The terrorist Ashraf Abu-Shaha went in yesterday morning to the factory in Barkan and cruelly murdered Kim Levengrond Yehezkel of Rosh HaAyin and Ziv Hajbi from Rishon LeZion, both young parents. In between all the security and political commentaries, in between all the attempts to give that act some background and explanation, the verses of the Book of Genesis, which we have just started reading, are crying out. Last Shabbat we read in the Bereshit Portion the first, reverberating cry of G-d towards Cain, the first murderer: "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is shouting to me from the ground". And in this week's Portion, the Noah Portion, we hear that we must bring life, not death, to the world: "And G-d blessed Noah and his sons and told them 'Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth.'... Whoso sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of G-d made He man."
The sanctity of life; the image of G-d; you shall not murder. Thousands of years have passed. It sounds so simple and clear, yet even the most basic of values are not comprehensible to our enemies. Our struggle with them goes on. Kim was taken to her last place of rest last night, and Ziv will be buried today.
In their memory.
