Leiby
Leiby Kletzky's soul was brutally taken from him.
I found it very hard to post anything about this tragedy until I managed the courage to do so. I was following the news stories closely on YWN, Matzav, and VIN and even the Israeli sites like Arutz Sheva, Ladaat, and Kikar. When I woke up this morning trying to find out any information, I saw the bitter news.
And I cried.
As the morning progressed, I saw the even more tragic news that the murderer is a "Shomer Torah Umitzvot". Apparently, he's missing a whole bunch of Mitzvot. His wife met him at sawyouatsinai, but the commandments he saw must have looked something like this:
This week's Perasha has Hashem giving Pinehas His covenant of peace. Shimon and Levi, the sons of Yaakov Avinu, had their anger cursed by their father for the slaughter of Shechem. Pinehas, from Levi, killed Zimri, from Shim'on, in an act that symbolized Levi's break from his brother Shimon. Levi's zealousy was sanctified by this holy act, whereas Shimon's zealousy remained rotten. (Nahalat Shimon)
Unfortunately, the Levi in the episode we are dealing with today murdered in a way that is the exact opposite of holiness.
Pinehas is the grandson of Aharon, who exemplified peace.
Mr. Aron in the episode we are dealing with today acted in a way that is the exact opposite of peace.
He apparantly doesn't know why he did it. His רוח שטות cost a holy life.
My heart goes out to the Kletzky family. There is not much more to say. וידם אהרן.
posted by yaak @ 7/13/2011 03:32:00 PM
13 comments
13 Comments:
This is the first time I have heard a Jew commit such an atrocious crime. I just hope that this is not a forewarning of things to come for American Jews.
Eleven Tamuz.
Everything changed.
11/11 actually.
11th day of the 11th month of the Jewish year. [2 adars this year]
Yaakov, I also am filled with a myriad of feelings for this poor neshoma and his family, who are unconsolable, especially the mother. I too was glued to all the news outlets. We now have Boro Park Scoop, Flatbush Scoop, and Catskill Scoop by which to keep in touch wirelessly to friends and family back in America. I had to prepare a paper for class on a certain theme, but instead all I could write I just posted on my blog. This will stay with the community for a long time.
Devorah, very interesting. Can this be taken further, maybe in Torah Codes? We had three Gedolim taken from us, and now a little Korban. These things happen every summer around the 3 weeks. I am very apprehensive each year, during these days and do alot of talking to Hashem.
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And who says it has to be a tikkun? Perhaps the boy is a kappora and his tragic and incomprehensible passing has made the difference and allow the universe to keep existing, else it would have been utterly destroyed? Perhaps the young man is patur and thus fully innocent? Do you have any idea how it can feel to certain people, to have a manhunt with helicopters hovering and the FBI after them? Hint: if you are not very young, you sure have met people who needed to be watched, and who would be capable of snapping because of a faraway siren (may be it was an ambulance and not the police) a dog on the street or someone knocking unexpectedly at the door. But I think this discussion could wait a few days. Unless, of course, you have words from reliable sources that support your opinion, then by all means please post them.
Bravo Daniela! Com e stai? (plese excuse my Italian spelling)
Tikkun means "rectification". This was not a rectification. This was an evil insane act.
But I do believe it was, as Devash said, destined. As everything is by hashgacha pratis.
The rectification that WILL HOPEFULLY occur as a result of this little boy's a"h death is that people may change their attitude towards tolerance of certain behaviors, stop protecting the evil and start worrying about the innocents instead. And that's exactly why it had to be so horrific, because anything less would not have the hoped for response. Heaven help us all !
In light of the tragic news, I think we have to ask ourselves the following: It was so beautiful that Klal Yisrael came together in a time of crisis (to help with the search/reward money and tehillim), but can we overlook each others' differences in good times too?
Does it really matter what kind of yarmulka he wears (or none at all) or how much of her hair she covers (or not at all), or where they daven, or where their kids go to school, or can we just remember that we are all brothers and sisters - in good times too?
Anon, don't kid yourself. We are so far apart it's insane. This very sad and tragic event will be forgotten by most in a few day's. It's going to take one very tragic event to unite us. Let's hope otherwise.
Thank you for your words Deborah (and Italian is perfect). Grazie, how are you. I am sorry that I can not write straight but I am really shaken, like everyone else of course.
