The Blessing of a Broken Heart

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A20549-2003Nov10?language=printer


I disagree with Seth and Sherri Mandell's position regarding the Israeli 
settlements. However, I am humbled and profoundly moved by their 
compassionate response to the horror that engulfs them.  

For those who don't know them:   Their eldest son,Yaakov Mandell, and his 
friend, Yossi Ish-Ran, were two Israeli children presumably murdered by 
Palestinian children back in 2001. Yaakov and Yossi were stoned to death. 

It's been over thirty years since I read "Lord of the Flies," but the 
brutal murder of Koby Mandell and Yossi Ish-Ran brought back Piggy's final 
moments as if I had read the text only yesterday. In my head I heard my 
High School teacher reading Piggy's final question;the central point of the 
book.  "Which is better -- to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?"  
The answer seemed so obvious then.  It seems so obvious now.

What is so much less obvious is how to respond to the madness. The 
Mandell's response offers a constructive answer to that central question.  
Instead of giving in to hate, the Mandells have established the Koby 
Mandell Foundation, which sponsors healing retreats for women bereaved by 
terrorist violence as well as a camp for children whose parents or siblings 
have been killed by terrorists. 

The more zealots on both sides spew madness, choas, and violence, the more 
important people like Seth and Sherri Mandell become. One can agree or 
disagree with their political views, but their humanity transcends all 
boundaries. For those interested in hearing a voice that rarely gets on the 
news, I recommend Sherri Mandell's new book: The Blessing of a Broken 
Heart.

It is available on Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-
/159264029X/qid=1068490925/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/103-4148436-
8499800?v=glance&n=507846

==
"What is hateful to yourself, do not do to others.
That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary." 
-- Rabbi Hillel