Eyewitness: All I could see were faces of agony

 

by Josh Vlessing

We arrived at the entrance of the mountain shortly before midnight. My friends and I had come from Tel Aviv on a private bus through Jeff Seidel’s Jewish Student Center, seeking out the eccentric celebration that takes place on Mount Meron every Lag B’Omer. As secular students on Young Judaea Year Course, we didn’t know exactly what we’d be doing all night, but we knew it would be a night of “culture shock” we’d never forget.

Once the shuttles dropped us off, we were able to quickly meet up with some friends from other gap year programs who had been at the mountain since before dark. We rejoiced at having made it. After more than three long hours on the bus, we had finally reached the gathering of tens of thousands of Orthodox Jews from around the country. Why were we here again? To experience another crazy night in Israel, of course.

Our friends pointed us in the direction of “the main event” – the bonfire at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the second-century Talmudic scholar who is credited with authoring the central text of Kabbalah called the Zohar. A small group of us sprinted up the mountain as if we were making our way through a crowded music festival in the United States. We got lost in crowds, separated from each other, and as I looked around, my best friend Ayden Wells and I realized we had been cut off from the others. We couldn’t wait any longer to see all the excitement. We took off.

We jumped over a railing and dashed through a congested corridor, following black hats and letting the momentum guide us. We found ourselves in a pit next to a stage filled with rabbis and one large bonfire at the center. There were an unfathomable number of faces above us as if we were in the center of a stadium. On the ground, though, the situation became worrisome. Neither Ayden nor I had control over our bodies; we were unable to reach for our phones and the pressure on our chests increased drastically due to severe overcrowding.

The worst panic I could’ve ever imagined

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Chassidishe Guy Blames "Toldos Aaron Rebbe" for Meron..Says Cops Not to Blame

 

אזוו געריפענע 'בארדיטשוב רבי' באשולדיגט תולדות אהרן. pic.twitter.com/WLIOmk012g

— Hasidic2 (@hasidic_1) May 2, 2021

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Ephraim Gordan Murdered in Baltimore

 

An Orthodox man was shot dead last in the heart of Baltimore’s Jewish community. 

The incident took place between Park Heights Avenue and Reisterstown Road at approximately 12:05 AM. Fox 45 News (https://bit.ly/3vEvoYc) reported that police who responded to the scene found 31 year old victim Ephraim Gordan suffering from a gunshot wound. Gordan was transported to an area hospital where he was later pronounced dead. 

90 minutes later, another 31 year old man survived a shooting that took place near the Pimlico Race Course. Police are investigating both incidents and it is unclear at this time if the two are related. 

A joint statement released by Councilman Yitzy Schleifer and Maryland State Delegate Dalya Attar that appeared on Baltimore Jewish Life(https://bit.ly/2QHAAvF) said that Gordan was visiting family on Fords Lane and was killed as he entered their home. 

Anyone with any information is asked to call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-8LOCKUP.

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2 arrested over horse in elevator in Tel Aviv skyscraper

 

Heard the joke about the horse that walks into an elevator? Israeli police didn’t find it too funny when it happened in a luxury Tel Aviv apartment building.

Security camera footage showing two people bringing the horse into the building and then into the elevator prompted two arrests on Wednesday, after footage of the incident was shared widely on social media.

The horse is seen being led all the way into the elevator by one of the men, and the door closes behind them; horse and man then come back out.

“I came to visit a friend. I didn’t think it would be a problem to bring a horse into the building,” the horse’s owner told police investigators, according to Channel 12 news.

“It wasn’t written anywhere that it’s forbidden to bring a horse in,” he added. “I couldn’t leave it outside. It’s an expensive horse and it would have been stolen from me.”

The network said the two were arrested after a resident of the building saw the security video and contacted police.

One of the men was released with restrictive conditions, while the second remains in custody over suspicions he violated house arrest in an unrelated matter.

Police are seeking to ascertain whether the horse suffered harm in the incident and have asked Tel Aviv Municipality veterinarians to look into the matter.

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You can't move a stone at Meron without facing Chassidic opposition'

 

As Israel is still grappling with its biggest civilian disaster in the country's history, one of the officials at the local authority where Mount Meron is located said on Sunday it's impossible to even "move a stone" at the location without facing opposition from Chassidic groups.

A stampede that broke out at the Lag BaOmer festivities on Mount Meron overnight Thursday claimed the lives of 45 worshippers, including 10 children. The investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy in underway, with high-ranking Israeli officials being blamed for not appointing a body to oversee the annual event.

