What Did Deborah Pali Receive for Her Birthday During the Mourning for Her Sons?

For two decades, Deborah Pali's role has been to bridge religious and secular individuals by creating weekly study partnerships. After the murder of her two sons, Asher and Yaakov, may they rest in peace, the 'Hevruta' project, where she works, decided to create additional connections in their memory. "Throughout the entire mourning period and even afterwards, Deborah pleaded 'let there not be wasted sacrifices'," says Ricky Seaton, her colleague in the project. "The main messages from the Pali home were faith, gratitude, and unity among the Jewish people, and we saw the need to amplify these. We are trying to take these things and spread a little more goodness in the world. The recent period highlights this need more than ever."

As Deborah has done every day, this time as well, the idea was to create connections among women from different backgrounds. "Hundreds of living rooms across the country and the world will host secular, ultra-Orthodox, and religious women during the week of the 'thirty' memorial for Oshi and Yanki, may they rest in peace. Women who will meet, talk, learn, express gratitude, and love," Ricky continues.

Only days after its announcement, the response to the initiative is greater than expected. "The 'Talking in the Living Room' story started with the idea of 40 living rooms. Why 40? Because Deborah marked her 40th birthday during the mourning and because it seemed realistic," Ricky explains. "I threw this WhatsApp message into the world on Friday morning, a sort of social experiment. By Wednesday, with Hashem's help, 538 women had already registered. About 50% wanted to open their homes for hosting, from all over the country, from all backgrounds. A friend who is also a Knesset member got involved, and we hope to have a 'Talking' meeting in the Knesset as well. Today, I saw a living room open in Boston, which sparked the idea of promoting the project in England as well. I just finished a call with a dear person from Las Vegas, who, in addition to opening her living room, is now taking on the USA. Her goal — 50 living rooms. I'm moved to tears."

The evening study session will focus on gratitude, a theme that Deborah often mentioned during the mourning for her sons. "Don't say 'Ugh', say Psalm 100", became one of the memorable phrases from her. "Deborah chose to cope positively, to look at the good, the right, and the beautiful," says Ricky. "Therefore, this is not a memorial of tears, but one of female strength, connection, and gratitude. It is moving, empowering, and we want all sectors of the Jewish people to participate in these meetings. We send all of this as a gift to Deborah for her birthday. We are promoting peace among the Jewish people for the recovery of Deborah's husband, Avraham Nach ben Yehudit, and for the elevation of the souls of the children Asher Menachem and Yaakov Israel, sons of Avraham Nach. Together we will bring peace at home," she concludes.