Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol: Kids at Risk

The recent issue of The Jewish Observer has once again dedicated nearly an entire issue to the problem which has been labeled “Kids at Risk”. This phenomenon has always been around. I remember it going back to my earliest days in elementary school in the fifties. Of course in those days these young people were never called “Kids at Risk”. They were called rotten apples and were expelled, never to be heard from again. The thinking then was: “We aren’t going to spoil the other kids with these few rotten apples who can influence them L’Tarbus Ra. “Arois Mit Zei!” (Out with them!)

But now the problem has not only reached into the Charedi community, it is being described as an epidemic which is spiraling out of control. Various Roshei Yeshivos own kids are now victims of this nasty syndrome. So the Charedi world, after at least 50 years of neglect and allowing kids to drop out or to be “kicked out” ...is now paying serious attention to it. Well, it’s about time. The first serious look happened about six years ago. And the situation has only gotten worse. This, despite private and institutional efforts to deal with the problem, which seems to have had some modest success. The question is, what the cause is and what can be done about it?

But before I get into it... the disclaimer: Dropouts from Torah observance exists in all communities, MO as well as Charedi. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that. The reasons, however, are worlds apart. I wish to focus on Charedim because they have always been the ones who were always so smug about their way of life as being the most protective of their values and the most successful in the transmission of the Mesorah. But, to be sure the MO dropouts are problematic too.

Let me state clearly that there is no one source or one solution. There are many things that impact on a young person that will make him go off the track... ranging anywhere from changing his Hashkafos, to chucking the Ol Malchus Shamyim, to a life of complete debauchery including illicit sex, drugs, alcohol... the works! ...you name it. It all exists in the Frum community.

In my view the Charedi community’s Hashkafa of “Torah Only” that is so rigid and so demanding of its adherents is the core of the problem. The expectations parents and Mechanchim have from their children is so high that only the best and the brightest (I love that phrase) can ever hope to succeed. Yet everyone is put through the same wringer. Those who DO succeed are rewarded both internally with the satisfaction of accomplishement, and externally by the Charedi society that bred them. Still, others though not succeeding at the greatest heights can never-the-less carry on relatively normal lives and just feel a bit like second class citizens.

But there is an all too significant and growing minority that "just can’t take it anymore", and are dropping out. Charedi Hashkafa that is so narrow and so exclusionist has little tolerance for failure. It has little if any outlets for an individual to express their innate potential. It is all about “Learning, Learning, Learning” as Rav Schach used to say. Any other activity is looked down upon. Rav Schach made it clear time and again that learning Torah full time is the only thing a young person should do. He condemned any and all possible educational venues that didn’t have learning Torah as its exclusive activity. There is a tiny bit more tolerance in the US than in Israel but there has been a definite trend in the direction of Rav Schach’s point of view.

Is it any wonder that a young person who might, for example, have a talent for art and who loves to draw has no possible outlet and is actively discouraged, being told that it is Battalah, and no where to go to develop that talent... Is it any wonder that they might easily become turned off? Of course! ...some of young people who have these talents and special aptitudes denied, are going to become dropouts. If a young person is not educated towards his own talents and aptitudes and instead is constantly harangued by his Rebbeim, his peers and his parents about the value of exclusively learning Torah... he will become stifled and depressed. He can, and often will, be rejected by his family, his Rabbeim and his peers, if not overtly than latently through subliminal messages transmitted in various ways that these young people will pick up. With such little approval for anything other than Torah learning as the essential Hashkafa, I’m surprised the situation isn’t even worse than it is.

There has finally been some recognition of the problem by Charedi leadership. The common thread I saw in many articles on the subject was “Chanoch L’Naar Al Pi Darko”. There has finally been a recognition that each child has his or her own talents, aptitudes, intelligence levels, and personalities and every person deserves an outlet and encouragement to be who they are... instead of being who they are told to be. In a surprising admission by one (or more) of their writers, the oft blamed villain of popular culture was not identified as the cause this time. It was more correctly identified as the facilitator. Of course they still lambaste all of the things they always have, (TV, popular music, the internet, etc.) But they now seem to realize that those items are merely the vehicles, and not the cause for their child’s frustrations and escape. And so, too, are drugs, alcohol, and illicit sex.

