Memorial Day ceremony in Kiryat Arba, 2022
In the past year, I have attended hundreds of classes that my parents taught here at the ulpana, at the Shavei Hebron yeshiva, and in other places where they taught. I was drawn to my dream of continuing to spread their personality and path. I collected some of the things for a website I set up and a book that I published in their memory.
So many dreams, thoughts and aspirations are seen from the reporters. Tremendous power. The pain of their murder and their sudden departure is immense, but their belief in the eternity of Israel and the continuity of souls, give me the feeling that they are with us forever and in their power to still influence and strengthen.
My Father testified that he was born in respite between the first part of the War of Independence, in which we liberated the coastal plain, the Galilee and the Negev, and the second part of the war in which we liberated the heart and heart of the Land of Israel.
My Mother was born in an assimilated home in the United States and dreamed of immigrating to Israel as a teenager. In her diary she wrote: "My dear diary, I so want to go to Eretz Israel, I so want to go to the Western Wall !!! I wish I could. I would give it my all !!". Mom won and came to a country she loved so much.
Dad and Mom came here. To the city of the fathers, take root, delve deeper and intensify here.
Here on this rocky soil, the first seeds of the nation sprouted. Here arose mighty spirits who placed the moral demand at the center of life - to do good, to bring healing to every sick and tormented, to dine every failed, every oppressed and hard day.
This is how Dad and Mom acted. Here among the paths of Kiryat Arba, at the library, at the supermarket, at the health fund and at the bank, they greeted with a good smile to everyone who met them, attention and opened their home to the needy, new immigrants, neighbors, national service girls and to their many many students.
Mom and Dad made their dream come true and raised a family here that continues to grow and expand. They have educated hundreds of male and female students, taught brides and grooms and married couples who continue the eternity of goodness and kindness in the world.
Last week, I found an article my mother wrote about the importance of the educator's attention to strengthening classroom power as a group — a group whose individuality contributes its uniqueness to a great force.
The message is also true of the power of a community and everyone's unique contribution to this great power. Kiryat Arba is not the same Kirya without the friends who went. Our Kirya is sorely lacking in the special contribution of each of its many members who are not with us.
Dad and Mom who loved Kiryat Arba so much, the special human texture that characterizes this place, contributed greatly to the community and contributed a lot from it.
Their horrific murder, here, inside their home, in the middle of a Friday night meal, while studying together issues for Purim, is unbearable and the ripples of the murder continue to be very painful even today in small and large circles.
The dream of sitting with our children around the Seder table while captivated by their grandfather's stories. See how Dad drives the little ones crazy and how Mom pampers them and tells them stories. Laugh with them, argue and discuss the big questions until the small hours.
This dream and many more dreams - have been cut off, but the consolation is the same eternal faith and multiplicity of good in the world. As summarized in the title of an article by my father who wrote: "The most urgent need of our time is a deeper and more comprehensive education than ever before and education begins with our father Abraham and his spirit residing in Hebron."
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