Crown Heights, NY – In a time of extreme tragedy, New Yorkers are coping by coming together.
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The Jewish Softball League in Crown Heights has been meeting up for games every Tuesday and Thursday for the past five years but last was special.
In between games, players of the league and members of the community stepped out onto the field to pay tribute to 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky.
“We just want to show our love for the little boy that you guys lost because we as parents also feel what you feel in the loss,” one woman said. She added that she wanted to “show her children how to love openly and with no regard to color or race.”
People from the stands came down onto the field and the group handed out white and blue balloons before holding a brief moment of silence. The balloons were let up into the night to honor Kletzky.
Very heartwarming
What a beautiful thing. This shows that there are still good people out there, jews and non-jews alike. Thanks for feeling our pain.
If you wish to do a good deed for Leiby’s Neshama, then learn Mishnayos, say Tehilim, give Tzedukah etc, all other’ s are just a “narishkeite”
I bought flowers for shabbos in honor of leiby kletzky a”h
To my dear Leiby A”H
Leiby, although I never met you,
From the pictures and stories people are telling it is clear how
Your eidel and lechtige, teire middos shone thru.
Everyone is speaking about your yiras shamayim, your davening and your sincerity
You were not yet even 9 years old and yet you bought all of klal yisrael together in unity.
When I look at your pictures, I feel so sad. Sad for the life you lost and sad for the life we lost.
We cannot ask questions and we don’t know why…
But the pain is unbearable. It’s almost hard to survive…
Leiby, you are klal yisraels son, we all feel connected to your neshama
And we all mourn your loss as we desperately search for a nechama
You are now in a far better place than we are,
You are in Gan Eiden, in a special place reserved only for tzaddikim
Learning Torah with all our Avos , sitting near the Kisai Hakavod and knowing all the reasons.
While you are up in shamayim basking in the light and warmth of HAKADOSH Baruch Hu’s love,
We are down here crying trying to accept this decree from above.
Leiby, Leiby, you are now our rebbe, a pure neshama ripped from us so young
Please be a meilitz yoisher for us.
Please beg HaShem to redeem us from this bitter galus we have been in for so long.
Daven to HaShem to heal your holy mother and father , sisters, bubbies and zeidies.
That he should give them comfort, menucha, strength and love to be able to live out all of their days
Daven to HaShem that he let them know that you are very happy,
Watching over them in a special place where only the holiest neshama’s are allowed to be.
Daven to haShem to send us mashiach now! We cannot wait any longer!
We love you and miss you and you will always be a part of our family!
those of you who think this is so beautiful ,its a busha this is what chazal teach lo salachu ba cukus hagoyim,thatthe goyim want to so there sympathy is very nice but for yidden to do this though a Jewish baseball league is not the way chazal teach us to mourn , i guess its typical of our times when we are so far from true torah middos we get confused with what is real Torah teaching ie crown heights jewish basbel leauge give tribute to lieby kletzky zacher kadosh ivarchu.. hashem should be marachem un klal yisroel
That was a very nice gesture from the neighbors of the Crown Heights community. Please be mentchlech enough to understand it and accept it graciously. It was a nice thing to do, and it was an amazing thing they taught their kids.
While releasing balloons בעצם has no significance, these were people from a different culture begging to participate in our צער, without knowing how to do so.So they picked balloons. We are fortunate that the Yidden they picked to express this feeling had the שכל and מענשליכקייט to respond in kind, and to accept them warmly, and participate in their plans. Not to do so would have been a חילול השם, and could חס ושלום have increased שנאת ישראל.
To those of you playing ball and on the field that night, please express to those wonderful ladies with the balloons, the Jewish community’s thanks for their warm gesture. Please tell them it was posted on VIN to show how grateful we are and how sincere we know they are about feeling our pain. Please let them know we are all G-d’s children and feel their love at this time. I am sure the Kletzky family would say the same. Thank you ladies!!!
Thanks VIN for posting, great that we all see how to act respectfully to one another, regardless of race color etc, to those who dont understand, well you in the minority GET REAL! thanks again VIN