We ushered in the first Shabbat of Adar II, the month in which we are commanded to rejoice, ?mi?shenichnas Adar, marbim b?simcha?, ?from the beginning of Adar, we should add to our happiness?. We are accustomed to begin practicing the songs of Purim on this Shabbat, and thus our Friday night meal was accompanied by joyous singing. But as events developed this Shabbat eve, the night served more as preparation for Shabbat Zachor, which takes place this coming Shabbat. On Shabbat Zachor, we perform the mitzva of remembering the evil of Amalek and the commandment to destroy and erase his memory from our lives.
Towards the end of the meal, a loud burst of gunfire suddenly shattered the tranquil sanctity of the Shabbat. My daughter, Shulamith, and son in law, Naftali, and their children were with us at the table. Naftali is a member of the Kiryat Arba emergency force. He was wounded three months ago in the previous terror attack and is well again, thank G-d. We immediately ran to the porch and saw people running in different directions, while hearing the shots move closer. Naftali grabbed his gun and turned towards the street just as I saw some of my students from the yeshiva, with guns drawn, racing towards the house on the street opposite us. I followed him, and on the way out we heard more gunfire and understood that our people are waging a battle against terrorists who had infiltrated our settlement and seized control of one of our homes. Naftali joined the battle, while I remained near an army jeep standing on the corner. I could clearly hear the army commanders giving orders to their soldiers, who in turn were reporting the different stages of the fierce battle. We soon heard that there were causalities whose condition was not yet clear.
I ran back home for a minute to make sure that the lights were turned off and the doors locked, in line with security directives in such situations. My wife and I made sure that the children were sitting in areas not exposed to windows. I then returned to the jeep. By this time, many more soldiers had arrived and they were positioned on all sides, surrounding the house that had been forcibly entered. The most urgent military objective was to prevent the terrorists from leaving the house and continuing their murderous rampage. It took about two hours until we finally heard that the terrorists were killed by our defense forces, and were shocked by the news that two of our people were ruthlessly shot and killed at the Shabbat table.
Rabbi Eli Horowitz and his wife Dina, close and beloved friends of mine and of many of the residents of Kiryat Arba, were the innocent victims of that night?s evil violence. We then found out that the injured were two other friends, Mordechai and Aliza Sayed, who were walking along the street when the terrorists encountered and attacked them. Aliza was severely wounded and Mordechai was shot in the leg. Thank G-d, they are both recuperating at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. Army experts examining the dead terrorists? bodies concluded that the amount of explosives and type of devices they were carrying were meant to cause horrific damage in a crowded area, and assumed that their target had been Yeshivat Nir Kiryat Arba, just a short distance away. Thank G-d, a greater tragedy was avoided by the terrorists? encounter with the Sayeds and the Horowitzes, whose sacrifice saved many Jewish lives on this past Shabbat. All of us who remained alive in this neighborhood were obligated to bless the Almighty for the life that was granted us, while grieving and lamenting the barbaric murder of our dear friends.
On Sunday afternoon, thousands of Jews from all of Eretz Yisrael gathered for the double funeral, which began at the yeshiva in Hebron where Rabbi Eli was a mentor for hundreds of students. Hundreds of girls who were Dina?s past and present students at the Ulpana in Kiryat Arba gathered to participate in her funeral. In my words of eulogy, I described these two angels as pillars of faith and beacons of joyous light, who inspired all of us. The picture I recall of Rabbi Eli and Dina in the streets of Kiryat Arba always left an impression of their refined souls just hovering and gently touching the holy soil of Hebron. They served as an example of the elevated feeling of what it meant to build Eretz Yisrael and live a complete Torah life therein. The wisdom of Ecclesiastes teaches us, in Chapter 7:2, ?V?Hachai yiten el libo?, ?and the living should take to his heart?. It is our duty to draw our strength and faith from their dedicated lives and continue in their path.
As we are approaching Shabbat Zachor, we are aroused again to face the reality of the evil powers of Amalek that are still bent on destroying the Jewish people, their faith and sanctity of life. We are sure that they will fail today as they have failed in the past. More than ever, we must adhere to the divine directive commanding us to destroy the evil powers of Amalek. The Eternity of Israel cannot be denied, the divine truth of Jewish life in Eretz Yisrael will continue to grow and blossom, until it reaches its completion. No power in the world can prevent the Redemption process from reaching its ultimate goals. This is the reality of Jewish life in Kiryat Arba-Hebron, as well as in all of Eretz Yisrael. It must be said that this life is being tested by anguish and suffering, but it is also being purified and galvanized by these continuous pains. Again, as in many trials of the past, the secret weapon of Jewish life is revealed - ?V?Kaasher yaanu oto, ken yirbe?.?(Exodus 1:12) The more the Jewish people are tortured, the more they will flourish and persevere.
In these days of the month of Adar, we are again drawing our inspiration from Mordechai the Jew, who would not yield or bow down before Haman. Thank G-d that we have thousands of Mordechais in Yesha who will not yield or bow down to evil Arab terror. As we praise the G-d of Israel for the miracles he performed during the days of Mordechai and Esther, we have complete faith in the implementation in our time of the miracle of ?v?nahafoch hu asher yishletu hayehudim hayma b?sonayhem? (Esther 9:1), ?the evil decree was turned over and the Jews came to rule over their enemies?.
