Three members of the Dickstein family who were killed in Friday’s terror attack in the Hebron hills were laid to rest yesterday. The funeral cortege of Yossi and Hani Dickstein and their son Shuva-el left the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem for the Psagot cemetery.

“It was clear to the whole family that the funeral would start here, in the study hall where you acquired the spiritual foundations of our home and that it would end in Psagot,” said the oldest son, Zvi Yehuda, 22. “Only last week, Father looked at the home he had built in Psagot and said: We were like dreamers; we now have our portion [Biblical quotes]. You found your place in Psagot and it was clear to us that we would bury you here.”

The nine orphans walked behind the three bodies. Zvi Yehuda began his eulogy with a quote from the penitential prayers. “What words can describe the enormity of this catastrophe?” he asked. “How can we speak in the past tense about the people we loved best? Father, Mother, Shuva-el, suddenly everything is stopped in the middle. But, dear parents, we received a solid education, an education for ideals, and we will continue in your path.”

Zvi Yehuda said that he realized his parents had been killed when he saw their bodies that morning at the funeral, but he was having difficulty assimilating the loss. “What will be with us, the children? You wanted so much to see us married, and now, who will lead us to the marriage canopy? You won’t get to see your grandchildren. Father, Mother, in my name and in the name of all the children, I promise you that we will keep the family united.”

The nine orphans announced that they would continue to live in Psagot, in the home their parents built, where they moved from Jerusalem about seven months ago. “We have no idea how we will go on,” Zvi Yehuda said, “but we will go on. We will go on here, in Psagot, as you taught us.”

This piece also ran in Maariv on July 29th, 2002

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