The holy energy

This scene from the funeral of Rabbi Eli Schlanger HY"D is shattering.

This man had dedicated his life to making the world a better place for Jewish people. Helping them commit to their Judaism. Beautifying their lives with our traditions. Tefillin. Menorah. Shabbat.

He was k*lled while doing exactly what he believed in most: bringing light into the world.

A Chabad shaliach at Bondi Beach, a husband, and the father of five (the youngest 2 months old), he was on the beach on Chanukah, celebrating Jewish life openly and joyfully, when that light was v*olently targeted.

Those who knew him speak of his warmth, his boundless energy, his way of making people feel seen and welcome: whether in shul, on the street, or far beyond it.

There is something unbearably cr*el about a man devoted to spreading joy being taken during a festival that exists to insist that light matters.

A person like this, a leader like this- to lose him in this way is gut-wrenching.

It's like for a moment, the light they bring into the world feels like it's been snuffed out.

His community, his family, our people, are not left in darkness.

Mitzvah gorreret mitzvah- a mitzvah inspires another mitzvah.

I can't imagine the light that will continue to be sparked from Rabbi Eli's soul.

The holy energy that will be propelled forward in his name.

Through his children.

His congregants.

Through everyone he has ever moved.

May his memory be a blessing, forever.