"If every Jew takes something, even some small point where he can strengthen himself because of this tragic story," says Mrs. Rothman, widow of the late R' Chaim Yechiel HY"D, "then this be the best consolation for us as well as the greatest kindness one can provide for my husband's soul."
Throughout this entire year, and especially during the last week of shiva, Mrs. Rothman has been utilizing every opportunity that comes her way to relay the very complex message in very clear terms which leave all of the consolers spellbound by the impact of her pure emunah. And subsequently, the would-be comforters find themselves wiping away a tear or two.
"My husband made aliya at a young age, leaving a home where he lived a life of comfort and security." Risa Rothman seizes every chance, even creating them whenever she has a receptive audience, to impart the message. "He did this out of one simple reason: he wished to connect to true traditional Judaism and to become part of the mitza-observant community. He chose the path forged for us throughout the generations and conformed himself to it. Thanks to his aliya, he transformed himself into a Jew who seeks to fulfill his religious obligations and equally to impact upon his environment. And so do we, too, hope to continue our lives towards this end," she comforts those sitting before her who have come to boost her in her suffering.
To what extent is this goal exemplified in practice? I received concrete testimony this past week in a very moving and unexpected gathering which took place in her home.
The background: A friend called me up on Monday afternoon with this message: "I have been bothered by a debt I owed to a Jew who runs a small business in tashmishei kedusha in the Old City. Somehow, I was only able to settle it this week. When I paid a visit to the shop, I noticed an American couple who were receiving a hands-on explanation of tefillin and how one observes this mitzvah.
"When the shopkeeper saw me, he said to them, `Oh, here is someone from Har Nof.'"
He carries on with more details, conveyed by Mrs. Ruchama Alter, their personal tour guide of the American couple.
The couple, Robert Levine and his wife, were married, each for the second time, two years ago. Mr. Levine, 68, is the fourth generation of a family of Reform Jews. Before their marriage, his future wife established two conditions, which he agreed to: Shabbos and kashrus.
Ever since his marriage, he has shown increasing interest in a world he never knew existed, and is taking small steps into it out of his own initiative.
A year ago, he learned about the terrible massacre in Har Nof, but unlike many Jews, felt obligated to make it impact upon his own life.
The thought gestated in his mind for a year, bringing him to a practical decision which was realized when he recently came to visit Eretz Yisrael for the first time in his life.
Mrs. Alter takes it from there: "This Monday, when we began our morning tour of the Jewish Quarter, Mr. Levine shared his thoughts with me and asked that we include a visit to the synagogue in Har Nof where the tragedy took place, adding, `I would like to put on tefillin for the first time in my life precisely at the site where the four martyrs met their death in the midst of their prayers, crowned with their tefillin.'
"His wife added that already when they had begun planning their visit, he had insisted that he would like to visit that site, though she wasn't sure that it would fit into their plans.
"I promised to do my best, as their tour guide, and asked innocently, `By the way, do you own a pair of tefillin?' He said that he had no tefillin and had never owned a pair, nor had his parents or grandparents had tefillin. I suggested that perhaps he would like to buy a pair and he said, `Certainly!'
"I called up the shop where I buy tefillin for my sons and arranged with the owner for us to stop by during our visit to the Jewish Quarter. We came on time, and as Providence would have it, this Jew from Har Nof, a friend of the owner, entered the shop at this very time in order to pay up a debt."
My friend from Har Nof carries on, "As soon as I heard the story, I became an active partner in the scenario. I offered to accompany them to the shul, adding that since that horrendous day, one of the injured victims had just joined the other four martyrs, and it would be very encouraging to the bereaved widow if they told her their story.
"We exchanged phone numbers, after having noticed to my pleasure that Mr. Levine had already purchased a pair of very expensive mehudar tefillin. I turned to him and said, `I know that you requested to first put them on at the site of the tragedy, in that very shul where tefillin had been desecrated, but our rabbis have taught that when a mitzvah comes your way, you should not `let it get stale'. Why not go right now and put them on in that shul for the first time?' And so he did.
"That evening I spoke with him and we made up to meet at the entrance of the building where the Rothman family lives."
From there on in, emotions surged high as the writer, Shlomo Greenwald; Mr. and Mrs. Levine and their guide, Mrs. Alter; and my friend from Har Nof, went to meet the new widow, Mrs. Risa Rothman, to tell her their amazing story.
Mr. Levine told the new widow how the events had affected him, leaving a strong, lasting impression that had now been translated into action.
"For a year," Mrs. Rothman told the Levines, "we are witness to wonderful acts of chesed, of an unusual quality and quantity.
"A reporter asked me, `You must have had a terrible year?"
"I answered, `HaKodosh Boruch Hu showers us with unbounded chassodim. I married off one of my children during this year. Two grandchildren were born. We feel how the attribute of Mercy tempers this dinim.'
"All this in addition to the tremendous chesed that our neighborhood showers us with. We are proud to be part of this wonderful people. Halevai we are able to continue along the path of my holy husband. We must fill up the vacuum he left behind. We can do this with your help and the help of other Jews. If every Jew will take one little point into his life, that will be our reward."
