Residents of 'cursed' building seek rabbis' advice
After three of their neighbors die of cancer within one year, panicked residents of apartment building in haredi Ramot neighborhood approach prominent religious leaders, who suggest gossip may have brought about evil eye
One apartment building in Jerusalem was struck by disaster three times in the last year, when three of its inhabitants – fathers to multiple-child families, died of cancer.
Fearing that their building might be cursed, the distraught residents turned to several leading rabbis for counsel, and were advised to begin holding "Shmirat HaLashon" lessons aimed at preventing people from spreading gossip, and thus protecting them from the evil eye.
In light of the chain of catastrophes, the concerned residents approached prominent haredi rabbi Aharon Shteinman and raised the possibility of moving out of the "cursed" building.
The rabbi assured them that "buildings do not kill people, and so there is nothing to fear from and you may continue living there peacefully and safely."
However, he added, each of the tenants should do some soul-searching to find out why disaster struck so close to home.
Following their conversation with Rabbi Shteinman, the residents also consulted the neighborhood's rabbi Menachem Fuchs and inquired how they should go about the soul-searching mission they were tasked with.
Rabbi Fuchs instructed them to start holding regular Shmirat HaLashon lessons, and the women residents have already began attending such lessons once a week.
Moreover, and just to be on the safe side, the neighbors also invited a Jewish scribe to examine the mezuzot of all the apartments, but they were all found to be strictly kosher and in mint condition.
