A friend of mine, who lived in a community in Gush Etzion, told me that she had once been shot at multiple times as she drove into her town. She was a sweet, soft-spoken South African woman, and she had two of her children in the backseat of the car at the time.
“What did you do?” I asked, horrified.
“I ducked my head and kept driving as fast as I could,” she answered.
“How did you do that? How did you stay calm? How did you keep driving?”
“Because I had to. I wanted to live more than I was afraid to move.”
I recently heard a story that reminded me of the courageous, matter-of-fact way she answered me. An elderly man was walking on the street in the winter and there were some icy spots along the sidewalk. The man slipped on a patch of ice and fell. A young man saw him slip and rushed over to help him up.
After the older man thanked him, the young man turned to him and said, “Stay inside where it is safe.”
The old man stood up straight, looked him in the eyes and said, “I want to walk more than I am afraid to fall.”
His words were echoing through my mind when I heard the horrific news of the recent terror attacks in Israel. After 13-year-old Hallel Yaffa Ariel was murdered in her bed last week, her father sat beside Hallel’s sobbing mother and said: “Last night she came home from a dance performance. She was an amazing girl; she worked very hard for years to become a dancer. She put so much effort into everything she did. God gave her a great mind, lots of wisdom. She was so bright. Hallel loved living here, loved the place. She wasn’t afraid of anyone. She never imagined, nor did anyone else, that an evil person, one of 1.5 billion Muslims, who just want to drown the world in rivers of blood would murder her while she slept. That’s what they live for. It’s terrible, just think about it. A little girl who did nothing.”
And just after Israel buried Hallel Yaffa Ariel, a terrorist shot at a family driving in their car to their home in Otniel. Michoel Mark, who was director of the Otniel Hesder Yeshiva and the father of ten children was murdered in front of his children and his wife and children are seriously injured.
I have never met the Ariel family or the Mark family, but I have had the privilege of visiting Kiryat Arba and many other communities near or along the border of Palestinian towns. The people who live there are some of the most inspiring people I have ever met. I am amazed by their strength, their courage, their bottomless love for the Jewish people and for the land of Israel. I'm struck by their kindness and their hospitality.
But more than anything else, I think of the words of the elderly man – “I want to walk more than I am afraid to fall” – when I think of these families who are constantly living under the shadow of such horrific terror. They are on the front lines but they aren’t moving. Why? Because they want to save the Jewish people more than they are afraid to die. Every day they risk their lives to fight for our right to live in the Jewish homeland. It’s that hard, and it’s that simple. They want to give more than they want to take. Every moment. Every day.
And for that they deserve not only our prayers and our condolences but also our deepest gratitude. May God comfort the mourning families and heal those who were injured in the heart-rending attacks last week. Please pray for the wife of Michoel Mark HY”D, Chava Rochel bas Ayelet and two of his children that were injured in the attack, Tehilla bas Chava Rochel and Pedaiya Menachem ben Chava Rochel.
(7) Aviel, July 4, 2016 8:09 AM
im afraid comment like # 5 only encourages more terror
so sad that many people believe like anonymous comment 5 that if israel withdraws her enemies will have no more excuses.it seem sclear to me that policy will result in many more jewish and arab deaths as a weakened and wounded israel will respond to it's own casualties with greater force. Note how many more arab deaths in gaza as a result of israel's withdrawal and need to return in response to constant attacks..
as for a lack of excuses if israel withdraws from the west bank who can believe that the arabs will stop wanting to return to lod ,ramle, jaffa , etc and of course liberate jerusalem. how foolish to be so deluded that when terror pays it'll stop.
right now "settlers" living in judea and shomron know that they are given weapons to try and defend themselves because there will be palestinians trying to kill them on a regular basis. that is a given. the palestinian policy seems clear to me.if they succeed in scaring jews away from judea and samaria they can gain strength to continue to get the rest of the jews out of the whole region.
(6) Anonymous, July 4, 2016 3:51 AM
I live to face the heartfelt for our brothers and sisters in Isreal.
(5) Anonymous, July 3, 2016 9:12 PM
why we must leave
Yes, they are courageous but what need is to separate us from the Palestinians. They and the rest of the world are using the Settlements to obfuscate the real issues. Get out of the West Bank and they will have no more excuses.
Dvirah, July 4, 2016 4:22 PM
Proven Incorrect
Israel has withdrawn from disputed borders three times: in Judea-Samaria, from the "neutral zone" near Lebanaon and from Gush Katif near Gaza. In none of those cases did the Palestinians or other terrorist groups stop their violence; rather, they attacks increased and become yet more dangerous, since they were now closer to Israeli residences. Please get it iinto your heads that to the haters no "excuses" are needed, that's just for those who choose to be blind.
(4) debbie, July 3, 2016 7:47 PM
the 1.8 billion arabs do not all want blood or we wouldnt be here
there r arab heros-watch not with out my daughter a woman whose husband holds his american wife and daughter captive and beats her is rescued by an arab hero who helps her escape the country with her daughter -his son was used to clear mine fields by the the talbian or such-the language of this settler father is very dangerous..sounds like he's never spent time with arabs..there r good people and bad people in all walks of life
(3) Nancy, July 3, 2016 6:35 PM
To commenter #1 Yaffa
Thank you for sharing that beyond powerful quote!! Kol tuv.
(2) Anonymous, July 3, 2016 4:07 PM
Chava Rochel bat Ayelet Hashachar. I am a close friend of the family.
(1) yaffa, July 3, 2016 3:43 PM
Living in the Land of Israel
I once saw a quote - don't know who said it but it's worth repeating.
"They tried to bury us but they did not know that we are a seed."