Maurice Shnaider carefully affixed a mezuzah to the doorpost of the newly renovated playroom at Chabad-Lubavitch of Ulster County in Kingston, N.Y..
The room, filled with toys and games for the Jewish community’s youngest members, is named for his great-nephews, Ariel and Kfir Bibas.
Ariel was 4 and Kfir just 9 months old when Palestinian terrorists abducted them, together with their mother, Shiri, from the family’s home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel, on Oct. 7, 2023. Their father, Yarden, taken separately, was tortured for 484 days before finally being released.
That’s when he learned what the rest of the world already knew: His wife and red-headed little boys had been brutally murdered in Gaza.
Chabad of Ulster County’s Ariel & Kfir Playroom was dedicated three years after the family’s abduction, as people of faith and good will around the world mark the anniversary of the devastating attacks.
“We are remembering them with a place of light, laughter and happiness,” said Rabbi Yitzchak Hecht, who directs Chabad of Ulster County together with his wife, Leah.
Kingston’s connection to the family is deeply personal: Maurice Shnaider, a long time member of Chabad in the region, is Shiri Bibas’ uncle. His sister and brother-in-law, Shiri’s parents, Margit and Yosi Silverman, were also murdered in their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz that day. In the weeks that followed, hundreds of people came to the Chabad center to comfort Shnaider.
The dated playroom had been closed for some time when the Hechts decided it was time to rebuild it as a beautiful, modern space where children could connect with their heritage in a fun way.
With both Schnaider’s blessing as well as that of the Bibas family in Israel, the work got underway.
Orange is the dominant color in the room; an homage to the vibrant red hair of the martyred children that became indelibly linked with them during the year of uncertainty before it was confirmed they had been murdered in captivity.
Children are already enjoying the room, and a Mommy & Me early childhood program is set to begin there in the coming days. The room will also house Shabbat and holiday services geared towards the children of the community.
“My strongest hope is that people see, in a real and tangible way, how we can turn negative into a positive, darkness into light,” explained Rabbi Hecht. “That is what the Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory] taught us. So many children will get to experience the joys of Judaism in this room. Yes, it’s a memorial—but it is a memorial that is alive, just like the Jewish people.”
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