JERUSALEM—Richard Lakin, an elementary-school principal from Connecticut who died yesterday from wounds sustained in a terrorist attack two weeks ago, was laid to rest today in Beit Shemesh. He was 76 years old.
Lakin moved with his family to Israel more than 30 years ago after serving as the principal of Glastonbury’s Hopewell School from 1969 to 1984. He was lauded as a dedicated educator and author whose life was devoted to fostering peaceful communication between all people.
The grandfather of eight was shot in the head and stabbed during an Oct. 13 attack by Palestinian terrorists who attacked passengers on a bus in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv.
“He died as a result of the same incitement and hatred he fought against his entire life,” said his son, Michah Lakin.
Also killed in that attack were Haviv Haim, 78, and 51-year-old Alon Govberg. More than a dozen were injured in the shooting and stabbing spree, with some of the injured still hospitalized.
As the funeral was taking place, an Israeli woman was stabbed and injured outside of a supermarket in the Etzion Junction. Her attacker fled the scene but was arrested by security forces. It followed the stabbing of a soldier near Hebron earlier in the day—the latest in a series of attacks that have been taking place on a daily basis around the country for almost a month now.
Continued Calls for Mitzvahs, Torah Study and Prayer
Along with the ongoing attacks were continued calls by rabbinic leaders around the world for increases in Torah study, prayer and other mitzvahs, in addition to donning tefillin. For suggestions of what Jewish people around the world can do to help their brethren in Israel, read the article 7 Things You Can Do for Israel Today here.
The tefillin campaign comes in light of instructions given by the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—who had issued a similar call during other dangerous times in Israel. Before the outbreak of the June 1967 war, for example, the Rebbe prompted an active campaign for Jewish males over the age of 13 to perform the mitzvah of tefillin.
Wrapping tefillin is part of the Rebbe’s 10 mitzvah campaigns introduced between the years of 1967 and 1976, which formed the platform upon which the Rebbe’s far-reaching program to revitalize Jewish life and observance throughout the world was built.
The laying of tefillin instills fear in the enemy, explain the sages of the Talmud, quoting: “Then all the peoples of the earth will see that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they will fear you.” (Deuteronomy 28:10).
Prayers for Victims
As attacks continued, the Chabad Terror Victims Project (ctvp.org) released an updated list of those injured in recent terrorist attacks.
The public is asked to continue their prayers for their speedy and complete recovery. It is customary for petitions for recovery to be recited in synagogue on the Sabbath and on other days when the Torah is read in public.
Here is a list of the injured as of Friday, Oct. 23. Names will be added and deleted as they become available.
Odel bat Miryam
Natan ben Odel
Moshe ben Orli
Meir Yitzchak ben Sara
Aharon Moshe Chaim ben Chaya Chana
Dvir ben Shoshana
Avraham ben Rut
Ron Shai bat Sigalit
Adi ben Rut
Niv ben Yardena
Moshe ben Daizy
Meor Efrayim ben Furtuna Daniela
Moshe ben Edgach
Liat bat Yael
Orla bat Limor
Yosef Chaim ben Zahava
Neur Shalev ben Rut Elisheva
Yom Tov Lipa ben Roiza
Yair ben Rozia
Samuel Ono ben Antonio
Shoshana bat Lulu
Moshe ben Bracha
Maya bat Ilana
Ron ben Chana
Adiv ben Furtuna Mazal
Daniel Chaim ben Revital
Refael ben Atel
David ben Shoshana
Alon Chaim ben Rita Hacohen
Yehonatan Amiran ben Miryam
Pesach ben Rachel Miryam Haddasah
Yarden ben Orly
Mital Dikla bat Ninat
For more news, opinion, inspiration, advice and first-person articles on the October 2015 Wave of Terror in Israel, visit the special Chabad.org sectionhere.
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