Shlomo Levy, former head of Merom HaGalil Regional Council where Mount Meron and the tomb complex of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai are located, told Ynet that he for years tried to improve the conditions at the mountain, but to no avail.

"From my knowledge of the place, it is impossible to move a stone there without running into this or that Hassidic group, and if you do move something there, half an hour later you get a phone call from Jerusalem," Levy said.

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit on Friday launched an investigation into the conduct of police at a deadly crush during Lag BaOmer celebrations and is apparently set to launch a similar probe into the government's conduct.

Levy, however, said that deciding the future of the mountain is more important in the long term than determining who is responsible for last week's events.

"What will be the fate of the place? What should be done in my opinion, as someone who was dealing with this matter for 10 years, is to expropriate the place from the hands that have it in a chokehold. There is corruption, there is money, there is ego, there is everything - except for the fear of god," he said.

"This place must be expropriated from the hands of all the Hasidim, of all the rabbis, of all the bavot."

Levy said he tried to appeal to government officials in order to draft an outline similar to the one implemented at the Western Wall, that gives authority over the place to one body, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. 

"I am not such an innocent person and I understand that everything is about political pressure, everything is political interests. And most of all it is a balance of terror in efforts to form government coalitions."

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Rav Moshe Shternbuch Blames Miron Tragedy on Netanyahu...Eidah Chareidis Make Up Their Own Day of Mourning on Thursday,

There is a saying in Yiddish..

."those in the know, don't talk, those who don't know, talk" 

We no longer have prophets and no one knows the reasons of why Hashem punishes us... No one ... ! 

The Jewish people and especially the Chareidim were hit hard with multiple deaths during this mageifa, Corona... Hashem took away from us משמנה ומסלתה the best of the Jewish people.. and it hit all different sects and factions .. Chassidim, Litvaks, Sfardim, Modern Orthodox,..no one from the frum world was spared...

Just a week after the State of Israel opened up the country, we all breathed a sigh of relief, hoping to go back לשיגרה to normalcy...

Suddenly the wrath of Hashem came tumbling down on us with a vengeance ...on a day of celebration, Hashem saw fit to take away from us the most beautiful, the most innocent, of Klall Yisrael.... no one, again, was spared.... Chassidim..Litvaks, Modern Orthodox, Sfardim all went down together ...the Malach Ha'movas didn't differentiate between the followers of the Aarelics, Satmar, Sfardim or the Modern Orthodox ... the Malach Ha'movas didn't differentiate between those who lived in Israel and the ones who lived in Chutz Le'aartz..

And where did this happen? On Har Meron, the place where we know for sure that Hillel Hazakan, and Shamai Hazaken are buried... the gemmarah testifies that the machlokas between these two Tanaim were the only ones that one can be certain were for the sake of Hashem....

And when did this take place? On the day that the Talmidim of Rebbe Akivah stopped dying.

Why were they dying? Because שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה they weren't respectful to each other.

Don't forget these talmidim were the students of Rebbe Akiva who preached ואהבת לרעך כמך ... and yet they ignored his teachings ...

Question: Was this a reason to have them die? Ok..they weren't that nice to each other, but death?...

Answer: This is not my idea, I've seen this in many places and by many rabbanim...

שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה..... means they couldn't tolerate the opinions of their colleagues...

it was "my way or the highway...." 

Oh you wear a kipa seruga? that's heresy... you wear your peyis behind your ears, then you are ashamed of your heritage.... you wear a blue shirt? You are openly showing that you are not like us... you eat machine matzos on Pesach...wow.... you eat gebrokts? you sheigatz. Oh you eat Rabbanut.... you are eating trief .....

they were intolerant of each other....

and who were the ones who were intolerant? 

these weren't the regular "Joe Shmo" that you meet in Shul ..this wasn't the guy who comes into Shul for Mincha wearing a baseball cap.....this wasn't the guy who comes to the Kotel wearing shorts, sandals  and a t-shirt....Nooooooooooooooo!

These were the Gedoilei Yisrael, the future leaders of klall Yisrael... the Tanaim, the talmidim of the greatest Tanna ..Rebbe Akiva! ..

The talmidim of Rebbe Akiva weren't given a death sentence because committing a  sin of 

לא נהגו כבוד זה לזה....... deserves death... it doesn't ....

 they died .... because they were our teachers they were the ones transmitting the "Mesorah" ...if they had remained alive... their intolerance would be transmitted to future generations.. their intolerance would now be the "Mesorah!" 

