{"id":61769,"date":"2019-03-20T09:42:45","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T14:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=61769"},"modified":"2019-03-20T09:42:45","modified_gmt":"2019-03-20T14:42:45","slug":"a-dozen-more-orphans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-dozen-more-orphans\/","title":{"rendered":"A Dozen More Orphans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watching footage of the security camera\u2019s video of this week\u2019s terrorist attack at the Ariel junction and seeing the Arab perpetrator walking towards the bus stop where nineteen-year-old soldier Gal Keidan was patrolling, a voice inside me screamed at Gal to do something, to somehow avoid the tragedy about to occur. <\/span><\/p>\n

I learned of the attacks late Sunday afternoon. One of our two married children who live in the city of Eli called me and asked if I had heard the news. I braced myself.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cA terrorist attacked people in a few places and a chayal <\/i>was murdered,\u201d she informed me. She asked me to recite Tehillim on behalf of<\/i> a rav<\/i> from Eli, Achiad Ettinger, father of twelve children, who had been critically injured. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rav Ettinger had been on his way to work in Tel Aviv when he witnessed the terror attack. He turned his car around, pulled out his gun and fired at the terrorist. Rav Ettinger got off four shots before the terrorist shot and wounded him in his head and neck, with the rifle stolen from the murdered chayal.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Rav Ettinger was hospitalized in critical condition and lingered for one day. Nadav Arabel, a brother-in-law, stated, \u201cThe family wants to thank all of Am Yisrael <\/i>for the many tefillot<\/i> that were prayed since yesterday throughout Israel for the recovery of Rav Ettinger. Since yesterday morning\u2019s terrorist attack, we have discovered that the [good] characteristics of Rav Ettinger in his lifetime, also appeared in his last moments, in that he steered towards the terrorist and attempted to prevent an additional murder—without thinking about himself or his family. This mesirat nefesh<\/i> characterized him throughout the years.\u201d The family decided to donate the rav\u2019s organs in order to save other peoples\u2019 lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

For many years, the Ettingers lived in the town of Kedumim. <\/i>The family then moved to Tel Aviv because Rav Ettinger worked <\/i>in Tel Aviv as a rav<\/i>. Four years ago, he founded a yeshiva <\/i>in the run-down Neve Sha\u2019anan neighborhood. Three years ago the Ettingers left Tel Aviv and relocated to Eli.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our son, Naftali Yehuda, who lives in Eli with his family, knew Rav Ettinger. On Shabbatot <\/i>in the evening, <\/i>the rav would often walk a few miles from his home to a new Eli neighborhood called Neve Shir, which is comprised of about forty families. He was the unofficial rav of the shul. <\/i>Our son had the zechut <\/i>to hear the short shiur <\/i>that Rav Ettinger would deliver between mincha <\/i>and ma\u2019ariv. <\/i>Naftali Yehuda told me that they were always very interesting. \u201cThe rav sometimes spoke about midrashim <\/i>about which hardly anyone had ever heard,\u201d he related. <\/span><\/p>\n

The hespedim <\/i>for the beloved Rav Ettinger <\/i>began next to the main shul, <\/i>Mishkan Eli, continued at the site of the terrorist attack at the Ariel Junction and culminated at the Segula Cemetery in Petach Tikveh, where the late Rav Ettinger\u2019s parents live. Several thousand people attended the funeral.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rav Avraham Schiller, the rabbi of Eli and of the Mishkan Eli shul <\/i>said, \u201cYou are a hero in your love of Israel, in strengthening southern Tel Aviv\u2026How will Tamar raise twelve children alone? \u2026 How will she bring them to the chuppah<\/i> on her own?…\u00a0 <\/span>How does one raise twelve children without a father? \u2026 <\/i>In your heroism, you became an emissary for the entire nation of Israel. Everyone will learn from your actions, both civilians and soldiers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Their daughter Efrat cried, \u201cAbba, the accursed terrorist thought that he would make your life cease, but he did not know how much you left here. Abba, you accomplished so much during the time that you were here. All of the time you were at work—at work on yourself and at work for others. You fought to do good\u2026We promise to watch over Ima whom you honored and admired so much, whom you couldn\u2019t live without for an instant. I will take care of the life you left here, all the children will know exactly who you were\u2026It will be difficult, but I promise you that we will do everything in order to continue life with growth and simcha.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Their oldest son Elyashiv, who is a soldier, eulogized his father, \u201cAbba, all the time you spoke with us about doing more and you showed us how by being a personal example\u2026I promise that I will continue your legacy. They took you, but not your spirit. We will continue it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the late rav\u2019s projects to help Am Yisrael<\/i> is the Oz Ev\u2019muna yeshiva he established in a crime-ridden neighborhood in South Tel Aviv. The yeshiva<\/i> received permission to use an abandoned shul <\/i>which had been built about 80 years ago. There is a hesder yeshiva, <\/i>a beginner\u2019s program for men, a post army program and a Kollel.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Following the rav\u2019s murder, one of the yeshiva <\/i>students said, \u201cHe used to always tell me, \u2018I\u2019m not impressed by success. I\u2019m impressed by hard work.\u2019 He called me fourteen minutes before the attack, but I was studying, and I missed the call.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The first victim of the terror attack at the Ariel Junction, nineteen-year-old Gil Keidan from Be\u2019er Sheva, was posthumously promoted to the rank of staff sergeant. He had served in an artillery battalion. He left behind his parents, who had made aliyah<\/i> from the Soviet Union in the 1970s and two brothers. He was a gifted science and technology student as well as musician.<\/span><\/p>\n

Soldier and new immigrant from Moldova, Alexander Dvorsky, was injured when, following the attack at the Ariel Junction, the terrorist drove to the nearby Gitai Avisar Junction and shot Alexander. He remains in serious, but stable condition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rav Ettinger leaves behind his wife Tamar and twelve children: Moriah, Efrat, Elyashiv, Harel, Elyasaf, Yehuda, Techiya, Tzofia, Benaya, Eliav, Hadas and Roni.<\/span><\/p>\n

His brother-in-law Nadav noted that the attack occurred a few days before Chag Purim.<\/i> \u201cPurim is a time of simcha<\/i> that arrived after the tremendous pain from our enemies\u2019 attempt to destroy us,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter such heavy mourning and great unity of our nation, the deliverance arrived and with it the simcha <\/i>as well.<\/i> We hope that after the heavy mourning we will merit to see this nation unite, and from this great unity we will also merit to see great simcha.<\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Watching footage of the security camera\u2019s video of this week\u2019s terrorist attack at the Ariel junction and seeing the Arab perpetrator walking towards the bus stop where nineteen-year-old soldier Gal Keidan was patrolling, a voice inside me screamed at Gal to do something, to somehow avoid the tragedy about to occur. I learned of the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":61770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nA Dozen More Orphans - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/a-dozen-more-orphans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Dozen More Orphans - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Watching footage of the security camera\u2019s video of this week\u2019s terrorist attack at the Ariel junction and seeing the Arab perpetrator walking towards the bus stop where nineteen-year-old soldier Gal Keidan was patrolling, a voice inside me screamed at Gal to do something, to somehow avoid the tragedy about to occur. 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