19th of Marcheshvan 5775, 12.11.14
With God’s help
To my dear brother,
Almog, everyone says that you died sanctifying God’s name, but they forgot to say that Almog lived sanctifying God’s name. That in every place you were, you always spoke and strengthened people – whether it was to strengthen in Sabbath observance, in prayer, in relationships between people, and so on.
If we begin to say what you were, “time would end and they would not finish,” and as much as we tell, we still would not reach even a fraction of what you were and did. Even at that moment when the murderer, may his name and memory be erased, stabbed you in order to take your weapon and kill other people, you still thought of everyone and hugged the weapon so that others would not be harmed. Even in such a situation, you thought of everyone, as Sahar said at the funeral that “you always thought and cared about everyone but not about yourself,” and all your life you lived sanctifying God’s name and also died sanctifying God’s name.
You passed away during the Torah portion “Chayei Sarah” (The Life of Sarah), and it’s told in the portion that Sarah our matriarch died, so the sages asked if Sarah died in such a portion, then why isn’t the portion called “The Death of Sarah”? Why is it written “The Life of Sarah”? The sages say we learn from the portion that “the righteous, even in their death, are called living.” Almog – it’s not by chance that you passed away during such a portion…
Almog – your character traits were such that every person had something to learn from you, from the wicked to the greatest righteous person. Usually, they say that one should look for good traits in a person or some good point, but with you, they would say exactly the opposite: to look for a bad point in you because you were only good!!!
Everyone needs to ask for your forgiveness for not knowing how to honor and treat you with the respect deserving of a holy person like you!!!
Rabbi Akiva prayed all his days to die sanctifying God’s name, because he knew that only holy people can merit this. You were holy, and because of this, God took you to Him, because God takes to Himself only holy people like you.
I am sure that there was a very difficult decree in heaven and that many people were supposed to be killed, and the Holy One, blessed be He, looked for someone who could atone for them and save them, so He found you, because you always cared for everyone, and only one who cares for everyone can atone for everyone. That’s why you went…
I want to tell you that this is not only the mourning of your family, or of your friends, or of the city of Modi’in – this is the mourning of the entire world that a holy person and king like you has gone…
It’s very difficult for everyone to digest this, but I believe that now that you are in heaven, you have much more power to watch over us. I know that what you really want now is for us to continue doing what you did and continue your path.
I want to say to your dear parents, thank you very much, because thanks to them such a righteous and holy person came down to the world, and no righteous person in the world merited this privilege! Only they did.
Almog, you are now in heaven. Pray for your parents, your siblings, your friends, and also for me that we will be able to digest this and that we will not hear more sorrow.
May God avenge your blood before the eyes of all the people of Israel, just as it was spilled before everyone.
From your friend in heart and soul, David Alcharar
