with
profound grief we mourn
Ha-Rav
Nechemia Lavi HY"D
Ra"m
in our Yeshiva, Ateret Yerushalayim
who was murdered
in the heart of the Old City of Yerushalayim
while
attempting to stop a terrorist attack
In our Name and In the
Name of Ha-Rav Nechemia Lavi:
This Time We
Will Also Overcome
During the
joy of the holiday of Sukkot, tragedy has struck: Thursday night, young parents,
Ha-Rav Eitam and Na'ama Henkin, were murdered before their children's
eyes. Good and righteous people. And on Motzaei Shabbat, good people were
again murdered as they walked innocently in the Old City. One of them is Ha-Rav Nechemia Lavi,
Ra"m in our Yeshiva, Ateret Yerushalayim.
A man with a gentle soul, a sweet and good man, who never wronged
another person – whether Jew or Arab.
The
Midrash relates that before his death, King Darius requested: Do not mourn me
until a person comes and speaks ill of me. And no one came. Likewise, we can say with confidence, that
although there will be much pain over his death, no one will come and speak ill
of Rav Nechemia.
Rav
Nechemia was an exalted person, girded with Midot Tovot (sterling character
traits). He was completely kind. A person who never spoke ill of others. He was a person who delved into the depths of
Torah, who learned Torah day and night, out of a love of Hashem and a love of
toiling in Torah learning.
To our
great distress, we must acknowledge that these difficult events, these
tragedies, are not surprising. Since the
appearance of Islam, Muslims have persecuted us, hated us, forced us to convert
to Islam, expelled us and murdered us.
Although they have done so less than Christians, this is of no
comfort. We all remember how the Mufti
of Yerushalayim, Haj Amin al-Husseini worked hand-in-hand with Hitler and
cooperated with him, on condition that in the Arab countries, Arabs could
freely murder Jews.
Nothing has
changed, except for one thing: With the kindness of Hashem, we now have an
army, a courageous army, a capable army, a devoted army. An agent of Hashem. Not a conquering army – but as its name
indicates: The Israel Defense Force.
It is true
that since the beginning of the return to Zion and the establishment of the
State of Israel, we have endured many tragedies. But we must view things in proportion: The light
is inestimably greater than the darkness.
Obviously, the pain of every Jew who is murdered rends the heart, and
all the more so if that person is your close friend, someone who has been close
to your soul for so many years.
At the
same time, this does not erase our joy for all of the goodness we have received. After all, terror does not have any actual
power. It cannot determine political
events. It is purely psychological warfare whose goal is to break the spirit,
and weaken the citizens' trust in the State, its leaders and its army.
We declare
here in our name and in the name of Ha-Rav Nechemia Lavi, who has arisen on
high, that we go hand-in-hand with our Nation, with our State and with our
army. We have experienced much greater
hardships and we have overcome them, and with the help of Hashem, this time we
will also overcome.
