Achdus - A Turn for the Worse

Rabbi David Stav - photo credit: Tablet

What is happening to my people? I am not giving up hope. But I must admit that I am discouraged by the level of animosity we observant Jews have descended into - towards each other.

We were making some progress. At least as far as some semblance of Achdus in Orthodoxy is concerned. Charedim and Centrist Jews as represented by organizations like Agudah and the RCA have found common ground on many issues and there seems to have been a meeting of the minds on issues that in the past were divisive. Not that the two organizations agreed with each other on everything. But I detected a far more collegial relationship between us.

But the tide has turned and the hateful rhetoric now being heard is disturbing. And it seems mostly to be coming from the right.

I don’t know much about Rabbi Stav other than what is available in a short bio. He is a Religious Zionist graduate of Mekaz HaRav, a Hesder Rosh Yeshiva, and the head of Tzohar.

Last week Rav Ovadia Yosef called Rabbi Stav, who is in the running for Chief Rabbi of Israel, a Rasha (evil man) and a danger to Judaism. (And from Ynet: …appointing him to the Chief Rabbinate was like bringing idolatry into the Temple.)

That generated the predictable.

Form the Jerusalem Post:

Rabbi David Stav was subject to physical and verbal intimidation Sunday night while attending the wedding of the daughter of Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy places.

Stav said that during the proceedings, several youths shoved him and attempted to hit him and pour water on him.

As he left the wedding, the youths also called him “an evil man” and “sheigetz,” a derogatory Yiddish term for a non-Jewish male.

The RCA responded to all this with a statement (translated from Hebrew in Tablet) directed to Rabbi Stav which in part said the following (from Tablet):

We trembled when we heard the terrible words which Rabbi Ovadia Yosef expressed regarding you this past Saturday night, and also of the events in Bnei Brak at the wedding of the daughter of Rabbi Rabinowitz. Is this Torah and its students? “Woe to this one who learned Torah, woe to his father who taught him Torah, woe to his rebbe who taught him Torah. Such a person who learned Torah, see how crooked his deeds are, and see how ugly his ways are.”

Rabbi Aryeh Deri, who heads Rabbi Yosef’s Sephardi political party, Shas, said that Rabbi Yosef has nothing personal against rabbi Stav. He just meant that if he were elected Chaeif Rabbi - his controversial non mainstream Psak on various issues would be harmful to the Jewish people.

I don’t know… it’s kind of hard to fit that meaning into Rav Yosef’s words. But even if I were to accept these apologetics to be true, it does not explain all the acrimony against other observant Jews, like Rabbis Dov Lipman and Shai Peron (or Rabbis Natan Slifkin and Nosson Kamenetsky). Nor does it explain the kind of rhetoric one hears from the right about – even religious Jews – who support the idea of making the draft laws in Israel fairer; and requiring Charedi schools to have a core secular curriculum. It seems the fear generated by this phenomenon has caused us - two observant and idealistic factions - to be a people apart… with no possible avenue for rapprochement.  

The wedge is getting deeper… and if it continues along these lines, what will Judaism look like in the future? Demographics are in favor of Charedim. Even if Centrists can maintain a community of their own, they will eventually be marginalized by the sheer enormity of right.

The way things seem to be going - Centrists will be seen by them as the latest version of Conservative Judaism. It won’t even surprise me if Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch will eventually be seen in the same way as Moses Mendelsohn! That the Hirschean Torah Im Derech Eretz approach is considered a B’Dieved by Charedim - means that the process of Rav Hirsch’s de-legitimization has already begun.

What kind of people will this growing demographic be? Aside from a nation of poverty, it seems to already be spawning violent reactionaries. Although Charedi rabbinic leaders call them hooligans - not representative of real Charedim – it is clear that the motives of these ‘hooligans’ are generated by the kind of rhetoric heard from Rav Yosef about Rav Stav.

And this is just the latest in a long line of such rhetoric from the right… and the youthful (and occasionally not so youthful) expressions of violence in the name of their cause. Whenever and where ever this kind of violence happens, Charedi leaders, politicians, and journalists say that it does not represent them. That the perpetrators are just a bunch of juvenile delinquents clothed in the trappings of ultra-Orthodoxy.

Sorry, I don’t buy that. These are people who are simply taking the words of their leaders to the next level. They may be few in number relative to the whole. But they are not delinquent. They are zealots for their cause.  And they are located all over Israel and the United States in places like Meah Shearim, Bnei Brak, Ramat Bet Shemesh, Williamsburg, and New Square. And they are all acting in the name of their particular Daas Torah. A Daas Torah whose rhetoric (like Rav Yosef’s words about Rav Stav) fuels their violence.

This morning I was ‘treated’ by CBS News to the spectacle of Barbra Streisand commenting on this whole scene. She is in Israel on a concert tour and performed yesterday at a celebration for Shimon Peres’s 90^th birthday. She complained about what she read in the media regarding violent religious activism on women’s rights issues. Specifically mentioning  sex segregated (Mehadrin) buses, the Women of the Wall (WoW), and public performances by female singers. This story was accompanied by visuals of youthful Charedim  at the first ‘peaceful’ protest of WoW doing their best to look like a bunch of screaming radicals bent on doing innocent people harm – just because they disagreed with them.

That she is not religious and has intermarried is not the point. Nor is the point whether one supports or opposes these issues. The point is that she is representative of what the world sees. They see people trying to assert their religious rights peacefully - being treated by Orthodox Jews the way the Taliban treats infidels.  Those images are not that different from the images of Islamic fundamentalists rioting because somebody dishonored the their Prophet Mohamed.

Is this our future? Will we become the Jewish version of the Taliban? These are the images they now see with a Jewish American icon condemning it. The more strident the Charedi leaders become in promoting their ideals while vilifying anyone in opposition, the more likely things like this will increase.  And as their demographic grows, so too will the image of Judaism become more like the image of the Taliban.

I sure hope I’m wrong.

Rabbi Dov Lipman Responds

Rabbi Dov Lipman

I cannot speak for him or predict the future. But I will go out on a limb here and say that Jonathan Rosenblum will apologize to Rabbi Dov Lipman. He is an honorable man of great integrity and will not let religious politics get in the way of doing the right thing.

In what can only be described as a justified reaction, Rabbi Dov Lipman responded in a Times of Israel article of his own to  all of Jonathan’s assumptions and accusations in his Yated ‘hit piece’. I think it was masterful  – if a bit harsh. But understandably harsh. He was hurt and insulted. At the end of that article Rabbi Lipman asks for an apology. I believe he will get one.

The only real question to be answered here is why did Jonathan do this? Why the harsh accusatory and derogatory rhetoric? I have to assume that his environment is responsible for that. The angry hateful rhetoric about Yair Lapid and Dov Lipman coming out of the Charedi world is filled with exaggeration and falsehood. It becomes difficult for anyone in that world to separate truth from fiction – fact from fantasy.

