24 Responses

1. Hashem Yeracheim! A brain-numbing tragedy! If possible, please post name of child and his/her father’s name. I once read a very apt poem, written by a frum woman, entitled, “Thank G-d for a Hum Drum Day” – unfortunately it often takes such tragedies to make us appreciate and greatly value our habitual, routine, bumpless day. The child’s parents would ordinarily have been putting him/her to bed right now… and now…! Gevald!

2. Baruch Dayan HaEmes. This is terrible, what a tragedy. May Hashem strengthen the hearts of all of his loved ones. May his memory be a blessing.

3. baruch dayin emes!!
   there was just a whole write up about bain hazmanim in camp morris!!maybe it was an ayin hara!!!
   how old was this boy???
   may his family have a nechama, and may his family only know of simchas, and may he be a maylitz yosher for gantz klal yisroel

4. I wish I could write something to comfort the family but I honestly don’t know what to write. All of us who read this are now sitting in so much pain. Hashem should take all out pain and use it to rebuild the Beis Hamikdash. Moshiach should come and we should all rejoice together, be’achdus. No more pain, no more suffering. We have to do what we can to bring Moshiach fast to end all this! Hashem should help us do teshuva. These horrible tragedies are wake up calls for all of us. We as individuals have to stop and think how we can grow from this situation.

   Hashem please end our pain. It’s seriously enough pain. Please! Your children are suffering. Even if we don’t know who this precious neshama is, we are all one. We all feel the pain. Please look at the beauty of Klal Yisrael and all the wonderful acts of kindness your children do, and in those zechusim stop our pain! End this galus! It’s too long and too painful. Please!

   The immediate family, as well as all of us Bnei Yisrael family, should have a nechama. Baruch Dayin Haemes.

5. Oy! Gevalt! Ribono Shel Oilam! Voss Vilstu Foon Unz! Genug Shoin! Genug!
   How can one find an appropriate nichum for such a tragedy! Der Ribono Shel Oilam munt foon unz alle! Mi She’omar Le’Olomo Dai Yomaar Le’Tzaroseinu Dai!

6. We can provide some degree of comfort to the family and to the neshama of Dov Ber by doing mitzvos and learning Torah l’zecher nishmaso. So try to keep in mind when you do your mitzvos and learn Torah in the coming days that you are doing these actions l’iluy nishmas Dov Ber ben Reb Shmuel. At the same time, let us hope our good and worthy actions will bring down to us Rachamim from Shamayim.

7. I doubt highly a pure neshama,
   without chait, requires aliya.
   Perhaps his petirah will be an
   aliyah for us though. When a
   child is niftar, there is a
   tremendous kiddush HaShem.
   Birth is natural. Death in old
   age is natural. In fact it
   called a natural death. Death
   of a child cannot be explained
   natually. It is clearly the
   Yad HaShem. In that sense we
   can all have a nechamah: that
   HaShem is still watching over
   us. We have only to cry out
   Him. The Torah describes the
   death of Nadav and Avihu as
   a kidush HaShem – “b’krovai
   E’kadesh.”. And Aharon was
   quiet. He had a Nechamah. When
   we see the Yad HaShem, we are
   comforted.

   We learn from this that really
   nothing is “natural.” We must
   Call to Him, and rely on Him.
   But we must live by Him as
   well.

8. Approximately, at the time this happened, I recieved an email with this quote:

   Halochos of Chazoras Hashatz
   The difficulties that one experiences in life with regard to children, health
   and parnassah derive from the sin of speaking during Tefillah. Piskei Tshuvos 124:7,
   Igeres R’ Dov Ber, son of The Shulchan Aruch Harav

   Maybe there is a correlation between this halocho and the name of the child.

   It is as if the child himself is beckoning to us to be more careful during tefillo.

   Gevald, how many more korbonos to we have to give!!

9. A CHILD LOANED

   I’ll lend you for a little time
   A child of mine, He said,
   For you to love while he lives,
   And mourn for when he’s dead.
   It may be four or five years
   Or twenty two or three,
   But will you, till I call him back,
   Take care of him for Me?
   He’ll bring his charms to gladden you,
   And should his stay be brief,
   You’ll have his lovely memories
   As solace for your grief.

   I cannot promise he will stay,
   Since all from earth return,
   But there are lessons taught down there,
   I want this child to learn.
   I’ve looked this wide world over
   In my search for teachers true,
   And from the throngs that crowd life’s lanes,
   I have selected you.
   Now will you give him all your love,
   Not think the labour vain,
   Nor shun Me when I come to call
   And take him back again?

   I fancied that I heard them say,
   Hashem, Your will be done,
   For all the joy Your child will bring,
   The risk of grief we’ll run.
   We’ll shelter him with tenderness,
   We’ll love him while we may,
   And for the happiness we’ve known
   Forever grateful stay.
   But should Hashem call for him
   Much sooner than we planned,
   We’ll brave the bitter grief that comes
   And try to understand.

   Author unknown (Horizons no. 6)

10. brainsinhead – you hit the nail on the head. Dont be afraid to say “SH!!” to someone talking in shul, and if they tell you “Go away” – Dont, just say it again till they stop.

11. Klal Yisrael is in a crisis. The Ribbono Shel Olam is continuously hitting us on the side of the head with a proverbial 2×4, trying to wake us up and prepare us for the geula that He surely wants to bring. But stubbornly, too many of us just don’t get it!

