Rabbi Ya'akov Litman and his son Netanel, who were murdered in a terror attack near Hevron on Friday, were buried Saturday night in Jerusalem's Har Hamenuchot cemetery, amid scenes of heartbreaking grief.
Rabbi Litman's daughter, who was supposed to be married this week, could be heard weeping loudly above the crowd of mourners who came to pay their respects. Family members had to physically support her.
One of his young sons also gave a moving eulogy (in Hebrew below).
Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral, including President Reuven Rivlin, Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi David Lau, Jerusalem's Sephardic and Ashkenazic Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Aryeh Stern, Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, and many other prominent rabbinic and public figures.
Eulogizers noted how beloved Rabbi Litman was to his students, including those he taught at the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva High School. "The Yeshiva has endured another blow of terror. This blow is hard on us," Rabbi Eitan Eizman said at the funeral, referring to the massacre of eight students studying in the yeshiva library by a Palestinian terrorist in 2008.
President Rivlin expressed the sense of grief shared by those present.
"We stand here and it is difficult to contain... and difficult to accept how in one moment a family celebration can turn into such a great tragedy," he said, noting the family were on their way to a pre-marriage celebration (Shabbat Chatan) for their daughter's fiance.
Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi David Lau echoed that sentiment.
"A wedding has turned to grief and sorrow. We stand here before all the world and say to you: You are trying to attack, to shoot and kill, but this will not help you.... There will be more Yaakovs and Netanels.
"How painful... in place of a wedding there is a funeral of a father and son! Where is the mercy on the bride?"
Rabbi Dov Lior, former Chief Rabbi of Hevron-Kiryat Arba and Rabbi Ya'akov's rabbi and mentor, described the deaths as "a tragedy that has harmed all of Israel," and blamed the government for not enacting tougher steps to end terrorism.
"Why did this terrible tragedy happen...? Because of the lenient policy against murderers and those who send them... There is no appropriate punishment. They allow murderers to walk freely throughout our land.
