Missions

There’s a classic movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, in which the protagonist, George Bailey, is discouraged and wishes he’d never been born. His wish is granted, for just a short time, and George is able to see what his town would have been like if he’d never existed. He realizes that he’d actually accomplished quite a lot in his almost forty years. With that realization he loses his desire to commit suicide.

Last week the death of two precious souls deeply affected me. Anne Marie Kunstler Goldenberg* was two months shy of her hundred-and-first birthday when she died peacefully in her bed in her farmhouse. Amiad Yisrael Ish Ran was barely three-days-old when he died in the Shaare Tzedek neo-natal intensive care unit in the holy city of Jerusalem, Israel’s capital. Anne Marie’s life had taken her from Nuremberg, Germany to London, England and from there to Montreal, Canada and finally Stillwater, Oklahoma. Amiad Yisrael’s life started after his mother was critically injured in a terrorist attack and she underwent an emergency C-section to try to save the baby’s life.  Anne Marie was a big part of my world from before I was even born. I never met Amiad Yisrael or any of his family. 

Anne Marie left behind beautiful memories for her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and the rest of us who loved and admired her.  She accomplished quite a lot in the hundred years HaShem gave her. The Almighty, in His wisdom, granted Amiad Yisrael a mere three days. Yet, Amiad Yisrael accomplished quite a lot in those three very short days. He united people all over the world to pray for his full recovery. And when that full recovery was denied the same people joined his family in their sorrow.

The deaths of both saddened me and were very much on my mind when I was in the synagogue Shabbat evening. There’s a certain psalm, psalm ninety-two, that we say every Shabbat.  The last line ends with the sentence to declare that Hashem is just, He’s my rock, and there’s no wrong with Him. The words stuck in my throat. How could it be right that a three-day-old baby could be murdered by terrorists?  

Thankfully, my faith was able to kick in. I remembered that we’re all given missions. Some, like Anne Marie, take a long time to complete their assignments. Others, George Bailey for example, think they’ve finished their work before it’s done. Then there are those like Amiad Yisrael, Hy’d, who accomplish their tasks in a blink of an eye. Remembering this I was able to repeat the ninety-second psalm on Shabbat morning with a full heart.  

It’s my prayer that we’ll see our mission of establishing true peace in the world come to fruition, that we’ll merit greeting the Moshiach speedily in our time, and that we’ll rebuild the Holy Temple together.

Please pray for Natanel Ilan ben Shayna Tzipporah, critically injured, and Shira bat Michal, seriously injured, in one of the terror attacks on December 13^th. And Neveh Michael ben Osnat Esther seriously injured the following day. Please continue to pray for Shira Yael bat Liora Sara, mother of Amiad Yisrael. 

May the loved ones of Yossi Cohen z'l and Yuval Mor-Yosef z'l be comforted among the mourners of Zion.

Family picture from 1983 with Anne Marie in the center

*for more about Anne Marie see Sometimes It’s Hard To Be So Far Away, August 28^th, 2017.