Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, leader of the Lithuanian-haredi community, on Tuesday night responded to the deadly terror attack in Bnei Brak and the other recent terror attacks in Hadera and Be'er Sheva , Kikar Hashabbat reported. The Bnei Brak shooting, carried out Tuesday night by a Palestinian Authority Arab terrorist, left five people dead. During his weekly class, Rabbi Edelstein said, "There are Jews who were killed, one is a Torah scholar who was killed, what is this?" "Why did this happen all of a sudden? It could be that Rabbi Chaim [Kanievsky] has died and so we lack merits. We have lost a righteous man." Related articles: Religious Zionist rabbi mourns with family of Rabbi Edelstein Hoping to end boycott, Angel execs apologize to Edelstein family Prime Minister visits family of Rabbi Edelstein First street to be named after recently-deceased haredi leader "What must we do? What do we need to strengthen? The world stands on three things: Torah, service of G-d, and acts of kindness. Every person, regardless of whether he works for a living, does not work, every Jew has his obligations, what he can add in Torah, what he can add in fear of G-d, in good character, in learning books of ethics." Rabbi Edelstein then quoted from the Talmud, and explained, "Whoever is an important person has the merit of being an influence to bring merits to the People of Israel." He added, "The righteous are punished for the sins of the generation in order to bring merit to the generation."