I understand the Charedi anger. What is about to happen to them is unprecedented. If all goes forward as planned - it will change the face of the Charedi world in Israel… to look a bit more like the Charedi face in America.

The Charedi rabbinic leaders in Israel who are not accustomed to these American standards are afraid of them. Why are they afraid? One can find the answer to that in Jonathan’s article. The rhetoric they use about Yair Lapid and Dov Lipman is the same kind that their rabbinic predecessors used about Czarist Russia and the Maskilim who collaborated to strip Judaism from the Jews.  They see the same thing here

They see the same insidious track  - a slippery slope of at first installing harmless subjects into the Charedi curriculum and then later adding not so harmless subjects thus slowly weaning Jews away from Judaism. Yair Lapid equals the Czar.  Dov Lipman equals the Maskilim.

Why do they not realize that things are not quite the same here and now as they were there and then? As I’ve said many times, they tend to focus only on their own Charedi world and have reactionary responses and feel the very essence of Judaism is being threatened when forces outside their world become involved. They do not bother to listen to explanation of people from the outside – even Charedim whom they feel have betrayed them. 

Jonathan Rosenblum

Jonathan lives in that world, too. He of course knows that things are not quite the same now as they were then. And he is very aware of the problems in the Charedi world. But when one is so immersed in that culture it is almost impossible not to occasionally get caught up in the rhetoric. It has become almost an article of faith to look at any attempt at change that does not come from within as having evil intent. No explanation in the world will be granted any legitimacy.  They will not listen to it. The minute one tires to effectuate a change from the outside – it’s Czarist Russia all over again.

Why do I think Jonathan will respond with an apology? Aside from the above mentioned fact about his honor and integrity – he has proven himself by having done it before. And in a way that took a lot of courage.

A few years ago on Erev Yom Kippur Jonathan called Rav Aharon Rakeffet and apologized to him for a similar dressing down in another article.  After reading a critical post I had written about it - he realized his error, and did the right thing.  He even went to the trouble of letting me know about it. I truly admire a man who can admit his mistakes.

It is my sincere hope that at the upcoming RCA convention where both Jonathan Rosenblum and Dov Lipman were invited to speak – that they will be able to interact at length and learn to respect each other.  Both men are high minded, idealistic Bnei Torah with similar goals – if not similar methods.

They are men of both courage and action. This may be the best opportunity yet for moving forward in a positive way towards a goal where the Charedi world, the Dati world, and the secular world will have its cake and eat it too. Nothing would make me happier than ridding Israel of the extremist attitudes that are so pervasive and so divisive. Working together toward the same goal might just begin to do the trick.

What about Daas Torah and Jonathan Rosenblums loyalty to it? It is true that as long as the strident opposition to the draft and core curriculum in the schools persists - there can be no ‘working together’.

But as I have said before I have detected a ‘crack in the wall’. There is no longer unanimity among Charedi Gedolim about what the right course of action should be. This was evident again last week when two of Israel’s most venerated Charedi rabbinic leaders, Rav Chaim Kanievsky and Rav Aharon Leib Steinman opposed an anti draft demonstration in contradistinction to Charedi rabbinic leaders who strongly supported it.

Perhaps after the two men encounter each other and learn the truth about each other at the RCA convention - then in the future when Jonathan presses for change he will see  a man like Dov Lipman as an asset instead of a liability. Is that too much to hope for?

A Heartfelt Apology

Rav Yisroel Beslky, RY of Torah VoDaath
Will an apology be forthcoming?

I hope the victim and his family can take some solace from this letter. On June 4^th a letter was written by Rabbi Dovid Epstein apologizing profusely for the damage he caused the family of a victim of sex abuse by a Yosef Kolko. Kolko was a ‘Mechanench’ (educator)  who confessed to that crime both privately and later publicly during his trial when the evidence for it became overwhelming.

I don’t know who Rabbi Epstein is. But it is clear from his letter that he was part of a move to treat a major Talmid Chacham in Lakewood as a pariah. They accused him of being  a Moser (someone who informs secular authorities about the illegal activities a fellow Jew – which is considered a major crime).

I am not going to get into whether Mesirah applies today. There is ample precedent among major Poskim – both past and present - that in a country where there is a fair system of Justice, Mesirah does not apply. I agree with them – as does just about all of the Poskim that I value. But the fact is that there are some Poskim that still feel it does apply in societies like ours. These are the people I am addressing.

The Lakewood community of which Rabbi Epstein is a part - is a community that seems to feel Mesirah applies even here and now.  I’m sure that the Talmid Chacham whose child was sexually abused probably believes that too. Or at least feels that one should factor in the possibility that it does. To that extent the father (let’s call him Rabbi S) played by the rules, as one would expect a Talmid Chacham of that stature to do.  Rabbi S went to some of Lakewood’s city elders and a Beis Din was convened to examine the facts of the accusation. Apparently they felt that there was enough credible evidence to require Kolko to seek counseling.

(At this point they probably should have gone to the police… and not just asked for counseling. The standard for doing so was established by no less a Posek that R’ Elyashiv who famously said that any suspicions of sex abuse that had Raglayim L’Davar (credible evidence) should be reported directly to the police. It was the Charedi rabbinic establishment that decided that such evidence could only be weighed by rabbis trained to do so. But nowhere in R’ Elyashiv’s Psak (Halachic decision) did he make that a condition of Raglayim L’Davar. But… for the sake of argument, let us say that the Charedi rabbinic establishment  makes a legitimate point in fearing that innocent people will be accused by people with vendettas against them. Rabbi S listened to his Daas Torah and went to a Beis Din and did not immediately report this to the police.)

Kolko failed to honor his commitment to psychotherapy after a couple of sessions. He instead went about his business of teaching young children Torah. Rabbi S was outraged by this – believing that Kolko presented a danger to the community. Even then he did not go directly to the police. He asked another respected rabbi – a Dayan – if he should. He was told that he could do it. A reliable source tells me however that this respected Dayan wanted plausible deniability and told Rabbi S that if he did go, he would not get any public backing from him. If true it is a shameful display of cowardice in my view.

Rabbi S then went to the police. Kolko was arrested and put on trial. At that point all hell broke loose. Rabbi S was hounded by some of the more important rabbinic leaders of the Lakewood community (mostly via surrogates). He was vilified and called all kinds of names. He was implicitly accused of sexually abusing his own son and blaming it on an innocent Jew (Kolko)!

Nasty letters were published by anonymous rabbis in Lakewood that treated him as though he was lower than garbage. One of the most sickening letters was written by Rav Yisroel Belsky, a very popular and brilliant Talmid Chacham who is a highly respected Rosh Yeshiva at Torah VoDaath; and who is also the primary Posek for Kashrus at the OU. 

