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Mar 31, 2022
Interesting Psak: Rav Chaim Kanievsky's protection after death
Hamechadesh is reporting that Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein, rav of Ramat Elchonon neighborhood of Bnei Braq, was asked about the uptick in violence since the death of Rav Chaim Kanievsky. The question posed was that since Rav Chaim Kanievsky's death and there is a lack of his protection being provided, and now that a terror attack has happened in Bnei Braq, in light of the promise Rav Kanievsky had made that there would be no attacks in Bnei Braq, perhaps it falls under the category of someone not eulogizing a chochom properly or appropriately and therefore we are deserving of the evil befalling us now?
Before mentioning Rav Zilbershtein's answer I would note that I don't even understand the question - hundreds of thousands of people, maybe upwards of a million according to some estimates, participated in the funeral and eulogies physically and probably hundreds of thousands more participated online and by phone. I am not sure how anyone can think that the community (rather than a specific individual) inadequately eulogized Rav Kanievsky. I think he was afforded great honor with his funeral.
But anyway.
Rav Zilbershtein responded definitively that Hashem protects the nation of Israel, and Rav Chaim as well continues to protect the nation of Israel in general and on the city of Bnei Braq specifically. Gedolim, great people, are greater after death than they were when alive, and no damage will befall the nation of Israel.
Just it should be known that one of the things protecting us is the holy Shabbos. In places where there is shmiras shabbos, there is protection, and in places where there is no shmiras shabbos the protection is lacking. So, in a place where there is a deficiency in the shmiras shabbos, where people drive on on Shabbos in the streets, the protection will be decreased and Rav Kanievsky's promise/guarantee doesnt apply in those places.
(what is not said explicitly is that the area where the terrorist attack took place is one that has chilul shabbos even though it is technically in Bnei Braq)
Rav Zilbershtein closed off with a wish that we will strengthen the level of shmiras shabbos and increase the level of protection provided to am yisrael.
I must say that while I normally really like Rav Zilbershtein and his style, this one makes me slightly uncomfortable. He puts Rav Chaim Kanievsky up on a really high pedestal, sounds like almost equal with Hashem, both of them providing protection.
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I don't like to comment on what others say, because usually by the time I read it, it is a kli shlishi, and you can't know what exactly was meant.
ReplyDeleteThe gemara in Chullin 7b states: דאמר ר' חמא בר חנינא גדולים צדיקים במיתתן יותר מבחייהן
IIRC, Rav Kook said the reason for this is when a tsaddik dies, (1) there is a great awakening for teshuva, as people think, if death got him, then certainly it can reach me and (2) as people appreciate the tsaddik more (since you always appreciate something more when it is gone), then people people try to emulate his positive ways.
So if you want R. Chaim's shemira, then the steps to take are teshuva and trying to emulate R. Chaim's positive traits (of which there were many, that's what you can learn from hespedim).