Yeshiva students in Bnei Brak, studying with coronavirus precautions (illustrative)
Yeshiva students in Bnei Brak, studying with coronavirus precautions (illustrative)Yossi Zeliger/Flash90

Rabbi Shlomo Broyer, who serves as the spiritual guide for students at the Beit Matityahu yeshiva, spoke to the students about the yeshiva's coronavirus outbreak, Kikar Hashabbat reported.

The outbreak - one of the worst in the country - has caused the infection of most of the yeshiva's students, as well as its dean.

"What has G-d decreed on us?" he said. "We don't know G-d's calculations, but each one should think to himself whether he is suffering from the fact that the virus spread amongst us."

"In the general calculation, our yeshiva unfortunately has had many people fall ill. There's no educational institution with such a high number of people infected. It was all decreed. The fact that there are so many people infected in our yeshiva says something. We need to think about the Torah's honor, about respecting synagogues. G-d doesn't want us in the yeshiva, He doesn't want us in the study hall. He loves us, but He took our study hall from us, he took our great learning."

"There is disrespect of the Torah's honor, there is disrespect of Torah scholars. When it's not respected enough by us, then G-d takes it from us. We need to strengthen ourselves a lot in the areas of honoring Torah, honoring Torah scholars, honoring those who learn Torah, honoring ourselves, with our behavior, so that someone who learns Torah will be appreciated."

Rabbi Broyer added that the yeshiva "is in the focus of all the media outlets. We need to respect the Torah's honor ourselves, so that the honor of those who learn Torah won't be disgraced, which is where we are. So that through us, Torah will be respected and G-d will be respected; so that through us, prayer will be respected and the study hall will be respected."

"This is our obligation," he emphasized. "The trait of judgement has hit us in a huge way. Each heart knows how bitter his soul is."