I would be happy to write this morning about the new weekly Torah portion, Parshat Tetzave. But it seems to me that the better thing to do is to simply share the words of the mother of 19-year-old Ori Ansbacher, who was murdered on Thursday:
“It’s important for us that the world know who Ori was. Ori was a child of light, who added so much light to the world. She cured broken hearts wherever she went, be it with her girlfriends, the boys and girls she worked with in her national volunteer service, even with people she did not know.
“Ori was a child of land and words. She so loved this land; she wandered around it so much. She would set out to walk, to breathe, to sit, to work in this land.
“Sometimes when I spoke with her, I felt that it was not a conversation between a mother and a daughter, but that she was my teacher. A noble soul, so gentle. And within that gentleness hid tremendous strength.
“Usually, Ori would travel with paper on hand, because she was also a girl of words. Since she was a little girl, she would write poetry. Words that expressed who she was in the world, words that were so deeply felt and exact.
“Ori taught us to feel wonder. To feel wonder from the sunrise, from the sunset, from blossoming, from the sun, from the rain, from everything that there is in the world. To see the light in the world.
“She was a girl of inner truth. She was always looking for ways to fix the world, through goodness—through giving, through love. What a great love she was. How much love she gave.
“I pray that Ori will give us the strength to continue living with goodness. And that she will grant us the light to add to the world and to smile.
“I ask from those who are listening to us and for those whom our words are entering their hearts, to do one small thing to add light to the world—one act of kindness, and maybe we will preserve Ori’s soul in the world, and maybe we will have some comfort by adding light to the world.”
In her memory and in prayer for the victory of light over the darkness in this world.
Sivan Rahav-Meir is an Israeli prime-time news reporter and TV host, as well as a sought-after speaker in Israel and overseas.
Translated from the original Hebrew by Yocheved Lavon.