How Do You Find Comfort After a Grandchild's Tragic Death at the Baba Sali Memorial? Exclusive Interview with Rabbi Shalom Arush

Four years have passed since the heavy tragedy that befell the Arush family: the toddler Faiga Chana, of blessed memory, who was only one year and eight months old, died in a severe car accident. The tragedy occurred when the family was on their way back from the Baba Sali memorial in Netivot. The vehicle, carrying the rabbi's son, his wife, and two children besides the infant, was involved in a head-on collision. The family members emerged from the car conscious, but the infant was severely injured. Rescue teams who rushed to the scene evacuated her to the hospital while performing CPR, but the hospital doctors had to pronounce her dead. Rabbi Shimon, the father who was also injured in the accident, was not informed of the loss of his daughter. Only a few days later, when he had somewhat recovered, his father, Rabbi Shalom Arush, had to inform his son that he had lost his little girl.

"Hashem gave, and Hashem took away," said Rabbi Arush after the tragedy. "He decreed to take her pure soul and elevate it to heaven. To bring her to the Garden of Eden. We do not question. We accept everything with love."

The rabbi further said at the time: "We must understand that there are very special souls that choose of their own will to come into the world. They choose to come into the world for a year or two just to bring correction to the world. These are the souls of the children taken from us suddenly before they have tasted the taste of sin, because that is what they wanted, to come for a short time and correct. Faiga Chana was such a sweet soul, so full of goodness, as her mother said about her, that there was not a drop of evil in her. There is not a single drop of wickedness or sin in them. Everything is pure and clear in them, and so they ascend above when they are completely pure. I told my daughter-in-law that now in the Garden of Eden they enjoy Faiga Chana no less than we enjoyed her, from her pure soul, from the goodness that was in her."

Rabbi Arush is the head of the "Chut Shel Chessed" institutions and one of the prominent rabbis of the Breslov Hasidism. He is also known as the "Minister of Joy" and the "Minister of Smile," due to his tendency to include humor in his lessons and sermons. The interview with the rabbi was conducted yesterday, Wednesday afternoon, on the eve of the Baba Sali memorial: "Indeed, four years ago on the way back from the memorial the accident happened. My son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren were involved, and the infant, of blessed memory, went to a world that is all good. Blessed be His name forever, we believe in Hashem and the way He leads us and we accepted it with love. With the help of Hashem, it was very difficult to strengthen the parents, but they also gained strength and accepted the trial with love. We believe with complete faith that Hashem knows what He is doing in His world. Our basic principle is that blessed be His name loves us, everything He does is just because He loves us, even if we do not understand what He does. We believe that everything is good and for the best. This is the first point - blessed be His name is all good, kindness, and mercy. Everything He does is for the benefit of man, therefore when a person holds onto faith he accepts everything with joy, love, and ease." The rabbi adds and notes that "since the tragedy, another daughter was born to them."

When someone is within a trial, it is hard for them to accept the difficulty with love, how do you cope in such a situation?

"The only way to open the gates is through gratitude and acknowledgment, as it is written: 'Enter His gates with thanksgiving.' When a person decides to throw away their reasoning, and believes that Hashem is good and merciful, and He loves us - at that moment the gates of heaven open. When a person is not willing to accept the Creator's decision, everything remains closed, because as if it raises the question - who is right? The person or the Holy One, blessed be He.

"We know that Hashem is righteous, so that's it - no complaints. If a person does not accept what happens to them, they as if say that Hashem is not right, and it raises accusations against the person. When a person cries the gates close, and when they thank Hashem – the gates open. A person must say to Hashem: 'Creator of the World, I accept what you do and thank you, you are all kindness and mercy, what you do is just because of your love for me. You know what you are doing.'

How does the rabbi deal with challenges that come his way?

"Exactly like this. I accept with love what Hashem does from faith that Hashem knows better than I do what is good for me. That is the way, that is the battle over faith. A person thinks they can understand Hashem and the way He operates in the world - but it's impossible to understand Hashem. That's the battle over faith."

In recent years, parents face a challenging educational problem: youth who drop out and leave the path. What do you say to parents in such a situation?

"The main thing that helps is to accept the trial with love, and to justify it. One must say: 'These sufferings are due to me. The son is not to blame, this is what I deserve - and I accept it with love.' After acknowledging, pray for the child, among the other children of Israel, and see miracles. When one accepts the trial with love - the prayers are answered. I go through this closely with many parents, and the things are not said theoretically. Everything I say is based on experience."

Often people face difficulty in finding a match, or they still have no children. Alternatively, people face health issues. What advice is there for dealing with suffering?

"There are no troubles and sufferings. There is faith or lack of faith. Everything depends on the person's outlook. Everything is good. If a person believes – then everything is good. If a person does not believe, they suffer. The suffering exists if the person does not accept what Hashem does with them, and that's it."

We are on the eve of the Baba Sali memorial. "The Baba Sali was a righteous person who lived for the people of Israel literally. He received people every day, hours upon hours, and helped the people of Israel. He used to pray prayers that abolished decrees and brought abundance to the people of Israel. He lived for the people, and the people of Israel return to him and love him. He had immense power to annul judgments, nature, and bad decrees. This is a righteous person who is loved."

What is the rabbi's message to the people of Israel?

"The people of Israel need to know that Hashem loves us. Each person in their place needs to know - Hashem loves you with such love that every second He thinks: 'What can I give to my son or daughter?' If a person had such faith - they would continue to receive abundance. A person must understand and know that Hashem wants to give them more and more, and what should one do to merit this abundance? Pray. The words of prayer are a vessel to receive abundance. Each word is a vessel for abundance, and gratitude and acknowledgment are a great and powerful vessel to bring down abundance."