Newborn Boy Named After Slain Israeli Teenagers

This morning in Crown Heights’ Frankel Shul, the newborn son of Yankee and Binah Teitelbaum was welcomed into the covenant of Avraham Avinu. Emotions ran high as the baby’s new name was announced: Eyal Gilad Naftali.

In a conversation with CrownHeights.info following the Bris, the boy’s beaming father explained that he named him after three Israeli teenagers who were brutally murdered by Palestinian terrorists last month: Eyal Yifrach, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Frankel, 16.

“We feel very connected to what goes on in Israel,” Yankee Teitelbaum explained, “what happens in Israel doesn’t just affect the Israelis, but members of the Jewish nation wherever they may be around the world.”

Eyal Gilad Naftali is the Teitelbaums’ sixth child. Their daughter Shalhevet, 12, is named after Shalhevet Pas, who was murdered by a Palestinian sniper while in her father’s arms in Chevron. Their son Ehud Daniel, 7, is named after IDF soldier Ehud Goldwasser, who was killed by Hizbollah terrorists, and Daniel Agami, a Jewish soldier in the U.S. Army who was killed in Iraq.

20 Comments

  • I hope someone told the families in Israel

    it would be a source of consolement

  • Renee Goldfarb

    G-d bless you, you sweet neshamas! Total ahavat yisrael!!! You are such beautiful people!…We’re friends of the Frenkels…our son is the same age as Naftali, alav haShalom…

  • Barbara Brown

    מי כעמך ישראל!
    We are One Family, and Love Each Other.
    Yasher Koach!
    May this and all of your children bring much nachat to you and thus to Clal Yisrael!

    From Eretz Yisrael

  • Chaya

    mazal tov! may your son bring comfort to he greiving families. Only simcha and nachat to you and your family.

  • BeenThere

    What an honor you have proclaimed, May your children grow up with the love of God and Israel in all they do. God bless you, God bless Israel.

  • yossi

    This is so beautiful! May you have much nachas from him and all your children.

  • Isaac

    Mazal Tov, you guys did such a big favor not only to the 3 families but to the whole Am Yisroel. it is a Nechama to see what you have done.

  • Beth Agami

    Mazel Tov!!!
    Best Wishes Always from the mother of
    U.S. Army SPC Daniel Agami (OBM)

  • Anonymous

    May he live till 120 with health and happiness and bring the world much nachat!!!

  • Amazing

    You are inspiring people.
    Such Ahavas Yisroel.

    By the way, the new baby’s name has roshei taivos that are Alef, Gimmel, Nun, which spells “אגן”=”Agen”–I will protect!

    May Hashem protect us all from our enemies and usher us speedily to the Holy Land with Moshiach!

  • Chana Tsirel

    Mazal tov and may you and all Am Israel see nachat…may those who bless Israel be blessed. Amen

  • Dr. Harvey Firestone

    Wonderful! Our heritage teaches us so much in so many ways so beautifully.

  • Anonymous

    Read this incredible story
    Rabbanit Mizrachi was at a women’s convention last week. On the stage was a group called “Playback”. They asked members of the audience to share stories which they would then act out. One young woman got up .This is her story:
    “I work as a resource room teacher with children who have learning disabilities .A few years ago a young boy began taking lessons in my resource room. I could not figure out what had brought him to seek my help. He clearly had no difficulty with his lessons and did well on all his tests. Yet, time after time he consistently came to my resource room for his lessons. I was determined to find his area of weakness but, as hard as I tried, I could not find any type of learning disability or difficulty. Finally, out of frustration, I took him aside and told him I could not continue giving him lessons. It was a waste of his time and his parents hard earned money and he clearly did not need any sort of remedial help. The boy turned to me and said, “ I will tell you why I am here but I am asking you not to tell anyone else. I have a friend with a learning disability. Our teacher told him that he needed remedial classes in the resource room. He was so embarrassed to be singled out as having to go to your classes. I told him that it was no big deal and that I also take remedial classes. That is why I come to you- so that my friend will not be embarrassed”.
    The boy who came to my class so as not to embarrass his friend was Gilad Shaarהי”ד.He was 10 years old at the time.
    As we enter the difficult period of the three weeks, let us be inspired by Gilad and the other pure neshamos to look at those around us with an ayin tova – to go out of our “comfort zone” to help others , and to give that little extra of ourselves to bring joy to our fellow Jews.

  • Pure admiration

    So special and beautiful, it is an amazing thing what you’ve done! G’d bless your family