“These are the generations of Yitzchak, the son of Avraham; Avraham begot Yitzchak.”
Avraham could easily have remained a one-time figure in Jewish history had Yitzchak not carried his legacy forward.
Lilach Vardi wrote to me this week to say she had a story “about continuity and taking responsibility — just like in the parashah.”
This is what she shared:
“Meni Godard, 73, one of the beloved figures of Kibbutz Be’eri, was kidnapped and murdered on October 7. A few months after his abduction, when the family still had no information about his fate, they joined dozens of other hostage families in the ‘Tefillin Campaign.’ They published a simple request: that any Jew who did not normally lay tefillin should lay tefillin in Meni’s merit.
“My brother, Avichai Yosef, who typically did not put on tefillin, volunteered. He felt a deep connection to Meni and said, ‘For him, I’ll do it.’ He received the tefillin with emotion, and from that day on, he put them on daily, without missing a single morning (except, of course, on Shabbat). It became a quiet vow of love, brotherhood, and meaning.
“And now, two sentences that I can hardly believe I am writing one after the other: This week, Meni’s body was returned and he was laid to rest. This week, my brother, who had been searching for his other half, got married. On the happiest week of Avichai’s life, Meni’s body came home. His family sat shiva as we celebrated the sheva brachot.
“I feel a thread connecting my brother, who lives in Bat Yam, with the people of Be’eri, binding joy to sorrow, and the parashah’s message of Jewish continuity to our own unfolding story.”
Condolences to the Godard family. And mazal tov to Avichai and Mor. Shabbat Shalom.
