{"id":52828,"date":"2016-01-18T07:17:18","date_gmt":"2016-01-18T12:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=52828"},"modified":"2016-01-18T07:17:43","modified_gmt":"2016-01-18T12:17:43","slug":"runningforezra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/runningforezra\/","title":{"rendered":"Running for Ezra"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Ezra Schwartz of Sharon<\/span> was murdered in a terror attack in November, his death was incredibly painful for the Jewish people. Although I didn\u2019t know Ezra personally, our lives paralleled in many ways. We\u2019re both 18, both from Boston<\/span>, both members of the Camp Yavneh<\/span> community.<\/p>\n

From photos, videos, and his parents\u2019 and sister\u2019s remarks at his funeral, it\u2019s easy to tell Ezra was a tremendously special young man. One video from this summer depicts a carefree Ezra joyfully dancing with his young campers; clearly, they loved him. While his life was cut short, in his 18 years Ezra affected many lives .<\/p>\n

Ezra was killed arbitrarily. That could have been me; I was in Israel<\/span> this past summer. That could have been any number of gap-year students in Israel; that could have been anyone. It\u2019s during these tragic times that I\u2019m most tempted to ask the core question:<\/p>\n

Why does hate exist? But I won\u2019t, both because the answer is unfathomable and because I\u2019ve already cried enough over Ezra\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Since then, I\u2019ve come to realize I primarily cope with tragedy in two ways.<\/p>\n

The first is with appreciation and gratitude. The key to this way of thinking is to recognize that times can always be worse and that we have much to be grateful for. When I take this approach,<\/p>\n

I soon find myself engrossed in the beauty of a sunset or captivated by the fresh smell that follows a rainstorm.<\/p>\n

Stepping back and putting the incident into context is an important first step. But I think it is just a first step because, ultimately, this approach does nothing for the world at large.<\/p>\n

The second step is to take action. Harnessing the anger, sadness and fire within us to make a positive impact isn\u2019t easy. It takes a certain amount of maturity that I think I only developed recently, following the tragedy of Ezra\u2019s death. It all happened the morning of Monday, Dec. 7.<\/p>\n

It had been about two weeks since Ezra\u2019s funeral, and I woke up feeling very fortunate to be alive. At that moment, I asked myself, with brutal honesty: What the heck am I doing with my life?! I\u2019m so lucky to be here on this earth, I need to take advantage of that fact and really start living to the max.<\/p>\n

After I learned Ezra was killed doing a mitzvah delivering food to Israel<\/span>i soldiers, I became determined to do one in his honor \u2013 something big, something I would never before have considered doing.<\/p>\n

I decided to run the Miami<\/span> half-marathon on Jan. 24.<\/p>\n

In honor of Ezra, I am raising $3,000 for Yachad<\/a>, the National Jewish Council for Disabilities. With chapters throughout the United States and Canada<\/span>, Yachad members work to ensure that individuals with disabilities participate in the full spectrum of Jewish life. In fact, Ezra himself was a Yachad volunteer.<\/p>\n

Ezra\u2019s death pained us beyond belief. We coped, but now I encourage you to take the second step: To take action and commit to this meaningful cause. Even if just a few dollars, everything counts. I\u2019ve always had incredible faith in the Jewish community and this instance is no different.<\/p>\n

For Ezra, for Yachad, for making a positive impact, I thank you.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in The Jewish Advocate<\/a>. To donate to Andrew Jacobson’s Team Yachad run, click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Ezra Schwartz of Sharon was murdered in a terror attack in November, his death was incredibly painful for the Jewish people. Although I didn\u2019t know Ezra personally, our lives paralleled in many ways. We\u2019re both 18, both from Boston, both members of the Camp Yavneh community. 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