Tragedy in Israel

Israel just experienced it’s largest peacetime tragedy. Forty five people died in a crush at Meron, the burial place of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the Zohar (kabbalah).

Apparently, there was a huge jam of thousands of people on their way out of a celebration, around a narrow corner at the top of a staircase. I’ve experienced this kind of crowd, and there is immense pressure. This was not a stampede of primitive animals, or crazy fanatics, as they are portrayed by some articles out there. At some point, it seems that police tried blocking off an exit, exacerbating the pressure, and when they finally released the barricade, hundreds of people tumbled down the staircase, crushing those at the bottom.

Exactly how it happened or why the police blocked off the exit is not relevant for this moment and now is not the time to assign blame. An investigation will hopefully bring out the truth, and I’m sure new protocols will be implemented to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

There’s another issue though. 100,000 people came to Meron for the first, post-Covid, government sanctioned event of it’s size (this year was actually smaller than the pre-covid size) to celebrate Lag Baomer. Lag Baomer commemorates two things: (1) The end of a plague which killed off 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva, just before the destruction of the Temple, 2,000 years ago. (2) The yahrzeit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (one of the only remaining students of Rabbi Akiva after the plague). On his deathbed, he made his students promise that the day of his passing would be a day of celebration, not mourning, and so it is. Jews from every walk of life travel to his grave for a grand celebration with bonfires and music.

How could such a terrible tragedy happen at such an auspicious moment in such a special place? How should we respond? Should we cancel our celebrations to mourn the loss of 45 precious souls?

41 years ago, there was a terrorist attack in Israel on Lag Baomer. They asked the Rebbe if they should cancel the celebrations to mourn the victims. The Rebbe responded with a halacha “ מעבירין את המת מלפני הכלה”- if a funeral procession crosses paths with a wedding celebration, the funeral yields to the wedding. The celebrations should continue for Lag Baomer, and the communal mourning will start tomorrow (actually after Shabbos).

To continue a celebration in the midst of this kind of tragedy isn’t easy, and frankly doesn’t feel right. It actually feels quite cruel. On the other hand, it gets to the core of happiness and joy.

Why should we be happy?

The Jewish response is because happiness is a mitzvah, i.e. because Hashem wants us to be happy. If I am the one who decides when I should be happy, and when not, I’ll always have great excuses to be miserable. As a wise man once said, “happiness is not an emotion, it’s a moral obligation.”

Finally, here is a link to an article & story about a woman who suddenly died at a celebration for completing a new Torah scroll, and the emotions & correspondence of the host with the Rebbe. I think it is a beautiful perspective, which can help us deal with the situation at hand.