The solution is... as they say: Chanoch L’Naar Al Pi Darko. They must have a sea change in their approach to Torah Judaism and its Chinuch. Charedi parents must be encouraged to allow their children to be who they ARE... and not who they, their Roshei Yeshiva, or their peer groups want them to be. They must provide schools and an atmosphere for acceptance of different choices for their children besides Torah Only. This means they must adopt a form of TIDE or TuM as an acceptable Hashkafa along with Torah Only. If they don’t they will never solve the problem. The Jewish Observer of course did not put it that way. But if one reads between the lines, one will see that this is precisely what they are advocating. The question remains, will they finally do the right thing and accept other Hashkafos as legitimate ...even IF it is only to save their own children? We’ll see.

Mixed Seating at Weddings, Part Two

There was a very lengthy series of comments on my post about mixed seating at weddings by a fellow who signed his comments with the initials SBA. It was aimed specifically at Rabbi Rakeffet whose words I pasted into my post. He ended off his comments with the statement I think that Rabbi Rakefet owes a HUGE apology to the entire Charedi communities of NY and Lakewood. I believe this warrants a post of its own. I am not going to make a point by point refutation as that would make this far too long. But I will respond in a general way with the following.

First of all, Rabbi Rakeffet does not owe anyone an apology. He is a major Talmid Chacham who has very strong opinions about what has happened to the Torah world. ...opinions with which I agree. ...opinions with which my Rebbe agreed and opinions with which many Charedim even agree except they do not have the guts to say so publicly. The Yeshivishe world has become so Chumra oriented and so Chasidified as to make the two groups almost indistinguishable from each other.

Rabbi Rakeffet’s severe commentary on the state of the Charedi world was meant as a context more than a criticism. SBA takes offense by Rabbi Rakeffet’s accusation that there exits a recognizable minority (a Miyut HaNikur as Rabbi Rakeffet calls it) of Charedim who visit brothels or have Pilagshim (mistresses). But this has been documented time and again by investigative reporting and there is little dispute about its existence. It was mentioned to show the extent of hypocrisy that goes on. The main point was to highlight the fact that people who sit with their wives and friends at a restaurant and yet insist on sitting separate at a wedding. The fact that Rabbi Rakeffet threw in that some of these people even have girlfriends or mistresses was only meant to emphasize how far that hypocrisy goes because even those people insist on separate seating at weddings.

A perfectly legitimate and beneficial approach to enjoying a Simcha has been cast by the Charedi world into something Krum at best and Assur at worst. Mixed seating at weddings in Europe and even here in the US (until the Chasidim and Hungarians came over post WWII) was common, attended by Gedolei Yisroel who even had mixed seating at their own children’s Chasunos. I am old enough to remember attending Yeshivishe weddings that were mixed back in the sixties. Only a few tables were separate for those mostly Chasidic Rabbanim who preferred it.

SBA points to the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch who Paskins that mixed weddings are Assur. The Kitzur is not my Posek, nor is the Kitzur accepted as Halacha Basra (final authority) of the Lithuanian world. My Posek was Rav Aaron Soloveichik, ZTL. The Yeshiva world would have done well to follow the Mesorah of their forefathers and Gedolei Yisroel of Pre WWII Europe who were clearly not Makpid on sitting mixed at a wedding... instead of chasing the Chumros of Chasidim. So now the "norm" is separate seating and this makes it mandatory? We should not deviate? Why?

When a new “norm” causes harm to Klal Yisroel as Rabbi Rakeffet points out, it needs to change and revert to the Mesorah of the last generation. This is the situation here. If SBA does not wish to sit with his wife, he doesn’t have to. No one is forcing him. If he is invited to a mixed wedding and makes it known to the hosts that he prefers to not sit with his wife, he can be easily accommodated as has always been the case. Just don’t force the rest of Klal Yisroel through group or peer pressure into separating from their wives when Halacha does not demand it.

