Interview With Uri Sherki (in Hebrew) : How to Deal With the Current Wave of Terror

Eulogy for Shalom Sherki hy"d

Here is a video of the incredible the eulogy that Shalom's father, Rabbi Uri Sherki, said at the funeral:

Shalom Sherki hy"d

Baruch Dayan Ha'Emet:

The funeral of Shalom Yohai Sherki, the 25-year-old murdered in what police say was likely a car terror attack on Wednesday night, was held in the Givat Shaul neighborhood of Jerusalem on Thursday, the same day as Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Sherki, the son of prominent religious-Zionist Rabbi Uri Sherki, was murdered when an Arab driver ran over him and his date Shira Klein as they waited at a bus stop in the French Hill neighborhood. Klein is in serious condition herself, and the public is asked to pray for her recovery.

At the funeral at Har Hamenuchot cemetary, Sherki's father said: "for you my dear son it isn't difficult because your noble soul is ascending directly to the King of Peace. Not only did you merit to be among those killed for (G-d's) Kingdom, but in your death you also saved the life of the woman who stood by your side. You had an exalted soul."

I attended the funeral, along with, I estimate, a few thousand others. My condolences go out to the entire family. I have been privileged to hear many Torah lessons from Rabbi Uri Sherki, Shalom's father. May the Rabbi, his family, and the entire nation find comfort in the building of Zion.

הכפירה הדתית והכפירה החילונית - הרב אורי שרקי

The Fire on the Carmel: The Rabbis Say...

When a tragedy of this scale occurs two different kinds of investigation take place: One to investigate the immediate cause (was the fire arson or the result of carelessness?) and the other to seek the deeper spiritual reasons for the blaze.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef attributes the disaster to Sabbath desecration:

Hagaon Chacham Ovadia Yosef Shlita said on Motzei Shabbos that the devastating Carmel fire was a result of insufficient Shmiras Shabbos in the area.

“Fires only happen in a place where Shabbos is desecrated,” he quoted from the Gemara in his weekly Shiur. “Homes were ruined,” he continued, “entire neighborhoods wiped out, and it is not arbitrary. It is all divine providence.”

“We must repent, keep Shabbos appropriately. When the People of Israel repent, God safeguards them with a wall of fire,” but not of the incinerating type, the Chacham added.

Rabbi Dov Lior writes that the fire was Divine punishment for giving away parts of the land of Israel to terrorists.

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu calls for soul searching on the individual and national level.

Rabbi Uri Sherki says that the fire was "yissurim shel ahava", and that it was in place of a potentially greater disaster.

One may wonder: If Rabbi Yosef is correct, then Rabbi Lior is wrong. Likewise, if Rabbi Lior's reasoning is correct, then Rabbi Yosef is mistaken! The same with all the other rabbis mentioned. The answer is that, "eilu ve'eilu dirvrei elokim chayim". They are all correct!

A related item: Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Zini takes to task the rabbis that claimed that the current drought does not justify declaring a public fast (See echoes of that in the comment section of this post).

The Era Of Redemption

Listen to this lesson (in Hebrew) by Rabbi Uri Sherki. Below is a picture of the Knesset as seen from Givat Ram: