FrumJewishBooks.com
kedoshim, something major had to be done
to preserve the momentum that had been
generated.
“By the next erev Shabbos, the book was
already written, edited and on its way to
print. Anyone who knows anything about
the usually interminable process of book
publishing acknowledges the Divine
Assistance we merited.”
The book has three main sections: Miracles,
which details the unfolding of the attack and
its aftermath, and includes many incredible
stories of salvation from survivors and eyewitnesses; Memories, which explores the
special qualities of the four victims, as told
by close family and others who knew them;
and Messages, which delves into the inner
meaning of this tragedy, which we must try
to comprehend with the help of our
Gedolim.
The concluding section, entitled Living On,
explores how we can carry on, meaningfully
changed, in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Notable contributors to the book include:
HaRav Aharon Leib Steinman, shlita;
HaRav Moshe Sternbach, shlita, Av Beis
Din of Jerusalem, whose son survived the
attack; HaRav Yitzchak Mordechai Rubin,
shlita, Rav of Kehilas Bnei Torah; HaRav
Zev Leff, shlita, and many other Torah
luminaries.
“Most of the news reports of the massacre
were gruesome and depressing,” said Rabbi
Travis. “But this book takes a completely
different view. We explore the pain of the
people involved but we also highlight the
many miracles experienced on that day; the
incredible faith of the widows and survivors;
the outpouring of chessed that followed the
Pesach 2015
attack; and the meaningful messages that
emerged. This book seeks the true Jewish
perspective. We showed the manuscript to
the survivors and they agreed that it reflects
the deeper message we should all be
seeking.”
The challenge of taking such an atrocity and
finding messages of hope within it seems
formidable. But several survivors of the
attack and relatives of the victims were
extremely supportive of the project and
helped provide the content.
“The first thing I said when I woke up was
the Pasuk ‘Ashira laHashem bichayai – I
will sing to Hashem with my life’ (Tehilim
104:33)” said Rabbi Shmuel Goldstein, who
sustained severe head injuries after being
attacked by one of the terrorists with a meat
cleaver. He was interviewed extensively for
the book. “Now I appreciate that so much
more; that every second that Hashem gives
me life, it’s not a onetime present, it’s a
constant present that Hashem gives and
keeps giving. Even though it is looked at as
a very bad story, there are so many miracles
that Hashem did.”
The book presents itself as a double chessed:
it helps reader process this traumatic event
in a positive way, while giving tzedakah to
the widows and orphans.
The publication was fully sponsored by
generous donors, so 100% percent of
proceeds from sales of the book will go to
victims’ families.
Living On: Messages, Memories and
Miracles from the Har Nof Massacre is
available at Feldheim.com or at Jewish
bookstores.
FrumJewishBooks.com vol 1 Pesach 5775 -2015
[3]