Posted on 10/01/2002 6:34:55 PM PDT by July 4th
NOTE: Many articles have come out today about the death of Ari Weiss. This is another. However, three weeks ago on the Jerusalem Post (and posted on FR) was a story about how his mother raced around Israel to collect a care package for Ari and his 35 hungry fellow soldiers.
This is the FR link for the care package story. I would suggest you read this link before you read below: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/749564/posts
Here is Ha'aretz' story from today: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/760809/posts
And here, in full text, is an editorial from the Jerusalem Post: "Death of a hero"
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Two weeks ago, a photograph of a bright, young soldier appeared in this newspaper alongside an article about how his mother, with the assistance of some generous strangers, had helped to feed him and his 34 comrades serving in Nablus. Yesterday, that same soldier's photograph graced the front page, albeit in far more heartrending and painful circumstances.
Sgt. Ari Joshua Weiss of the Nahal Brigade was just three weeks short of his 22nd birthday when he was shot and killed by Palestinian terrorists on Monday during a fierce gun battle in Nablus. Another soldier, Shai Haim, was badly wounded in the exchange of fire. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
Weiss, whose father Rabbi Stewart Weiss is director of the Jewish Outreach Center of Ra'anana and a Jerusalem Post columnist, made aliya with his family from Dallas, Texas, a decade ago. Weiss is survived by his parents, five siblings, and his maternal grandparents, both of whom are Holocaust survivors.
Any time that a young life is snuffed out in the line of duty is, of course, a cause for inconsolable grief, something with which this country has become all too familiar these past two years.
While parents elsewhere are accustomed to seeing their children off to college or a career at 18, Israeli mothers and fathers must send their young men and women off to a war that was forced upon them.
But Weiss' untimely death in uniform carries with it an additional component, one that many of us often do not sufficiently appreciate the enormous sacrifice that immigrants have made in helping to build and defend this land.
Like so many other Western immigrants, the Weiss family left behind the comforts and familiarity of their birthplace. They packed their belongings, left their families, and set out to live their dream: to build the State of Israel.
It wasn't long before they rose to prominence in the Ra'anana community, delivering food to the needy, organizing classes and seminars, or assisting other new immigrants in overcoming the challenges of absorption and acculturation. Rabbi Weiss, together with his wife Susie, strove to enrich the society around them, whether by bringing guest speakers of national renown to lecture, or by offering pre-holiday educational programs.
But, like other immigrants, the Weisses brought more than just their own talents and energies to this country. They brought their family, and their future, with them as well. Despite the risks, and irrespective of the difficulties, they chose to make this their home, and there was nothing which made them prouder than to see their eldest son don the uniform of the IDF, the Jewish people's army.
Like any native-born couple, the Weiss family lived with the daily worries and fears, listening intently to the news, and praying for the safety and well-being of their son and his comrades. But whereas for many parents, army service is part of the standard track to adulthood, for the Weiss family, and other immigrants like them, it embodies far more. It is part of the process of becoming truly Israeli, and of fully participating in the various joys and sorrows that come with it.
In a column which appeared on April 14, Rabbi Weiss poignantly captured these feelings when he wrote about his childhood friend, Rabbi Aryeh Weiss of Kiryat Arba, whose son had been killed in action: "With each day's new list of victims, we hold our breath as we hear the latest casualty reports. Will we recognize the name? Will the attack have been on a bus route we frequent? Will the soldier hail from our town? For those of us with boys in the army, we grip the wheel a little tighter, and perk our ears up each hour on the hour."
"Each time a soldier breathes his last," Rabbi Weiss noted in conclusion, "each time a hero is slain in the noble war against terror, a little bit of each of us dies with him."
The same can be said for Ari Weiss, his beloved son. He died a hero's death, defending his people and his land. And along with him, a little bit of each of us died too. May his memory be for a blessing.
A bump for those who posted on the previous thread.
Rabbi Weiss
Sadly, a universal message, one I fear we'll repeat, I hope infrequently. We all lose with each death.
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