[COMMUNICATED]The tragedy’s terrible statistics: 60 orphans, 18 widows,approximately 600 men, women,and children are sitting shivah
After the enormity of the tragedy’s statistics was known, we came before Maran HaGaon R’ Chaim Kanievsky shlit”a to ask what our response should be; what do we need to do?
Maran HaRav Chaim Kanievsky shlit”a instructed Kupat Ha’ir to establish a special fund for the victims of the Meron tragedy; on motzai Shabbos he wrote a special letter:
As an atonement for our souls, we have requested that Kupat Ha’ir establish a fund to support the families of the dead and wounded,
to assist them and support them,and the money will be distributed according to need, based on the decisions of the undersigned Rabbanim, shlit”a.
Every individual should contribute at least NIS 430 [$120], the numerical equivalent of ‘nefesh’,
as an atonement, and may the merit of tzedakah for these families serve as an atonement for Am Yisrael, and for the Land, and the blood that was shed.
No one can absolve himself, because all residents of Eretz Yisrael are related to the victims, who were pure and unblemished.
May Hashem help us do teshuvah sheleimah before Him, amein kein yehi ratzon.
Since some of the victims were fathers of families, whoever contributes $1000 ($40 X 25 payments)
is considered a “saver of lives,” and his Heavenly reward is very great; and this is a great merit to be spared when the middas hadin is prevalent.
Chaim Kanievsky
“It’s possible that each person needs to give.”
Today, Sunday, we visited Maran HaRav Chaim Kanievsky shlit”a with a community shyla about the sum of 430 shekels [$120] for atonement- if it’s incumbent on each person or on just the head of the household, and he said, “It’s possible that each person needs to give.”
How eerie is the report that someone was saying a last Kriyas Shema with a person who was dying in Meron and sort of like the Lo Hinichu B’chaim L’gomro of the last Tanna of the Asarah Harugei Malchus who was making Kiddush but wasn’t allowed to finish it, so too the dying person in Meron wasn’t able to finish, but this time was Min Hashamayim !
I wish I would have been able to hear him speak…
Click bait.