For the first time since the Lag B'Omer disaster at Mount Meron last Thursday, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, whose word is taken as gospel in the Lithuanian Haredi community, has addressed the stampede that claimed the lives of 45 people and left 150 wounded.
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In a message published in Haredi newspaper Yated Ne'eman on his behalf, Kanievsky is quoted saying that many have asked him why God inflicted such a tragedy and what could be done for the tikkun (Hebrew for "fixing") of such a harsh judgment.
Kanievsky's instructions were to increase Torah study and observance, and for women to be more stringent about modesty. Also, according to Kanievsky, "the rules of washing one's hands before a meal are not observed properly."
Although the rabbi himself did not address the question of who was responsible for the disaster, the newspaper did. Editor-in-chief turned publicist Yitzhak Roth pointed the finger at Haredi leaders who, he said, had previously demanded the removal of all bans and were now blaming the disaster on the community officials who organized the event.
Roth also pointed out that the same members of the community had also rioted over a decision by public officials to limit mass pilgrimmages to Uman due to the coronavirus pandemic
There is nothing easier than sitting at one's keyboard and writing a review without first examining one's own actions, Roth wrote, and asked, "For who remembers the story with Uman when we are dealing with the Lag B'Omer disaster?"
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