A number of hours before Shabbos began, as a result of the tenacious efforts of askanim, the body of the 7-year-old girl, Yael Sheffer A”H who drowned in Nachal Modi’in Illit on erev Shabbos was released. She was buried in a very small levaya in the Segula Cemetery in Petach Tikvah.
Family members spent Shabbos in Bnei Brak and the father davened in the Lederman Shul, seated in proximity of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky Shlita. After davening the father approached the rav, and the rav uttered words of comfort. “This was a gezeira from Shomayim and we do not understand HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s cheshbonos. The young child completed her work in this work and was called to Shomayim” stated Rav Kanievsky.
In the meantime, police are still studying the case, contemplating possible criminal charges of negligence against the grief-struck father, who according to family friends is feeling very guilty, responsible for his daughter’s death.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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10 Responses
Punish the father? This boggles the mind. Prosecuting will do what or help whom? The poor father has to live with this tragedy, isn’t that enough? My heart goes out to him and his wife. Leave them alone!
It depends, did he intentionally or even unintentionally drown his daughter. If either is true, then he needs to be held responsible for his criminal acts. (Not to mention the fact that we may not want him around his other children if it may happen again.)
everything is a Gezeira Min HaShomayim.
Torahumada- you obviously are a very astute follower of the law. However, given the tragic ACCIDENT that accured, you should keep your speculation to yourself. This wasn’t a premeditated act, rather it was a parent not being careful enough to keep their child from a dangerous situation.
to #1
every person has a mission in this world. some missions are complete early i.e. this can be a test from Hashem on the parents on their bitachon & emunah (faith & trust) in Hashem.
one important thing in yiddishkeit that EVERYONE knows is: that if it wasn’t possible for a person to pass a test from Hashem then Hashem wouldn’t give it to him.
when Aharon Hacohen lost TWO children, he was silent,
i.e. he trusted hashem %100 percent & accepted what hashem did wholeheartedly.
MAY THE FAMILY ONLY HEAR FROM SIMCHAS & YESHUAS
Everything that occurs comes from “Yad Hashem”.
Nevertheless it is imperative to learn more about safety codes, rules, dangerous situations, etc. Having blinders to the outside world and how it functions it not the role of a Torah JEW.
#4 That is why the police are “studying” the case to find out what happened. You are concluding that this was an accident, and perhaps it was. Even then there is something called criminal negligence. Wait and see
#2 and #7 – For those in the know, it is clear that things are revealed to Reb Chaim Min Hashamiyim that are not revealed to other, nor logically deduced. I have heard countless stories about Reb Chaim, shlita, in this regards. I have also heard that one of the Gedolim was asked if anyone today has Ruach HaKodesh. He thought for a moment and said, “I’m not sure, but if anyone does it is certainly Reb Chaim Kanievsky, Shlita!”
With that said, let’s examine. Reb Chaim told the father that this was a Gizeira Min Hashamiyim. This implies that the father neither carries guilt nor should even feel guilt, for it happened perforce. Thus, we can safely assume that the father will be acquitted of all accountability.
However, when a person lacks Emunah because he believes in ” כחי ועוצם ידי עשה לי את החיל” which often results from a belief in Torah Umada, it is understandable how he can so easily distort reality and come to unfair and cruel conclusions.
May I suggest studying Michtav M’Eliyahu instead?!
V’Gam Charvona Zachor L’Tov…Thanks for standing up for the wait and see approach. Let the police do their job. If this was nothing more than a tragic accident then the family can grieve in peace. If there was malfeasance involved then those responsible should be held for their actions.
Softwords: Just because it is min hashamayim doesn’t mean nobody is at fault. The gemara in makos talks about that hashem will cause people to do things to others because the others diserved it. It may be that this girl z”l had fulfilled her purpose in this world and she needed to die on erev shabbos. But did the father have to be the one that was there when it happened. It could have been through some other means. Hashem has a master plan that is certain, but we make choices that may have us fall into different brackets in that plan.
Furthermore, why if it was a gezeira min hashamayim does that imply there is no guilt. It is a gezeirah min hashamayim to put to death a murderer who has been given proper hosroah and there are proper kosher eidim that witness the act. But Chazal still require the ones who give the testimony to start the execution process. Because they need to know sensitivities. Just because it is a gezeirah doesn’t mean there is nothing else going on.