Heartbreaking Story of ‘Lone Jew’

Although Chabad TORCH, Rabbi Simcha Moishe and Atara Michal Kreindler, works with a lot of Jews living in far flung places through out Northern California, we recently had a experience that felt extra special.

Reb Binyamin Yitzchok is a truly special yid. Born to a frum family, he grew up on a religious kebutz in Isreal. He is one of 8 kids and is a descendant of the Rambam. Interestingly enough Reb Binyomin was known to daven in the Rebbe’s minyan every Thursday morning through the 1980s, he even lived at 770 Ocean Parkway where he received the Rebbe’s mail on two separate occasions and had the merit to personally bring the Rebbe’s mail back to 770 Eastern Parkway.

Reb Binyamin, the father of 4, had one daughter who was very close to him. As a teenager this daughter, Dana underwent head surgery and survived a difficult medical condition. The next year, at 18 years of age, Dana went to Israel as a student. On the night of August 1, 2003 in Tiberias she was kidnapped and murdered by a serial killer. Reb Binyomin and family spent over 6 long years looking for his missing daughter. Finally his daughter’s body was found and the killer was caught.

For Reb Binyamin this 6 year period took a toll on him. He said he aged over 25 years during this time.

Thousands attended the funeral and a park was dedicated in Dana’s memory but for Reb Binyomin the pain was too intense.

He moved himself out of the Jewish communities and into Shingletown, CA a town with a population of less than 2,300 people isolated in the middle of the forest just outside of Lassen National Park. Now, without internet in a place where most people don’t even have cell phone service, Reb Binyomin felt he could be safe from the torture he experienced as a father who last his only daughter to a brutal murder which was called “murder for the sake of murder” by authorities.

Over time Reb Binyomin’s observance level changed until one day he found himself in the post office in Redding, CA a town 35 miles from his home. Reb Binyomin had a post office to go to in Shingletown but for some reason, he went to the Redding post office that day, the day his whole life changed AGAIN.

He screamed, “I cant believe it, they found me,” at the sight of seeing a young Rabbi in a suit with a black hat. I was also in the Redding post office that day.

That initial meeting led to a number of big things: Reb Binyomin came to our Rosh Hashana services (he slept over for the three days), Reb Binyomin agreed to have kosher mezuzahs put up on his home, Reb Binyomin started putting on Tefillin again and Reb Binyomin became a regular at almost all Chabad TORCH events.

But there was one thing missing: Rafi

Rafi is Dana’s brother, a boy who went “through the system” (the Jewish school system) but left the Torah life style after his sister’s murder. In fact Rafi had not put on tefillin many times at all since 2003 when his beloved sister disappeared.

Today we bumped into Rafi in Shingletown where he was visiting his father (Reb Binyomin), the week before his sister’s 12th Yarhzeit, and today Rafi put on tefillin for the first time in a long time. It was quite an emotional moment for both of us.

I have seen the pictures of Dana and the letters she wrote to her father just months before she was kidnapped and to some extent, i could feel her father and brother’s pain…which made this tefillin all the more special.

Before leaving Reb Binyamin’s house today, I told him that the Rebbe is watching over him, and he replied, with tears in his eyes, “I feel it…”

As directors of Chabad TORCH, Rabbi Simcha Moishe & Atara Michal Kreindler serve 37 small towns and areas through out Northern California.
Chabad TORCH is responsible for visiting and helping people and providing them with Jewish experiences (Shabbatons, Holiday events, Torah Classes)
To Learn more or to make a donation visit ChabadTORCH.com