In an article published in the “Olam Ketan” bulletin, the rabbi of Safed, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, referred to what is happening in Syria and Turkey and wrote that we must give thanks for the earthquakes. “It’s not that we are impervious to the sorrow of mankind. Absolutely not. But if we don’t say thank you to God for watching over us, it’s a favoritism. If we think it’s an accident, it’s heartlessness. If we think we’re more merciful than him, it’s wickedness and stupidity,” wrote Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu .
Following the words written by Rabbi Eliyahu, the founder and owner of the bulletin, Meir Schwartz, wrote a post in which he apologizes and disapproves of the words written. “Hello everyone. In the Shabbat Olam Ketan newspaper that I initiated and founded together with some friends, an article by Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu Mozfat, about the earthquake in Syria and Turkey, was published on Shabbat,” Meir began the post.
“I apologize to everyone who read the article and got upset and angry about the things”
He also added and wrote that “As the owner of a small world, I would like to make it clear that I do not identify with the things. Nor connect with the style. I am too small to understand the accounts of Heaven. I believe that Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu knows/understands things that little Meir does not understand and see. The faith of the sages is a lamp to my feet and the path of my life , and therefore it is difficult for me to disagree with Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu Shalita.”
The earthquake in Turkey, “people sleeping in cars” Photo: Erik Marmor/Flash90
He also added and wrote that “I grieve the death of tens of thousands of people in the earthquake and pray for the healing of the injured. I send a blessing to the aid delegations from Israel and the world and in addition I send a package of winter equipment through the various aid organizations. As the owner, I apologize to everyone who read the article and was upset/angry about the things” .
Rabbi Avraham Stav: “Feel discomfort with these things”
In a post published on his Facebook page, Rabbi Avraham Stav responded to Rabbi Eliyahu’s words and wrote that “I have no intention of assigning grades to Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu. It is not my job and it is not my rank. But someone like me follows with anxiety and shock what is happening in Turkey and Syria, and feels uncomfortable with the things he published In the ‘Olam Ketan’ issue that will be distributed in Shabbat synagogues.”
Rabbi Stav added to the post the conversation of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein zt’l in which he referred to the tsunami disaster in Japan in 2005. The same people also in other circumstances explained why babies of a rabbinical house and babies of a school perish and apparently these are people who know the ways of overseeing Burin. We completely distance ourselves from these shallow and false answers, this is a matter for the Sages, not for people like us. The message we find following the events of the twentieth century is that we should not pry into the ‘why’, and in relation to this question what is required is complete humility,” wrote Rabbi Lichtenstein.