MONSEY, NY (VINnews/Sandy Eller) – The heartbreaking death of an eight year old girl in Monsey last week continues to touch hearts worldwide, with noted personalities expounding on the message her parents are sharing, transforming pain into purpose.

I know this story well. Those parents are my children. And that beautiful, freckle-faced girl with the million dollar smile is my granddaughter, Charlotte.

Speaking at the levaya, my son in law, Yudi Herzberg’s heartfelt words moved everyone beyond the tears they were already shedding. He powerfully, passionately, and publicly proclaimed that the Satan had attempted to divide their community by having his best friend and chavrusa drive the car that ended Charlotte’s life. The Satan failed, he told the hundreds who had come to pay kavod acharon to Charlotte, and achdus would prevail.

A letter that appeared on The Monsey Scoop written by Rabbi Binyomin Eisenberger detailed how on the night after the levaya, he personally witnessed the two couples – one who had lost their child, and another that had been chosen as Hashem’s instrument to return Charlotte’s neshama to shomayim – embracing each other, loving each other, and vowing not to let this terrible tragedy come between them and their community.

In the days that followed, people who came to be menachem aveil found themselves being comforted by Charlotte’s parents and their choice to use their loss as a means to end machlokes in Klal Yisroel, by asking people to forgive those had wronged them, just as they had done. The message has resonated far beyond the small Monsey neighborhood of Pomona East where my children live.

Giving his weekly shiur on Parshas Shlach, Rabbi Joey Haber told his listeners what had happened in Pomona East. He urged those hearing his shiur to take that first step towards shalom, telling them to trust that Hashem will give them the momentum of holiness, and the wings they need to make peace.

Also sharing their thoughts on the way Charlotte’s parents have managed to respond to this tragedy with emunah was Rabbi Efrem Goldberg. Speaking tearfully about the tragedy and how Charlotte’s parents are encouraging unity in her memory, he shared a story he had just heard of someone who decided to repair a painful and complicated 14 year-long family rift after seeing a “Drop the Grudge” flyer being circulated as a zechus for Charlotte.

Also addressing the situation with her followers was well-known lecturer Chani Juravel, who watched Charlotte’s mother grow up. Speaking about how people react when Hakadosh Baruch Hu answers no to their tefilos, she noted that Charlotte’s parents set an example of gevurah, choosing forgiveness over anger, and asking others to follow in their footsteps as a zechus for Charlotte.

Our family always knew that Charlotte had the potential to change the world, and right now, we’re seeing that happen from the Olam Haemes. We ask you to forgive someone who wronged you as a zechus for Charlotte, and, if you’re able to, share the story with her parents by filling out this form