Why Young Men Die in Strange Ways Before Their Time

Due to the increase in difficult cases, they asked our teacher, the holy Gaon Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, in these words: "Honored Rav, why are many young men of Anash (our people) dying this year in strange ways, and how can this plague be stopped?!"

Our teacher, Rav Berland shlit"a, answered with tears in a chilling and painful response: "Because they dispute the Rav, because they try to cause young men to stumble into disputing the Rav. They cause them to stumble, and they believe in it. So there are car accidents, they drown in pools, may Hashem save us."

It is heartbreaking; our teacher, the Rav shlit"a, grieves for every loss, for every soul taken in the prime of its life. The tzaddik takes upon himself the burden of the suffering of the people of Israel and works incessantly to sweeten the decrees that are awakened by our many sins time and time again. However, our holy Rebbe already said that through dispute, the adversary (chas v'shalom) can prosecute and take from his followers even before the completion of their tikkun (rectification).

We do not know the calculations of Heaven, but we must bring the words of the tzaddik in order to prevent, chas v'shalom, further tragic losses before their time. It is clear that the righteous who have passed away are not among those who dispute the tzaddik, but because of all the poison circulating in the air that seeps into souls, damage is caused to those who listen.