Groups mourn young victims of Jerusalem yeshiva attack

from the left, Rabbis Cy Stanway, Gordon Yaffe, Ezra Labaton, Nasanayl Braun, and Ephraim Karp

Participating in a March 18 prayer service at the JCC of Greater Monmouth County in Deal for victims of the March 6 attack at the Mercaz Harav Seminary in Jerusalem were, from left, Rabbis Cy Stanway, Gordon Yaffe, Ezra Labaton, Nasanayl Braun, and Ephraim Karp. Photo by Jill Huber

by Jill Huber
NJJN Bureau Chief/Monmouth

April 08, 2008

Leaders from Monmouth County’s Jewish community offered prayers of sorrow and hope in memory of the victims of a terrorist attack at the Mercaz Harav Seminary in Jerusalem.

The service, which was sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Monmouth County, took place on March 18 at the JCC in Deal.

Eight students were killed and more than 30 wounded in an attack by an Arab resident of East Jerusalem on March 6. All but one of those who died was a teenager.

“This was the right thing to do, and it’s a show of our solidarity with the State of Israel,” Aaron Rosenfeld, the JCC’s interim executive director, told NJ Jewish News before the service. “We all feel it when our brothers and sisters in Israel are attacked. We must stand together and show our support and express our prayers.”

Rabbi Ephraim Karp, the federation’s community chaplain, told NJJN that he distributed a prayer booklet — containing traditional liturgy and original prayers composed by him — to the 55 people who attended the service.

“It would be nice to gather to celebrate the holiday of Purim, but we must gather for sad, as well as for joyous, occasions,” Karp said. “We are here in a place of safety to show community support and strength at a difficult time.”

Rabbis Cy Stanway of Temple Beth Miriam in Elberon, Gordon Yaffe of Temple Beth El in Oakhurst, Ezra Labaton of Congregation Magen David in Deal, and Nasanayl Braun of Congregation Brothers of Israel in Long Branch also participated in the service.

“We gathered to shed tears, to grieve, and to resolve our own feelings too,” said Labaton. “There is evil in the world, and we must be aware of it. We mourn this shocking attack on human decency, but it’s the cult of death that writes the agenda of those that would do this. But we create our own destiny and the destiny of the Jewish people. We’ve passed the perpetrators of evil and we’ll march forward.”

Braun told the audience that he had once studied in Israel at an institute like the Mercaz Harav Seminary. The recent attacks evoked powerful memories, he said.

“When I was there and the Israeli students were preparing to leave to begin their military service, 500 people sang in the dining hall and wished that they go in joy and return in peace,” he said. “I will draw on that memory.”

However, there was always a sense of anxiety, he added.

“You were anxious because you knew that not everyone would come back,” said Braun. “But you were proud that your friends and fellow students were ready to put their lives on the line for Israel. That was the strength of their commitment.

“And if even one person did not return, the entire yeshiva mourned.”

In a special way, the community prayer service was like a blessing, Stanway said.

“We pray that God will bring comfort to the families of the dead and healing to the wounded and their loved ones,” he said. “Jews are not alone, because we have a responsibility to each other. This senseless attack at Mercaz Harav is a reminder that we must never forget the blessing of peace.”