A Soulful Journey

A story related by Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter, of Yeshiva University, at an annual Tisha B’Av event that was transmitted over a webcast. As a young man, J. J. Schacter visited Israel for the first time, just after the Six Day War. He met an elderly man, a Holocaust survivor, who related his story to him. What follows is a retelling of that story in my words. The survivor’s wife and children, save one, had been martyred in Europe. As soon as the State of Israel was declared, he and his son were able to arrive. The son immediately joined the IDF and fought bravely. He fell at the bloody Battle of Latrun, a terrible defeat for the Israelis that was not reversed until 1967. J. J. stood silent, humbled by the man’s suffering and sacrifice. Then the man continued: “You know, after my son died, people expressed their condolences with the traditional –  Hamakom yinakhem otkha b’tokh shar avelei tsiyon v’yerushalayim  – May God comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerus...