowardly terrorist snuck up behind Ari and fatally stabbed him in the back. Despite his fatal wounds, Ari managed to pull out his gun, chase down and shoot the terrorist before he could attack and kill anyone else.

Israel at War Emergency Campaign

The Ari Fuld Project is helping IDF units around the country gear-up to defend Israel.

Safra v’Saifa – The Sefer and the Sword

Strengthening Spiritual Resilience

Building the Ari Fuld Beit Midrash

An everlasting living memorial to Ari Fuld. Dedicated in memory of Roey Weiser and Elkana Newlander.

Roaring Lion: Israel at War

Emergency Campaign

Ari's Posts

Morality or Unity? – Parshat Noach

What's more important, morality or unity? Why were the generations of Noach and the Tower of Bavel punished before mankind received the Torah? And how can we stand up for what's right, even when it's unpopular, without disconnecting ourselves from society? Ari Fuld explores what it means to be a hero, the power of mutual respect, and how to sanctify the everyday world.

Why Does the Torah Begin with Bereishit? – Parshat Bereishit

Why does the Torah spend so much time describing a Creation we cannot fully understand? Why did Moshe Rabbeinu break the luchot—and why did God approve? Ari Fuld connects the opening and closing of the Torah to one underlying idea: there is objective truth in the world, and everything else depends on recognizing it.

Ari Fuld on Simchat Torah – The Instruction Book for Life

What does Sukkot teach us about where our security really comes from? Why do we immediately move from the sukkah to dancing with the Torah? And what does it mean to say that the Torah is God’s “instruction book for life”?

Ari Fuld on Sukkot – A Sukkot Lesson in Faith and Fragility

Why does Sukkot, of all the Jewish holidays, carry a specific commandment to be happy? What are we supposed to learn by leaving the security of our homes and living in a fragile hut? And if our money, homes, careers and plans can disappear in an instant, where does real happiness come from? Ari Fuld explains why Sukkot strips away our false sense of control and forces us to confront what truly matters.

Ari Fuld on Yom Kippur – The Yom Kippur Test

Yom Kippur forces us to ask a difficult question: Do our beliefs shape our opinions, or do our opinions reshape our beliefs? Through the Akeidah and Avraham’s defining trait of chesed, Ari explores objective morality, self-control, and the need to measure ourselves against something higher than ourselves.

The Eagle, the Torah, and the Strength of Israel – Parshat Ha’azinu

What protects the Jewish people—the army we build, or the source of strength behind it? In Ha’azinu, Ari Fuld turns Moshe Rabbeinu’s final words into a powerful lesson about God’s protection, the meaning of Jewish morality, the dishonesty of denying Israel’s connection to its land, and why the Torah remains the life source of the Jewish people.

Ari Fuld on Rosh Hashanah: ‘Ayeka – Where Are You?’

Where is Rosh Hashanah mentioned in the Torah? Where does the name Rosh Hashanah come from? And how did it become Judgment Day?

Chazak Ve’Ematz: What Makes a Jewish Leader? – Parshat Vayeilech

Why does Moshe tell Yehoshua to “be strong and courageous” when Jewish faith teaches us not to rely on our own strength? And when does humility stop being a virtue and become an excuse for failing to lead?

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