Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch Calls Newlywed Kallah After Husband Jailed During Sheva Brachos

[Video below.] Maran Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, rosh yeshiva of Slabodka, personally spoke with the newlywed kallah whose husband was arrested by Israeli military police during their week of Sheva Brachos, offering words of encouragement and reassurance as efforts continue to secure the young chosson’s release.

Rav Hirsch, who is currently in London on behalf of Keren Olam HaTorah, contacted the kallah following the arrest of her husband, Yaari Lieberman, a talmid of Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim headed by Rav Reuven Elbaz.

During the conversation, Rav Hirsch acknowledged the tremendous difficulty of the young couple’s circumstances and sought to strengthen the kallah as she faces the prospect of spending the remainder of her Sheva Brachos without her husband.

“This is a very difficult situation. Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives people challenges. From this difficult challenge, you will have blessing, success, and a happy life together with your chosson,” Rav Hirsch told her in Hebrew.

The conversation came shortly after a military court sentenced Lieberman to 20 days in military prison following his arrest Sunday morning.

Lieberman was detained by military police while walking alongside his new wife after the couple had gotten off a bus on their way to a Sheva Brachos celebration.

According to eyewitness accounts, the officers who carried out the arrest were dressed in civilian clothing and did not display visible identification. The kallah, reportedly unaware that the men taking her husband away were military police officers, initially feared that he was being abducted.

Lieberman was subsequently transferred to Military Prison 10 at Beit Lid, where he was ordered to serve a 20-day sentence for failing to comply with military draft requirements.

The circumstances of the arrest, particularly its timing during the couple’s first week of marriage, have generated widespread outrage in the chareidi community and prompted demonstrations in Yerushalayim and Beit Shemesh.

Chareidi political representatives have also intervened, calling on Defense Minister Yisrael Katz to secure Lieberman’s release and allow him to return to his wife.

Despite the military court’s ruling, organizations assisting the family are continuing their efforts to have the sentence overturned or shortened, with the immediate goal of enabling the young couple to celebrate at least part of their remaining Sheva Brachos together.