By Rabbi Mendy Kaminker / Chabad.org
This story breaks our hearts and gives us hope at the same time.
This is the story of Ariel, a 14-year-old boy who lost his entire family in the massacre.
He went for his regular morning jog that day, and while he was out, Hamas terrorists broke into his home and killed his father, Yaniv, his mother, Yasmin, and his two sisters, Techelet and Keshet. Ariel is the only survivor.
When IDF soldiers entered the home, they found Ariel’s tefillin, which he had received from his grandfather, a Holocaust survivor who lost his entire family at a similar age. They asked Ariel which item he would like them to bring back.
He requested his tefillin.
You see, Ariel was two weeks away from his bar mitzvah, and the tefillin were a precious family heirloom. He wanted to use them for his bar mitzvah, just as his grandfather had done after surviving the Holocaust and rebuilding his family in the Holy Land.
Ariel lost everything, but not his faith.
His elderly grandfather, who is still alive, told him: “I lost my parents when I was 14. You will survive, and you will too!”
Ariel, you may not read this, but if you do, we believe we can say on behalf of all 16 million Jews around the world:
- We all love you so much.
- We all mourn and cry with you.
- We all celebrate with you.
- And we will all be here for you.
