During a shiur on Monday night, Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein delivered guidance steeped in Torah, sensitivity, and heart. Speaking in the Beis Knesses HaMerkazi of Ramat Elchanan in Bnei Brak, the Rosh Yeshiva addressed pressing halachic questions that have arisen in recent days amid ongoing rocket attacks.
During the shiur, a participant shared a striking account: a southern shul had been entirely burned down in a missile strike—except for the Aron Kodesh and the Sifrei Torah. Rav Zilberstein responded with sobering candor: “Why was the shul destroyed? I’m embarrassed to tell you why. There were people there who spoke divrei beitailim in the beis haknesses… If there were no idle or negative words spoken, the shul wouldn’t have fallen. It would have brought down the one who fired the rocket! But if it collapsed, it was destroyed by those speaking lashon hara and empty talk. Not by the Arabs with their bombs.”
As the shiur progressed, a warning was issued about an imminent siren and the tzibbur was instructed to move to the shul’s underground shelter. Rav Zilberstein offered perspective: “It’s not right to say we’re ‘leaving’ the beis haknesses. We’re not leaving—we’re just moving locations. This isn’t just a shelter. It’s a beis haknesses. A place of Torah and tefillah. The shiur continues—it’s still a beis haknesses, not just a basement.”
Once in the shelter, Rav Zilberstein resumed the shiur: “We came here to learn—we didn’t come here to hide. We simply haven’t finished yet. So we’ll continue.”
Rav Zilberstein addressed further wartime questions, including whether one should recite Hamapil before going to sleep amid sirens. His answer: “You should say Hamapil, because your berachah can bring them down. You’re stronger than they are. You say Hamapil—they don’t. They’re trying to destroy Jews. We’re invoking the Ribbono Shel Olam.”
Another question was raised: If one is woken up by a siren after alos hashachar, may he return to sleep or must he first daven? Rav Zilberstein replied, “You can’t go back to sleep. Now it’s time for Krias Shema and tefillah. After that, you can sleep.”
Toward the end, Rav Zilberstein gave heartfelt words of encouragement: “I want to bless you, my dear and beloved ones. No other nation in the world does this during sirens. The other nations talk politics or debate Trump. Only one nation, when there’s a siren, gathers in shuls and learns Torah. There’s no nation like this one. Mi ke’amcha Yisroel, goy echad ba’aretz—there’s nothing like it.”
He concluded with a personal and touching piece of advice: “You need to buy something for your wife. Why? Because she was alone during the sirens. She suffered. She waited alone. You need to show her you understand that she endured this because of us. Buy something small—a treat, a little gift—something to let her know you appreciate her pain and are there for her.”
{Matzav.com Israel}