I am not sure what is your reference to certain behaviours, do you mean mental health problems? It is very true, you are so very right, but remember, not everyone is a professional, and even many professionals make mistakes. It's not like math that has theorems and if one studies it, one does it right. Of course there are a few general rules which are also good for laypeople and for children, such as never put down or belittle or ridicule such people (nor anyone else, if I may add) especially when they are trying to do a kindness, no matter how distorted; and to always be very respectful and sincere. But really it is hard to expect people to deal with such situations perfectly, and it's impossible to demand such a standard: even professional psychiatrists have sometimes been hurt. It also seems that this person has both psychiatric problems and neurological problems, besides having been through a lot of pain and suffering. In hindsight it is true that this young man should have been helped more throughout his life, and we may also argue in hindsight if a full-scale operation with the FBI and all was or wasn't the best choice, but really it is impossible, absolutely impossible, to blame anyone.
If you are referring to the problem of people that molest children, it is a big problem but this particular person never did, there is no factual basis to suggest it, nor any findings by the M.E. He invited children for rides, etc, this does not mean he did anything inappropriate to them. Yes I am quite sure that he scared some children with his wierdness and thus they avoided him and rejected him, I am also sure that Leiby a very precious soul treated him with more kindness than Levi Aron ever had in his whole life. Of course we all worry about the innocent and care for their safety, but what shall we do? Are we going to suggest that people who are disturbed, deranged or even presumed dangerous (how and by whom?), should be locked up like wild animals and the key thrown out? When one hears a short abstract of their life story, one invariably looks at them in a different way. Many such people have had children, these children did not surely have an easy childhood - but we are alive and we have children and they will hopefully have children too until the day all diseases of mind and body will be eradicated and all suffering will be removed as well from the world. Until then, we will try to take care of our brothers, including those with bad middot and those with psychiatric problems, because we realize what it can be like. After all, one of the known reasons for suffering is to arouse compassion. Finally, there are some such people who are evidently so - or that we heard about - and we warn our children about them and tell them e.g. to try not to be ever alone with these people, and always to strictly follow the above rules - but there are people that I have no idea about their flaws or problems or diseases, and sure some of them are around each one of us. These sometimes are undetected even by professionals, let alone my me. We do our best, we teach the children to be careful, we tell them all sort of stories - positive and negative stories - like we were told - we always ask questions - as we were asked - such as, what do you think brought so and so to do this? so that they should recognize if something like that is going, G-d forbid, to happen within themselves and stop it when it's still at the stage of bad thoughts only, and nothing more. We have people tell them their stories, including heartbreaking ones. But in the end, we can only be grateful that life did not put us in the shoes of Levi Aron, nor in those of sweet Leiby or his family's, may they be consoled among the mourners of Zion and Yerushalayim. I am sorry about the confused writing, but I can't think straight.
I wasn't talking about mental illness, I was referring to child molesters. The practice in a few parts of the world (Australia and other places) is to send them away somewhere else, but not report the incident. And for most of them, they appear to be totally sane people, they are teachers, principals etc.
But maybe I should just keep quiet now. I've given myself a headache.
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This person was not a child molester. There have always been child molesters, which of course are those who were molested as children, and as you say, we were taught to respect them even when the facts were known. Perhaps this is wrong but this is not the place to discuss. We all would be devastated to hear that our boy or girl has been unable to defend from harassment, but this can not even be remotely compared to burying a child, a marvelous and healthy child that was going to be a rabbi and chacham and who should have lived till 120 with many children and danced at his grandchildren's weddings. Even if we put aside this particular tragedy, any child's death, be it via an accident or a disease, can not even remotely be compared. Also, refraining from reporting that sort of incidents is a protection for the victim, who do you think would marry such victim in the future, or even his or her close relatives? Who do you think would hire them? Or work with them as business partners? Of course spouses have to know, but all these things can be told after some time, when the potential spouses know well each others already, and info is put in a context. To publicize the info beforehand, or worse making info public, it seems to me it'd mean utter destruction for the victim. Is hurting a rasha worth destroying one's life? Only the victim can decide (and their family too, as they too are affected) and either way it must be respected. No victim should be blamed, and those who don't want their story all over the junk newspapers should not be blamed either.
Devash first of all you should at least wait for the shiva to finish. When I was a child the rabbi told me that the unimaginable suffering is actually unimaginable goodness, yet he also said that in the days of Moshiach we will know unimaginable depths, and that the king Moshiach himself will know unimaginably more than anyone else, yet not even Moshiach will be able to say "It was a good thing that there was auschwitz". Of course may be he was wrong and some jews are actually at such exalted level, it's not for me to determine. Personally I prefer to feel compassion. And who says Hashem likes us to suspect, or should I say to slander, each others? The generation of the tower which worked in unity against HKBH was dispersed, but the generation of the flood, where every man was a wolf to his fellow man, we all know how it ended.
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