Our Jewish community has held two memorial services in the last three months — 77 days apart to be exact. Thousands of people attended the first one, as the Jewish community grieved for the senseless deaths of three people killed on the grounds of Jewish communal agencies, allegedly by a man who was looking to kill Jews. We all know by now that the three people who were murdered were not Jews and were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Last month three teens were kidnapped in Israel. Gilad Shaar, Naftali Fraenkel and Eyal Yifrach may also have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were targeted by Hamas especially because they were Jews living in Israel. After 18 days their bodies were found, funeral services and burials held, and Jews around the world mourned this senseless act of terrorism.
Like hundreds of communities around the world, the Kansas City Jewish community hastily planned a memorial service on Wednesday, July 2, the day after the three boys were buried in Israel. The service was planned quickly because Jewish custom is to bury bodies as soon after death as possible. According to shamash.org, the Torah commands us to do so. In fact, I read it’s considered disrespectful toward the dead to leave the body unburied.
Not as many people attended this memorial service, this tribute to the three Israelis Jews world over had come to call “our boys.” Held in the Social Hall at the Jewish Community Campus, the room was packed and extra chairs had to be added as the service began.
The service was organized by the Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Federation and the Rabbinical Association. It was co-sponsored by congregations Beth Israel, Abraham & Voliner, Beth Shalom, Beth Torah and Kehilath Israel as well as Jewish Family Services, Jewish Vocational Service, the Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Community Campus. Participants included Rabbis Alexandria Shuval-Weiner, Rick Shapiro, Linda Steigman and David Glickman, Cantor Sharon Kohn and Hazzan Tahl Ben-Yehuda as well as her father who was visiting the area, Rabbi Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. Lay leaders Dr. David Rudman, president of the JCRB|AJC, and Stacey Belzer, a member of the Jewish Federation’s Israel & Oversees Committee, also took part.
The fact that the community was actually able to put this beautiful service together at this time of year is amazing, as so many of our local rabbis are out of town in July. It takes a lot of behind the scenes work to make a service like this materialize. We owe thanks as well to those not seen on the podium who we know played integral roles in making this happen.
As Rabbi Shuval-Weiner stated at the beginning of the service, we gathered with our hearts broken, mourning the loss of innocent children heinously taken because of hatred. Rabbi Glickman’s eulogy for three boys he had never met was heartfelt and touching. I’m guessing it was especially hard for him to write this, as he and his wife were in the midst of joyous preparations for the upcoming Bar Mitzvah weekend of his oldest son.
Rabbi Glickman said the things we expected him to say, such as “this is not the return we wanted and hoped for. Our tears go out to their families … though we are separated by miles we would be there if we could.”
Even as he was speaking, tensions were heating up in Israel. Some Israelis had taken to social media to call for revenge. Rabbi Glickman called them out, saying, “We must seek justice; we must NOT seek revenge.”
He then pointed out the similarities between two Hebrew words: nechama and nekama. In Hebrew, only one letter changes the meaning of the word. Nechama means comfort. Nekama means revenge. As we well know here in our own Jewish community, now is the time to provide nechama, to provide comfort.
Rabbi Glickman suggested, as have other rabbis throughout the world, that we should all try to do acts of chesed — acts of loving kindness — in memory of “our boys.” Giving tzedakah is another way of honoring them. Coincidentally the Jewish Federation is collecting money to support the Victims of Terror Fund (more information can be found on Page 2).
Rabbi Glickman stressed that now is the time for all sides to stop the bloodshed. Unfortunately as the days have passed since the murders and the subsequent memorial services, southern Israel has been barraged by rockets coming from Gaza. The IDF is calling up 1,500 reservists as tensions in the area escalate.
Things are not calm. Things are not peaceful. Israeli children cannot enjoy their summer vacations at the pool or at camps. Those in the south especially are spending time in bomb shelters.
So once again we gathered, our hearts as one. This time we were at one with the people of Israel. I hope and pray we don’t have another community memorial service any time soon.
May the memories of these young men be a blessing and their families be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. And may we all continue to pray for peace.