NO, NO, NO, NO ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! There is no excuse, none. If a Rebbe loves a talmid he can find another way to discipline a child. On the flip side, it is obvious if a Rebbe does NOT love the talmid he has no place at all potching a child because it is only done in anger. So that knocks ALL their excuses out right from the start.
It is “ABUSE” any which way you look at it. In this day and age, the rules of “don’t touch others’ children” are VERY, VERY clear. If a Rebbe hits your child he is out of control and does not belong in the classroom. And if he hit your child he has hit others before.
Many, many moons ago, when my boys were in elementary yeshiva in BP (actually a chasidish yeshiva) I was head of PTA. At any rate, I was carpooling the boys and one of the boys mentioned that the Rebbe swung his belt with the buckle out and knocked out a child’s tooth. This was the 4th grade. I was appalled. I dropped off the kids in the front of the building and went to park my car. I went back to the classroom and peeked in the window of the class. It was a zoo. The Rebbe could not get control of the class. It was obvious why he resorted to the dangerous tactics that he did and that he didn’t have the knowledge and training he needed to be a Rebbe for that age boys.
I knocked on the door and called him out to speak with him. I asked him about that incident. I asked him if he had ever touched my son? I told him that he is not allowed to touch any child. He told me that he would not hit my child again. I told him that he is lucky that the parents did not sue the Yeshiva for what he did and even more lucky that he only knocked out the child’s tooth and not his eye or bust his eardrum! I told him that he didn’t hear me correctly. That if I heard that he touched ANY child again, I personally would call the police and have him removed from the building.
My next stop was to the Rosh’s office to relay the events that just occurred. I warned the Rosh, who was a very warm and loving man, that they were at risk for a law suit because of this Rebbe and he needs to set him straight. I also repeated that if I hear that he touched another child I personally would call the police. The two of us had years of history and understood each other very well.