Jerusalem – An outspoken Israel rabbi whose pronouncements have often been the subject of controversy said that desecration of the Sabbath is to blame for last week’s deadly parking garage collapse in Tel Aviv that took the lives of six people.
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As previously reported on VIN News (http://bit.ly/2cmLrB4), more than 20 were injured in the accident which took place at a construction site in northern Tel Aviv.
Rabbi Meir Mazuz, a well known figure in the Sephardic community and the head of Yeshiva Kisse Rahamim, made his remarks during a lecture in Bnei Brak last night, as reported by Ynet News.
“What happened, the disaster this week, nothing like this ever happens,” said Rabbi Mazuz. “There are engineers. There are smart people. There are inspectors. And dozens of people are buried underground. It all comes because they disrespect Shabbat.”
In his remarks, Rabbi Mazuz singled out Israel’s highest ranking elected official.
“Running away from Shabbat is the largest mistake in the world…prime ministers need to understand that the Shabbat will not forgive…the Almighty gave us a good gift, the Shabbat. You must not harm the Shabbat.”
The explosion of the Amos 6 satellite was also caused by a lack of adherence to the laws of Shabbos, noted Rabbi Mazuz who observed that the earlier launch of the Amos 2 satellite had been successful because it involved no desecration of the Sabbath.
“Hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in it,” said Rabbi Mazuz. “They just started to launch it [and Amos 6] exploded. Why? Because the other was done while observing the Shabbat and this one was not.”
The Mazuz camp sought to soften the remarks after they were delivered, saying that Rabbi Mazuz had been addressing state sponsored actions that violated the laws of Shabbos and not those performed by individuals.
Rabbi Mazuz, the spiritual leader of the Yachad party, is not one to shy away from controversy. In the past he has encouraged Israeli soldiers to disobey orders to evacuate settlements, asked for leniency for those who don’t pay taxes because they have dedicated their lives to Torah study and proclaimed that Sephardic Jews were largely spared during the Holocaust because of their adherence to a Torah lifestyle.
Rabbi Mazuz also blamed last year’s deaths last year of Eitam and Naama Henkin in a drive by terror attack on Jerusalem’s gay pride parade according to Israeli news site Walla.
“This pride march, what pride is there in going against nature?” asked Rabbi Mazuz at the shloshim for the young Israeli couple held at the Ramada Jerusalem hotel. “Pride to wage war against God? For this the punishment came.”
What an idiot.where do these people pop out from
Let’s think a moment. Could this Rabbi Mazuz consider that the parking garage disaster could be due to the activities in Har Nof – namely, the proliferation of pedophiles like Mondrowitz, Sunray, Leifer? Or 9-11 was the result of a lack of Tzniut?
His “reasoning” is just as ridiculous as my examples, and make as much sense as ISIS blaming infidels for global warming. Whoever takes this guy seriously also is a sandwich short of a picnic.
Such a wise and holy prophet. Where do I sign up to be in his service.
Unfortunately these opinions don’t bring anyone to Teshuvah, but have the opposite effect: they r’l drive people away from Yahadus
So, this one knows why parking garages collapse and satellites explode because he obviously must have a direct קשר with שמים. How regrettable that we have debilitated down to this level.
Horoheh shitzoros boin olov, yafashfase b’maisov
Isn’t he being presumptuous? I mean, his claim assumes he has personal knowledge of the ratzon of Hashem.
Good for him
Nevuah is back! Mazal Tov!
Maybe he can picking the winning lottery ticket or stocks, to alleviate the misery of too many.
For all you brainy people out there. I dont know this man& you can all poke as much fun as u want on/from him. BUT if a mitzvah in EY is worthier than in the Diaspora than so is sin. To openly desecrate Shabos in the holy land of EY is beyond sin. Hashem absolutly sends His punishment to the people desecrating the holy Shabos. Call it as u want. Its absolutely Hashems anger over the overt chilil Shabos. This is the so called “yiddishe medinah”. I dont know if I shld cry or laugh. It aint a free world out there folks. You gotta abide by His holy Torah or suffer His wrath. Its plain & simple.
One has to investigate the context in which Rav Mazzuz’s remarks were made. When someone gives mussar to a receptive audience – which I suspect was the scenario here – statements such as these are appropriate.
Didn’t discredited evangelical xtian Jerry Falwell blame an earthquake on some sin he thought caused it? I thought Jewish gedolim were more enlightened than that. Guess not…
Another BRILLIANT know-it-all. They seem to be coming out of the wood work lately.
No freebies out there..
It’s a give and take in this world… We can’t exactly play the tit for tat game, but everything is midda keneged midda….surely everything happens because of our sins.
Why else are we in golus in the first place?
Maybe it was shoddy concrete or a lack of safety standards?
Does anyone remember a certain Chief Rabbi saying that the 39 missiles from Iraq during the 1st Gulf War were because of chillul Shabbos?