Rachel Fricker’s farewell ceremony honors survival, faith and Israel’s resilience after Hamas terror devastation”
Rachel Fricker, synagogue coordinator of the Ahavat Israel synagogue in Kibbutz Be’eri, held a farewell ceremony this week for the home where she lived for decades before it was demolished as part of the kibbutz’s reconstruction after the October 7 massacre.
The house was burned during the Hamas attack, while Rachel and her family hid for hours inside the safe room without electricity or water. According to the family, terrorists were inside the home as they waited in fear to be rescued.
Family members gathered at the burned structure together with Shlomo Raanan, chairman and founder of Ayelet HaShachar. During the ceremony, Fricker recited the traditional HaGomel blessing, thanking God for rescue from danger, and read Mizmor LeTodah, a Psalm of Thanksgiving.
The IDF officer who helped rescue the family under fire also attended the ceremony, giving the farewell added emotional weight.
After the fire, the family discovered that the sukkah built in the yard had survived, along with the synagogue Fricker established in the kibbutz. Both became symbols of faith and endurance after Hamas’s destruction.
Rabbi Raanan, who has accompanied the family and synagogue in recent years, presented Fricker with a stone engraving showing the fields of Be’eri and excerpts from Sha’ali Serufah Ba’esh.
At the end of the ceremony, demolition began as Kibbutz Be’eri continues the painful but determined process of rebuilding.
