* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin ([email protected])
Zahavit King from Kibbutz Be'eri wrote as follows:
"Over the last few months our son Uri studied for his Bar Mitzvah with Rabbi Tzvi Erlich. Uri learned parashat Bereishit, how to put on tefillin, and how to say the Shema. Rabbi Tzvi told him that there were many people throughout our history whose last words were the Shema, from Rabbi Akiva to Major Roi Klein (who died in 2006 in the Lebanon War when he fell on a grenade to save the lives of soldiers under his command).
The words of the Shema convey a willingness for self-sacrifice and a readiness to pay the ultimate price for being a Jew. Rabbi Tzvi persuaded Uri to learn the Shema by heart and so he did.
The whole world knows what happened to our beloved kibbutz on Simchat Torah. We locked ourselves in our safe room for 36 (!) hours. 36 hours without water, electricity, or food while the terrorists outside murdered and slaughtered. Each time the fear in us grew, we prayed together and repeated the Shema with Uri. These words that he had just recently learned took on enormous significance in that day and a half, up until the moment when we were rescued.
Now we are in a hotel next to the Dead Sea. Rabbi Tzvi and many wonderful volunteers made an extraordinary Bar Mitzvah celebration. Tears of sadness and of joy filled our eyes. We prayed 'Birkat HaGomel,' the traditional prayer of deliverance, for surviving our ordeal. And we prayed for the safe return of the hostages and, of course, for the rejuvenation of our community. With deep emotion, Uri recited the Shema with Rabbi Tzvi. I looked around at those who were with us, and thought about those who were not. We wished that everyone there, not only Uri, would go on to live a most fulfilling, glorious life.
When we parted from Rabbi Tzvi, I told him that, in the future, when he prepares youngsters for their Bar Mitzvah and teaches them the Shema, he can now add the story of Uri for inspiration.
Here is a video of moments we will never forget."
