During the shiva, the 'Peace to Charlotte' campaign was born: the grieving family asks anyone who can end an old quarrel, address an accumulated grudge, a neighborly dispute or a family rift, to do so for the upliftment of her soul. Thousands of such stories have been collected so far • Sivan Rahav Meir on one of the most talked-about events in Jewish communities in the United States
“Could it be that people in Israel haven’t heard of Charlotte?” a reader from New York wrote to me this week, asking me to write about one of the events being talked about in Jewish communities in the United States:
Eight-year-old Charlotte Herzberg of Monsey, New York, was riding her bike near her home when she was hit by a car and killed. The perpetrator, who immediately claimed responsibility for the horrific accident, was the good and longtime friend of Yehuda, Charlotte's late father.
“At that moment, my wife and I realized that we were facing a trial, a test,” said Father Yehuda in his eulogy. “My good friend did not mean it, and we will not fall or fight. We will not let the evil inclination win. We will turn this event into a lever for Jewish correction.”.
In his eulogy, he asked that the tragedy bring about greater unity and peace.
The next day, when people came to comfort the family, they saw the offending driver and his wife, their close friends, in their home. They were all crying together and supporting each other.
During the shiva, the “Peace to Charlotte” campaign was born: the grieving family asks anyone who can end an old quarrel, address an accumulated grudge, a neighborly conflict, or a family rift - to do so for the upliftment of Charlotte's soul, and also to tell them.
At the time of writing, the site has collected 2,377 such stories, from 42 countries.
“We could have chosen to blame, get angry, and sink,” explains the family name, “but we ask ourselves and you to bring redemption closer with small steps of maturity and responsibility.”.
The stories are amazing: Two brothers who hadn't spoken for seven years, started talking again. Business partners who hadn't spoken for three months, cleared the air between them. A synagogue that was about to split because of a fight, decided to enter into a mediation process. Parents who suffered from parental alienation, sent a personal and moving text message to their child, "Thinking of you, hoping you're okay," and received a response for the first time.
During the 'Three Weeks' period before Tisha B’Av, we talk a lot about free love. Rabbi Eliyahu Rodney, one of the leaders of American Jewry, gave a class when the number of reconciliation and peace events was “only” five hundred, and said this: “I can teach Torah classes about peace and improving morals, but we, throughout the Jewish world, are receiving a living lesson these days, right before our eyes. Great people live among us, who ask all of us to grow.”.
“Could it be that in Israel they haven’t heard of Charlotte?” asked the reader from New York.
Search Google: shalomforcharlotte. I hope now they will listen a little more, and join in too.
• From Sivan Rahav Meir's Facebook
