Dying by the Word of Hashem
R’ Yosef Buzaglo was a G-d-fearing Jew, precious to one and all, and a beloved chazan. He died a most sudden, tragic death, in his prime. My disciple, R’ Shmuel Moyal was witness to his death. This is his account:
A few moments before Minchah was to begin, I asked R’ Yosef when he was going to start the prayer. He said, “In another ten minutes.” I asked why wait so long. But he was adamant. Ten minutes later, he began.
After Minchah services, R’ Yosef left the Beit Hamidrash, wearing earphones so that he could listen to a Torah lecture. A car came careening down the street and ran him over, killing him on the spot. He died while listening to divrei Torah.
There is no room to say that had he begun the prayer five minutes earlier, he would have been spared this calamity. This was Hashem’s decree, and we may not question it. Hashem’s ways are hidden from us. But one thing we can learn from this incident is that all of our actions should be l’shem Shamayim. We should strive to learn Torah constantly.