By chasing Chumros and then claiming it is now the norm which by implication means mixed seating is either Krum or Assur you are in essence forcing, by way of community pressure the vast majority of the Frum world who do not enjoy separate seating into doing so. In my view it is near criminal to prevent quality time with one’s spouse when there is no clear Halachic reason to do so while there is ample precedent to allow it. And it may be even more criminal to prevent potential Shiddach opportunities in this way, especially in light of the current Shiddach crisis in the Yeshiva world. To claim, as does SBA that it is worse in the MO world does not solve anything.

Amona Revisited

I was not going to write anymore about this issue until I saw more clarity on the subject from the media and/or an investigation of the events has been completed. My original article was written in response to an article in the Chicago Tribune The key phrase that prompted me to write as I did was the following: Police in riot gear, some of them on horseback, came under a hail of rocks as they drove back crowds gathered around the nine houses and then broke through shutters and windows to remove people inside. I have never been in support of the concept of retaining “every inch of Eretz Yisroel... what ever it takes”. Therefore, the establishment of settlements like Amona angered me as being nothing more than forcing the views of this minority within a minority of observant Jews upon all of Klal Yisrael and the world and the resulting violence angered me more. While it is true that there was violence on both sides, I kept coming back to the proposition that the entire thing could have been avoided if the “not one inch” philosophy of RW of the Religious Zionists would not have been the guiding force behind their verey action an just left things alone. It was wrong, in my view to go against the grain and inhabit land for the sole purpose of promoting that Hashkafa and in the process, subject great danger to themselves, their families, and Klal Yisroel by taunting the Arab residents in those areas. Even if there were no Arabs on that specific spot where the 9 houses of Amona were, it was still taunting to them.

I concede that I was remiss in not laying some of the blame at the barbarism of the police. Chatasi, Avisi, Pashati. I apologize for my hyperbole and regret the strong rhetoric against the settlers. It was my anger speaking. According to many reports from eye witnesses the police were indeed barbaric. Just how barbaric they were should come out in the investigation. But my criticism of those who protested in Amona stands.

I am usually on opposite ends of the Orthodox religious spectrum with the Charedi point of view. However, on this issue we are one. The following is an op-ed piece in this week's Internet Yated Ne'eman and for the most part reflects my views. I post it here to show that my views are corroborated by none other than the last Charedi Gadol Hador and is the view of the current Charedi leadership, too. Here now in its entirety, the article:

We do not come to gloat or to score political points. On the contrary, we identify with the pain of the wounded and deplore the violence of the authorities. But there is a serious crisis of values that we feel it is important to write about.

There are very few public issues that Maran HaRav Shach zt"l spoke and wrote about as many times as the approach of Eretz Yisroel Hasheleimoh. It was one of the themes that he returned to at almost every opportunity, even when it did not seem to be a central concern of the audience at hand — not to mention that his expressed concerns seemed remote. For example, even at the Kenness Hayesod at the founding of Degel Hatorah in Tishrei 5749, Maran declared that one of the purposes of the incipient Torah movement was to warn against and distance the Torah world from the approach of Eretz Yisroel Hasheleimoh.

An incident that seems stunning in retrospect was published in a memorial issue to HaRav Shach on the occasion of his first yahrtzeit. After one of his fiery public speeches directed against the ideological errors of the settlement movement, a prominent talmid chochom told him that he had heard from some settlers that they were very hurt by the remarks. Maran answered, "Listen well. It is clear that they are precious people. But there will come a time when it will be necessary to evacuate settlements. And since they make their entire relationship to Judaism focus on this, the crisis will cause them, choliloh, to question their Judaism. I want them to remember that there was an old man who cried out that this is not the main thing in Judaism!"

