Moishi's Mother Tearfully Interviewed: "The Longing is Tearing Us Apart, Waiting for a Miracle"

Last Thursday, the Kleinerman family celebrated the birthday of their eldest son – Moishi. The event included cake, presents, and even a balloon with "Happy Birthday" written on it. It had everything needed for a festive and joyous birthday, yet there was no joy. The celebration was particularly sad.

Moishi has been missing for 212 days and has yet to return home. "Every day, we believe that he will arrive," says his mother, Giti, in a special conversation with 'Hidabroot'. "Every day that passes is accompanied by immense pain and incessant longing, all with great hope. Despite having no shred of information on his whereabouts, we continue to believe and trust, refusing to despair even for a moment."

The Strength of the People of Israel

When I ask Giti to go back to the day it all started, she takes a deep breath. "The truth is, sometimes I feel like I’m in a nightmare," she notes. "Until last Rosh Chodesh Nisan, we were the most standard of families – parents with eight children, living in Modiin Illit, not particularly famous, not outstanding, just so normal. Then came Shabbat Mevarchim in the month of Nisan, and Moishi traveled to Meron. We thought he would return home after Shabbat, but since then we haven't heard from him, and suddenly we realized there was no one who could help us find him. I had just given birth and with all the emotions involved, we felt lost."

"Initially, we had very strong confidence that it would all end quickly, to the point that I was even hesitant to publicize Moishi's name to avoid embarrassing him. Later, we were no longer ashamed of anything, and we cried out the loudest cry we could. For me, it felt as if the whole world shook, almost like World War III. Nevertheless, we felt unheard. The responsible parties treated it as if an object had disappeared, not a human being. It was very difficult to understand that a human life was hanging in the balance without anyone taking action to change it."

Do you have complaints? Do you think there was something that could have been done but wasn’t?

"At first, we had complaints against the police because we thought they could have done more. But in the end, we understand that there is none other than Hashem. As the days go by, we internalize the situation and realize that the only thing we can do is increase in prayer and enlist all of Israel in prayers and good deeds. Moishi's name has now been spread worldwide, reaching 111 countries. I know this number because, during Parashat Balak, we launched an early Kabbalat Shabbat campaign in Moishi's merit, aiming for 50,000 participants. Ultimately, we surpassed 100,000 participants, receiving names from all over the world. I feel that an activity is happening here that goes beyond the natural way, so mutual and touching. How many challah separations have been done for Moishi's merit, how many prayers, good deeds, and chapters of Tehillim. We truly feel the great light that's spreading across the world thanks to him, and it moves us without end."

A Child of All Israel

Tell us a bit about Moishi...

"Moishi is a symbol of holiness and spirituality. A pure child. He was born exactly 17 years ago – on Erev Shabbat Bereshit. When he came into the world, we truly saw light in the room, and immediately we decided to name him 'Moshe', like Moshe Rabbeinu. At the brit, we added the name Avraham as well, after Avraham Avinu, the patriarch of our nation. From the very first moment, we felt we had a special child, and indeed Moishi was a very spiritual child, connected to everything holy. When he turned three and we asked him, 'What picture would you like on your kippah?' he replied without hesitation, 'A Torah scroll.' Back then, the kindergarten teacher sent us notes saying Moishi loved music but would only listen to songs about Torah, holidays, or Shabbat... The most touching thing was his genuine anticipation for redemption and sorrow over the exile of the Shechina. One night when he was about five, I woke up and heard him crying terribly. When I asked what happened, he replied, 'Hashem hasn’t built the Beit Hamikdash yet...' As a young man, he would often visit the homes of great rabbis to receive their blessings and frequently go to the graves of tzaddikim to pray. Those were the trips he loved. It’s not just that he became the child of the people of Israel; he was truly connected to it with all his soul. We felt it all the time, and to be honest, we were a bit concerned about it. Sometimes it worried me knowing I had such a spiritual child. I always worried about him, even when I didn’t know how to define and explain why."

What do you miss most about Moishi?

"I miss his presence, feeling him and seeing him. I also miss his sweetness and holiness, and of course, his smile, with two dimples, which really comes from a good soul."

When was the last time you met?

