Students Learn Life Lessons from the Mother of a Fallen Chayal

Upper Schoolers received a deeply moving visit from Jen Airley, mother of an IDF soldier who was killed in Gaza. She spoke about Binyamin z”l, celebrating him and the lessons his life and death taught her.

She recounted her experience on the day of his death, a few months after the start of the war. Out of nowhere, while at shul, she became intensely distressed with no idea why. She rushed home with her daughter and began to cry uncontrollably. Now, Ms. Airley knows that her distress began at exactly the time that Binyamin’s final battle began. Her daughter picked up a book of Torah and suggested that the two of them daven and learn together. They did so, and Ms. Airley felt much better. At the same time as they were praying and learning, Binyamin was shot dead by a terrorist. At first glance, this could seem like their prayers did not matter to Hashem. However, Ms. Airley told students that she believes Hashem answers every prayer. While Binyamin’s death was a tragedy, there are blessings within it: his family knows exactly what happened to him instead of the uncertainty faced by so many other families, he was killed instantly rather than suffering, and his body was returned to his family for burial. For all these privileges, Ms. Airley is deeply grateful.

Before Binyamin’s death, their family was in the process of flipping a house that they planned to use as an Airbnb. His death inspired them to change their mind: now, that house is Beit Binyamin, a retreat center for IDF soldiers, bereaved families, and anyone suffering from the traumatic effects of the war, to find comfort and healing. Seeing how the family reacted to this tragedy by putting kindness into the world was absolutely beautiful and inspiring to students.

Ms. Airley shared that she had found a note Binyamin had written to himself about a year before his death, of 55 things he wished to do in his life. Though he was unable to achieve aspirations like marriage, in the short time before his death he had managed to accomplish over 50 on his life. It was truly awe-inspiring, and Ms. Airley encouraged students to think about what goals they want to accomplish in their own lives. To facilitate this reflection, she concluded her talk by offering students bookmarks that feature an excerpt from Binyamin’s list, with blank spaces for the students to fill in their own goals.