In his weekly lesson, Rabbi Daniel Zer condemned the violent scenes from last week’s faction protest, where police were seen using heavy force, beating demonstrators and tearing their clothing. He said officers who strike religious students are acting as if there is no law or accountability.
“The police think the world is ownerless,” he said angrily, referring to the videos. “To raise batons and smash yeshiva students? Whoever harms a Torah student, whoever humiliates a Torah student, may God have mercy, it is terrifying. Even here they will suffer, there is no atonement for disgracing Torah scholars.”
To underscore his warning, Zer recounted a striking story he said came to the attention of a kabbalist. It involved a man regarded as a righteous, God-fearing person who died and was buried abroad. Fifteen years later, his sons sought to transfer his remains to Israel.
When the grave was opened, those present found that his body was intact except for his right leg, which had been eaten by worms. That night, according to the story, the father appeared in a dream to his son, glowing and radiant. When the son asked why only his right leg had decayed, the father answered that divine judgment is true justice, and that once in his life he had kicked a God-fearing Torah student with that right leg. “For that one kick,” he said, “this is the punishment I received.”
