“No,” I said. “They died. But all your mitzvot you did were really important and Hashem heard them and He is so proud of you.”
“Okay,” she said.
I didn’t say anything else, waiting to see what else she might ask. Shayna finished eating and jumped up to go back outside to play. Later that night, as my husband was saying Shema with the kids, Shayna recited the full names of the boys by heart: Eyal ben Iris Teshura, Gilad Michael ben Bat-Galim, Yaakov Naftali ben Rochel Devorah. She didn’t stop praying, even though the task was over.
I am typing this as I listen to the boys’ funeral, with the lamenting in Eicha-like tones, the heartbreaking kaddish by their fathers, the emotional eulogies, and I think, what now? What do we do with all our resolutions, all those extra prayers and good deeds, with the remarkable unity that these three boys and their awe-inspiring families were able to bring about in two weeks? What happens to that?
Perhaps, just perhaps, we can learn a lesson from my young daughter, and we don’t stop. Maybe we don’t have to lose that growth and unity that we have achieved, especially with the situation in Eretz Yisrael right now. What if we don’t wait for another tragedy to bring the entire nation together and to remember that we are truly one family? Just imagine what could happen if we continue to smile at another Jew, to say an extra prayer for the safety of Israel, to bring in Shabbat a little bit earlier. So I humbly suggest, don’t stop.
Do it for Eyal, Gilad and Naftali, and also for the rest of us.
May Hashem comfort the Yifrach, Shaar and Fraenkel families amongst all the mourners of Israel.