A rabbi’s son was slashed in the head during the Monsey stabbing spree — and may have dodged death because the suspect “didn’t know how to use the machete properly,” according to another rabbi.
Rabbi Shmuel Gancz of Chabad of Suffern traveled to Good Samaritan Hospital to visit Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg’s 25-year-old son, a man he didn’t know previously but felt compelled to meet.
“I introduced myself and said, ‘When one Jew is hurt, we’re all hurt. You were stabbed as a Jew and you’re my brother and I’m here for you,'” Gancz told LoHud on Monday.
The son, who wasn’t identified in the news report by name, was one of five Hasidic Jewish men injured Saturday night when madman Grafton Thomas allegedly stormed Rottenberg’s home wielding a machete.
“This boy, this son of the rabbi, came up from the basement because he heard commotion upstairs. His family, including his 1-year-old and 2-year-old, were downstairs in the basement,” said Gancz. “He ran up to see what was going on and opened the door and that’s when the guy got him.”
The son, who was caught by the blade on the forehead, flew backward, down a flight of stairs and injured his back.
Gancz said the man was lucky his injuries weren’t worse. One of the injured victims, Joseph Neumann, underwent brain surgery following the attack and was “not doing well,” family has said.