May 2007

Dear Friend,

Out of the horror of the April 16 massacre on the campus of Virginia Tech have come stories of heroism and self-sacrifice, none more dramatic and remarkable than that of 76-year old professor of engineering and mathematics, Liviu Librescu, one of 32 students and staff members killed by a gunman who then turned the gun on himself.

Librescu, a Jew born in Romania, survived the Holocaust and suffered under Romania’s repressive Communist government until he was allowed to immigrate to Israel in 1978 through direct intervention by Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin.  He came to Virginia Tech in the mid-1980’s on sabbatical leave and decided to stay on as a member of the faculty.  In a bold stroke of irony, Librescu’s son Ari tells how “the quiet and the peace of that area” was one of the reasons he concluded “It was the right place for him,” as reported by Ben Harris of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an article appearing in the April 19 edition of the Jewish Exponent.

Various news reports carry eyewitness accounts of how the professor blocked the door with his own body in order to allow his students to escape through windows and was fatally shot through the door by the gunman, while numerous potential victims jumped to safety.  Jesus’s words recorded in John 15:13 come to mind:

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

How tragic that one who survived both the Holocaust and Communist tyranny was killed in his own classroom in a senseless act of violence and how ironic that one would move from Israel, where acts of terrorism are routine fare, to the tranquility of rural Virginia, only to be gunned down mercilessly.

Can there be any doubt that no place in this world is truly safe from physical harm and danger and that we must entrust our lives, but more important, our souls, to Him who loved us with a love so great that he laid down His life for us?

The purpose of Hebrew Christian Fellowship continues to be that of telling the Jewish people in Israel and the United States about this One who died for them and who offers them peace of heart and soul by believing on Him.  May I encourage you to remember us in prayer as we seek to carry on this good work and please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of service to you in any way.

Blessings on you and yours.

Sincerely in Messiah Jesus,

Rev. Roger L. Wambold,
General Director