Elizabeth–Students at the Jewish Educational Center’s Rav Teitz Mesivta Academy middle and high school divisions were offered a rare glimpse into the painful tragedy experienced by the Yifrach family, whose son Eyal was kidnapped and then murdered this past summer along with two other Israeli teens Gideon Sa’ar and Naftali Frankel.

Uri Yifrach, Eyal’s father, visited RTMA as part of his U.S. tour to share his message of faith and unity among the Jewish people and to raise funds for an aron kodesh (Torah ark) to be built in memory of his son.

Speaking first in English, Yifrach described the pain of not knowing the fate of his son and the other boys during the days before their bodies were found near Chevron (Hebron), where he said, ironically, he lived as a child. He shared that despite his personal pain, his son and the others “lifted the nation” to a sense of unity and love that it has never known before.

Then, by reading an excerpt in Hebrew from his son’s personal diary, which was translated by RTMA principal Rabbi Peretz Hochbaum, he introduced the audience to Eyal, whose writings delved into the deepest questions of existence and peoplehood. “Don’t ask lama (why),” he wrote, “but rather li-mah, for what purpose.”

Yifrach said that the discovery of the extensive Hamas-built tunnel networks during the war that ensued was perhaps the greater purpose to the boys’ deaths. Who knows, he shared, how many lives have been saved because of those revelations.

His level of faith in God and submission to the workings of Divine Providence were noticeably unshakable and he repeated multiple times that although he does not understand the ways of Hashem, that he believes that everything He does is for the good, and that he accepts it, even though it is very, very difficult. “Our eyes,” he said, “are human eyes. We cannot understand God’s master plan…All we see is a small part, but it is part of a much larger picture.”

Students from RTMA asked thoughtful and poignant questions in a Q&A session that followed. In responding to a student who asked how he felt during the time that his son was missing before his tragic fate was revealed, Yifrach said that his own father had come to him and said, “You were chosen. You were chosen to sanctify God’s name, because that is the purpose of Jews in this world. So sanctify God’s name.” Those words touched a chord for many of those present, including several mothers who had come to hear the talk, and tears flowed freely for many.

Several students were so moved that they went over to Mr. Yifrach at the end of his appearance and gave him cash donations toward the ark project in memory of his son, and many hugged him as well.

In a follow-up note of appreciation sent to Rabbi Hochbaum immediately afterwards, a faculty member exclaimed, “Thank you for this life-changing presentation. I don’t think any of us shall ever forget it.”

For further information, please contact RTMA principal Rabbi Peretz Hichbaum at 908-355-4850, [email protected] or Adina Abramov, Chief Marketing Officer at [email protected].