We’re all deeply shaken from the horrific massacre at Newtown, Connecticut. We have no words to express the grief, no thoughts to put this into perspective, no way to process such tragedy.
How is this possible in G-d’s world? Allow me to share with you a story from my youth:
Growing up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the entire community was shaken up by the tragic death of a young man named Lazer Mangel who was killed in a tragic car accident in the prime of his life, leaving behind a young wife and an unborn child.
Everyone attended the shiva to show support and try to give a measure of comfort to Lazer’s family and his respected father, Rabbi Nissan Mangel, a Holocaust survivor, prolific author and philosopher.
On the final day of Shiva, Rabbi Mangel asked to say a few words to the visitors.
He recalled that many years before, when Lazer was 4 or 5-years-old, the family had a private audience with the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
At one point in the meeting, the Rebbe turned to young Lazer and asked him to recite the Shema Yisroel prayer.
Lazer proudly proceeded to do just that. Suddenly, the Rebbe’s smiling face turned intensely serious and he turned to the boy’s father, saying: “You should teach your son that when one recites the Shema, he should close his eyes and cover them with his hand.”
Said Rabbi Mangel: “I never understood what the Rebbe was trying to tell me. Why the sudden serious tone? What was the point of the message he was trying to convey?
“I think I now know. The Rebbe was telling me, prophetically, how to deal with the tragedy of Lazer’s death, so many years later. The Shema is the basic statement of Jewish faith, proclaiming our complete trust in G-d as the Creator and sole director of the world.
“When tragedy strikes, we cannot “say the Shema” with our eyes open… When we look around, what we see challenges the notion that Hashem is running the world all the time, minute by minute. Our limited human minds cannot fathom or reconcile this. So we need to close our eyes, even cover them with our hand, in order to proclaim our complete trust that G-d is running the show,” concluded the mourning father.
***
When the news reported that the surviving children at Sandy Hook Elementary School were instructed to close their eyes as they were being led out of the building, I thought of these words of the Rebbe.
Dear friends, to honor the souls of those lost in this tragedy, I suggest each of us take upon ourselves to say the Shema twice daily, morning upon arising and evening before retiring for bed, and recommit ourselves to its meaning.
Close your eyes, cover them with your right hand, recite the sacred 6 words: Shema Yisroel… Here ‘o Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is the only One.
Then offer up your own silent prayer, in your own words.
***
Dear friends, we have no answers.
We cry out to our Father in Heaven for comfort.
And we pray for the day when goodness will prevail forever and “G-d will permanently wipe away the tears from every face”.
With love and friendship,
Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel
Chabad of Port Washington, NY
Monday, December 17, 2012
In halacha it says that when reading Shema in Korbonos one need not cover one’s eyes–this strengthens the argument that the Rebbe must have had a deeper message.
This is what leaders around the world must do speak up in words of strength and faith! Yasher Koiach Rabbi you are truly a Shliach!
Thank you for you’re effort in providing words to fill the soul, keeping us focused.
Nice story, but “here, o’ Israel?” What does shma mean, anyway? See haYomYom for 8 Teves…
I am sad when I see that some kids today don’t cover their eyes during shema at bedtime. My grandfather taught us to cover our eyes and say the word ‘echod’ very drawn out…and with much kavanah.
Schools should teach this again before it gets completely forgotten. Thank you for a great piece.
… R’ Lazer Mangel a”h was a great person in his own right, a Shliach who dedicated his life – literally to the Rebbe.
And i tries to read this, but i couldn’t. I still have not mastered the the art of reading blind.
Thank you for sharing this inspiring story.
Thank you Rabbi Paltiel. What a message!!!!
WOW. AIN OD MILVADO
so sad, yet with a message to us all.
i should close my eyes and read this? how is that possible?
Thank You for sharing.
Amen to #6
I just verified this story with one of the Mangel boys. Think about this story: The Rebbe becamse very seirous and “demanded” from the father that he teach his son to cover his eyes by shma. How strange! We only cover our eyes for shma during davening. not stam when we say the posuk during 12 psukim or otherwise… it seems quite clear the Rebbe was giving another message, possibly the prophetic message Rabbi Mangel saw it to be so many years later. Hopefuly real soon we will be able to open our eyes and see only tov hanireh vhanigleh… Read more »
thank you for sharing!
beautiful!
BEAUTIFUL!
just one word will due to describe this article and its most powerful message and deep meaning – WOW!
Yesher koiach, I will iy״h spread the word on the west coast
YISROEL .
Thanks for Sharing!