The wife of a yungerman who was arrested for failing to report to the draft office broke down in tears during an emotional phone call with Rosh Yeshiva Rav Avraham Salim, who reached out to offer chizuk, guidance, and reassurance amid the unfolding crisis.

During the conversation, Rav Salim spoke with Esti Ben Dayan, the wife of Reb Avraham Ben Dayan, who was detained after an encounter with civilian police and transferred to military custody. The call was marked by pain, fear, and encouragement, alongside a commitment from the Rosh Yeshiva to remain personally involved and to daven for her husband’s release.

Rav Salim opened the conversation with words of chizuk, acknowledging the severity of the situation. “It’s very hard, but don’t worry, don’t worry. Everyone is davening for him and doing everything possible so that he should truly be released. They only want to frighten. This is a great test. I heard that you were married only recently. But this is a harsh decree on all bnei Torah,” he said.

Esti Ben Dayan then described to the Rosh Yeshiva the chain of events that led to her husband’s arrest and the difficult days that followed. According to her account, her husband was stopped during what appeared to be a routine civilian police check when he stepped out briefly to take care of an errand. “They stopped him just for a regular inspection,” she said. “They told him they wouldn’t do anything to him—and from Motzaei Shabbos I had no contact with him. I didn’t know where he was. Only the next day, at two in the afternoon, did he call me for the first time. They told me they took him to Prison 10.”

She went on to describe how shaken her husband sounded when they finally spoke. “He sounded completely broken, terrified by everything that happened. He was worried that the family shouldn’t find out. There’s no real way to communicate with him. We’re waiting for every phone call. This is a decree that’s impossible to bear. He simply went out and never came back,” she said.

Mrs. Ben Dayan also recounted the deep pain her husband expressed over not being allowed to put on tefillin while in custody. “He said, ‘It’s not enough that I’m arrested—they don’t even let me put on tefillin.’ He was completely broken by that,” she told Rav Salim.

The Rosh Yeshiva responded with further words of chizuk, expressing both personal empathy and a broader sense of responsibility for the tzibbur. “This causes a lot of worry, it brings so much anxiety. I understand—it’s truly cruelty. This is a test; we need to accept everything with love, and everything will pass. This isn’t only about him, it’s not only about you—it’s about everyone. This is what all bnei Torah are going through. And these are our fellow Jews—that’s what hurts. You need patience. Know that everyone truly cares about him. With Hashem’s help, when he is released—all of the Torah world, the entire yeshiva world, is with you,” Rav Salim said.

At the end of the call, Mrs. Ben Dayan asked that the Rosh Yeshiva do whatever he could to help secure her husband’s release and to continue davening on their behalf. Rav Salim promised to speak again with the attorney handling the case and asked for the detainee’s full name for tefillah: Avraham ben Basya Rus.

{Matzav.com}