Bereaved Rabbi Keeps Promise to Attend Wedding After Miron Tragedy

A deeply moving scene unfolded last week at the wedding of Maor Asaraf, when Rabbi Menachem Mendel Englard, one of the leading rabbis of the Bobov Hasidic community in Israel, came to celebrate and gave a blessing under the chuppah. Rabbi Englard lives in Jerusalem and lost his two sons, Moshe and Yehoshua, in the Mount Meron disaster.

The moment was the culmination of a promise made years earlier, after the Meron tragedy, when Maor Asaraf and his close friend Yekir Asaraf drove to Jerusalem to offer condolences. Yekir said they were deeply shaken and felt the disaster was “the loss of all of us, all of Israel, regardless of sector.” He recalled that they entered the mourning house nervously, but were welcomed warmly and seated near the bereaved father.

According to Yekir, Rabbi Englard told them, “I am very happy to see you here, you strengthen me immensely.” He then added the words that stayed with them for years: “Know that just as you came from afar to comfort me in my mourning, I will want to be at your celebrations in the future. Do not forget to invite me.”

Last week, that promise was fulfilled in full. Rabbi Englard and his wife came to the wedding hall, took part in the celebration, and the rabbi honored the groom with a blessing under the chuppah. During the event, Yekir shared the full story with hundreds of guests, many of whom later approached Rabbi Englard to shake his hand and receive his blessing. Yekir ended by repeating the words the rabbi had told them years earlier, “Mi ke’amcha Yisrael.”