Arik

Last May the Lubarsky family suffered one of the most horrendous sorrows a family can have when their son, Ronen, was attacked with a huge boulder and died of his wounds. His brother, Arik, touched the heartstrings of the nation with his plea at the end of his eulogy*. 

I turn to the People of Israel: More than these beasts should find their deaths, it is important that you all should live your lives with joy, love and faith. Build glorious families with many children. Take upon yourselves something good to do, something small. And slowly, in the merit of our good deeds, there will be less and less funerals. Even in these painful days I am happy, because the People of Israel have given my family a huge hug, which I never believed could exist. Our big victory is to live a full life.

This past Shabbat Arik was called to bless the Torah reading at our synagogue in Shilo. As he stood on the raised platform next to the reader the congregation burst in to song. It was a song of congratulations and well wishes; for Arik had taken his own advice from four months earlier. He was engaged and, with HaShem’s help, he and his fiancé will build a glorious family with many children.

Before the Torah reading had begun we recited Psalm 92, a song for the Sabbath day, like we do every week.  We stated with certainty that, A boor cannot know, nor can a fool understand this, when the wicked blossom now like grass…so they will be destroyed in eternity.

As Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher states** “There is no miscarriage of justice and the world is indeed perfect. If one sees imperfection, it is because we fail to understand G-d’s plan….Because if the wicked would be punished immediately, and the righteous would be rewarded immediately, then we would be like robots or puppets without free will. G-d does not desire puppets but rather partners in Tikun Olam (fixing the world).”

Arik’s aunt, who has lived in Shilo for twenty-four years, was touched that her nephew, a total outsider, was shown such warmth in our synagogue. She credits our caring to the fact that we’re all part of the Jewish people, one family. I agreed with her but I think there was even more to our joy.

Arik could have chosen to be like the boor or the fool and raged against the injustice of his brother’s death. Instead he chose to make the effort to understand G-d’s plan.  He decided to try to become His partner in Tikun Olam.  

May he and his bride-to-be succeed in building a beautiful home in the Land of Israel. May the joy of Arik’s wedding bring comfort to his family and to all the people of Israel.

Ronen,Arik's brother hy'd, courtesy of inn.co.il  

*translated by Sivan Rahav-Meir, it appeared in full in my May 30^th post.

** taken from his article in Torah Tidbits, 1292

My novel, Growing With My Cousin, a good winter read, is available at Jewish bookstores and on line at  http://www.feldheim.com/growing-with-my-cousin.html or

https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Cousin-Ester-Katz-Silvers/dp/194635113X/