    Sadly, tragically, I will go to shul this Shabbos and the same am haratzim will be yapping through Kaddish, yapping through Kiddushah, yapping and joking through Chazaras HaShatz… oblivious to the tragedies that are swirling around us and their contribution to bringing them upon us.

    I am despondent over this.

12. I woke up this morning and kissed all my children and told them “i love you so much!” …. we shouldnt take life for granted ..appreciate what you have while you have it!!! …. hashem nosan vahashem lokach and everything is min hashomayim . Appreciate life and appreciate your children !!! The family should have the kochas to cope with such a tragedy until moshiach comes and then they will be reunited with their son …may it be soon!!!

13. To Rabbi Chaim Z Levitan: I was in the Bais Medrash in Monsey when you were a rebbe in the late 70s. You took me to see R’ Moishe in Rye NY at the Aguda Convention and were masbir the pshat in his holy words (Yiddish). May you and your family be comforted – Hamakom Yenachem eschem bsoch sheor availai Tzyon veYerushalayim.

14. r’Chaim Zev oi! oi! i do not know what to say–i think you once told me that R Chaim Shmulevitz was menachem Ovel some one he sat quitely and finally said …i do not know how you fell….how ever hamoken yenachem eschem ….

15. May the ribono shel olam send nechama to these wonderful families from whom hashem has taken back the gift which he had given them for 5 precious wonderful years. You have treated this pure neshama the way hashem has wanted you to.
    may all of klal yisroel who are mourning with you have a true nechama soon.

16. Lets remember not to take for granted all the wonderful gifts that the ribono shel olam has granted us. let’s unplug ourselves from all our distractions and learn to appreciate the true simple but huge gifts that our wonderful has given us and continues to shower us with constantly.
    Let’s appreciate our health. Let’s appreciate our childrens’ health. Let’s appreciate our neighbors’ childrens’ health, and let’s even appreciate our neighbors’ health.Let’s “unplug” our cellphones, our computers, our televisions, our phones , at least for a few short moments during the day and turn our minds and our hearts towards those who really should matter in our lives.
    Let’s actually listen to what our children are telling us, as trivial as it may seem, without looking at the caller ID to see who it is that is calling. Let’s travel in the car and listen to each other instead of to the radio.
    There is so much in our lives that needs to be fixed and that can be fixed with small but substantial steps. Let’s remember our neshomos and let’s be more in touch with them. After all that is what we all are, NESHOMOS. Otherwise, it is ten times harder to absorb the tragedies that occur around us.

17. Nebech Baruch Dayin Emes The Second Horrible Tragedy In The olympia Related area May there be only simchos in Olympia And All of Klal Yisroel Maybe If more people are mekabel on themselves this Machsom L’fi (A no lashon harah form 9 AM Till 10 AM) We will be Zocheh to this!

18. TO # 10-navealiza
    “…He who over sees the world”.
    ok i understand ur feeling. however did aharon not grow spiritually from the terrible episode?? shouldnt we also?
    doesnt the rambam say a person should see hashem’s world as hanging in the…& its up to the person to tip the scales – of the entire world!!!
    did hashem not gives us the mind & abilities to do so?!?!

19. There are no words that can be said that can bring a nechama to these two families. My heart was crushed when i read what had happened.

    Rabbi Levitan, or Chazal as you were known many years ago when we were once close…..I can not tell you how devestated I was when I logged on early this morning. I remember shmuli when he was 5 years old. It all flashed back this morning as read the tragic news.

    May the thousands of word of nechama you and your family (as well as the Scheinerman family) hear this week bring some nechama to you.

    Oy! Hashem Yerachaym.We need Moshiach now!
    Hamakom Yenachem eschem bsoch sheor availai Tzyon veYerushalayim

20. In respect for this tragedy and to avert others, let us all take upon ourselves for this Shabbos (and future times), not to talk during Chazaratz Hashatz and Krias Hatorah.

    May we be zoche to Moshiach BB”A

21. It pains me to see suggestions of what the collective sin might have been for this tragedy. We are told that when a person sees troubles coming his way he shoulod look at HIS deeds; we are pointedly not told to look at other person’s deeds. My heart goes out to the family, but we are not given to know nor to understand such tragedy.

22. #22 Of course we dont KNOW why tragedies happen, however if we see something we can correct as a Tzibur we should do it. 1) As a zechus for the Niftar. 2) As a Nechama for the family. And 3) For ourselves so there is no Kitrug Chalila that we did nothing at all and just went on in our lives as usual. Any tikun at such a time is good. Especially one that the Tzibur needs much Chizuk in. As the Gemara says in Brachos: One of the things that are on high and need constant Chizuk is TEFILAHH! So why not NOW!!!

23. To Reb Shmuli and his Eishes Chayil,
    I vividly remember the Simcha and pride you had when we would schmooze about your B’chor, Dovi Z”L. He was a leibidike boy and a very pure Neshoma. I am sure that Dovi is smiling in Shomayim with his trademark Zeeseh smile. He is probably saying to all the Malochim how much he loves his Tatty and Mommy and doesn’t want to see them in such pain. He is probably begging Hashem to take us out of this bitter Golus. I along with so many of your Chaveirim are crying with you in pain over this unfillable void.
    HaMokem Yinachem Eschem B’Soch Sh’or Aveilay Tzion B’Yerushalyim.

24. to #25
    nope.
    this also is OUR tragedy!!! & each of us should draw conclusions for OURselves! get it. to think about OURselves i.e. meaning all of us. kol yisrael areivim z.l.z.