Joy amidst the Mourning - A Special Wedding at Joseph's Tomb

Miri Tzachi,
Shomron Regional Council

Itamar Residents Celebrate Wedding at Joseph's Tomb! 
by Hillel Fendel   Israel National News

The army periodically allows and enables Israelis to enter the holy site of Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem (Nablus) – but no previous visit was ever as moving as the wedding there last night.

Hundreds of residents of Itamar, still reeling from the Palestinian terror  massacre of the Fogel family five days earlier, arrived for a special prayer service – highlighted by the wedding ceremony of a resident of an Itamar  hilltop, Moshe Orlinsky, and his betrothed, Natalya Zucher.

The two had planned to get married in Itamar, but decided to hold the joyous ceremony at the holy site of Joseph’s Tomb instead – the first wedding known to have ever taken place there. The intensity of emotion left no eye dry.  Click on the video below!  



The officiating rabbi was Itamar’s rabbi, Rabbi Natan Chai, and wedding blessings were recited by Breslov leader Rabbi Shalom Arush, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef (son of Shas leader Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef), Shomron Region Chief Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, Yitzhar Rabbi David Dudkevitch, and the Kabbalist Rabbi Yaakov Deutsch.

The ketubah (marriage contract) was read aloud by IDF Shomron Brigade Rabbi Capt. David Feig.

The local IDF commander, Shomron Brigade Commander Col. Nimrod Aloni, wished the young couple “Jewish home full of joy, faith, and warmth.” Shomron Regional Council head Gershon Mesika noted the residents’ emotional roller-coaster of late, and said: “The prophet says, ‘With your blood you shall live – unfortunately, we had to go through five ‘bloods’ [the five murdered Fogel family members – ed.], but in the merit of this exalted occasion, it will strengthen all of us – the people of Itamar, the residents of the entire Shomron, and all of Israel; we will gather the broken pieces together and we will become stronger.”
Yosef's Pursuit of Unity Supports the Jewish Nation
Rabbi Chai said, "We thank G-d for giving us the fortitude to carry on… and we thank IDF Commander Nimrod Aloni, who made great efforts to enable us to hold this chupah here … It was near this spot that Yosef said, ‘I seek my brothers,’ and this pursuit of unity and love for Israel is what unites us and gives us the strength; Yosef had a coat of many colors – symbolizing that there are many aspects to the Jewish People, and each tribe has its place, but they are all unified.”

Other blessings were offered by Yesha Council head Danny Dayan, Rabbi Dudkevitch, and IDF Commander Maki Siboni. Musician and actor Golan Azulai provided the music, at no charge.

IDF and West Bank Residents save Arab baby



 IDF Corporal Levin and Palestinian baby, Jude

It felt amazing to hold girl in my arms,
know we did something good

Saving life after massacre
IDF troops and paramedics save life of Palestinian woman giving birth in settlement where Fogel relatives sitting Shiva.

See Full Story:  By Yair Altman  YNetNews.com

Just take a moment to ponder this event.  This happened
in the town where the Fogel family was sitting shiva for their butchered family.  IDF forces guarding the area and local paramedics who would be grieving along with the family, didn't give a second thought to saving the lives of a baby being born to a Palestinian woman - perhaps a sworn enemy.

How does this make sense?  While the response to the murder of 3 month old Hamas Fogel in the Arab village below Itamar was fireworks, the response of the IDF and Jewish paramedics to the need of a Palestinian mother in trouble was mercy and I might add, joy.  The very "human" expression of joy of witnessing and participating in the miracle of new life.  The paramedics and IDF shared the joy with the Palestinians from the nearby village of Nabi Salah along with the new grandmother.  How can some in the same community find joy in the death of another beautiful baby of another mother and another grandmother?  How is this "humanly" possible?  I don't understand this darkness of heart and this "un-human" evil.

Rabbi Yakov Cohen interview - Itamar neighbor of the Fogel

The neighbor of Udi and Ruth Fogel family, Rabbi Yakov Cohen describes his entrance to Fogel home and helping Tamar Fogel enter her home to discover gruesome murders.

Yoav's Prayer

Photo: Original Source Unknown

This little wooden plaque hung above the bed of

slain 11 year old Yoav.  This must have expressed his belief

May it be Your will, L-rd G-d and G-d of our forefathers, that I love every one of Israel as myself, and to graciously perform the positive commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself.

And may it also be Your will, Lord G-d and G-d of my forefathers, that you cause the hearts of my friends and neighbors to love me fervently, and that I be accepted and desirable to everyone, and that I be loving and pleasant, and that I be gracious and merciful in the eyes  of all who see me. As water reflects face to face, so the heart of man to man.   And all for the sake of Heaven, to do Your will.   Amen.

Yoav Fogel

Letter From Mayor Moshe and Leah Goldsmith

Source: A letter to our Face Book friends, from  Moshe and Leah Goldsmith  By FB Itamar Israel Support Group

Dearest Friends of Itamar,  First of all we want to thank you from the depths of our hearts for all your support and encouragement to the Fogel family and to all the residents of Itamar in the last few days. 