Rabbi S and his family were eventually pressured to leave town. He and his family ended up in a midwestern city where the Charedi community there accepted him graciously. And courageously by going against the flagship community of Charedim in America that had basically condemned him. They believed him. He lives there now and has the respect of that entire community – despite Lakewood’s treatment of him.

Back to Rabbi Epstein. I do not fault him personally for his original behavior. He is a victim of his own Chinuch. This does not mean to say that I accept his apology. It is not mine to accept. Only Rabbi S and his family have the right to accept it. I cannot imagine the torture they must have gone through – and are probably still going through. Not only from the abuse but from the way his family has been treated by the Lakewood community that once greatly respected him.

Despite all this, I believe that Rabbi Epstein is an Ehrilche (sincerely religious) Jew. He acted in accordance with what he thought was God’s will. And he would probably do it again if not for the ‘serious error’ he realized that he made. He thought Rabbi S went to the police after being told by Poskim not to go – thus violating a Psak. He now realizes that Rabbi S actually went to a Posek and got a Psak to go.

Being the Ehrliche Jew that Rabbi Epstein is, that devastated him. He realized his part in mentally torturing an innocent man; and the role he played in ruining this man’s reputation, perhaps never to fully regain it. The remorse he expresses in this public letter of apology is very evident and very sincere. He has now too become a victim of the system - as he will probably go to the grave with this on his head. It will haunt him the rest of his life. And will likely give him no peace. He even blames his recent double by-pass  heart surgery on God’s Divine judgment of him for inflicting heartache upon that family.

This letter is a good start – but unfortunately it is well short of what needs to be done here. First, all parties to Rabbi S’s destruction must come forward and apologize the way Rabbi Epstein did. This includes any and every individual including rabbinic leaders in Lakewood - no matter how prominent.

Rabbi Belsky must accept a good deal of the blame for this upon himself. It is hard to fathom how he does not lose any sleep over this. It is hard to fathom that it does not haunt him any less than it does Rabbi Epstein - even if he were to apologize. But he has not apologized and still maintains Kolko’s innocence. I do not see how he can still say that without bringing some exculpatory evidence. I don’t think any exists or it would have been brought by now. Why is he doing this?!

Ultimately the problem is not so much with the errors that were made, but by the system that generated them. There are lessons to be learned here. And no one is beneath learning them

The fault lies with good intentions gone terribly wrong. Intentions based on a combination of fealty to Halacha, influenced by misplaced  human compassion for the accused. These are not evil people. They believed they were all acting L’Shem Shomayim – as did Rabbi Epstein.

The Kolko that they ‘knew’ was not the Kolko that existed in reality. Kolko’s public persona was a facade by a man who had a mental illness and hid it from all but his victims. I know how difficult it is to see someone who is otherwise a religious man of exemplary behavior - guilty of heinous sex crimes. Human nature can easily pre-condition you to see his accusers as liars. Especially if they have gone ‘Off the Derech’. Which they often do after they have been abused and rejected by their community. They instead see a now irreligious accuser as someone with a likely vendetta against religion. As such they have set up a system of hoops and hurdles to make it nigh impossible to prosecute a religious sex abuser for his crimes.

Unfortunately if the rabbinic leaders of Lakewood and similar communities do not change this paradigm, this will surely happen again.

A Rational but Insufficient Charedi Response

Rav Aharon Lopiansky

Rav Aharon Lopiansky is one of the reasons I insist that there ought to be Achdus between Charedim and Modern Orthodox Jews. I am a fan. Not because we agree on everything. I’m sure we don’t. But because he exudes respect for opposing points of view within Orthodoxy.

Rav Lopianky is the son in law of famed Mir Rosh Yeshiva, R’ Beinish Finkel. And the brother in law of R’  Beinish’s other more famous son in law, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel. He is also the Rosh HaYeshiva of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington in Silver Spring, Maryland.

My first encounter with him is when I heard the beautiful eulogy (Hespid Sheloshim) he gave for his brother in law, R’ Nosson Tzvi, in Skokie Yeshiva,  R’ Nosson Tzvi’s alma mater.  I later met him at a wedding in Chicago where he was the officiating rabbi. My impression of him then was that he was a wise and a humble human being, a Rosh Yeshiva with strong convictions and yet respectful of the beliefs of others. This was again evident in an article he wrote in last week’s Mishpacha Magazine.

Rav Lopiansky  tries to actually answer some of the questions I have publicly asked about the current Charedi opposition to drafting Charedim into the army - and their opposition to requiring a core curriculum for the continuation of government funding to their schools. Instead of the harsh rhetoric and cynicism that is so typical from Charedi politicians, some Charedi rabbinic leaders, and the Charedi media - he actually deals respectfully with the issues raised. Here is how Rav Lopiansky puts it: 

The questions hurled at us from the Israel arena are powerful and cogent: How long can the chareidi public shirk their responsibility to serve in the army?  Is their blood more precious than the non-chareidi’s blood?  And why can’t they add a little math and English to their curriculum? How much can it impact their Torah study? Don’t many yeshivos in America offer a richer secular curriculum without affecting the caliber of ben Torah products?

These questions need to be addressed head-on; not only for the sake of a response to “them” but for ourselves. We would be dishonest and insensitive if we did not ponder these questions with the gravity they deserve. 

How wonderful it is to see a Charedi rabbinic leader speak in terms like this! Not to mention the fact that as a student of R’ Chaim Shmulevitz he shows tremendous gratitude in this article toward the brave soldiers of the IDF. Something he points out R’ Chaim constantly did.

In the process of answering these questions he describes eloquently what the ideals of a Charedi Jew are in contra-distinction to those of the Dati or Modern Orthodox Jew. He does so not by putting down the latter two, but by describing the sublime nature of the Charedi.  He paints a beautiful picture.  One we should all respect and admire

It is from that context that he tries to explain Charedi opposition to the draft. The army, he says, is the great equalizer. The conformity and obedience to the chain of command which he concedes the army requires in order to be effective is counter to the ideals the Charedi tries to live by. The culture of the army is designed to remove all previous loyalties and replace it with loyalty to the army and the State.  Add to that the coarseness and values that are part of the army culture – and the army becomes anathema to the Charedi. 

They are in essence fighting what they see as a forced assimilation away from the Torah. Rav Lopiansky cites evidence that people who go into the army are negatively affected  religiously… especially if they go in at the critically impressionable ages of between 18  to 23. And shows that it has little if anything to do with the effectiveness of Charedi Chinuch and much more to do with a not fully matured and set Hashkafa being impacted with an onslaught of ideas foreign to everything he has been taught to that point. 

