Rabbi Arush Grandson Funeral: Thousands Mourn 4-Year-Old

Thousands gathered in Jerusalem on Tuesday to attend the funeral of Shalom Saginer, a four-year-old boy who drowned in a swimming pool in Mexico over the weekend.

The child's body was flown to Israel on a special flight and arrived at Ben Gurion Airport early Tuesday morning. The funeral procession departed from the Chut Shel Chesed yeshiva on Shmuel HaNavi Street in Jerusalem, led by the boy's grandfather, Rabbi Shalom Arush, a prominent kabbalist and spiritual leader.

During the funeral, Rabbi Arush eulogized his young grandson through tears. In a display of faith, he then broke into songs of thanksgiving to God beside the child's casket, a practice rooted in the Jewish tradition of accepting divine decrees even in moments of profound grief.

Shalom Saginer's funeral (Photo: Kobi Israel)

Family members and the large crowd that filled the street joined in the emotional singing, many weeping openly.

In a particularly poignant moment, the boy's preschool teacher stood beside the casket and began singing the Hebrew alphabet before the assembled mourners. Crying, the teacher explained that these were the very letters the young child was meant to be learning now. Instead, the teacher said, he would now learn them in the heavenly academy, close to the Divine Presence.

Following the eulogies, the funeral procession made its way to the Mount of Olives cemetery in Jerusalem, where the child was laid to rest.