The message from Hashem is... if you see intolerance.... even from the greatest Talmedei Chachmim, even from the greatest leaders, the greatest poiskim....

 Know..that this is not our "Mesorah" 

During an awful time like this, when the bodies are still warm, when the aveilim are still sitting shiva , a respected Dayan, a respected poisek, is looking to divide us instead of trying to unite us...this is not our "Mesorah"

 

Rabbanim of the Eidah Charedis held an emergency meeting on Sunday night, to discuss the Meron tragedy that took place early on Friday morning of Lag Ba’Omer.

Hagon HaRav Moshe Sternbruch led the discussion that included all of the Dayanei Badatz of the Eidah. During the discussion, Rav Sternbruch broke out in pitiful cries over the horrible tragedy that claimed the lives of 45 people. Rav Sternbruch blamed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for the incident.

“During the Meron tragedy 45 people were killed. During the recent (Corona) plague more than 45 people died. Hashem is knocking on our door trying to bring us closer to him.”

Rabbi Sternbruch said about Netanyahu, “They (the Charedi MKs) are not speaking to us, they only speak to Netanyahu. They say that he is the big boss and that we owe him our thanks. He is a rasha and is evil. He desecrated Shabbos, eat neveilos, uproots Israel, he is the one who is doing all of this evil to us.”

Rabbi Sternbruch concluded by saying: “We have a lot of power of half-a-million Jews who follow us. Only 7 percent of them go with leadership. Each and every one of us needs to strengthen ourselves with the commandments between man and his fellow man. We may not speak ill of anyone, even about those people we don’t agree with.”

The Beis Din published a statement that the Rabbonim unanimously agreed to hold a memorial ceremony on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. which will be a public display of mourning. It will be held near Kikar Shabbos. According to the announcement, everyone who considers themselves to be a part of the Eidah Charedis is obligated to participate in the gathering. This includes both the men, the women, and the children.

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After Meron calamity, Haredim question the price of their own autonomy

 The shock of Friday’s catastrophe at Mount Meron is still raw. The graves of the victims, including the children killed in the crush, are still fresh. Yet the debate over what it all means for the country and for Haredi society has already begun.

A few overpowering facts, not least that nearly all the victims were Haredi, are driving an unusual new introspection, and leading the major media outlets of the community to turn against one of its characteristic traits: its longstanding and much-criticized “autonomy” from the Israeli state.

Haredi Israelis are simultaneously part of and apart from broader Israeli society. Making up as much as 12 percent of the Israeli population, the community is not uniform; different sects and subcultures interact in very different ways with the state and with other subgroups. While the “autonomy,” as Israelis often refer to the phenomenon, does not encompass all Haredim, it encompasses enough of the community to be — so growing numbers of Haredim now believe — a serious problem.

One sees the autonomy in studies of Israel’s cash economy that point to mass tax evasion in the Haredi community; in routine clashes with police in parts of Mea Shearim, Beit Shemesh, and other places; in the refusal to take part in national service; in school networks that refuse to teach the basic curriculum taught in non-Haredi schools; and, most recently, in the refusal of many Hasidic sects over the past year to obey pandemic lockdowns.

It is a community that talks about itself in the language of weakness, always a street scuffle or political squabble away from talk of “decrees,” “persecution,” and “antisemitism.” Proposals for welfare cuts or calls to introduce more math education in their schools are described in Haredi media in terms borrowed from czarist oppression in Eastern Europe.

That rhetoric of weakness and victimhood has a purpose: to cloak or perhaps to justify the opposite reality. As a group, Haredim are not weak. They are powerful enough to constantly expand and defend their separate school systems, to found towns and neighborhoods for their communities, to maintain a kind of self-rule that forces Israeli politicians to literally beg Haredi rabbinic leaders — usually unsuccessfully — to adhere to coronavirus restrictions.

The story of the Meron disaster cannot be divorced from this larger story of Haredi autonomy, from the Haredi habit of establishing facts on the ground that demonstrate their strength and independence, and then crying “persecution” when those steps are challenged.

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Bronx judge orders accused Jewish center vandal to be cut loose

 

A Bronx judge on Sunday night ordered the alleged Riverdale synagogue vandal be cut loose on supervised release — reversing an earlier decision by a separate jurist to hold the suspect on $20,000 bail.

