'I lost not just a husband, but my best friend'
Haviv Rettig
For Chabad.edu
Ra’anana, Israel
"I lost not just a husband, but my best friend," said a tearful Marlena Librescu Friday morning of the killing of her late husband Virginia Tech Professor Liviu Librescu in a shooting rampage on campus on April 16.
Marlena spoke at the funeral of her husband in the Kfar Nahman cemetery of the town of Ra'anana outside Tel Aviv.
"I was blessed to be with him each day for 42 years - to learn from his wisdom, to receive his advice," she told some 200 assembled family members and friends, along with official representatives from Romania.
"I thank you for giving me our two children," she added, addressing her late husband. "I'm now blessed to be with them.
I ask forgiveness from you for every time I upset you. I hope you will protect your family from where you reside now." Speaking slowly because she was crying uncontrollably, she said, "I have only the good left from you.... May it go easy for you, my sweetheart."
Arie Librescu, son of the slain professor, addressed his father at the funeral. "I believe that at this moment you're looking down on us from above and saying, 'what is all this crowing around? I only did what I had to do.' From our childhood, you taught us to care for people, to work hard, to succeed, but you never taught us to be heroes. Now, the courses in aerodynamics have ended. On the 16th of this month, you started a new career, teaching a new subject, heroism, and millions of students are learning."
Joe Librescue, Liviu's son, expressed the pride he felt in telling the world about his father since his death. "There are so many questions I never asked you," he said. They're asking me today about your past, and I don't know what to tell them. I'm proud of you. I walk today with [my] head held high."
The state of Romania offered special honors to Librescu at the funeral, when presidential advisor Gheorghe Angelescu, who flew to Israel on Thursday night for the funeral, presented Marlena Librescu the Grand Cross of Romania, the nation's highest civilian honor, for Liviu's "scientific achievements and heroism." According to Angelescu, Librescu "was a very important scientist - not just for Israel or Romania, but for the world."
Chabad's network of emissaries provided the infrastructure that took care of most of the arrangements following the shooting.
At the funeral, Arie thanked Chabad especially, singling out the emissary who drove five hours to be with Marlena on the day of the shooting. Chabad also arranged for the body to be released early from the medical examiner's office in Blacksburg, Virginia, and a Chabad emissary escorted Marlena and Liviu's body to Israel. In Israel, another shaliach took care of arrangements and accompanied the sons during the first days following their tragedy.
An army friend of Arie, Chabad emissary in Hebron Rabbi Danny Cohen was asked to speak at the funeral.
"[Librescu's] last act lit a fire of unity throughout the world," he said, noting that Chabad shlichim were reporting receiving hundreds of phone calls throughout the United States and the world about Librescu. He also announced an initiative, undertaken at the request of Marlena Librescu, to light Shabbat candles this evening in Liviu's name, and said Chabad was expecting "tens of thousands of Jewish women" to do so.
Shabbat candlelighting was Liviu's favorite mitzvah, Marlena told Chabad’s network of emissaries. In addition, the network planned to open a Chabad House at Virginia Tech, which is home to an esti