"It was on Wednesday, two days before he disappeared. Moishi came home and showed me he bought new shoes. I was glad he was taking care of himself and offered to give him 200 shekels to cover the expenses. But he declined: 'I'm fine, I have enough for what I need.' Then, probably to give me a good feeling, he asked me: 'Give me 20 shekels to buy a new belt.' I gave him 20 shekels for the belt, and then he remembered he had a wedding of a friend from the yeshiva in Jerusalem. He traveled to Jerusalem, and we thought he would return home on Friday night, but on Friday morning he called and informed us he was traveling to Meron for Shabbat to pray at Rabbi Shimon's. Even then, I was calm and asked him: 'Pray for us too.' For a moment, I didn’t dream it was our last conversation and that we would end up in the surreal place we are today."

And what gives you strength during this difficult time?

Giti becomes emotional as she answers: "Only faith and trust in Hashem. As time passes, it's becoming clearer to me that everything is done out of love. Hashem does not do anything bad to us, everything comes solely from mercy. These things are true even in situations where we find them hard to understand. Just this Erev Shabbat Bereshit, I heard a beautiful idea: 'Why did Hashem create the world with the letter Bet and not the letter Aleph? To show us that as human beings living in the world, we don't start from Aleph but always from Bet. The world precedes us, and we don't know and understand everything. There's a well-known parable about a guest who came to a synagogue, and when he saw aliyot being given to simple people while very respected individuals were present, he wondered and even complained. However, the gabbai explained to him: 'You are just a guest, you don’t know what happened here last week, and you also don’t know what’s expected next week. Today is someone's yahrzeit, next week someone else will have a celebration. Everyone has a reason why they go up to the Torah; nothing is accidental. We, too, have come into the world because we have a mission and a role here, but we don’t really understand what’s going on here. One thing we know – Hashem governs the world from beginning to end, He moves things and causes various events without explaining to us why. What is required of us is not to ask questions because the answers will not benefit us. We only need to strive to be good, do what we should, and believe that everything is correct and precise, done solely for the good."

The Goal: Believe and Not Despair

You mentioned that you are regular people. But you don’t really sound like an ordinary woman. It seems you have tremendous strength!

Giti pauses for a moment, then responds with sincerity and pain: "Nothing comes easily; there are moments when I truly feel I have no more strength left. From a physical standpoint as well – naturally, I am a very energetic person, always acting quickly and achieving a lot. But since everything happened, functioning takes me three times as long as it used to, I have become slower, and I feel I’ve aged at least twenty years. However, I believe that alongside the trial, Hashem also gave me the strength to handle it, and that’s the message I convey to my children. I constantly tell them that we need to believe we have the power to withstand the test, and, along with this, continue to go with the flow and advance in life, because standing water becomes polluted and stinky. We don’t want to get stuck and trudge in the same place; we strive to keep moving. There are many good things in life, and we mustn’t forget them or become bogged down in difficulties."

And how is it possible to maintain a regular routine in such a state?

"Reality proves it’s possible. Our home, thank Hashem, is very happy, and when you enter, you feel nothing. Everything runs exactly as usual. Even my daughters' teachers are surprised that they study well and function excellently. It’s still hard for our son because he’s left as an only child; I pray he, too, will receive strength and that his brother will soon return. We all need this."

It's hard to ask – but are there also moments of despair?

"Yes, that comes sometimes. And I allow myself to experience these moments, with faith and understanding that one can rise from them. For example, this week I felt on one of the days that I can’t handle it anymore. So, I went to the beach, sat on the shore, and talked to the Master of the Universe. I returned home like a new woman, believing and certain that Hashem is great and can do everything. What is required of me is, just like at sea – to bow my head below the water and wait for the waves to pass."

Many people are praying and want to know what’s new, and if there are any updates from Moishi.

"Unfortunately, we have no new information. We are in complete uncertainty, just as we were on the first day, with a very significant question mark. The only thing we know is we know nothing."

Is there any way that we, as citizens of Israel, can help you?

"Only to pray and increase good deeds. That is our only request. Just pray, take upon yourself another good deed or act of kindness, and a chapter of Tehillim for the merit of Moshe Avraham ben Gita. After all, everything has an ultimate purpose, and this case has a reason. Hashem wants to shake us, and once we prove to Him that we understood the message, He will surely redeem us all with complete redemption, hopefully soon."