A sample extract is available below as well as the editors note translated from the Hebrew edition that gives some background to the book.

Please click here to download an extract from the book.

“How can I repay unto the Hashem all His bountiful dealings toward me...” (Tehillim, 116:12), we sang in pain, and maybe, we were already crying. “...precious in the sight of Hashem is the death of His righteous ones,” (Tehillim, 116:15) we cried out, and by then we were all sobbing aloud.

Friday morning, Rosh Chodesh Adar II, all the students of the yeshiva stood together weeping. “Oh, Hashem yisbarach, what a difficult night, perhaps the hardest night of our lives. We cannot fathom the extent of our loss, how much we are lacking now.” Those thoughts run through all of our minds, as we recite the verses, our eyes overflowing with tears.

During the Torah reading, the survivors go up to the bima and recite Bircat Hagomel with choked voices. “Heal us Hashem, and we will be healed. Save us, and we will be saved.” This morning, those words take on a new significance, more powerful than ever before. Rav Weiss’s voice breaks, and in the background all of our voices can be heard, and the voice of the entire nation with us, crying. It is hard for us to pray, for the terrible images of the night before keep appearing before our eyes, and in our minds, we hear the verse echoing again and again, “we will weep and rejoice, rejoice and weep”. We know that today, we have eight funerals to attend, the funerals of our friends, who are now holy martyrs. The prayers are over, and some of our searing pain has receded. Breakfast, silence, everyone is lost in his own thoughts, preparing himself for the funerals.

Thousands and thousands crowded into the courtyard. We all stood there together, as one, and we all wept on each other’s shoulders. Rabanim, students, friends, young, old, religious, secular – they were all there. They came to stand by us, in our great pain, to experience some of the spiritual force left in the wake of the holy ones, and to accompany them on their final journey. The funeral procession began, and each of us went in a different direction, to attend one of the private funerals of the victims. Our hearts were torn as we had to decide which of the eight to honor.

We had a very difficult week. A difficult Shabbat. Each one of us in his own home, trying to cope with the pain of loss by himself, with his family. We all came back to Yashlatz on Sunday, and we began the week with strengthening and inspiring lectures, with consoling the mourners, going from house to house in an attempt to comfort the families, and even more so, ourselves. We spent many hours sitting together, sharing memories, and learning a little bit more about how great our martyred friends truly were.

As the weeks went by, Yashlatz returned to some semblance of routine. We went on our yearly field trip, the whole student body together, in order to refresh ourselves, to strengthen ourselves. We came back from the trip intending to begin learning anew, and leading normal lives again. Life did go on, but we still remember and feel pain, even as we move onwards.

We twelfth graders sat together, and tried to think of a way to memorialize our friends, those amazing personalities who were once among us, and were all lost at once. We wanted to preserve their memory, to keep it alive. Until that night, they were here with us, living with us, and now they are gone. We wanted to honor the memory of those holy martyrs.

After much thought and discussion, we concluded that the best way to memorialize our friends would be to publish a book about them. In the format of a book, we would be able to preserve our memories forever, to give them life, so that we will never forget those great and special individuals. We have attempted to touch upon the important points of the difficult period we all went through, to describe how we coped, our memories, our pain. Not the pain of discouragement, but a pain characterized by prayer, growth, and spiritual ascent.

We chose as the focus of our book, “mashberim b’derech l’geula”, “obstacles in the way of redemption.” Because we understand that our loss is not our personal loss, but part of a much larger, general process. We suffered a blow that is part of our collective “birth pangs,” as the nation of Israel , in the land of Israel , awaits the final redemption.

We approached our rabbis, asking to hear their words of Torah, in an effort to comprehend “Hashem’s hidden ways,” and to understand, as much as possible, the process that we are a part of, and where it is inevitably leading.

Family members, rabbis, and teachers, friends, and acquaintances, all rose to the challenge of writing about our friends. Each one, in his own personal way, put his thoughts to paper. Some of them asked to remain anonymous, and we respected that request. We also received a lot of material whose authorship is unknown. Every contribution was appreciated, though not all were included in this book.

We hope and pray that with the publication of this book, we have attained the goals which we set for ourselves at the start of the project. B’ezrat Hashem, this book will serve as a living memory of those who perished, hy’d, and that they will be remembered by everyone who reads about them. The book will accompany us through the years, as evidence of what we experienced during this period of our lives, and as a memorial to our holy friends.

A few days before the book was printed, we heard about the terrible terrorist attack in the center of Jerusalem . Rosh Chodesh, once again. The Musaf prayer: “Festivals of New Moons You have given Your people, a time of atonement for all their generations...” Hashem chooses His special times to test us. Once again, we feel pain, but this time we are not in the midst of things, and our pain is a more general kind. This time, we feel the pain and experience a sense of loss as part of our nation.

Without the help and cooperation of many individuals, we would never have been able to see this book in print, and we express our deep thanks to everyone who made a contribution.

To the dear families, we know that the labor of writing and editing material about your loved ones was painful, but despite everything involved, you all helped, supported, and encouraged us. To our classmates, to Yashlatz, to Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav, to the individuals who donated their time and money towards making this project feasible, to the “One Family Fund” organization, to the staff at “Sifriyat Bet-El” – thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

“And Hashem will wipe the tears off of every face...” (Yeshayahu, 25:8)

The Editors