Tuesday, March 15, 2011

I couldn't do it, I know that now.

I don't know if you heard the story, but last weekend, murdering crazy people (Muslim men between the ages of 18 and 35 is my guess) killed an entire family including an infant in Israel.
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Today the father of the woman killed spoke to reporters. He is a man with WAY more faith and a much bigger heart than I could muster.
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In a radio interview on radio Monday, Rabbi Yehuda Ben-Yishai, the mourning father of Ruth Fogel, one of the five victims of the Itamar massacre, taught a lesson of faith and strengthened the People of Israel.
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His inspiring remarks on Voice of Israel government radio stunned the interviewer into near silence and brought tears to her eyes.

After Rabbi Ben-Yishai expressed deep pain but no anger or calls for vengeance, interviewer Estie Perez, who has described herself as a secular Jew, asked, “Where do you have the strength and restraint that you can talk now and strengthen us, without anger and without calling for vengeance – that is not in your voice? Where is the strength from?"

Rabbi Ben-Yishai answered, "I have worked in education many years, and as an educator, I try to strengthen and teach people faith. I understand that I cannot be satisfied with words and that I also must implement the same principles on which I have educated others. This is a test of my faith, and therefore I agreed to be interviewed."

"I believe in the country, in our strength and in the strength of the army, and I ask how did this strength not save our children?”

Rabbi Ben-Yishai said Monday morning that he asked the oldest surviving children, 12-year-old Tamar and eight-year-old Ro’i, if they wanted to say the Kaddish prayer, recited by mourners and expressing their faith in the Creator.

“They answered, ‘Of course. They are our parents, brothers and sisters.’” The mourning father and grandfather told Voice of Israel government radio, “They understand.”

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Anyone here know a proper, short saying or prayer in Hebrew?
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Schteveo

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaddish

Anonymous said...

http://www.jewfaq.org/prayer/kaddish.htm

A minyin (at least 10 people) required

Schteveo said...

Thanks anon. I knew there was a necessity for 10 people for Kaddish, thanks to Dr Joel Fleischman, of Northern Exposure.

Spider said...

Turning the other cheek is nice, but what happens when you run out of cheeks?

Schteveo said...

I'm thinking the Rabbi has more than you or I. As evidenced by his statement. I prefaced this posting by saying I couldn't do it.

Spider said...

What some call strength, others call weakness.

BOW said...

"We pray for the health of the surviving members of the Ben Yahai family"