The Tragic Act Of Terror In Jerusalem & A Letter From Rebbetzin Heller

Dear Readers, I'll be honest, there are many aspects of my life that do not make it to this blog, and then there are some aspects of my life that I feel compelled to share with you all my virtual friends despite the fact that they are so totally unrelated to creativity and crafting. So here goes:

This past Tuesday, as you may know, in the city of Jerusalem, in our old neighborhood of Har Nof, two young Palestinian Arabs who carried Israeli ID numbers and lived in East Jerusalem entered a synagogue with a gun and axes, while a group of men were in the middle of their morning prayers, and carried out the heinous act of cold blooded murder. Cold blooded murder of men who were in the middle of the silent prayer called the Shemonah Esrei or Amidah, wearing their tefillin and while prayer shawls. Cold blooded murder of innocent men who happen to be Jewish, and as it turns out are like me, dual citizens, three were from the United States, and one was from the UK. A policeman of Druse descent was also murdered at the scene and at least one victim is barely hanging on, while others are critically wounded.

In the past our Arab cousins respected the place of prayer as holy and something not to be defiled.. But no more. And now we must all live in fear that someone who celebrates the murdering of Jews with dancing in the streets, and whose mother and family are proud of their acts of self sacrifice, may come to our neighborhood and carry out more unforgiveable acts.

We now live far from Jerusalem and yet an attack on our people is an attack on us, and we are forced to go on with our daily lives with a heavy heart and the desire to live lives of truth.

If you would like to read a personal and moving account of what happened at the scene, from Rebbetzin Tzipporah Heller, please click here. Rebbetzin Heller requested that we all do our best to spread the truth, and now by sharing this with you all I hope I have taken steps in that direction. And I can only hope that these baby steps of mine will somehow bring comfort to the four Jewish widows, one Druse widow, and 25 orphans who are most certainly struggling to comprehend the incomprehensible.

PS: I just read something truly amazing that will quite possibly blow your mind:

The widows of the Har Nof massacre have asked that this Shabbat be dedicated to ‘ahavat chinam’ – love for no good reason. In other words those who are right now in the deepest pain imaginable are asking the rest of us to somehow work on loving the ones who don't love us, and that our answer to those who try to fill the world with hate, is to fill the world with love! Try to wrap your brain around that one, as it is truly the essence of the Jewish people, and I couldn't be prouder.