Seven hundred people came to commemorate the lives of Lucy Dee and her daughters Maia and Rina, murdered by terrorists on April 7, 2023. The new events hall dedicated in Lucy’s memory was packed to capacity on the first anniversary of their death and the six-month anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre.
The “Shirat Lucy” events hall (its name means “Lucy’s Song”) was constructed above the Mishkan Tziporah synagogue with contributions from donors in Efrat and around the world. Rabbi Leo Dee eulogized his wife Lucy saying: “This hall, Shirat Lucy, is dedicated to your memory. You loved to dance at simchas. You will not be dancing at the weddings of your children. But everyone who has their simcha here will remember you as there will be a large picture of you at the entrance.”
People of all ages came to hear Rabbi Leo Dee’s words of wisdom. Since the two funerals last April, he has become a source of inspiration that rallied the nation around the Israeli flag and a spokesperson for Israel and around the world. His surviving daughters Keren and Tali described their ongoing feelings of loss and their aspirations to keep their mother’s and sisters’ memories alive through good deeds. The evening’s main speaker, Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi, described Rabbi Dee as a powerhouse of optimism and praised his children for sharing their grief so openly, encouraging others to share their feelings of loss and pain. The evening ended with a musical reflection led by internationally acclaimed musician Rabbi Shlomo Katz.
On April 7, 2023, Lucy, Maia and Rina were driving on Route 57 to Tiberius to spend the second half of the Passover holiday with family from overseas. Near the Hamra junction, their car was attacked by terrorists, who shot the two girls and critically injured Lucy, who passed away two days later. Her organs were donated to five people, some of whom attended the event in Efrat to honor her memory.
Photos of the event are available from [email protected] (0547479192). Below is an extract from Rabbi Leo Dee’s speech on April 7 at the commemoration of his wife and daughters’ first yahrzeit, in which he enumerated the lessons he has learned over the past year:
- There’s no benefit to being sad. I believe that the purpose of mourning is to get to a point where you can remember your loved ones with a smile, otherwise we’ll never want to think about them at all.
- There’s nothing like the Jewish people. From the shiva onwards we have felt that we did not lose three members of our family of seven, but three from our family of 14 million.
- Tzaddikim live forever. The Jewish people from all past generations are still living through their contributions to our lives today. Our enemies have contributed nothing but destruction.
- I’m grateful for the 30 years I knew Lucy, the 20 years I knew Maia and the 15 years I knew Rina. What they achieved in half a lifetime, or quarter of a lifetime, is more than most of us could achieve in 10 lifetimes.
- The best treatment for destruction is to build. We will continue to build, we will continue to plant.
- There’s no youth like our Jewish youth. They have “get up and go,” they build, they invent and they are the bravest generation in our history. I am proud of every one of them.
- Finally, I learned that what matters is not my emunah in Hashem, my faith in God, but rather Hashem’s faith in me. If Hashem agreed for us to wake up this morning, He has a purpose for us. Our job is not to question Him, but to find that purpose.
Today there are hundreds of thousands of Jews in Israel fighting for our people and for freedom in the world — fulfilling their purpose — and millions of others are supporting them.
May Lucy, Maia and Rina continue to be melitzei yosher (heavenly advocates) for Am Yisrael and may Hashem continue to have faith in all of us and all of Am Yisrael. Because, at the end of the day, Mi K’Amcha Yisrael — who compares with the Jewish people?
