During the funeral of four-year-old Shalom Seginer, the son of Rabbi Assaf Seginer and grandson of the leader of the “Chut Shel Chessed" institutions, his grandfather, Rabbi Shalom Arush, addressed the tragedies that occur during the vacation period from yeshiva in the haredi community, both in Israel and abroad.
In his remarks, the rabbi focused on a message of spiritual strengthening and awakening for the Jewish people and warned against complacency during the vacation period.
“All of the Jewish people need to strengthen themselves. Tragedies always happen during bein hazmanim (the vacation period). All of the Jewish people should take it upon themselves during bein hazmanim to set aside fixed times for Torah study, including the children. Children say, ‘We’re on vacation.’ There is no vacation from Torah. The dead are free; there is no vacation from Torah."
Rabbi Arush also sharpened his message regarding travel abroad, calling on the public to exercise caution and refrain from trips that do not have a clearly spiritual purpose.
“Travel abroad? Only to the graves of the righteous. I told my daughter that they should travel to the grave of the Lubavitcher Rebbe," he said.
The large funeral procession departed this morning from the “Chut Shel Chessed" yeshiva in Jerusalem for the Mount of Olives cemetery, where thousands of family members, members of the community, and members of the public accompanied him to his final resting place and paid their last respects.
Shalom Seginer drowned in a swimming pool during a family vacation in Mexico.