I completely understand this. But what Rav Lopiansky does not do is answer the very question he began his article with. Even with all of this, how can a Charedi justify to a grieving mother who lost a son in battle why all Charedim should be spared from that possibility?  I have yet to hear an answer to that. All the talk about the army not needing Charedim – that they already have enough people fighting still does not answer that question. If one is going to be fair about it - the possibility of being put in harm’s way in defense of one’s country should indeed be shared equally by all segments.

I would also suggest that the assimilation fears that Rav Lopiansky expresses do not justify opposition to a draft. What they justify is being drafted into the regular army. If Charedim were truly only afraid of assimilation, they would not oppose the draft, but instead insist that Nachal Charedi (or some modified version of it) be expanded to accommodate Charedi recruits so that their values would not be compromised. That would be something I would support. The logistics of how this would work can be worked out. 

The other problem Rav Lopiansky addresses is the core curriculum issue. He says that it isn’t so much secular studies themselves that Charedim  object to. It is the idea that a secular government will be dictating what to teach. Even if the current government would be respectful of Charedi sensitivities about what can and can’t be taught, there may arise another government with a different anti Torah agenda.

I understand this fear. But I do not believe that this alone is the problem. The problem is that Charedi rabbinic leaders have no interest in educating their male students in anything other than pure Torah (mostly Gemarah). If they had any interest in secular studies they would have offered them by now.

That they are not opposed to a core curriculum on a religious basis is evidenced by how Charedi girls are educated. They actually have a core curriculum much better than the minimal one proposed by the government. The same thing is true for Maarva, the Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva that bucked the Charedi system and offers a curriculum that requires taking the Bagrut - the national test required for an official high school diploma.

If Charedim were truly only afraid of what the government would mandate – let them look to the girl’s schools or Maarava and implement that. If they had anything like that until now, is there any question that this would not be an issue? Instead of fighting a core curriculum they should be saying OK, we’ll have one but we will decide which subjects they will teach. I don't think the government would object if the boys would have the same secular studies program as their girls do. 

So even the I admire and respect what Rav Lopiansky has tried to do here – and the way in which he tried to do it, I do not think he succeeded in answering the very real "powerful and cogent" challenges he concedes are being asked by the secular and Dati/MO side.

That said, if all Charedim were of the caliber of a man like Rav Lopiansky, I truly believe we could work things out.

Jonathan Rosenblum’s Hit Piece on Dov Lipman and the RCA

Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld

I am truly disappointed in one of my Charedi heroes, Jonathan Rosenblum. I can already hear my detractors saying  ‘I told you so’ or saying that my beliefs about moderate Charedim  are completely wrong.

But they are wrong. I still consider Jonathan one of my Charedi heroes. He has proven himself to be moderate more than once.

But not this time.  In an article in the Yated he has attacked the RCA for inviting Rabbi Dov Lipman to give a keynote address at their convention. He then goes about ripping Rabbi Lipman to shreds… describing him as a self promoter with ulterior motives who comprised his principles by joining a secular party. A party whose platform endorses a more secular government. One which would implement non Halachic innovations like civil marriages.

As further proof that he is not an appropriate choice to keynote the RCA convention - he cites Rabbi Lipman’s approach to controversial issues facing Israel. Like his advocacy of lowering the Charedi standards of observance requirements for converts; his support for the Women of the Wall; and his argument that the Kotel is not a Beis HaKenesses and therefore does not require a Mechitza. (Hmmmm… that sounds familiar.)

It is fair to question Rabbi Lipman about his views from a Charedi perspective. But to deny him a platform  to explain himself publicly to the primary Orthodox rabbinic organization in the United States because of these questions is just plain wrong, and unfair.  Rabbi Lipman is not a Reform rabbi. He still considers himself to be not only Orthodox but Charedi. That he has reached a decidedly non Charedi approach to some issues, does not take away from that claim. I’m sure he still maintains many Charedi Hanhagos ( customs) like wearing a velvet Kipa and a black hat; using only Cholov Yisroel products; and not relying on the Heter Mechira for Shmitta years. He probably still sees Torah study as being of paramount importance – despite his advocacy of drafting Charedim into the military.

But even if he has somehow lost his credentials as a Charedi because of his controversial views, there is no question that he is Orthodox.  To criticize the RCA for allowing Rabbi Lipman to speak is to say that opinions that are contrary to mainstream Charedi thinking in Israel are illegitimate and should not be heard.

Of course Jonathan has said the reverse. That giving Rabbi Lipman a platform is tantamount to endorsing his ‘anti Charedi’ views. I do not see it that way at all. Although I might agree with Jonathan that along with Rabbi Lipman a speaker promoting the Charedi side of things might have been a more balanced thing for the RCA to do.

One of the arguments Jonathan makes is that we here in the United States ought to ‘not mix in’ to the issues affecting Charedim in Israel. (I assume he means even American Charedim. That would mean that even an endorsement of the Charedi position by American rabbinic leaders should not be made. It was of course made by  Agudah. Jonathan did not complain then. But I digress.)

He says that we are not familiar with the ‘nuances’ of Israeli life and we can’t possibly understand the opposition to reasonable change for Charedim. Certainly not when it comes to the draft. But even when it comes to inserting a minimal core secular curriculum in their schools.

The standards Rabbi Lipman wants to insert are far less than the requirements of his own Charedi Yeshiva in America,  Ner Israel. Or even Philidelphia (Lakewood’s unofficial high school). Jonathan says that as an American Charedi Oleh (immigrant) of only ten years residency he does not understand the nuances of the Israeli paradigm of full time Torah study sans Limudei Chol.

I don’t know. It seems to me that 10 years is enough time to understand it. What Rabbi Lipman is saying is that it needs to change nonetheless. I agree with him.  The RCA wants to hear him speak about these issues as a member of the Kenesset; as a Charedi; and as someone who has lived there for ten years and has observed both the positive and negative of this paradigm. What is Jonathan afraid of? Why does he see this as something bad? What happened to Elu V’Elu?

And what about Jonathan’s own education at Yale, which he personally values greatly – as he told me himself? Can he honestly say that what’s good for him is not good for Israeli Charedim? Why? Were he to do it over again, would he have rejected studying any Limudei Chol? Dov Lipman hasn’t even touched upon university education for Charedim. All he wants is for them is to know how to speak English… or know a bit about science, world history… or even Jewish history for that matter! Why is that so terrible?!

Is it because the Charedi leadership continues to reject it? Jonathan says that it is not so much that but about the fact that the program is being forced upon them. Really? Well, fine, let the Charedi leadership come up with their own alternative Limudei Chol program.There are two chances of that happening 1) slim… and 2) none! The fact that they haven’t tried on their own to do that in the past – since the very beginning of the state when the pressure wasn’t on – is indicative of how much interest they have in it.

