HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Dovid Altar, the son of the Pnei Menachem, sent a letter of nichumim to the family of the 14-year-old who was killed by his father in the throes of a psychotic fit.
“To the family mourning the loss of their dear son through unnatural circumstances,” HaRav Altar wrote.
“It’s difficult to digest the tragedy and it’s definitely difficult to comfort or to be comforted, but because this nichum is for the sake of the niftar (as the Rambam writes and is proven by the Gemara), perhaps it will be easier if we know that we’re doing this for the sake of illui nishmaso.”
“It’s forbidden to make a cheshbon – to say we could have prevented the tragedy if we would have done this or that – these are thoughts of hevel and foolishness. [It’s also forbidden] to think why this davka happened to us. Because a bas kol from above will answer; ‘Be silent!’ No one knows the cheshbonos of Shamayim, especially when something happens through unnatural circumstances. The chesbon hanafesh is on the tzibur and not on the individual.”
The niftar was buried on Thursday in the beis kevaros in Ashdod.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
We still must know what caused it and to do our part to prevent it happening in the future.
The same exact thing should be said nogia Corona. Ain od milvado. The Aibishter controls everything. No one can force his hand or prevent his hand from carrying out his ratzon.
Dealing with a tragedy has steps. Usually the first is denial. Then comes the blame, eighther on one self or others. Then there is anger. Eventually a person can face his tragedy and realize it’s from Hashems plan. Hashem does not expect people to go against human nature which He himself created.
>> same exact thing should be said nogia Corona.
Gemora is full of examples of Jews davening when there is a drought or a pandemic. Baraita on Bava Kama 60 says that one should isolate himself. Why does YWN allow apikoirusus on this page – blaming Hashem for the outcome of you not protecting himself?
Mental illness is just the same as diabetes, stroke, heart attack, etc. for some reason only Hashem knows why people look at it with tremendous stigma. It is only for this reason that this illness doesn’t get treated properly..
Shechiach hazeka, easily being harmed, is still an issur and if someone does not protect oneself, will be hurt.
I don’t know the details but if this man was known to have violent tendencies & acted out physically before to his family but nothing was done to separate him, then we are obligated to think that we could have prevented this tragedy. That is the lesson of the Eglah Arufah. It’s highly unlikely for a psychotic person to murder someone with no earlier warnings that he is a real danger. This would be the greatest zechus for the nifter to send all violent psychotics’ to a mental home.
‘through unnatural circumstances’ am I the only one sensing slight denial there? acting as if he died from a tornado or COVID?
Nothing in the world happens just by accident and we all know that there’s no such a thing as coincidence. Every tragedy has a direct message and wake up call from Hashem for all of klal yisroel. Sometimes it’s a call out for serious teshuva other times it’s for an improvement in tznuis etc…
May we finally wake ourselves up to reality and open up our eyes to see Hashems Wake up call so we can prevent future tragedies from hitting klal yisroel in the future C”V