Rosh HaYeshiva Hagaon Harav Gerson Edelstein delivered a sichas chizuk from his home in Bnei Brak on Tuesday night.
“We have to understand something,” the Rosh Yeshiva said. “In Israel and throughout the world, Chareidim died from the coronavirus at a higher rate than everyone else. The Chazon Ish said that secular people are “tenikos she’nishbu” – when someone who’s not Chareidi sins, it’s b’shogeig but a Chareidi that sins is b’meizid. Therefore the Midas HaDin harms the Chareidim more than others.”
“The situation of those ill in Israel improved due to the zechus of Eretz Yisrael,” Harav Edelstein continued. “There’s a Gemara on Rebbe Yochanan who said that a murder committed out of anger happened across the Yarden and [could not have happened] in Eretz Yisrael. And there’s another Gemara on someone who was chayav misa and fled to Eretz Yisrael – it’s forbidden to kill him because when he enters Eretz Yisrael he’s not chayav misa – that’s the zechus of Eretz Yisrael.”
The Rosh Yeshivah moved to the topic of yeshivohs. “Baruch Hashem there are many places that already began to learn. But the main thing is we need to be extremely careful about adhering to health regulations. There are many who are continuing to learn by telephone even now. The Rosh Yeshivah gives over the shiur by telephone and the students listen over the phone – it’s a great zechus.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
I suspect that Eretz Yisroel has been relatively spared because of now possibly forgotten incident in the early stages of the whole parsha when a group of Mekubalim spent a few hours in a private plane circling over of Eretz Yisroel and doing whatever tikunim/shemiros they did.
I think some of the gedolim made a mistake at the beginning since they do not read or listen to news and did not understand the seriousness of this c virus. So they told us to keep learning and keep yeshivas open.
So we davened packed in minyanim and learned in packed beis medreshes. The virus began to spread since we did not keep distances.
It was a mistake, but we are all human and humans, including Moshe Rabinu, made mistakes. It takes a big person to admit his mistakes.
Well we are the only ones who have takroves avoda zara in our house. We have human hair sheitels
lazerc, there are two realms of knowledge that a gadol would have to take into account – the physical and the spiritual. It is extremely unlikely that the gedolim don’t know about the physical realm just because they “don’t listen to the news” After all, the newsmakers such as R’ Litzman (former Health Ministry official who was in on all the details) and others are constantly contacting them. About the spiritual realm such as how much are learning and tefillos can help I would bet that they know somewhat better than you….
@lazerc
Who made a mistake?Lets put it this way, Moshe Rabeinu’s smallest “mistake” , (especially judging by this comment) would be the greatest deed you ever did in your life. Cut the liberal garbage that “the rabbonim should listen to all the great doctors that keep on posting videos on YWN AKA “Brooklyn’s leading opthamologist.”But really the person I feel worst for is your neighbor, because oi lrasha oi lshchaino or for you unlearned individual “woe to the wicked person and woe to his neighbor”.And please YWN mods please disable comments on future videos of gedolim.
Rav did not mentioning anything about religious Zionists. Do they go in the category of secularists or haredim for the purpose of c-virus. They also did not get hit as much as hareidim. Should we look at what is doing in shomayim to be able to undersatand the impact of virus on different groups of yidden. And who gave us a map of going-ons in shomayim?
However, Hashem did give us a brain and it tells us that people in particular like chareidim and others who are not strict about masks, social distancing and other “chumros” will have a higher % of afflicted. Minyonim, levayos, chasunos are all friends of c-virus. This brain will also pinoint us in the right direction how to decrease death rate among our people.
at the very least what was said gives ammunition to attack rabbinic/hareidi judgement; hachamim hizharuh be’divreichem. haredim have to establish a special tefillah, a blessing for having a Medinah that saved them from even more widespread death