They are fighting this because they strongly believe that the evil secular government  (and their willing accomplice - Dov Lipman)  is imposing it on them. Is this how to deal with what they see as a problem? Even if I were to concede that this is a problem (which I of course do not), I don't see this as the way to deal with it.

Contrast the current Charedi approach to that of Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, founder of the Eida HaCharedis. (You can't get much more Charedi than that.) The following is a paraphrase form an ArtScroll (...it must be true if it’s ArtScroll) biography about him entitled, Guardian of Jerusalem. (21: 316 – 317).

Because of the dangers of the secular system attracting Frum parents to their schools, R' Yaakov Rosenheim invited Rabbi Dr. Shmuel Auerbach to establish a secular curriculum in the Yeshivos of the Yishuv HaYoshon. Despite the ban on secular studies being taught - R' Yosef Chaim expressed no opposition to the proposal that secular subjects commonly taught in the general schools (Arabic, Arithmetic, Science, History, Writing...)  be taught for a couple of hours a day in  the Yeshivos of the Yishuv HaYoshon.

One of Jonathan’s points is that Charedim were making progress in these areas already and that the only thing all this stuff has been doing is creating a backlash. Charedim already were increasingly getting training for the workplace in special programs designed for them.

And perhaps more importantly some were increasingly interested in fulfilling their military obligations through Nachal Charedi and Shachar. The sight of a Charedi in uniform was become commonplace and accepted  in and around Charedi enclaves. But with the government trying to force it on all of them, Charedim in uniform are being barred from certain shuls... and some have been physically attacked and vilified in wall posters!

Jonathan: Instead of blaming Dov Lipman for this kind of disgusting backlash, shouldn’t you be in the forefront of blaming those who generate the motives behind this backlash?

Jonathan’s problem with Rabbi Lipman is not the only complaint being heard by the Charedi leadership in Israel. They have also complained that they have not heard a word from the Chardalim… those on the religious right wing of Religious Zionism who has in recent times sympathized with Charedi complaints about government intrusion into their religious lives. Why have these Religious Zionist leaders have been silent on this issue?

Seriously?

Well maybe it’s because they are on the other side on this issue. Maybe its because their schools have good Limudei Chol programs. And more importantly, their constituents not only serve in the military but thier Hesder students are known to be the bravest members of it – often volunteering in groups for the most dangerous assignments. They have certainly had their share of deaths and injury in combat. Maybe... just maybe that’s why the Religious Zioinist camp has been so silent!

Not that they think that none of their students should be exempt from army service.Some are. Students in their flagship Yeshiva, Merkaz HaRav, do not serve. They study Torah full time. That should be the paradigm for Charedim too.

Maybe that’s the ultimate reason that the RCA has invited Rabbi Lipman to keynote their convention. It may very well be that they agree with him.

The Ordination of Women in Orthodoxy

Guest Post by Anonymous

 Newly ordained Maharats Friedman, Finegold, and Scheier

The young woman who penned this post is a personal friend of mine. She wishes to retain her privacy and asked that I not reveal her identity. Although I generally do not publish anonymous submissions, I have made an exception in this case since I know who she is. She is a woman of high integrity; she is passionate about her beliefs; and she writes well.

Her background is Modern Orthodox and she is college educated. She attended coed Modern Orthodox schools for both elementary and high school.  As always the views reflected by the author do not necessarily reflect my own. Her words follow.

I recently read the article from Tablet Magazine regarding Yeshivat Maharat's graduating class of 2013.  I was offended by the article and by many of the issues it raises.  Let me explain.

First, I must admit that the article appears to be remarkably even-handed in its treatment of the subject.  Opinions are cited on both sides of the issue, with a fair share of context to back up both those for and those against (for lack of a better term) female rabbis.  However, upon closer examination, I believe that the article reveals a bias in favor of Yeshivat Maharat.  By downplaying the vast religious and socio-political implications of Orthodox woman rabbis, the article is in fact perpetuating what I believe to be the biggest fallacy behind the concept and institution of the Maharat: that the ordination of women within Orthodox Judaism is "no big deal."

It is a very big deal, and no one knows it more than Rabbi Avi Weiss and the women he is training to be rabbis.  (Women of Yeshivat Maharat, kindly forgive the term.)  With the exceptions of the non-Orthodox branches of Judaism, Yeshivat Maharat is the first Jewish institution to challenge the fact that rabbis must be men. 

Rabbis Weiss and Sperber stand alone in their position that women can and should be rabbis.  They stand against every single one of our gedolei hador (the universally accepted leaders of the Jewish people), both in this generation and in previous generations. Our gedolim (great rabbinic leaders) have spoken clearly: the fact that rabbis have always been men is no mere legal technicality, nor is it a misrepresentation of our religious constitution. Call them what you want: Women should not be rabbis.

Rabbi Avi Weiss and his students, like many thinking Jews (myself included), are asking a very simple question: Why not?  Why can't women be rabbis?  After all, just because no one has ever attempted something doesn't mean it is wrong.  Again, I belive that the gedolim have answered this question quite clearly, albeit not to the satisfaction of everyone asking the question.  The gedolim have stated that the concept of a female rabbi, even if it meets strict Halachic guidelines (which Yeshivat Maharat assumes to be true), is nevertheless against the spirit of Orthodox Judaism.  I am personally acquainted with several of the members of Yeshivat Maharat, and I believe that they are truly good Jews and good people.  However, I also believe that on this particular issue, they have unfortunately been led astray and continue to lead others astray. 

So what exactly is the problem with women becoming rabbis?  If I may, I would like to suggest that our rabbis' objection is twofold.  Our rabbis are fighting against the advent of Orthodox women rabbis because they are fiercely defending two essential Jewish values that comprise the fabric of Jewish belief and practice, namely, tzniut (modesty) and mesorah (tradition).  

Rabbi Avi Weiss and the women of Yeshivat Maharat are all thinking and well-meaning individuals, striving (as I believe we all are) to approach G-d and Judaism in an authentic and correct way.  However, that does not give them license to argue against normative Orthodox Judaism or to overrule centuries, nay millenniums, of mesorah.  Fiddler on the Roof notwithstanding, the concept of tradition, mesorah, is vital to the very survival and integrity of Judaism and the Jewish people.  We have rules when it comes to implementing a new idea or a new norm within Orthodox Judaism.  Our rabbis taught us that no religious court may ever overturn the rulings of another religious court unless the former is greater both in wisdom and in number.  

Rabbi Weiss: The Orthodox Rabbinate, in the form of the RCA, has rejected your idea.  You are not a religious court.  You are but one man with a handful of loud supporters.  Why do you persist in rallying support for an idea that the religious world has already rejected? How can you insist upon and demand the respect of the Orthodox community, while at the same time engaging the Orthodox community with such pitiful disrespect?!  