To be sure, HaRav Shach's vision was that of a chochom who understood and forecast the general trend and he had no inkling of the shape that it ultimately took, but in those days the suggestion seemed fantastic and the concern exaggerated. However Maran's perspective truly embraced every Jew and he did what he could to lessen the dangers that he foresaw.

What he anticipated is now staring us all in the face and no one should deny or ignore it. Who could imagine that a Jewish teenager could descend to the view that destroying an unoccupied house is a worse crime than smashing another Jew's skull with a thrown rock? Who would have believed that love of Eretz Yisroel could have ever been twisted into such a conclusion?

Those who stockpiled boulders and cinderblocks on the rooftops of Amona, and then hurled them without regard to the fact that they could easily kill some other Jew — friend or foe — were not street bums looking for some action who tried to amuse themselves by dabbling in a little violence, like the bored children of Israeli secular society. These were not a few marginal types who could have arisen in any modern group. No. These were the best and brightest of the national-religious youth who went straight from their studies in the best yeshivas and ulpanas that religious Zionism has to offer.

They do not care what their rebbes and mechanchim tell them about how to protest. They do what they think needs to be done.

For years the weakness of the national-religious chinuch has been a topic of discussion in their public forums, but up until now the challenge was from the "left:" far too many left the fold and became chiloni despite the intensive efforts and education of the best educators. This is the first time that the committed students, the pride of the movement, have defied the principles of their education.

Even in Gush Katif, aside from the basic and important human issues of dislocation that had nothing to do with yishuv Eretz Yisroel, the core issues were murky. What they called "expulsion" (geirush) was really a gathering in. And the people were not asked to give up yishuv Eretz Yisroel but only to settle in another part of the Holy Land that is certainly no less holy than Gaza.

But in Amona the entire issue was unoccupied buildings. The despicable and disgusting behavior of the police — which is all-too-familiar from many past incidents — does not excuse or even minimize the horror of the conduct of youth who are or should be far above them in terms of ideals and values.

We are not talking about politics but about fundamental values that should be basic to any Jew. The affair constitutes a sad demonstration of our truth that the pure Torah way is the only way to preserve one's humanity in a morally hostile world.

Mixed Seating at Weddings

Several years ago a transcription of a Shiur by Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet was circulated on the Internet. Rabbi Rakeffet is a renowned author and Rosh Kollel (or at least a respected Rebbe) at the Yeshiva University Kollel in Jerusalem. This Shiur spoke to my very deeply held belief that the current move to the right is harmful to Klal Yisroel. No where is this more evident than in the area of mixed seating at weddings. It is becoming increasingly rare to find a mixed seating event and separate seating has even found its way into some weddings in the MO community. In my own children’s weddings, two of my children had a separate seating and two of them had mixed seating. I basically left it up to them as to what kind of affair to have. As an aside I would point out that at the two mixed affairs, I asked my Rebbe, Rav Aaron, if he wanted to sit mixed with his wife or separate (I had a few tables reserved for Charedi Rabbanim who I knew wouldn’t feel comfortable sitting with their wives) . Rav Aaron chose to sit with his wife and his son R. Eliyahu and his wife, and other friends and their wives.

Mixed seating is not only permissible, but in my view it is a good way to spend an evening with your wife and friends and it is a good way for young people to meet for Shiddach purposes. Rabbi Rakeffet spoke to this issue and he did not mince words. I think it is a valuable lesson for all of us to see what he said and how he said it. It is interesting to note anger and condemnation, by Rabbi Rakeffet of the Yuhara that is so much a part of the Torah world today. This is the longest post I have written thus far. It is more than double the usual length. It contains the main body of Rabbi Rakeffet’s Shiur. Only tangential material was deleted. It is long but well worth the read. So sit back, relax, and enjoy. Here now, the Shiur:

There is a story about Chafetz Chaim and Rav Meir Shapiro coming to him for Shabbos. He asked that there be separate seating. It is an absolute true story that before he comes to Radin, he tells the Chafetz Chaim I am going to be in Radin for Shabbos, I would like to be at your table. The Chafetz Chaim says, "with pleasure." The Maharam Shapiro knew that the Chafetz Chaim was a Litvak, i.e., men and women eat together. Maharam Shapiro asks the Chafetz Chaim to separate, that is, to put his wife at a different table. The Chafetz Chaim answers that if that is the case you can't be my guest. It is an absolutely true story.