Itamar has been our home for 27 years. It is also the home to over 100 jewish families. Itamar is the heart of Israel, our identity and our roots. After 2,000 years of being exiled from our land, the remnant of the Jewish people has come together and returned. It is God's work, a war for the Jewish people's survival. We see hatred all around us. I ask you; what hasn't Israel given for peace? We are a people of peace. And all we've got back is bloodshed. The world need to know this is our home. We are here to stay and the world is going to have to live with that

Friday's horror has made Itamar stronger and more determined to live and grow.  The Israeli government's announcement on Sunday that it would permit the construction of more than 400 new homes in West Bank settlements. This does not honor the dead. It is an insult to us and to the dead. Expansion of Itamar is an unassailable right, not a payment for these terrible murders

Dear friends, Exodus 1, which states that the more Pharaoh caused the Jews in Egypt to suffer, the more they increased and became stronger. We have now had 20 victims of terror attacks here in Itamar, a much higher number relative to our population than nearly anywhere else in Israel. With the devastating murders of the Fogel family which include 3 precious children, Itamar is more committed than ever to grow and prosper. We thank you for standing with us during this most tragic time. May G-d bless you and your families as you bless us!   Moshe and Leah Goldsmith

"I Will Be Their Mother" Says 12 Year Old Tamar Fogel

Photo: Flash 90

"I Will Be Their Mother" Says 12 Year Old Tamar Fogel

by Uzi Baruch  Israel National News

The eldest daughter of the Fogel family, 12 year old Tamar, promised her relatives: "I will be strong and succeed in overcoming this. I understand the task that stands before me, and I will be a mother to my siblings". The  orphaned youngster's words were quoted in the Hebrew daily Yisrael Hayom.

their home in the town of Neve Tsuf in Samaria, Tsila and Chaim Fogel, parents of Udi, are sitting on low benches for the traditional “shiva” week of mourning  alongside his three brothers and sister.  There is a constant stream of comforters going in and out of the house, VIP's and ordinary citizens from all over Israel, whose hearts go out to the bereft family that lost son, daughter-in-law, and three young grandchildren in a barbaric terrorist slaughter on Friday night.

Chaim Fogel continues to retell the story of terrible hours from 3 a.m. on, when he received the horrific news, drove to Itamar, met his 12 year old granddaughter and then entered the family’s home. The authorities were forced to ask her to tell what she saw when she returned from her youth group activity to find her family’s bloodsoaked bodies at 12:30 a.m. Chaim himself had the heartbreaking task of identifying the bodies.

We came to take the surviving grandchildren out of the Valley of Death, he said. I don’t wish on anyone in the world the sight I saw. It is horrendous, beyond description, beyond comprehension".

The grandparents recalled the last time they saw Udi, Ruti and the children, a week and a half ago on Saturday night. They celebrated the start of the month of Adar Bet in Itamar, danced, sang and laughed.

"At least they had a taste of Purim", said Udi’s mother Tzila. "I didn’t feel any premonitions. Why should I have thought that I will never see them again? I am not trying to remember if there was anything of that nature in my mind. We were happy together. We have photos of the children playing and happy".

The family is against any personal revenge or taking the law into civilian hands. Their slain children felt the same, they said, unequivocally.

The Ben Yishai home of Ruti’s parents in Jerusalem, where the surviving grandchildren are now, is also crowded with comforters. After the mourning week is over, the family will decide where the children will live. Meanwhile, they are having difficulty in explaining to the youngest child what happened to his parents. "What shall we tell them?" they said. "What does a two-year-old understand when he cries over the loss of his parents? They tell us that children heal quickly, mentally and physically. We hope so".

Mourning Father of Fogel Massacre Victim ‘Strengthens Israel’

Israel news photo: Flash 90 

In a radio interview on radio Monday, Rabbi Yehuda Ben-Yishai,
the mourning father of Ruth Fogel, one of the five victims of the Itamar massacre, taught a lesson of faith and strengthened the People of Israel.

Article by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu   Israel National News

His inspiring remarks on Voice of Israel government radio stunned
the interviewer into near silence and brought tears to her eyes.

After Rabbi Ben-Yishai expressed deep pain but no anger or calls for vengeance, interviewer Estie Perez, who has described herself as a secular Jew, asked, “Where do you have the strength and restraint that you can talk now and strengthen us, without anger and without calling for vengeance – that is not in your voice?

Where is the strength from?"

Rabbi Ben-Yishai answered, "I have worked in education many years, and as an educator, I try to strengthen and teach people faith. I understand that I cannot be satisfied with words and that I also must implement the same principles on which I have educated others. This is a test of my faith, and therefore I agreed to be interviewed."

"I believe in the country, in our strength and in the strength of the army, and I ask how did this strength not save our children?”

Rabbi Ben-Yishai said Monday morning that he asked the oldest surviving children, 12-year-old Tamar and eight-year-old Ro’i, if they wanted to say the Kaddish prayer, recited by mourners and expressing their faith in the Creator.

“They answered, ‘Of course. They are our parents, brothers and sisters.’” The mourning father and grandfather told Voice of Israel government radio, “They understand.” He said, “We [the grandparents]
will take upon ourselves the difficult task and pave for them the path so that life will be victorious."

“Their mother and father will pray for them from the Heavens, their grandfathers and grandmothers will give them a lot of love, and the People of Israel will hug them and encourage them to grow and continue in the path of their parents."

Rabbi Ben-Yishai said that the only thing he regrets is that he did not tell his daughter Ruth and his grandchildren enough times, “I love you. I love you." He added, "If I could go back in time, I would say so every five minutes, but that would not be enough.”

Rabbi Ben-Yishai revealed that the police came to his home in Neve Tzuf, in Samaria, on Shabbat to inform him of the attack but that no one was home because they were visiting in the north. “The Creator was kind to us” by his not having to bear the bad news on the holy Sabbath. “Our daughter called after Shabbat, assuming we already knew."

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with Rabbi Ben-Yishai on the telephone Saturday night and visited him Sunday morning. “He felt great sorrow and said that the entire People of Israel are part of the sorrow. We hugged each other,” Rabbi Ben-Yishai said.