4 month, 4 years, 11 years, 35 years, 36 years - Not just numbers

As we sit down to enjoy a family meal we often forget to look around to see who is at the table. Who are these people sitting next to us? Our children? Our parents? How old are they? Time flies so quickly as we watch them learn to walk and talk an go to school. Soon they become adults who build their own families and we watch our grandchildren grow. This can be a scene in any culture or religion. A mother cooking a meal for a birthday, a holiday, a graduation. A father blessing his children and giving them a kiss on the forehead. Now take a look at the photo of the Fogel family below. A nice jewish family, aren't they?

As the Fogel family sat down for their Shabbos dinner on Friday night, I am sure their home was filled with love and peace. Yes, PEACE - a word we so often forget. Say it again, PEACE. Just like all of us look into our child's eyes and see something beyond love, beyond joy, beyond peace - Udi and Ruth Fogel (only 35 and 36 years old, respectively) must have looked at their beautiful children and felt blessed to be living in Israel, in Itamar. They felt blessed for having a beautiful family and for having a wonderful Shabbos. The kids were probably thinking about Purim, about baking Hamentashen (triangular cookies for Purim) and even dressing up in fun costumes.

UNFORTUNATELY, something horrible happened on this peaceful night. Terror stuck the home of this family in the ugliest and the most unfair way. Not a tsunami like in Japan, not a fire, not a disease. It was by far much worse. Five people were massacred by a terrorist in cold blood. Even the 4 MONTH OLD baby! Udi Fogel, 36, Ruth Fogel, 35, and their children Yoav, 11, Elad, 4, and 4 month-old Hadas were stabbed to death in their sleep. These are not soldiers of the IDF killed while serving their country, these are not prisoners, these are victims of a horrific crime that has no justification.

In nature all animals fight for survival. But humans beings differ because they have a soul. A person that kills a little baby in cold blood is devoid of a soul and can not even be compared to an animal, let alone a person.
What is even worse, 12 year old Tamar found her family destroyed. This will forever be engraved in her memory as she tries to grow into being a normal teenager, a normal soldier, a wife, a mother - the horror of seeing a pool of blood in her home instead of being greeted by mom and dad as she walked into the house this past Saturday morning. Although Tamar was able to save Roi, 8 and 2-old Yishai - her family will never be the same, NEVER. NEVER.

How can PEACE ever be achieved if basic human ethics can not be followed. Even in war, there are rules of how to treat civilians - this is obviously NOT an intrusion (as BBC called it), it is a blatant act of terrorism. As Jews we must unite and use our heart, our mind and our strength to prevent these crimes.

We must share this with the world, both Jews and non-Jews and let people stop anti-semitism, hate crimes and murder.

Take a look at this map of world religions. Jews make up less than a quarter of one percent! If we were one family, there would be less than 14,000,000 of us (statistically, at the beginning of 2010 our population was assessed at 13,428,300 by Hebrew University). WE ARE ONE FAMILY with the Shabbos table stretching from continent to continent, but now there is tragically 5 less people at our table!

Looking at the map and thinking about all religions, including all atheists and agnostics it is still impossible to comprehend what kind of a society and religion permits murder of babies? I guarantee that this poor 4 month old victim was no threat to anyone in the neighborhood or in the world. But if this was a member in your family, would you not want to fight back with all your might? This IS a member of our family. All of us are in this together. This is not something that happened far away (even if you have never been to Israel). Each of us can play a role in educating others about the brutality of ignorance and brainwashing.

There is a debate about having settlers carrying weapons to protect themselves and building more housing in the territories. There are talks about peace, talks about war, talks about politics and policies.These are all very valid points. But the fact remains that the gift of life was shattered in this beautiful family. Now only lifeless bodies remain as a reminder of the gruesome murder.

Now go and look at your child in the eyes and bless them, hold them, kiss them. For those that do not have children, find a child in your family and spend the day with them. Remind them about the beauty of kindness and the ugliness of hate!

Dedication: This is dedicated to the Fogel family. Our thoughts are with you during this horrible time in your life. May G-d give you the strength to deal with this horrible loss. In addition, this is dedicated to our family in Israel who fight for our right to exist daily and make us proud to be part of the smallest ethnic group in the world. I believe we can really make the world a better, safer place but only through action!