If you want the respect of your rabbinic colleagues, you must afford them respect as well, by honoring their religious principles, precedents and rules.  If it were a good idea for the Jewish People to have woman rabbis, wouldn't someone greater than we have already thought of it?...  Someone like Moshe Rabbeinu, Yehoshua HaNavi, Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi, Ravina and Rav Ashi, Rav Saadia Gaon, Maimonides, the Vilna Goan, the Baal Shem Tov, the Chofetz Chaim, Rav Kook, or Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, to name a few?... 

Rabbi Weiss has an incredible level of disrespect for the leaders of our people, both living and deceased.  Yet he and his students persist in demanding the respect of us all.

The issue of tzniut, modesty, is also one that gets downplayed in the article.  Contrary to popular misconception, tzniut has very little to do with clothing or other minutia of religious life.  It has everything to do with dignity and self-image.  (The Piskei Uziel's quote, brought by Ms. Brown Schier in the article, alludes to this idea.)  Shlomo HaMelech, wisest of all men, told us that the dignity of a woman, which stems from a sense of royalty, is internal.  The strength of the Jewish woman, much as the strength of the Jewish man, lies in the spiritual power she carries within.  She commands respect not by making a spectacle of herself, but by being respectable herself and radiating respect toward others. 

The public ordination of women, by being radical and unprecedented, flies in the face of tzniut.  At the very least, the manner in which Yeshivat Maharat screams for the world's attention is disgraceful and decidedly undignified.  For a tiny graduating class of three students, Yeshivat Maharat has a disproportionately loud voice.  To wit, hundreds if not thousands of men receive semicha (rabbinic ordination) every year, but we don't hear them screaming for attention.  The attention-seeking behavior of the faces behind Yeshivat Maharat smacks of insecurity and immaturity, and it compromises the credibility of their cause.  It is a disgrace not only to Judaism, but to feminism.

In closing, one final note: Why did I choose to blog about this anonymously?  Why did I choose to put my name on this article, and share it with friends or with the world at large?  The answer is that unfortunately, I did not feel safe revealing my true thoughts and feelings on this subject, lest they be shot down and lest my right to an opinion be violated.  And herein lies an even bigger issue than the others I have mentioned.  Why can't Yeshivat Maharat and its supporters be content to live and let live?  Why must they bolster their viewpoint by ostracizing those who oppose it?  Is this not precisely the kind of religious intolerance and lack of intellectual honesty they are purporting to combat? 

School’s Out - for the Summer!

Rabbi Yakov Horowitz sent me the following note: “Please consider posting relevant parts of this information on your site so we can get the message out before summer camp and keep our kids safe(er).”

I am happy to comply and not only post parts of it - I am posting all of it. It follows.

Dear Parents:

Please don't rely on anyone else to do what is your overriding and primary responsibility as a parent - to keep your children safe and secure. The greatest gift you can give them is to become well versed in the theory and practice of child safety education so that you can help keep them safe and secure at all times.

This is not something that you can outsource to others.

Educating parents about child safety and giving you the tools and language to have these conversations with your kids in an effective, research-based manner has been our highest priority for the past 4-5 years.

With the chesed of Hashem, we are pleased to inform you that as a free public service, The Karasick Child Safety Initiative of The Center for Jewish Family Life/Project YES just released three "Child Safety On-the-Fly" mini-videos which can help you learn and then convey the critical messages of child safety to your children.

Here are links to view the three videos on YouTube and below are additional links to download them from our website free of charge if your filter blocks YouTube content, or should you wish to store it on your PC or mobile device for future use.

1. Video #1 http://youtu.be/O3i9Gdlbw1g - Introduction: Brief overview of the four safety messages and some insight to why they are so effective

2. Video #2 http://youtu.be/zS7WBs_osNE - detailed explanation of safety messages 1 and 2

3. Video #3 http://youtu.be/lp0vjJolygQ - detailed explanation of safety messages 3 and 4

To Download the videos to your computer:

1. http://tinyurl.com/childsafetyonthefly1

2. http://tinyurl.com/childsafetyonthefly2

3. http://tinyurl.com/childsafetyonthefly3

Although they were made as an educational supplement to our groundbreaking children's safety book,"Let's Stay Safe!",and thedownloadable read-aloud video version of the book, they are designed to be free-standing as well, meaning that one does not need to have the book to benefit from viewing these videos. We also took care to exclude any Jewish content in these videos so the broadest range of parents can benefit from them.

Please note that the 4-5 minute videos of the "On-The-Fly" series were created to reflect the shorter attention spans and faster pace of life nowadays - where most of us are far more likely to view a short clip on our tablets and/or smartphones than sit down to review a half-hour video. Having said that, the 32-minute free Child Safety Video which we released several years ago is still available here and please consider viewing that one as it contains more details and background information that you may find helpful. You can also find a host of free resources on child safety here including a 3-page introduction to our Child Safety Book by the renowned child safety expert Dr. David Pelcovitz.

What Is the Ideal Jewish Education?

Partial 8th grade class photo from the late fifties
Can you guess who is in the center?

Last night I had the privilege of watching one of my granddaughters graduate from elementary school. What grandparent wouldn’t be proud of that? But for me, it was more than about that. What I witnessed was the near embodiment of my Hashkafos.  Hashkafos that I believe are the Emes of Yiddishkeit.

I know what I am about to say sounds like an advertisement for my granddaughter’s school. But that is not my intent. It is to show that such schools not only exist, but can flourish.

The evening began with the American pledge of allegiance followed by the singing of the national anthem. That was followed with the recital of a psalm. The full house participated which consisted of the students, parents, teachers, administration, the current chairmen of the board, current and former presidents of the school. members of the Vaad HaChinuch, and PTA presidents -  past and present (my wife included  who was honored with presenting diplomas to some of the graduates including our granddaughter).

The presentation lasted about an hour and was almost exclusively led by the students. It ended with the singing of Hatikva.

One of the valedictorians (Boys- Hebrew and English) gave a D’var Torah from Rav Yoshe Ber Soloveitchik on this week’s Parsha, Chukas which begins with the laws of the Para Adumah (red heifer).  Rashi comments that the laws relating to the Para Adumah cannot be understood by the human mind. And then he goes into an explanation of it. Rav Soloveitchik asks about this apparent contradiction in Rashi.

He answered that Rashi’s motive for doing so is the following. Although we may not understand the reasons for many of the Mitzvos, that does not absolve us of trying to do so.We must never be afraid to ask questions. For that is the only way to learn. And answers can sometimes be found in the most unlikely sources. As it says in Tehilim (119:99) Mikol Melamdei Hischalti – from all of my teachers do I become wise.

