Tuesday, November 18th, 2014. Yet another day to live on in infamy, another tragedy to add to our cup of sorrows, already overflowing. Students of Stern College woke up to the gut-wrenching news that two arab terrorists, armed with guns, knives and axes, entered the Kehillat Bnei Torah shul in Har Nof during Shacharit, severely wounding seven and killing four: Rabbi Aryeh Kupinsky. Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg. Rabbi Kalman Ze’ev Levine. Rabbi Moshe Twersky. Zidan Saif, a Druse policeman who rushed to the scene died of his wounds later that day, bringing the death toll up to five. The two terrorists were killed at the scene.
Tuesday, November 18th, 2014. Yet another day to live on in infamy, another tragedy to add to our cup of sorrows, already overflowing. Students of Stern College woke up to the gut-wrenching news that two arab terrorists, armed with guns, knives and axes, entered the Kehillat Bnei Torah shul in Har Nof during Shacharit, severely wounding seven and killing four: Rabbi Aryeh Kupinsky. Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg. Rabbi Kalman Ze’ev Levine. Rabbi Moshe Twersky. Zidan Saif, a Druse policeman who rushed to the scene died of his wounds later that day, bringing the death toll up to five. The two terrorists were killed at the scene. The attack was the latest and most brutal event in a string of smaller terror events over the past month.
Both Stern College student leadership and individual students were quick to respond to the news of the attack. On the day of, Amanda Esralien, current President of TAC, organized a school wide tehillim gathering.
On Sunday the 23rd, five days after the attack, Yeshiva University student leadership from both campuses organized a solidarity rally in Times Square, where student and non-students alike could gather to show their support for Israel after the attack.
Chana Tzirel Zaks (SCW ’16) is an active member of the Tefila Club. Upon hearing the news of the Har Nof attack, Zaks knew that prayers needed to be a vital part of the Stern College reaction. Her emails provided just the platform to quickly reach the student body and enable immediate action in the face of tragedy. In the four sstuds she sent the week of the attack, Zaks provided the names of those injured in the Har Nof attack, news updates on the status of those injured, and a perek of tehillim.
“When events occur and the world needs the tefilos of Stern college, I try to send out emails with a perek of tehillim so that students can say a quick prayer during the day, [despite] their hectic schedules,” said Zaks. “[This] creates a feeling of unity – Stern College is part of klal yisroel, and our [tefilos] can help klal yisroel right now.”
Responding quickly and appropriately in the face of tragedy is important to Zaks beyond her involvement in the Tefila club.
“When [tragedy] happens, and no one is talking about it or doing anything, you feel this deafening silence. I wanted to do something about that – so, during this difficult time, when I came across something that strengthened or comforted me, I sent it out as an sstud, hoping that it would do the same for a student out there. We live in a world full of illusions; [when] I experience a spark of clarity, I want to share with others in the hopes that they will feel empowered and inspired, as I was.”
Zaks was not the only student to provide a more public forum for Stern students to channel their grief and show support for the Jews of Israel in this dark time.
Ahuva Miller (SYM ’16), a resident advisor in Brookdale, wanted to counter the uncertainty created after the terrorist attack by providing a way for students to strengthen their connection with Israel. At her November floor party, hosted two days after the Har Nof attack, residents wrote letters to chayalim bodidim, or lone soldiers, in appreciation of their services to the protection of the State.
“My floor of residents is mostly those who were just in Israel for seminary last year,” said Miller, “and I knew they would appreciate the opportunity to give back to the soldiers who protected them and continue to protect Am Yisrael every day. [Writing letters] had been an idea floating around in my head anyway, but because of recent events, such as the stabbings, car wrecks, and especially the attack in Har Nof, I decided to have [this] activity for the month of November.”
Miller, who will be visiting Israel during the January break, will deliver the letters to Connection Israel, a non-profit support organization for IDF soldiers.