Returning home after the funeral of Rabbi Eli and Dina (may G-d avenge their blood) we continue to march in the hills of Hebron in the path of our ancestors, looking forward to the realization of the redemption light of Purim expressed in the Megilla: ?Layehudim hayta ora v?simcha v?sason viykar? (Esther 8:16), ?The Jews had light and happiness, joy and pride?. So may G-d bless us in our days.
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Rabbi Eliezer Waldman is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Nir, Kiryat Arba.
Towards the end of the meal, a loud burst of gunfire suddenly shattered the tranquil sanctity of the Shabbat. My daughter, Shulamith, and son in law, Naftali, and their children were with us at the table. Naftali is a member of the Kiryat Arba emergency force. He was wounded three months ago in the previous terror attack and is well again, thank G-d. We immediately ran to the porch and saw people running in different directions, while hearing the shots move closer. Naftali grabbed his gun and turned towards the street just as I saw some of my students from the yeshiva, with guns drawn, racing towards the house on the street opposite us. I followed him, and on the way out we heard more gunfire and understood that our people are waging a battle against terrorists who had infiltrated our settlement and seized control of one of our homes. Naftali joined the battle, while I remained near an army jeep standing on the corner. I could clearly hear the army commanders giving orders to their soldiers, who in turn were reporting the different stages of the fierce battle. We soon heard that there were causalities whose condition was not yet clear.
I ran back home for a minute to make sure that the lights were turned off and the doors locked, in line with security directives in such situations. My wife and I made sure that the children were sitting in areas not exposed to windows. I then returned to the jeep. By this time, many more soldiers had arrived and they were positioned on all sides, surrounding the house that had been forcibly entered. The most urgent military objective was to prevent the terrorists from leaving the house and continuing their murderous rampage. It took about two hours until we finally heard that the terrorists were killed by our defense forces, and were shocked by the news that two of our people were ruthlessly shot and killed at the Shabbat table.
Rabbi Eli Horowitz and his wife Dina, close and beloved friends of mine and of many of the residents of Kiryat Arba, were the innocent victims of that night?s evil violence. We then found out that the injured were two other friends, Mordechai and Aliza Sayed, who were walking along the street when the terrorists encountered and attacked them. Aliza was severely wounded and Mordechai was shot in the leg. Thank G-d, they are both recuperating at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. Army experts examining the dead terrorists? bodies concluded that the amount of explosives and type of devices they were carrying were meant to cause horrific damage in a crowded area, and assumed that their target had been Yeshivat Nir Kiryat Arba, just a short distance away. Thank G-d, a greater tragedy was avoided by the terrorists? encounter with the Sayeds and the Horowitzes, whose sacrifice saved many Jewish lives on this past Shabbat. All of us who remained alive in this neighborhood were obligated to bless the Almighty for the life that was granted us, while grieving and lamenting the barbaric murder of our dear friends.
On Sunday afternoon, thousands of Jews from all of Eretz Yisrael gathered for the double funeral, which began at the yeshiva in Hebron where Rabbi Eli was a mentor for hundreds of students. Hundreds of girls who were Dina?s past and present students at the Ulpana in Kiryat Arba gathered to participate in her funeral. In my words of eulogy, I described these two angels as pillars of faith and beacons of joyous light, who inspired all of us. The picture I recall of Rabbi Eli and Dina in the streets of Kiryat Arba always left an impression of their refined souls just hovering and gently touching the holy soil of Hebron. They served as an example of the elevated feeling of what it meant to build Eretz Yisrael and live a complete Torah life therein. The wisdom of Ecclesiastes teaches us, in Chapter 7:2, ?V?Hachai yiten el libo?, ?and the living should take to his heart?. It is our duty to draw our strength and faith from their dedicated lives and continue in their path.
As we are approaching Shabbat Zachor, we are aroused again to face the reality of the evil powers of Amalek that are still bent on destroying the Jewish people, their faith and sanctity of life. We are sure that they will fail today as they have failed in the past. More than ever, we must adhere to the divine directive commanding us to destroy the evil powers of Amalek. The Eternity of Israel cannot be denied, the divine truth of Jewish life in Eretz Yisrael will continue to grow and blossom, until it reaches its completion. No power in the world can prevent the Redemption process from reaching its ultimate goals. This is the reality of Jewish life in Kiryat Arba-Hebron, as well as in all of Eretz Yisrael. It must be said that this life is being tested by anguish and suffering, but it is also being purified and galvanized by these continuous pains. Again, as in many trials of the past, the secret weapon of Jewish life is revealed - ?V?Kaasher yaanu oto, ken yirbe?.?(Exodus 1:12) The more the Jewish people are tortured, the more they will flourish and persevere.
In these days of the month of Adar, we are again drawing our inspiration from Mordechai the Jew, who would not yield or bow down before Haman. Thank G-d that we have thousands of Mordechais in Yesha who will not yield or bow down to evil Arab terror. As we praise the G-d of Israel for the miracles he performed during the days of Mordechai and Esther, we have complete faith in the implementation in our time of the miracle of ?v?nahafoch hu asher yishletu hayehudim hayma b?sonayhem? (Esther 9:1), ?the evil decree was turned over and the Jews came to rule over their enemies?.
Returning home after the funeral of Rabbi Eli and Dina (may G-d avenge their blood) we continue to march in the hills of Hebron in the path of our ancestors, looking forward to the realization of the redemption light of Purim expressed in the Megilla: ?Layehudim hayta ora v?simcha v?sason viykar? (Esther 8:16), ?The Jews had light and happiness, joy and pride?. So may G-d bless us in our days.
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Rabbi Eliezer Waldman is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Nir, Kiryat Arba.