Yesterday I attended the funerals of our three boys Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer, and Eyal Yifrah who were murdered in cold blood. The funerals were attended by more than 100,000 people. We all came to pay our respect to three beautiful boys and their courageous families. I was struck by a number of thoughts and I wanted to share them.

The first was that the same day our boys were being buried was the day of the passing of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe. Growing up I was touched, as so many have, by Chabad in my community. The Rebbe had many teachings, but for me the one that stood out was the importance of the unity of the Jewish people. Here we stood in the cemetery of Modiin, with tens of thousands making their way to the burial. The stream of busses was endless, they were arriving from every corner of the country. The sense of unity we all felt was palpable. Three boys and their families brought the Jewish people together with hope and prayer. They strengthened our faith and taught us that united we can overcome the greatest evil.

The second thought was how the funeral was in the shadow of last week's Parasha Hukat. The Parasha opens with a description of the ashes of the Red Heifer that were used to purify one who had come in contact with the dead. Judaism abhors death, that's why the greatest impurity is contact with death. The encounter with death leaves us unable to perform many of our religious duties; it denied us access to the Temple our holiest place. Kohanim are commanded to stay far away from death only being allowed to attend to the death of immediate relatives. Why such a repulsion to Death? For one simple reason we are a religion of life. In the heels of Parashat Hukat the words of our Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu rang in my ears. In his eulogy he proclaimed "that while there are those who glorify death, we the Jewish people glorify life".

Finally I was struck by a third thought. As I looked out to the crowds I could not help but notice that the vast majority of those present were young people. They sang and waved flags, they cried and they prayed. Naftali, Gilad, and Eyal were their contemporaries. Their lives with so much potential were cut short but they live in the lives of all the teenagers and young people who attended. Looking out I felt that Am Yisrael was in good hands. Our youth are remarkable, they are filled with hope and love for the land of Israel and the Jewish people. Their spirits are unshakable, their actions praiseworthy.

Naftali, Gilad, and Eyal your lives were not in vain. The Jewish people have been strengthened through you. We feel stronger than ever, closer than ever, and more dedicated than ever. In your blood we live.

May your souls be bound in the eternal bond of life.