Bereshis: I Am My Brother's Keeper

By Eric Lenefsky

After Kayin is one-upped by his brother Hevel, Kayin does the unthinkable. He murders his brother; he spills Hevel’s blood. Hashem calls out to Kayin, asking where his brother is, and in response Kayin asks the rhetorical question “השמר אחי אנכי – am I my brother’s keeper?”

Klal Yisrael finds itself in horrifically unprecedented times. The terrible terrorist attacks of Hamas have left our brothers’ blood spilled on the ground, where it is screaming out to Hakadosh Baruch. In these times, it is incumbent upon us to not ask השמר אחי אנכי, but to declare in the affirmative שומרי אחינו אנחנו. Baruch Hashem Klal Yisrael has met the task.

On Sunday morning, I traveled to the Magen David Adom headquarters in ירשולים to help my brothers by donating blood, and I was not alone. The line stretched from the basement of MDA, up multiple flights of stairs, out the door, and down the street with members of Klal Yisrael wanting to help. The number I was given (after a few hours when they started a number system) was 925, and there were hundreds of more people in line after me. What I saw in my seven hours on line there was awe-inspiring. Jews from all stripes, hashkafos, and backgrounds joined together in this holy mission. Chareidim stood on line with chilonim, elderly and young, whole families coming together, to guard their brethren. The donators were not the only helpers there. Men, women, and children were constantly patrolling the hours-long line, offering water, ice pops, snacks, and other beverages. Multiple minyanim for mincha and maariv took place throughout the day and evening. There was even a chassidishe yid offering to put tefillin on people. I noticed that he wasn’t your average chabad chassid and he confirmed that he wasn’t chabad, but he said “You don’t need to be chabad to be מזכה ישראל במצוות.”

What I saw that day was only a glimpse of what we as a nation have been doing. Aside from the thousands of jews lining up across Israel, waiting to donate blood for the injured civilians and soldiers, at times waiting for more than 11 hours, we have been “protecting this house” (as I heard in a hesped for a chayal) in other ways. I’d like to share one particularly impactful experience.

On Tuesday night, I hopped on the last bus of the night and arrived at Har Herzl, at 1 am. This wasn’t for one of the funerals that have been continuing consistently from 9am until 1 am. Along with many other volunteers, in fact too many so much so that many were asked to leave, I was there to help dig graves. Over the course of four hours, we dug around 20 fresh graves for Wednesday and Thursday’s funerals. Like the scene at Magen David Adom two days earlier, Jews of all hashkafos were there from the most chareidi and chassidish Jews to more secular Jews with everyone in between. Americans, Brits, French, Latino, and Israeli Jews were all cooperating to do this backbreaking labor. We finished at five in the morning and I hopped on the first bus of the day, sore, exhausted, and dirty, but glad that Klal Yisrael understands how to declare שומרי אחינו אנחנו.

As I write this I hear the sounds of planes and helicopters flying above, and ambulances ringing in the background. The fight continues and there is more work to be done. They will need more blood, more volunteers, and more donations. Whether we are in Eretz Yisrael or Chutz La’aretz we must make sure to help in any way we can: physically, financially, or spiritually. Let us not repeat the sin of Kayin by asking the rhetorical השמר אחי אנכי, but let us be מתקן that sin by answering the current call for help with שומרי אחינו אנחנו. May we only hear בשורות טובות.