Hashem is my light and my salvation; who shall I fear? Hashem is the stronghold of my life; who should I be afraid of? When evildoers approach me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies against me - they stumble and fall. If an army would encamp against me, my heart would not fear; if a war were to rise against me, in this I trust. The one thing I ask of Hashem - all that I seek - that I may sit in the house of Hashem, all the days of my life. To behold Hashem's pleasantness and to meditate in His sanctuary. (Psalm 27)
Two weeks ago we celebrated Purim. Once again we rejoiced that Esther was sent "for such a time as this". Once again we were reminded that our People will be protected from the evil hand of a Haman.
Two weeks from now we will celebrate Passover. We will read from the Haggadah, "For not just one has risen to destroy us, but in every generation they rise against us to destroy us."
This week it was brought home by the terrible news of the Toulouse murders. Three children and one man - a father and rabbi who's only reason for being in the line of fire was to drop his two sons off to school.
There was no physical Esther to save these lives. It would seem G~d has turned His back on His people.
But He hasn't.
This is a quote from Mrs. Chava (Eva) Sandler, mother to Gavriel and Aryeh and wife to Rabbi Jonathan Sandler.
"My heart is broken. I am unable to speak. There are no ways for me to be able to express the great and all-consuming pain resulting from the murder of my dear husband Rabbi Jonathan and our sons, Aryeh and Gavriel, and of Miriam Monsonego, daughter of the dedicated principal of Ozar Hatorah and his wife, Rabbi Yaakov and Mrs. Monsonego. May no one ever have to endure such pain and suffering.
I don’t know how I and my husband’s parents and sister will find the consolation and strength to carry on, but I know that the ways of G-d are good, and He will reveal the path and give us the strength to continue. I know that their holy souls will remain with us forever, and I know that very soon the time will come when we will be together again with the coming of the Moshiach.
I wholeheartedly believe in the words of the verse: “The L-ord has given, and the L-ord has taken away; blessed be the Name of the L-ord.” I thank the Almighty for the privilege, short though it was, of raising my children together with my husband. Now the Almighty wants them back with Him.
Along with our tearful remembrance of our trials in Egypt so many years ago, we still tell over how “in each and every generation, they have stood against us to destroy us.” We all will announce in a loud and clear voice: “G-d saves us from their hands.”
Although the enemy may take away our lives, he will never take away the enduring word and promises of our G~d.
Who will separate us from the love of the Messiah? Trouble? Hardship? Persecution? Hunger? Poverty? Danger? War?
...For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers, neither what exists nor what is coming, neither powers above nor powers below, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which comes to us through the Messiah Yeshua, our Lord.
We do indeed have a hope of redemption and rescue when Moshiach comes again.
Our prayers go out to the Sandler and Monsonego families. May the memory of these righteous ones, Gavriel, Aryeh, Jonathan and Miriam be for a blessing.
