| Dialogue |
Blame has no place among believing Jews. But responsibility does
The horrific tragedy in Meron left us shocked and pained. Neither the brain nor the heart can grasp the magnitude of this calamity.
Forty-five souls taken in a storm. A dance of holiness transformed within an instant into a mass eulogy. Widows, orphans, huge voids. What does one say to a mother whose two sons did not return? To a young wife whose baby has not yet learned to utter the word Abba? To a cheder yingel whose rebbi will never again enter the classroom?
In times such as these, when words fail us, silence is a fitting response. When Rav Yonason David, Rosh Yeshivas Pachad Yitzchok and son-in-law of Rav Yitzchok Hutner ztz”l, was asked how the tragedy should be approached, he replied with two words: “Vayidom Aharon.” Precisely within that silence can we hear the call of the Creator.