How wonderful it was to hear a D’var Torah from Rav Soloveitvchik who is rarely if ever quoted by the right wing... where even after his death he was denigrated in a now infamous obituary. This young man who excelled in both Limudei Kodesh and Limudei Chol understood the wisdom of the Rav’s Torah and was not afraid to make reference to him adding Zecher Tzadik L’Vracha (ZTL) to his name.

Many schools actively discourage asking difficult questions. And look negatively at a student who does… stigmatizing him as a near Apikores in some cases. Not this school. They encourage questions.

Lest anyone think this is some sort of left wing Modern Orthodox School, they would be wrong. The principal is a product of this school and yet he attended Lakewood’s branch in Israel post high school - and was a member of the Lakewood Kollel here (The Chicago Community Kollel). Many of the Rebbeim are also product of Lakewood.

One of the longest serving Moros is Rebbetzin Esther Levine, wife of Telshe Rosh Hayeshiva, R’ Avrohom Chaim Levine. So too was the late Rebbetzin Debbie Keller,OBM, first wife of Telshe Rosh Yeshiva, R’ Chaim D. Keller.

And until her retirement, so too was the late Rebbetzin Evelyn Shusterman, OBM, wife of the titular head of Chabad in Chicago, R’ Tzvi (Harold) Shusterman, ZTL.

The Kipa Seruga is well represented by a strong Religious Zionist presence… including at least two Rebbeim one of whom is the 8^th grade Rebbe  Not to toot my own horn but my son in law who was a former head counselor for the Religious Zionist Camp Moshava and student in Yeshivas Gush Etzion (Rav Aharon Lichtenstein) is the assistant principal for religious studies. And I would remiss if I did not mention one of the more popular Limudei Kodesh teachers there, my own daughter Tova Chaya (Tovi) who teaches 5th grade girls. The youngest member of the Vaad HaChinuch is another son in law who also heads both NCSY and the CRC.

Torah Im Derech Eretz is an important element of the school – as was mentioned by one of the valedictorians. And Derech Eretz as applied here is about both Midos (character) development and secular subjects. Both are therefore treated very seriously.  

There is no denigration of secular subjects as unimportant nuisances demanded by the state for purposes of accreditation.  Not in this school. As the principal said last night during his charge to the students, the goal of the school is to prepare them for success in the world of Torah and success in the rest of the world. Lest anyone think that Limudei Kodesh suffers because of that, some pretty big Talmidei Chachamim came out of this school. R’ Nosson Tzvi Finkel’s 8^th grade class picture still hangs on their wall.

The principal spoke about matters of Emes and Emunah. (Where have I heard those two things mentioned before?) How often are these things ignored or taken for granted in some schools?!  In making his point he referred to the Chicago Blackhawks, a hockey team that is in the Stanley Cup finals against the Boston Bruins.

He told a story about the goal scored by Chicago to win the Stanley Cup in 2010. It was game six and  tied near the end. Chicago’s Patrick Kane who was at an awkward location on the ice took a shot at the net and believed he scored. But that was not obvious to everybody. Where was the puck? It was bouncing around around near the net. They weren’t sure if it went in and bounced out - or never went in at all. 45 seconds passed  before they determined that it actually did go in and declared the Hawks the winner of the Stanley Cup!

During those 45 seconds, only Kane was celebrating. He knew the Emes. But everyone else was clueless waiting for the officials to review the tape. And by everyone, I mean their opponents, the Philadelphia Flyers, the officials, the sold out crowd in the stadium, and the record audience of over 4 million people who were watching the game on TV. They all wanted proof before they would believe the Hawks won.

But not Kane. He was skating around the ice in a celebratory way. He knew he had scored. After that 45 second delay the officials ruled that it did go into the net and that the Chicago Blackhawks had won the Stanley Cup.

What can be learned from this? That just because the entire world is not sure of the Emes, does not mean that those of us who have learned it - should doubt it. Nor does it mean that we have to hide our beliefs. We should follow the example of Patrick Kane and proudly declare the Emes of our beliefs. Someday, when God will eventually reveal His Truths to all of mankind, they too will join us. That at present many still do not should not diminish our own.

I purposely did not mention the name of the school because I do not want to make this an advertisement (…although Chicagoans surely know what school I am talking about). But I just had to speak my mind about my strong beliefs that if all Jewish day schools were like this, we would be living in a far better world than we live in now. Thankfully I am not alone. This school is bursting at the seams and is the largest, fastest growing day school in the city!

‘I Told You So’ Is the Wrong Attitude

Murder suspect Hagai Felician in custody - Source: Ynet

I have to say that the smugness by which some websites have trumpeted their ‘I told you so’ attitude about the erroneous assumptions in 2009 that a religious Jew committed a ‘hate crime’ - is unflattering to them.

Ynet, is a secular newspaper in Israel. Secular newspapers are often all lumped together and accused of going out of their way to bash religious Jews. And yet they have now exonerated us in a detailed account of who the murderer of two homosexuals was - and how he was caught. So much for anti Frum bias on the part of the secular media: From Ynet: 

Nir Katz, 26, and Liz Trubeshi, 16 were killed on the August 1, 2009 when a veiled man entered the Barnoar LGBT youth center in Tel Aviv and began shooting at the teens gathered there. Eleven others were injured. 

It was widely assumed that this was a hate crime fostered by religious intolerance towards homosexuals. Ha’artez at the time reported the reaction of many prominent people who believed this at the time. It should be noted that even Shas, who along with others condemned the shooting did not go out of its way to deny that this might have been a hate crime.

Now we know it was not a hate crime. It was a murder by Hagai Felician (with the aid of three accomplices – one of whom is an unidentified gay activist…) to avenge the sexual abuse of a 15 year old relative. Felician was caught because of the due diligence of the Tel Aviv police department.

First I want to applaud the police. They were relentless and got the job done. And no expense was spared in doing so: 

Thousands were investigated in connection with the shootings, millions of shekels were spent to no avail, until one of the four felt betrayed and spoke to police. 

I do not consider any of this to be a victory for religious world. That this was at the end of the day not a hate crime perpetrated by a misguided religious Jew does not absolve  us from the kind of gay bashing one often hears in our circles. This is not to say that all or even most religious Jews unequivocally hate all homosexuals. I certainly don’t. And I'm sure a great many religious Jews feel nothing but kindness and compassion for their plight in an unenlightened society – and treat them with the dignity that all God’s creations deserve.  One does not have to approve of homosexual behavior to do that.

