:מוסדות חינוך, מנהלים ומנהלות, מחנכים ומחנכות ה' עליהם יחיוTo 

 All our hearts are broken over the tragic loss of the Kedoshim, the Shluchim Rabbi Gavriel and Leah Holzberg, עליהם השלום, הי"ד.  All of Chabad and indeed the whole world feel the pain of this barbaric act, children as well as adults.

 If there are no answers and therefore no purpose to posing questions, adults will find ways to express their grief and their Emunah by channeling their energy into positive activities; children need our help to be able to do so. Tzeirei HaShluchim especially need the compassionate and vigilant care of their parents and loved ones to be able to cope with their fears.

 Children may be thinking that they too are not safe; that their parents are not safe and that their Chabad house could ח"ו also become a target. They may not verbalize their fear but it is there none the less.

 Parents and Teachers need to look for the obvious symptoms. A child may become withdrawn or tearful; he may suddenly, be afraid to be alone or to go to sleep or sleep restlessly. Some children exhibit the classic signs of depression; they may become listless and unable to focus. Parents and teachers need to be vigilant in recognizing the symptoms for what they are; the child’s imagination is running away with doomsday scenarios.

 What should the adults do?

1. Talk to children and validate their fears.

Talking points:

* “It is normal for a child and even an adult to be fearful of….”                                                                    * “We do not understand the ways of הקב"ה and we don’t ask ‘Why?’ but tragedies like this are very, very rare” you don’t need to be afraid”.                                           * “There are so many Shluchim בלעה"ר וכן ירבו, and so many of them can recount personal miracles where הקב"ה showed them how he watches of them”.            *Answer all questions honestly but do not get into a discussion which is beyond their level of understanding.  * Even if a child is silent on the issue it is a good idea to give him/her an opening; the opportunity to talk if he wants to. You may say something like: “If you are concerned about the tragedy, you know it’s normal to be afraid. Do you feel like…well, here is something you might want to do”.

2. Channel the children’s energy into doing something positive לעילוי נשמות הקדושים.

Some possible ideas:                                         *Learn a passage of Torah in their memory (alone or preferably in a group) and say that this is לעילוי נשמות הקדושים.For older students create a special Shiyur or Kvius in their memory.                                               * Form a Tehillim club to say a special Kapital Tehillim in their memory.                                                          * Give (and get others to give) Tzedoko in their memory. *Try to make a special effort to get someone new to light Shabbos candle.                                                * Take special care to do a Mitzvah B’hidur, לעילוי נשמות הקדושים.

3. Get professional help:

*It is a good idea to get a psychologist to talk to the whole school, to the faculty and to parents and discuss coping mechanisms.                                               *If a child seems to be exhibiting exaggerated symptoms he must be given the opportunity to talk to a professional.

 We pray that הקב"ה will keep all אחינו בני ישראל and especially the Shluchim safe and very soon we will together greet משיח צדקנו.