Question

I am reminded today of my brother’s sins.
My brother, may he live and be well, took part more than 10 years ago in the “million-man” demonstrations in Jerusalem — that’s what they called them then — against the draft decree that Netanyahu’s government wanted to pass at the time, and did pass.
Bottom line: to this day my brother is bitter about the rebbe in the cheder who used to seat all the children in a horseshoe shape in the classroom. They had to open prayer books and pray out loud from the prayer book, with a finger marking where they were holding. Anyone who, heaven forbid, so much as raised his eyes from the prayer book for even a second, that wicked rebbe would immediately hit him with a stick — serious, painful blows — because he had sinned by lifting his eyes from the prayer book in the middle of prayer, and in the World to Come the Angel of Death would gouge out his eyes. Day after day — it still hurts and humiliates him to this day.
My brother, may he live and be well, positioned himself at the rally together with his friends at some spot, and noticed that on the balcony opposite there were several synagogue officials, and at the front there was a major, serious, esteemed Hasidic rebbe.
They handed out prayer sheets; the rebbe had one too; and the cantor went on and on with Psalms, selichot, Mincha, Avinu Malkeinu, etc.
At some point even the great rebbe got tired of the endless prayer-demonstration and was tempted to peek up from the selichot and prayer sheet at the crowd.
My brother, may he live and be well, looked into the eyes of that esteemed rebbe, at first innocently: how could he take his eyes off the prayer book during prayer and not fear the Angel of Death who would gouge out his eyes?
Later, my brother, may he live and be well, and his companions got the point: in carefully organized shifts they stared straight into the eyes of the esteemed rebbe, and every time he tried to feast his eyes on anything at all outside the sheet-prayer book, they fixed their eyes on him. Again and again the rebbe was embarrassed, and again and again got stuck with his eyes inside the prayer book-sheet — maybe not for fear of the Angel of Death gouging out his eyes, but because of the eyes of the gang of jesters stationed opposite him.
Now years have passed. My brother, may he live and be well, has matured, the esteemed rebbe has aged, and it turns out that the balcony — or at least parts of it — is rented out to rebbes for many thousands, and among other things the official price index is visibility: that you can see well, that you can be seen well, camera angle, etc.
Seemingly this is visual intrusion in the full sense: the esteemed rebbe apparently paid top dollar in order to feast his eyes, and they, with their eyes, repeatedly prevented him from that pleasure.
Does one need to ask forgiveness from the esteemed rebbe?
Is there any obligation of payment, monetary compensation, for having prevented him from part of the proper use of the balcony for which he paid so dearly?
 
Sorry for the delay of more than 10 years — today’s demonstration brought the memories back.