Chabad Israel Center recently hosted ten severely wounded female soldiers and victims of terror on our ten-day Belev Echad program. At a private and luxurious dinner reception Sheri Ben Aroya shared her story with the crowd:
“It was Pesach night; Seder night. Two hundred and fifty guests were gathered at the Park Hotel in Netanya to celebrate the Holiday, my family and I among them. The dining room, on the ground floor of the hotel, sparkled with holiday decoration and cheer.
“Little did we know, while we bathed and dressed and prepared for the Seder, a group of terrorists traversed the country in search of the “perfect target.” The Seder was at its peak: children asking the four questions, families singing, wine spilling.
“The clock read 7:15pm.
“A terrorist walked right into the middle of the room and immediately detonated the bomb he had strapped to his body.
“Screams and panic erupted as part of the roof fell in. My father was killed instantly, and all of my family members were wounded. Of all who survived that night, I was the most severely injured.
“For months I straddled the line between life and death. Shrapnel had flown into my right eye and out the back of my head. I lost all sight in that eye and became paralyzed down the right side of my body.
“Lying in that hospital bed, day after day, I realized that as much as I wanted my life back, it would be impossible to do it all at once. I knew I needed to take on one challenge at a time, one day at a time, one step at a time. I knew it would be a long, hard journey, but I was determined to succeed.
“My first goal was to get rid of my wheelchair. With lots of hard work (including many tears), I successfully accomplished that goal. I was ready to move on to the next – getting rid of my crutches. After that I began learning how to read again, how to speak again, how to write again. All the things most of us take for granted, I had to relearn as an adult, with painful injuries.
“Throughout my ordeal, I feel my father’s presence very strongly. I feel him encouraging me and guiding me. And when I feel ready to give up, I sense him cheering me on. 
“My biggest remaining goal is to have children and raise a family. This would be the ultimate revenge against the terrorists who tried to kill me, and almost succeeded.”
This weekend we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot, marking 3,324 years since the Jewish nation gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai and received the Torah. At that time G-d charged us with a mission: transform the world, permeate the physical and the mundane with goodness, kindness and spirituality. Sounds like quite a daunting task! But if we learn fro
m Sherri, to take it one step at a time, it becomes doable. Start with a small mitzvah: Do something nice for someone else once a day. Study Torah once a week. Put on tefillin once a week. Make Shabbat more meaningful. Commit to another of the kosher laws. Start with one step, and once you’ve mastered that, move on to the next.
And just as Sheri feels her father guiding her through her challenges, our dear Father in Heaven is guiding us. He wants us to succeed. He is with us every single step of the way.
Sheri’s ultimate success will be creating a Jewish family and raising her children. When G-d gave the Torah to the Jewish nation, He asked them to provide guarantors. They chose their children. Our children are the ones who will ensure our traditions are passed on to the next generation. Our children are the only guarantee we have. On this festival of Shavuot, spend time with your children. Read them a book. Play a game. And make sure to take them to hear the Ten Commandments being read on Monday.
Do it for yourself, do it for your children, do it for the future generations, and do it for Sherri and all those victims of terror whose lives have been mutilated.