JERUSALEM (VINnews) — An Israeli rabbi whose two sons were caught in a drowning incident, leaving one in critical condition and the other missing, issued an emotional appeal Sunday asking for forgiveness and urging spiritual reflection.
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Bchadrei Charedim reports that, Rabbi Shlomo Spiegel, head of a yeshiva group in Jerusalem’s Beit Yisrael neighborhood, sent a message to his students calling on them to pray for his sons and to strengthen their conduct toward others.
In the message, Spiegel described the ordeal as a deeply personal and spiritual shock, writing that he felt singled out by divine providence. He reflected on the timing of the incident during the period of the Counting of the Omer, when Jewish tradition emphasizes respect and unity, and warned against failures in interpersonal conduct.
“With eyes swollen from tears, I ask forgiveness,” he wrote, urging anyone who may have been hurt by him or his family to grant full forgiveness. He also asked that anyone with financial grievances come forward so they could be addressed.
Spiegel also shared the names for prayer — Avraham Yeshayahu ben Shoshana and Yissachar Dov ben Shoshana — asking the public to pray for their recovery and safety.
He encouraged his students and followers to take on practical commitments, including avoiding hurtful speech and exercising greater sensitivity in daily interactions, saying such efforts could bring merit for his sons.
The incident, involving two brothers from a haredi family, has drawn widespread attention in Israel, as rescue teams continue searching for the missing son while the other remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Community members have responded with prayers and calls for unity as authorities continue efforts related to the case.
Hashem yrachem aleihem. 🙁
While avoiding hateful speech, and being kind, and being financially honest are always very important, the most obvious response to this tragedy is to take to heart Kiddushin 29a, “And some say a father is also obligated to teach him to swim”. It is possible to teach children to swim without violating modesty, by holding separate swim classes. There are pools in every municipality in Israel; there should be children’s swim classes running non-stop in every city, town, and village. The ultraorthodox, who follow imperatives from their leaders, should be told to enroll their children in swim classes!
One summer, siixty years ago, I was learning at a yeshiva outside Netanya. One erev Shabbos, a group of us went to swim in the Meditrranean. In order to avoid a nearby mixed swimming area where there was a lifeguard and a flag, indicating it was an approved swimming area, we walked about 200 yards south. As we walked out into the water, I was perhaps a step ahead of the others. Suddenly I felt my feet pulled out from under me and in a moment, my feet were off the ground and I was being pulled out into the sea. I reached out to a bochur right behind me, who grabbed my hand and pulled me back to safety. Shortly, the lifeguard came running down to us and screamed at us for avoiding his approved swimming area. He explained, the flag he placed in the water indicated he had personally investigated his area to be sure there was no undertow in his area, and that we could have all been pulled out to sea in our area, which had not been checked.
I believe we all knew how to swim. If the city had established a non-mixed approved swim area, we would have gone there. But there was only a mixed swim area where we were, and we foolishly took a chance. We really didn’t think we would get caught and if we did, we thought we could escape it. B’h, we survived. All yeshivas should warn bochrim about the danger of undertows and not to swim in an unapproved swim area. And every seaside town should provide separate swim areas for men and women.
Which one is the son that is still missing? I want to daven for him. TYIA