Israel Matzav

The ultimate sacrifice

Perhaps the most heartbreaking case of a terror victim is one that did not even involve an Israeli. Shoshana Heyman Greenbaum HY"D (May God Avenge her blood) was an American tourist from New Jersey, who was murdered in the Sbarro terror attack. Shoshana was an only child who was expecting her first child when she was murdered. To my knowledge, her parents (who I understand now live in Israel) have not joined in the appeals against the release of Ahlam Tamimi, the planner of the Sbarro terror attack and the guide to its perpetrator. Someone in the comments asked that I say a few words about Shoshana.

Here's part of an essay written about Shoshana by Shmuel Greenbaum, Shoshana's husband, after her death.

May we focus on the good in every person and inspire them to greater heights. This was Shoshana's goal in life. May we all follow in her footsteps.

Shoshana's goal in life was to reach out to each and every soul she touched with her love; to give each one self esteem; to comfort each one in their sadness; and to raise each one to their highest potential.

Her life was dedicated to truth and kindness. She inspired men and women of all religions with her ways. She was the perfect role model for the Jewish women she taught.

For those of you who have not yet met a role model like Shoshana, know that they do exist. If you keep on looking you will find one. And with G-d's help you will strive to be a role model yourself.

Shoshana dedicated her life to elevating each and every one of the hundreds of girls she taught to become just like she was. In the process she also inspired their parents and all the others she met wherever she went.

...

Sometimes we see how much G-d loves us when he rewards us for our kindness. I saw this during my trip to Israel, a few weeks after Shoshana’s funeral.

I went with Shoshana’s parents to visit an elderly Rabbi, who Shoshana's parents knew from Los Angeles. He told us a story about what happened to his granddaughter on the day that Shoshana was killed.

He said that someone in his family drives him to a friend every morning; he studies with his friend for a few hours; then someone else brings him home later. His granddaughter often drove him home.

On the day of the bombing, his granddaughter made a 1:00 appointment with her sister to buy shoes at a shoe store next door to Sbarro. They decided that they would go for lunch afterwards at the restaurant next door.

He called his granddaughter that morning and told her that he would like her to pick him up. She called her sister to cancel their appointment.

...

Shoshana teaches us that our sensitivity and caring for others must extend much further than to merely our relatives. Shoshana was sensitive to the girls who lost parents or had other challenges at home. She would go out of her way never to say anything which could make them feel uncomfortable. She would always try to give them strength and comfort them. She engrained her strength in them and made them truly believe that, as she used to tell them "there is good in every bad."

What is the secret to seeing the good? The secret is believing in G-d, believing in yourself and having a positive attitude. Here’s a story to illustrate the point.

Shoshana came to Israel on a six-week all-expense-paid program, which she thought, would make her the perfect teacher.

When I asked my two bosses for permission to take a six-week vacation, one boss said I could take six weeks; the other boss said I could take four. (Perhaps if they had both agreed to let me go for six weeks, someone else would be speaking today, and I would be in Heaven with Shoshana now.)

I arrived in Israel the week after Shoshana arrived and departed a week before she was to depart.

When I arrived in Israel, I looked on the window ledge outside our dormitory apartment and I saw a big bucket sitting on its side. In the bucket were a few long thin twigs and some bird feathers. It looked like a birds nest.

Shoshana stopped me one day and said. "Shmuel… Shmuel… there's a bird on the ledge. I think it's dying… It looks sick… What can we do to help it?"

I said "Shoshana… that's a birds nest. The bird on the ledge is the mother. She is waiting to lay her eggs. "

Shoshana said "No… it's not a mother bird. It's the wrong season. It's the summer. Birds only lay eggs in the spring."

"Shoshana…" I said. "Believe me, it's a birds nest and that's the mommy bird waiting for the right time to deliver her eggs."

A few days later, Shoshana came over to me and said. "Shmuel you are right… the mommy bird was sitting in the bucket.

When she got up I saw that she was sitting on two little eggs."

Early every morning we watched the mommy bird and tatty bird switch places on top of their precious little treasure. We took picture of the mommy bird and the tatty bird and the eggs.

Each day we watched, and waited, and hoped that the eggs would hatch.

On my last night in Israel, I asked Shoshana to tell me when the eggs hatch and to take a picture of the babies.

One day while I was on the phone with Shoshana, I asked her what happened with the eggs. She said "Shmuel… one of the eggs hatched… there was a baby bird… it looked so ugly." "Shoshana…" I said "it may look ugly now… we may not see the future… but we will see the future… and it will be beautiful."

The birds were doves. The dove in Jewish thought is symbolic for the Jewish people. The dove is faithful to her mate for her entire life.

No matter how bad things may seem, the Jewish people are always faithful to G-d.

At 2:00 that afternoon she was doing the mitzvah of honoring her grandfather that she loved to do so much, while Shoshana was buying a pizza.

(Please don't misunderstand me, Shoshana also honored her parents and grandparents. She spoke with her parents on the phone almost every single day and she always went to visit her grandparents at just about the time the bombing took place, 2:00 on a Thursday afternoon. In fact, out of the six weeks she was in Israel this was the only Thursday that she could not go to visit them, because she had a class the next day.)

Ten years ago, I attended the hakamat matzeiva (unveiling - although that's a poor translation) of Shoshana Heyman Greenbaum. I still remember (perhaps not exactly, but it made a big impression on me at the time) Shmuel speaking about Shoshana's problem box, which he found on a high shelf after her death. As Shoshana resolved problems, she placed them in a box, where she would never worry about them again, but she kept reminders of them to remind her of what she had overcome.

There's much more about Shoshana and Shmuel and several other Sbarro victims here. May all of their memories be blessed.

Many years ago, Mrs. Carl heard the father of another American victim of 'Palestinian' terror speak shortly before Rosh HaShanna about his personal akeida (a reference to the binding of Isaac in which our forefather Abraham puts his son on the altar and is willing to sacrifice his only son because he thinks that's what God wants him to do). Of course, the difference was that God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son, while this man had actually (unknowingly - he was in the US at the time) sacrificed his daughter. Mrs. Carl burst into tears when she repeated the talk to me. And on Rosh HaShanna, during the Musaf prayer, I thought of the story and started crying.

Thank God (and bli ayin hara), I can only imagine the pain that Shoshana Heyman Greenbaum's parents must feel day in and day out. They have made the ultimate sacrifice. Unknowingly. It is up to God to care for them. The Israeli court system may not even be part of that calculation.

Labels: Sbarro terror attack, Shoshana Heyman Greenbaum

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:42 PM