A tough start to what will, God Willing, be a good month

I was about to send my Monthly message last night as I always do but then the terrorist attack on Yeshivat Merkaz Harav happened.

Before sending my message which was already written, and is very relevant(I will post it soon) , I wanted to address this event.

Those who are not from religious circles probably never heard of Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav. Those people probably do not realize how much of a symbol this yeshiva is. Rav Kook, the founder of the yeshiva, was also the revered leader of the Religious Zionist Movement, which I feel extremely attached to. When attacking this yeshiva, the terrorists knew exactly what they were attacking. They attacked a symbol, just like Al Quaida had targetted the symbol of American Economic Might. They attacked the symbol of Jewish Religious Nationalism. They attacked us right in the heart.

This tragedy is unbelievable painful. On the one hand, every death is so painful. How can we measure such tragedy? There is, still, a second layer to the tragedy. They have attacked everything Rav Kook stood for, everything I stand for. And our response, must be similar to what Rav Kook would have wanted us to do:

"-The purely righteous do not complain about evil, rather they add justice.
-They do not complain about heresy, rather they add faith.
-They do not complain about ignorance, rather they add wisdom. "
Arpilei Tohar p. 39

If their attack was on Rav Kook's revolutionary teachings of love, faith and redemption, our job is to increase to learning of these teachings. Each of us should take time aside to learn from Rav Kook's teachings (I can refer you to good books if you want). Each of us should ensure to live our lives with these principles of love for the Jewish People, Love for the Israeli Homeland and Love for Torah, 3 of the main foundations to Rav Kook's thought.

With our love, we can drown their hate. With our learning teachings of hope, we can dispel their hope for destruction. With our light, we can take away their darkness.

I will be starting a project soon, some type of fundraiser, in memory of the victims. Please email me if you want to help.

The learning on this website, this week (until the end of the shiva) is in memory of:

Yohai Lifshitz, 18 – The son of one of my rabbis from Yeshivat Hakotel, Rav Tuvia Lifshitz
Neria Cohen, 15
Segev Peniel Avihail, 15
Avraham David Moses, 16
Yonatan Yitzhak Eldar, 16,
Yonadav Haim Hirschfeld, 19
Roee Roth, 18
Doron Meherete, 26