When, furthermore, the tragedy struck while the niftar was travelling between his place of learning Torah and his place of carrying out a holy shlichus, enveloped by holiness on both ends, then it defies even the logic of Torah and its’ guarantee that שלוחי מצוה אינן ניזוקין לא בהליכתן ולא בחזירתן. The question is unanswerable, and unbearable!
[In 5740, chassidim were shocked by the murder, on the 4th of marcheshvon, of the chosid R’ Dovid Okunov HYD, while he was on his way to shlichus. During the farbrengen of Motzei Shabbos Parshas Noach, a few days after the incident, the Rebbe delivered a maamar (ה"דוירח'ה אתריחה ניחוח), and in the maamar the Rebbe spoke in heartfelt tones about the mesirus nefesh of our generation. The Rebbe’s voice broke as he described how after all of the avoda of Tishrei, culminating with the tremendous simcha of simchas Torah etc., “we still find ourselves in such intense darkness, to the point of experiencing what took place with shluchei mitzvah who are supposed to be protected vechulu”.]
But our response has to be the same. As troubling and as painful as the questions are, all that we can do is live with them, and move on! אנן פעלידי ממא אנן! We are soldiers, and a soldier can’t afford to waste energy on endless analyzing and pointless pontificating. We can’t waste our precious time in fruitless philosophizing, when we are in the midst of a crucial battle. The only question that is relevant is what is our next step, what more can we do to illuminate the world around us, and hasten the coming of Moshiach. Then, perhaps, we will have the time to dwell on these events; - in fact we will need to, to be able to say אודך'ה כי אנפת בי.
Meira”h lived a short life, and was taken from our midst much too soon. But he lived a life that was full and complete, that was a shining example that was clear for all to see of פעלידי ממא, of spreading light and bringing brightness and cheer to all around him and everyone with whom he came in contact.
והחייתן אל לבו.
The only question for us, for his friends and fellow chassidim to dwell on is what can we learn from him and from the way he lived his life, and what can we do to ensure that through us he will live on.