The suspect, 29-year-old Jordan Burnette, was granted supervised release by Judge Tara Collins in Bronx Criminal Court — hours after he was ordered held on bail on 42 charges stemming from his alleged 11-day crime spree, Patrice O’Shaughnessy, a spokeswoman for the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, said.

Under New York State law, a suspect hit with Burnette’s charges cannot be held on bail. 

But that didn’t stop Judge Louis Nock, who earlier Sunday ordered Burnette be held in lieu of $20,000 — even though prosecutors insisted the man had to be sprung under the state’s controversial bail-reform laws.

“Given the number of attacks, we probably would have asked for substantial bail before January of 2020,” Assistant District Attorney Theresa Gottlieb told Judge Louis Nock earlier Sunday.

“The legislature did not include hate crimes in its revision of bail reform and, under the law as it exists today, this is not eligible,” she added. “We will not violate the law.”

But Nock made his ruling after deciding that the “shattering of glass” constitutes a violent felony.

Burnette is accused of shattering synagogue doors and windows, smashing multiple car windows — and dousing prayer books from Adath Israel in hand sanitizer before tossing them in the woods nearby.

A number of charges against Burnette are hate-crime related offenses.

It was not immediately clear why Burnette was called back into court Sunday night — or why he was granted supervised release.

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Three Days After He Went Missing In Meron, 39-Year-old Found Alive and Well

 

The family of Chaim Yitzchak Icht can take a deep sigh of relief as the 39-year-old man who went missing on Friday morning during the tragedy in Meron, has been found alive and well. Chaim participated in the celebration in Meron and his family feared that he was among those injured or killed in the tragedy, but he could not be located at any of the hospitals where the injured were taken to.

Earlier, the police announced that they had begun a widespread search for Chaim after he had not been seen since Thursday night. The police advertised his image and asked for the public’s help in finding him.

Sophia, Chaim’s mother told Ynet that Chaim used to travel to Meron and Uman every year. A friend of his told him not to go up to Meron this year as there are a lot of people in a small area and it wouldn’t be healthy. “When we heard about the tragedy, we tried to contact him but we couldn’t get in touch. I tried to call him, as did his wife but to no avail.”

Icht, a resident of Beer Sheva, was last seen on Thursday at 20:30 at Meron. Tonight, he called his family and told them he was on his way home.

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Ain't Nobody Stealing My Car ...

 

Lady has some street skills 🙌🏼👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/cVAXB44Mqy

— Evelyn Rae (@_evelynrae) May 1, 2021

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3 wounded in terrorist shooting near Israeli town in Samaria

 

A shooting was reported in central Samaria Sunday afternoon, outside of the Israeli town of Kfar Tapuah.

Initial reports indicate the attack was carried out by terrorists firing from a vehicle as it drove by Tapuah Junction. The shots were fired at Israeli civilians waiting at a bus stop.

MDA reported that three people, all said to be in their 20s, were wounded in the terrorist attack.

United Hatzlah and MDA emergency first responders were dispatched to the scene to assist IDF medical teams in treating the wounded and evacuate them to hospitals for further treatment. One of the wounded is said to be unconscious.

Two of the victims are reportedly in serious condition, while a third is in light condition.

The attack occurred at 5:54 p.m. Sunday afternoon, MDA said.

IDF forces are currently in pursuit of the terrorists, who fled the scene in their vehicle immediately after the shooting attack.

United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Menachem Bakush, who was one of the first responders at the scene relayed, "When I arrived I saw three young people each with varying injuries. One was in critical condition, one in serious condition and one in moderate condition. After receiving initial treatment at the scene, they were all transported to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah."

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R' Chaim Yitzchok Icht From Beer Sheva Still Missing in Meron

משטרת ישראל מבקשת הבוקר (ראשון) את עזרת הציבור באיתור הנעדר החרדי  איכט חיים יצחק, בן 39 תושב באר שבע, שנראה לאחרונה בל"ג בעומר בהר מירון, בשעה 20:30, ומאז נעלמו עקבותיו. 

תאורו: גובהה 1.85, מבנה גוף רזה, שיער חום בהיר, עיניים חומות. מזוקן עם פיאות. מרכיב משקפי ראיה עם מסגרת שחורה. לבש בגדים בצבע שחור/לבן. מגבעת שחורה או קסקט שחור / אפור.

כל היודע דבר אודות מקום המצאו מתבקש לפנות למוקד 100 של משטרת ישראל או למשטרת ישראל תחנת באר שבע בטלפון 08-6462744/5 .

