Henya Beigel, the mother of the groom Ariel who on Thursday night married Sarah-Tehiya Litman in Jerusalem, spoke with Arutz Sheva minutes before the the wedding ceremony.

Litman’s father and brother were murdered in a drive-by shooting near Hevron almost two weeks ago, causing the wedding to be postponed.

Sarah-Tehiya “was in a very difficult situation, now she is going to establish a home, and she doesn’t merit for her father to accompany her to the huppah (wedding canopy – ed.),” said the groom’s mother.

Beigel described the wedding as involving “the most mixed feelings possible,” between sadness at the loss and joy over the wedding and the new beginning.

She spoke of “the strength to build a home,” saying “the nation of Israel doesn’t sink, it doesn’t fall into depression, we must arise; ‘am Yisrael chai‘ (‘the nation of Israel lives’ – ed.) is what kept us going throughout the entire exile and that’s why we’re here.”

“We are strong here, defeating the bereavement and the pain, and we must not forget them or skip over them, but beyond that we are experiencing strength and power and thanks to that we’re here, the nation of Israel in the land of Israel.”

“That’s the answer to terror: you want we destroy us, we won’t be destroyed; you want to kick us out, we won’t let you,” she said. “The nation of Israel lives and it will rejoice, it will gather strength.”

Beigel then asked to say something about this week’s Torah portion, noting on how Ya’akov (Jacob) wrestled with the angel of Esau.

“The whole night there was a struggle between them, and their struggle represents the night, the darkness, the exile of the nation of Israel. In the morning, Esau’s angel had to leave and then Ya’akov didn’t let him, he told him ‘I won’t let you go until you bless me,'” she recalled, noting how Ya’akov was blessed as being strong and powerful.

“The angel gave Ya’akov a blow to his hip, but he (Ya’akov) won, he won and was wounded. There’s the great victory and the wounding on the way, like our victims along the way.”

The interview, in Hebrew, can be viewed below.

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