Why Siblings Die in Terror Attacks

THE DAILY CHIZZUK BY OUR REBBI RAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT"A -- THE STUDENTS OF RABBI AKIVA DIED BECAUSE THEY DID NOT HONOR ONE ANOTHER

MONDAY, 28 TAMMUZ 5783 -- "IT'S FORBIDDEN TO HOLD A GRUDGE AGAINST ANY JEW"

These are his holy words:

After the tribe of Shimon sinned with the daughters of Midian, within a second, 24,000 died.  We count the 24,000 during Sefirat HaOmer; then we divide this into 33 days.  This is 730 people a day.

Now two children died -- one Asher Menachem z"l and the second Yaakov Yisrael z"l of the Paley family -- the entire country has been turned over.  Another two girls Maia Esther Dee z"l, 20 years-old and her sister Rina Miriam Dee z"l, 15 years-old.  The entire country has been turned over.  It's impossible to digest this.  After this, another two soldiers who keep Shabbat, from a Hesder Yeshiva -- Yigal Yisrael z"l and his brother Hillel Menachem z"l -- another time two, and it's always siblings.

THIS ALWAYS COMES OUT SIBLINGS.  THE WHOLE THING IS THAT IT'S FORBIDDEN TO HOLD A GRUDGE AGAINST ANY PERSON IN THE WORLD, BECAUSE WHAT IS THE MEANING THAT THE STUDENTS OF RABBI AKIVA DID NOT HONOR ONE ANOTHER?  THAT IN THEIR HEARTS, THEY HELD GRUDGES!  [THE RAV MEANS TO SAY THAT THE YOUNG SIBLINGS MURDERED IN TERRORIST ATTACKS WERE PURE KEDOSHIM WHO DIED TO ATONE FOR BROTHERLY HATRED AMONG THE JEWISH NATION.]

IT'S FORBIDDEN FOR ANY PERSON TO HOLD A GRUDGE IN THEIR HEART AGAINST ANY JEW!!

24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva -- this is 12,000 pairs, like they would learn as chevrutas, and all of them died in 33 days.  A person always holds a grudge, but it's forbidden for him to hold a grudge.  If he holds a grudge, then he's liable to death.

Therefore, in Sefirat HaOmer, we don't get a haircut, don't shave the beard until Erev Shavuot.