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Democrat Party’s War on Blacks Picking Up Full Steam

 

Tim Scott, a black United States Senator who in 2016 won 61 percent of the vote in the conservative state of South Carolina, who earned more raw votes and won by a wider margin than Donald Trump, has done more in just a few days to drag the racism of the Democrat party out into the sunlight than the feckless Republican party ever has.

On Wednesday night, during his brilliant rebuttal to His Fraudulency Joe Biden’s congressional address, and through the simple act of stating a truth, Scott smoked these racist monsters out and proved once again that racism is still very much a part of the Democrat party’s DNA, a DNA that stretches back to their creation of the Jim Crow South and their willingness to go to war to stop a Republican president from taking away their slaves.

“Hear me clearly,” Scott said. “America is not a racist country.”

With those nine words, Scott undermined everything that motivates today’s organized left, and to prove Scott wrong, to prove America is indeed a racist country, Democrats hurled the worst kind of racism directly at Scott.

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Female soldiers were attacked by Haredim when assisting at Meron disaster

 

Soldiers of the Israel Defense Force’s Home Front Command were physically and verbally attacked by ultra-Orthodox Jews while they were assisting in searching for dead and wounded in the stampede during Lag B’Omer celebrations at Mount Meron, the IDF said late Saturday.

“We entered the gravesite to search for injured people and suddenly a commotion began that there are female soldiers in uniforms who are touching the wounded,” a soldier told Army Radio earlier.

“They started to kick and spit on us. The female soldiers were kicked, spit on, and punched from every direction,” the radio station quoted the soldier saying. Hebrew media reports said five female soldiers were targeted.

The military confirmed the incident, saying in a statement that “the force continued on its mission and ignored the harmful behavior.”

“The IDF views this incident very gravely and condemns any violence — physical or verbal — toward female and male soldiers. The IDF in general and the Home Front Command in particular will continue to extend a hand, to assist and to save any citizen or resident in a time of need,” a spokesperson for the military added.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement: “Saving live is a supreme value and I’m proud of all IDF soldiers in treating the wounding in the disaster at Miron and firmly condemn whoever attacked the soldiers there.

“Many citizens owe their lives to those who were called to the event. Just like at Moron, just like during the coronavirus, IDF soldiers will continue to save lives wherever they are needed.”

On Friday, a spokesperson for the IDF said “Search and Rescue Brigade troops, Northern Command medical teams and a number of IAF helicopters with medical teams and Unit 669 forces are assisting in the mass casualty incident in Mount Meron.”

Forty-five people were crushed to death and more than 150 people hurt, including several in critical condition.

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Florida Gov to Sign Bill that Will Not Allow Twitter or Facebook to Kick Off People Their Platforms

 

Social media companies would be unable to permanently kick people off their platforms under a tough new Florida law.

The bill, passed by the GOP-dominated state Legislature Thursday and awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature, would make it a crime to remove state political candidates from Twitter and Facebook, and would mete out penalties of $250,000 a day for any statewide candidate who is deplatformed. 

Removing more local candidates would cost the company $25,000 a day. 

The bill also requires tech companies to give users seven days notice that they are at risk of being banned and offer them the opportunity to correct the issue. Suspensions of up to 14 days would still be allowed.

“What this bill is about is sending a loud message to Silicon Valley that they are not the absolute arbiters of truth,” GOP state Rep. John Snyder said Wednesday, NBC News reported. “What this bill does is send a loud message that the Constitution does not have an asterisk that says only certain speech is free and protected.”

Big tech advocacy groups have struck back saying the law would violate their First Amendment right to decide who can participate on their platforms.

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100 Year-Old 6'10" Fish Caught in Detroit...

A US Fish and Wildlife Service crew caught a nearly 6-foot-10, 240-pound sturgeon on the Detroit River.

 A US Fish and Wildlife Service crew got the shock of their lives when, while on patrol on the Detroit River, they reeled in a nearly 6-foot-10, 240-pound sturgeon, likely over 100 years old.

The fish, believed to be one of the largest ever caught in the United States, was found near Grosse Ile. The crew tagged and released it back into the river.

“We’re trying to protect this fishery,” Justin Chiotti, a US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist told The Detroit Free Press. “Everybody is always catching a huge sturgeon. Everybody catches a 100-pounder. But a fish this size is very, very rare to catch.”

The scientists estimated to the paper that the fish hatched in the Detroit River sometime in the 1920s when Detroit was the fourth-largest city in America. But, they added, that’s a conservative guess. It likely is even older.

