Soccer Dad's nephew's roommate, Yonadav Hirshfeld ZK"L, was killed at Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav. SD received this from his brother (his brother's son, SD's nephew, is Yedidya).
I am certain you are wondering how you can properly memorialize the victims of the Mercaz Harav terror attack. Yonadav Hirshfeld - Yedidya's roommate - was a grandson of Rabbi and Mrs. Aharon Batt. In addition to being involved in the Encyclopedia Talmudit, Rabbi Batt is one of the main sponsors of the Halacha/Mishna/Rambam Yomi calendar available in the Torah Tidbits and other places.One of the aspects of Yonadav which his father mentioned is that he was always getting in an extra few minutes of learning.
In light of all this, a proper memorial for him and the other victims is to resolve to (Bli Neder - of course) add 5 minutes a day of Torah learning - in any of those few times during the day in which we find ourselves doing nothing.
* A "neder" is a formal commitment. "B'li Neder" means "without making a formal commitment." Not to be true to ones word is itself considered a sin in Judaism. Therefore, not to become entrapped in the sin of violating ones commitments, one adds this expression (B'li Neder) when committing oneself to an action or behavior... To avoid confusion - one must truly intend to keep ones word in order for this qualifier ... to have any real meaning.
Comments