Thousands gathered in Jerusalem on Tuesday afternoon to attend the funeral of Shalom Saginer, a 4-year-old boy who drowned in a swimming pool in Mexico over the past weekend. The procession began at the Chut Shel Chesed yeshiva on Shmuel HaNavi Street and was led by the child's grandfather, Rabbi Shalom Arush, a prominent kabbalist and spiritual leader. During the funeral, the boy's mother, Rivka, sat beside her son's bed and delivered a deeply emotional eulogy. The child's body was returned to Israel on a special flight that landed at Ben Gurion Airport early Tuesday morning.
Tragedy in Mexico
Mother Eulogizes Son, 4, Who Drowned
Rivka eulogized her son Shalom Saginer at his funeral in Jerusalem, speaking of his love for Rabbi Nachman of Breslov and asking him to pray for the family from above
Rivka began her eulogy by addressing her son directly: "You don't belong to this world anymore. You don't belong to this place. You belong to a world that is entirely good, holiness and purity, joy. Mommy loves you, sweetheart, my sweet one, I love you."
She continued, speaking of her son's devotion to Rabbi Nachman of Breslov: "You ran straight to Rabbeinu. How you ran to Rabbeinu, right? How you love Rabbi Nachman, don't you? 'Let's go up to the tzion, Mommy, let's go up to the tzion.' How you loved to come to the Rebbe." She added: "My sweet one, my tzaddik. You will help us... now from there, from above, it will be easier for us, it won't be hard. For Daddy, for Mommy, for your brothers, so we can spread peace in the world. That's what Rabbeinu is about in the world, that's the mission. That's what I understood—your name is 'Shalom,' and you loved Rabbeinu."
The mother continued addressing her young son: "My tzaddik, my holy one, my pure one, Hashem loves you. What a tzaddik you are. I merited to be your mother. Thank you so much for choosing me to be your mother. Mommy loves you. Always, always, always. Forever I love you. You are with me like this, for all of life."
She spoke of how his memory would be honored: "And the memory won't be a tragedy. The memory will only be from joy, from faith, from holiness, from spreading peace in the world, spreading Rabbeinu, spreading Likutei Moharan. Your grandfather, we are going to spread a lot in 'Gan HaEmunah.' So that everyone will have faith, more faith and more faith. That they should live with faith and love Hashem. Love our Father in Heaven."
Rivka concluded her eulogy with a special request: "Thank you so, so, so, so much that you chose me, thank you so much that you chose Daddy for the family, you chose Daddy and Mommy. I love you. Pray for us, give us strength. That Daddy, Daddy won't break, that he should be strong."
She then named each family member: "For your father, ben Avigail, and I am Rivka bat Miriam, and your brothers—Nachman ben Rivka, Yaakov Chaim ben Rivka, Ayelet Chana bat Rivka—that they should have strength and complete faith with joy, and they should simply go with you everywhere, only with faith, without tragedy. With joy and with love. Thank you so much," the mother concluded her moving words.
Rabbi Shalom Arush, eulogized his young grandson with flowing tears, and sang songs of faith and thanksgiving to the Almighty. Family members and the crowds that filled the street joined in the moving singing while weeping and crying bitterly.
A particularly wrenching moment occurred when the child's preschool teacher stood beside the bed and began singing the Hebrew alphabet before the assembled crowd. The teacher cried out that the boy was supposed to have been learning these holy letters in the coming days in yeshiva, and now he would merit to learn them in the heavenly yeshiva, close to the Kisei Hakavod.
At the conclusion of the eulogies, the funeral procession proceeded to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, where the young child was laid to rest. May his memory be a blessing.
Shalom Saginer's mother eulogizes him| צילום: Photo: Shmuel Arush
