By Rabbi Yisroel Shusterman, Dean, Cheder Chabad of Monsey
I simply don't know what to say.
I am still having a hard time
trying to absorb the news myself, let alone trying to help others work through
it. The reality that three mothers and fathers of Israel will never be able to
hug their teenage sons again doesn't let me rest. My mind doesn't let me go
near the heartbreaking thoughts of what these boys endured. My heart pounds
with a fearful awareness of their suffering at the hands of cruel creatures.
We know not to ask "Why"
anymore. The mysteries of Your ways are too deep for us to absorb. I cringe
when I hear people explaining the unexplainable.
But "When?" we can - and
must - ask. When will the tragedy and suffering stop? This is a question we
ask, we pray for, we cry for. This isn't necessarily a question people ask me,
it's a question we are all asking You, Almighty.
Nearly three weeks ago, three
young boys Yaakov Naftali Frankel, Gilad Michoel Shaar and Eyal Yifrach
were kidnapped and the world united in a hopeful prayer for their safe release
and return home. It was a prayer to You, a message to the world, and a vote of
confidence in Your servants, the soldiers of Israel who risked their lives in
pursuit of these three innocent souls, all with the assumption that we would
soon see them back home again.
But today, as the world heard the
horrific, resounding NO to those combined assumptions, we have no choice other
than to direct the message exclusively to the one place that can now resolve
this tragedy, to You, our Father in Heaven, as we cry out in pain BRING BACK
OUR BOYS! Yes, you promised it to our forefathers, promoted it through our
prophets, and Maimonides codified it as a fundamental principle of our faith - that
there will come a time when our suffering will end and those taken from us will
be brought back again.
Now is the time. We can not wait
any longer. Their mothers and fathers are crying and we are all crying with
them.
Our thoughts and prayers have been
with them since their kidnapping, and in their death we will not part from
them.
The deaths of these three kedoshim
represent a profound loss to Klal Yisrael. Hashem Yikom Damam.
How long must this painful exile
go on? We are shattered by their loss, but committed that it should not be in
vain. Once again we must ask that Hashem avenge their blood, and may this be
the last time that such a call is necessary. Please end this exile and bring
Moshiach today!
As we stood united with all of
world Jewry in praying for the return of our boys, we mourn with them their
brutal, tragic deaths.
To the parents, families and
friends of the boys, may G-d console you among the
mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Our hearts are with you.
Though I cannot understand, I do
know what I can do. Our response to tragedy - especially evil tragedy
- must be to add more light. Please join me in committing to do another mitzvah
in the memory of these three sacred souls.
The announcement of the death of the three boys came on Gimmel Tammuz.
ReplyDeleteI think we should take it to heart to learn what the Rebbe said about our relationship to the medina in Eretz Yisroel.
The Rebbe made it clear that even speaking about autonomy to terrorists should not be done. In the current situation - Hamas is being singled out as the culprit and Abbas is looking good. The truth is... Abbas is not good. There should be no future communication with Abbas. Or any terrorist. The Rebbe has been proven correct time and again. Chassidim do not need proof - but we have proof now for others to recognize the truth.
When there was a terrorist attack in Kfar Chabad in 1955, the Rebbe's response was to build.
There are building opportunities in Yehuda and Shomron that would be a suitable response to the recent terrorist atrocity. I suggest Mitzpeh Yitzhar. They are always building for their Yeshiva. Mitzpeh Yitzhar is a Chabad outpost near Yitzhar is where the Rebbe sent the Sandroi family in the 1990's. Itzik Sandroi is the head of Mitzpeh Yitzhar.