Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman’s Stirring Words After Recent Series of Murders

Following the shocking murder of Rabbi Amos Guetta last week, a powerful video has surfaced featuring Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman addressing a gathering of yeshiva heads organized by Yeshivat Orchot Torah. In his speech, Rabbi Shteinman reflected on the earlier killings of Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira, known as "Baba Elazar," and the child Levi Kalatsky in Borough Park, Brooklyn. His remarks were deeply emotional and resonated strongly within the ultra-Orthodox community.

Rabbi Shteinman recalled a teaching attributed to Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, cited through Rabbi Naftali of Amsterdam, that after a sudden death, there is no need to study ethics for three days because the event itself is the greatest moral lesson. He lamented that today, people have become desensitized to sudden deaths, diminishing their impact. The rabbi described the recent violent acts as "terrible and awful," emphasizing that such events are unprecedented both in Israel and abroad.

He specifically mentioned the brutal murder of Levi Kalatsky, a Torah-observant Jewish child in Brooklyn, and the cruel killing of a fellow Torah teacher, highlighting the severity and cruelty of these acts. Rabbi Shteinman urged the community to take these tragedies as a wake-up call to reflect on their spiritual state and to strengthen their commitment to serving God. He concluded with a prayer for collective awakening and a good year for all Jews worldwide, both in Israel and the diaspora.