Yael Shevach, who tore her shirt in mourning after her husband was murdered by terrorists last month, has now donned a garment that is intact. Today, Miriam Ben-Gal will tear her own shirt as she buries her husband, also murdered by a terrorist. Their clothing can be mended, but the tear in their souls will never heal. Their hearts will continue to bleed until their dying day. Instead of solace they have sisterhood. "You are my sister," Yael wrote to Miriam on the day of her husband's murder.
Two women whose souls were cut in half one evening, on the way home. Only a few kilometers apart, within the span of one month, both lost their other half; their partner; the father of their children. Newfound sisters who will now be raising orphans. Newfound sisters, strong as steel, who will now forever long for the comfort of boring, normal life. Newfound sisters who will seek revenge/comfort in settling the land, building on it, planting seedlings and flowers.
They had seen each other before, these two women. Familiar faces on paths of learning and life. Both members of such vibrant, healthy communities, staking a claim on the hills. Raziel Shevach and Itamar Ben-Gal knew each other. Their widows, Yael and Miriam, knew each other. Now they will know each other's heartache. Har Bracha and Havat Gilad – two communities in mourning. Not too far from there, in Shavei Shomron, the Lipnik family just recently lost two children in a car crash, and their mother is still fighting for her life. This is one neighborhood where the blows keep coming.
Then there are the circles farther away from the tragedy. There are circles where the murdered are just someone on the news, where you are not constantly gasping for air through the thick blood next door of friends and neighbors being murdered. In the closer circles, everything stops. The radio is silent but the soul is screaming.
It's a simple statistic: If you are from the area, you definitely know the victim. But even if you don't, the entire nation is tired of seeing their best sons murdered on security camera footage.
A 19-year-old terrorist, raised on murder, turned these women into sisters. The message that Yael Shevach sent Miriam Ben-Gal may have been short in words but it was long in warmth. It was noble. In such stark contrast with the big knife wielded by a wild savage. You are my sister, the veteran widow wrote while her husband's tombstone has not yet been set. You are my sister, she wrote to the latest widow, whose husband's blood has not yet been washed.