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Is R' Shimon ben Yochai Even Buried in Meron? Was he Niftar on Lag Be'Omer? Did he actually write the Zohar? You will be very Surprised!

From EMAILIM BATORAH 

1) Where is Kever רשב"י located?

According to ר' מנחם החברוני (13th century)

רשב"י is buried in Kfar Chananya *(15 km. south of Meron)

2) What day in the עומר was רשב"י niftar?

According to the חיד"א, there is no מקור anywhere

that רשב"י was niftar on Lag Baomer**.

3) Who wrote the Zohar?

According to the יעב"ץ, (The Chasam Sofer seems

to agree) it was R. Moishe d'Leon (not רשב"י)

4) What day did the Talmidei R. Akiva stop dying?

According to the many Poskim, they still died on

Lag Baomer but stopped on the 34th day of the עומר .

5) How many Talmidim of R. Akiva died between

Pesach & Shavuos?

The גמרא (Yevamos 62) says 12,000 pairs of

Talmidim.The מדרש says it was only 300 Talmidim.

6) How did they die?

The גמרא says they all died of a disease called Askera.

 According to Harav Hagaon Y. Henkin zt"l and others, the

גמרא uses Askera as a code for getting killed fighting

the Romans.

7)  How can you bring Nachas to רשב"י (guaranteed)?

The שואל ומשיב  5 - 39  writes " if you distribute the  money

to עניי ארץ ישראל instead of spending it to go to his

 Kever etc., he guarantees רשב"י will have  much more

Nachas Ruach.

8) Why do we celebrate Lag Baomer with קצת שמחה?

According to the Chasam Sofer  the קצת שמחה has nothing

to do with רשב"י but because it's the Sefirah of הוד שבהוד***

and to commemorate the first day the מן came down in

the מדבר.

9)  Why you should not celebrate ל"ג בעומר with

dancing & music in חוץ לארץ ?

According to the   מנחת אלעזר ח"ד :ס because it is only a

Minhag Eretz Yisroel Celebrating in Chutz Laaretz is

onsidered strange & haughty כזרות יחשב וכיוהרא 

10) Why is it forbidden to dance in front of a fire?

The תוספתא (Shabbos 7:1) says clapping hands or 

dancing in front of a fire is אסור because of דרכי אמורי. 

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Daniel Morris from New Jersey among dead in Meron disaster

 

The Sha'alvim Yeshiva is mourning the death of Daniel (Donny) Morris, a 19-year-old student from Teaneck, New Jersey, who was studying at the yeshiva.

Morris was among the 45 killed in the Meron disaster at 1:00a.m. Friday morning.

Following the stampede, the yeshiva's staff searched for Morris in the various hospitals, until they received the heartbreaking news that he was among the dead.

"Daniel was an amazing student, he was studious and beloved by his friends, he had a sense of humor and was bursting with love of life," the yeshiva said. "Daniel had an excellent character and acted with pleasantness; he loved very much to learn Torah. He came to Israel from New Jersey, in order to learn Torah in the Land of Israel."

"Sha'alvim embraces the bereaved Morris family and is in touch with his parents, family, and community rabbi, who all received the bitter news. The school's staff is embracing Daniel's friends and the shocked students, and is in touch with professionals to provide the necessary support."

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When A Similar Tragedy Happened in Meron on Lag Be'Omar in 1911

An 1885 photograph of the balcony that collapsed some 26 years later, in 1911.

 The tragedy at the celebration of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai occurred on the night of Lag B’Omer 5671, May 15, 1911, when a crowd of about 10,000 filled the compound and a railing collapsed, causing many to be crushed in the collapse and the panic that followed. Eleven people were killed in the tragedy, the deaths of seven were determined at the scene and of four others in the days following the incident. There were 40 wounded.

According to Shmuel Har-Noy, Director General of the Safed Academic College, the Jewish community in the first decade of the 20th century in Tsfat numbered between seven and eight thousand – Tsfat was the second-largest Jewish community in the country, after Jerusalem, with the largest Chassidic community. There were many kollels in Tsfat, most of whose students depended on the “distribution” charity for their livelihood. Medical treatment in the city was provided by several Jewish doctors but was based mainly on the English and Scottish mission institutions. Towards the end of the first decade, a hospital built by the Rothschild family was inaugurated.

On 18 Iyar, 5671, May 15, 1911, crowds gathered for the annual celebration at the tomb of the Rashbi in Meron. The author Joshua Bar-Yosef describes in his book “Magic City” (1949) what happened next:

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