But all too often one can hear the shrill voice of someone like Rabbi Yehuda Levin who has apparently made it his life’s work to bash homosexuals and blame all the world’s ills on them while admonishing our leaders for being lax on this issue: 

Tens of billions in losses, 50 dead, scientists say that Sandy is the worst N.Y. hurricane in 800 years!  Some insurance policies still call this kind of occurrence an ACT OF G-D. But where are our religio-conservative leaders to interpret what’s happening?
 Remember when Dr. Falwell and Dr. Pat Robertson attributed 9/11 to the homosexual agenda and abortion?  Guess our leaders have a huge problem doing that now. 

It is not much of a leap to think that such incitement might lead a misguided zealot to perpetrate a hate crime. It was not the case here. And I hope it never happens. But to be cynical about even the possibility of a religious Jew committing a hate crime is putting one’s head in the sand. And it ignores the historical fact that a religious Jew actually did commit a hate crime.

Lest anyone forget a religious Jew by the name of Yigal Amir was moved to murder Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin no doubt because of similar incitement by radical Religious Zionists who had called Rabin a traitor or worse to the Jewish people because he signed the Oslo accords!

Instead of trumpeting our innocence in this gay murder as though it could never happen, I think we would be a lot wiser to make sure it never does by condemning the kind of hate rhetoric one hears from the likes of Rabbi Levin. We ought to change the paradigm of hating fellow Jews who happen to be homosexual into one of loving them as we should all people created in God’s image. And make sure that all hate speech be eradicated from our midst. The only thing that should be hated is the sin itself - or trying to publicly legitimize it.

Does Elu V'Elu Mean Tolerating the Intolerable?

Anti Israel rally by Satmar in New York yesterday - Photo source: VIN

These men too are my brothers.  Although it is getting more difficult than ever to think of them that way. Most people know the issues I have with Satmar. There are many. But for purposes of this essay I will focus on their strident opposition to the existence of the State of Israel.

As I have said many times, they have every right to believe as they do, and state their case loudly and clearly. It is a view based on the now deceased Satmar Rebbe, R’ Yoel Teitelbaum. The  3 oaths mentioned in the Gemarah (Kesuvos 111a) prevent the Jewish people from any right to rule in the land of Israel. So under any condition, even if the state was ruled entirely by a Charedi government, they would still be opposed to it. As much as I vehemently disagree with them, I respect their right to hold these views. Elu V’Elu.

What I do not respect is the stridency by which they express those views… and the extent to which they go to make their point.

It started with the Satmar Rebbe himself, who referred to Rav Kook as an Ish Tzar V’Oyev because of his pro State views. This attitude has spread far beyond Satmar and is used to justify one Chilul HaShem after another by the Satmar Rebbe’s admirers in Meah Shearim and elsewhere. The very same attitude is responsible for the fringe Neturei Kartaniks who embrace people like Iran’s Ahmadinejad. Who espouses wiping Israel off the map… something I’m sure would get the approval of Satmar and all their sympathizers if done in a peaceful way. They have clearly stated that this is their goal.

Yestreday they did it again. They called for a rally in Manhattan. This was a rare moment of unity between the feuding brothers Teitelbaum - each claiming to be the heir to the Satmar throne. They called out their ‘troops’ in this cause. The result was a massive rally as can be seen in the photos at VIN. I’m sure they would call this a tremendous success and Kiddush HaShem.

Their stated purpose for this protest was their opposition to the Israeli draft of Charedim. In this they have the support of many Charedi rabbinic leaders. But their underlying antipathy for the State should not be over-looked. I believe this was true motivation for this rally. Here was yet another opportunity to bash Israel.  I’m sure they relished the moment.  

The Centrist RCA condemned the rally. No surprise there. But many Charedi rabbinic leaders opposed that rally too, starting with R’ Aharon Leib Steinman. R’ Chaim Kanievsky added his name to R’ Steinman’s. And in America so too did Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky.

Back to Satmar. I do not see how a protest like this benefits Klal Yisroel in any way no matter how one feels about drafting Charedim. How is a public demonstration in Manhattan going to impact in any way on the government in Israel’s decision to equalize the draft? Especially if the protest was made by people who believe in dismantling the State?

Do they think Netanyahu will say, ‘Oh, Satmar is opposed to the draft… What was I thinking?!’ Or do they just think a rally like this will catch on with the greater Charedi public because of their leaders’ own strident opposition to the draft? Or perhaps they believe that a massive demonstration by a monolithic group of Chasidim that have separated themselves from the rest of the civilized world will somehow strike a chord with the American people?

Why did they do it? The answer to this is - I believe - of an entirely different nature. This was simply an opportunity to capitalize on something they thought would have universal appeal in the Charedi world. It is a sort of ‘I told you so’ moment… saying, ‘See how evil the Israeli government is?’ ‘You thought co-operating with them and getting funded was worth it?!’ ‘Well… what do you say now?!’ ‘Come join us in our goal to dismantle the Jewish State.’

I don’t think it worked. As I said, mainstream Orthodoxy condemned it, and Charedi rabbinic leaders were opposed to it. I hope they were as appalled at this demonstration as I was. But even if they were as appalled as I was and expressed it publically, I doubt that that would sway Satmar in any way.

The only question is - how is this going to affect the relationship between mainstream Charedim and Satmar in the future? Will there ever again be a call from a Lakewood Rosh Yeshiva (or Mashgiach) to invite Satmar to one of its own rallies? … as was the case with the internet Asifa last year? Will they still chase down Satmar and capitulate to all their demands on how to conduct an Asifa, just to get them to attend?

Isn’t it about time to realize that Satmar is so far away from mainstream Orthodoxy – and even mainstream Charedim - that they should never again want to participate with them on any matters? Isn’t standing on the same stage with them in some way legitimizing them? I have heard that said in other contexts!

Like I said, this is not about Elu V’Elu anymore. This is about tolerating antics that are anathema to the Torah world in the name of their Shitos. In my view it should not be any more acceptable to stand with Satmar than it is to stand with Neturei Karta who have made clear their love affair with the President of Iran.  They may not go that far themselves. But the hatred of the Jewish state is the same.

Update

Apparently the speaker in the photo above is Rav Eli Ber Wachtfogel. He is a Litvishe Charedi Rosh HaYeshiva. I’m told that there were also many other non Chasidic Litvishe type Charedi rabbinic leaders there too - like Chaim Berlin’s Rosh HaYeshiva, R’ Aharon Schecther.

Rav Schechter has walked in lockstep with Litvishe Charedi rabbinic leaders in Israel with respect to their bans. I recall his strident attack against Rabbi Natan Slifkin at an event held at a Modern Orthodox Shul in Teaneck a few years ago.  Rabbi Slifkin was viciously attacked for having the Chutzpah to challenge Israeli Gedolim with respect to the ban on his books. And yet yesterday he decided to ignore the call by some of these very same Gedolim to not participate in this demonstration. I find this very hard to reconcile.