* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
Shiri Bibas from Kibbutz Nir Oz will be laid to rest today in Israel together with her two little boys, Ariel and Kfir. “Is there something we can do for their soul?” someone asked me. I conferred with several wise individuals and here are some of their thoughts:
* First of all, the souls of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir are already in the highest possible place. They were kidnapped and brutally murdered for one reason — they were Jews. The enemy would have kidnapped or killed any other Jew who happened to be where they were on that morning. And when Jews die just for being Jews, they reach the holiest heights of martyrdom.
* This is a family and it is essential to respect their privacy. This is the day to support Yarden, the Bibas husband and father, and all the precious residents of Nir Oz who are already talking about the rehabilitation and rebuilding of their kibbutz. The mother and her children became a symbol that strengthened the ties among Jews everywhere, millions of whom worried about them, prayed for them, and acted on their behalf. Children in Australia went to sleep after praying for the two little ones trapped in Gaza. Children in New York worriedly asked me more than once about the Bibases. Such gestures reminded us of the hidden threads that bind all of us together.
* Unfortunately, the worries of these children reminded us also of the satanic brutality of our enemy. We will never forget that the goal of this enemy is to take from us our pure children who never sinned. The ceremony held in Gaza when their bodies were returned was attended by the enemy’s children, laughing and cheering, of the same age. A different kind of symbol, one that embraces evil. Theirs is a culture that glories in the depravity of kidnapping and murdering children.
* So what is to be done? This is not the place to suggest what, as a nation, should be done, but on a personal level we can remind ourselves of the simple, yet powerful customs associated with mourning: lighting a candle; learning more Torah in memory of Kfir ben Yarden, Ariel ben Yarden, and Shiri bat Yosef; reciting a chapter of Psalms, giving tzedakah, or volunteering in their blessed memory. Today, Hamas wants us to despair and to divide us, but there is no reason that should happen.
* It’s important to notice the mood of those around us. To know how to give and how to ask for help, and especially to strengthen other grieving families and all those coping with a sense of loss.
* It is told that once at the close of the shiva period, the mourning family turned to a great rabbi and asked him what to inscribe on the headstone of their husband and father, of blessed memory. The rabbi provided appropriate words but then declared: You are the headstone! You, in the manner you continue to live, through your good deeds, will fill up the vacuum he left behind.
Besorot tovot.
