* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
Dvir Sassi from Sderot sent me the following note:
“Shalom Sivan. Last Shabbat, my wife Shoham gave birth to our first child, a baby boy. Three days later, my beloved cousin, Ronel Ben-Moshe, fell in Gaza. We found ourselves receiving mazal tovs and condolence messages at the same time, and the brit took place during the shiva.
The brit was held on Shabbat. Right before Shabbat, Ronel’s parents reached out to us and asked that the simcha be q joyous one because that is what Ronel would have wanted.
We named our son Harel Chaim.
Harel is one of the names of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple and we pray that our Harel will lead a holy life. Furthermore, both the names of our newborn Harel and our hero Ronel contain the name of God. Ronel, who fell four days before our son’s brit, was always full of joy and optimism and we hope that our Harel will take after his cousin and emulate his outstanding qualities.
We added the name Chaim because of the heartache and deep void we have felt since Ronel fell, and to express our fervent desire to continue to add life and sanctity to the Land of Israel.
We have just seen with our own eyes the fulfillment of the verse in the Book of Yechezkel, 'When I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you: With your blood, live, and I said to you, With your blood, live.’
In the attached picture you can see the special pillow that we designed for the brit, inscribed with a dedication in memory of our dear cousin.
We’d like to share these messages with am yisrael. Besorot tovot."