Now I want to explain myself and explain myself well. I have to tell you in advance, some people said that if you don't have a mechitzah at a wedding, men look at other women, speak with other women, get involved in love triangles, ultimately divorce. If this is true then my words have absolutely no relevancy whatsoever. They are batail, mevutal, ke'afra de'ara [nullified as the dust of the earth]. At every wedding there should be not only mechitzot but mad dogs which can read minds and if any man who is not allowed to [look at women] (I am not saying single fellows. A single fellow has a right to look at a girl, mitzad the halakhah; but if any man looks at another woman licentiously the dogs should eat him up on the spot. [If this is the reality] then I have my own problems. I will go home and I will go back and sit down with my Rebbe [Rav Soloveitchik], with Rav Moshe Feinstein, with Rav Yaakov Kamenitsky, and live in the 1950s as I lived, Baruch Hashem, and go back to a normal world. My words have no relevancy if that critique is correct. What I am saying is something entirely different.

We have a problem today, in my opinion, in the Torah world, whether we are modern orthodox or right wing orthodox. Our sexual standards have broken down. Let me make something clear to you. If something is an aberration. I would not be speaking about this. I would not eat my heart out. I gave lectures in Midreshet [Moriah] that everyone should hear on [what should be our] attitude towards sex. I would not eat my heart out if it was an aberration.

We in the modern orthodox world have our problems. Single girls going to mikvah. I am not going to talk about that. I also feel that the charaidi world [has problems], and to me it is obvious. On one hand they are very frum, very pious. They do what they are taught with a wife who grew up under the same concepts. [But a small but recognizable group of them] have mistresses, houses of ill repute, affairs, etc. and it is frightening. The statistics are there. Anyone who goes to New York can see with his own eyes. Rabbi Cooperman once came back from a trip toAmerica in the 1970s and he was shaking, He told me [about] all the black [not Afro Americans but rather those wearing black clothing] he saw. He couldn't believe his eyes.

What bothers me is there is a falshe frumkeit here. Rav Yerucham Gorelick used to use that word. I have to tell you, Rav Yerucham was so insightful that I shiver and I shake today. [For example,] in my days in Y.U. there was [only] one boy who wore his tzitzit out. One boy! [Years later] I taught his daughter. I taught his son. Every time he walked into class with his tzitzit out, Rav Yerucham went crazy. I cannot repeat what he said to him in public. "Falshe frumkeit, ayich mit ayer falshe frumkeit" [false religiosity, you with your false religiosity] Rav Yerucham was going off the wall. f.f., falshe frumkeit! I don't know how Rav Yerucham called the shot. That boy, [now a] man, became a chazan in one of the biggest Conservative shuls in the United States.

Now, we live in a world where men and women intermingle. Therefore, the halakhah is as follows. The Rambam Hilkhot Ishut Perek 24 Halakhah 12 uses a word in terms of tzniyut. He writes that women have to go out of their house with a "radid". That is his term. What is a "radid"? There is only one explanation for radid. It is a veil. Show me one woman walking around in Meah Shearim today who is not an Arab who has a veil on her face. So you see, without going into great lamdus [learning], and I spoke at great length with Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, [and] he spoke with the Rav about this, there is a certain subjectivity with those aspects of tzniyut that are not de'oraita [Torah law].

When the Rema paskens that you can't say "shehasimcha beme'ono" when men and women are sitting together, the Maharam Yafa doesn't disagree. Someone [told me] we don't pasken like the Maharam Yafa. It is nothing to do with the way we pasken. He [Maharam Yafa] doesn't disagree with the Rema. All he says is, a hundred years later [i.e. 100 years after the Rema], that we today are used to men and women sitting together. Therefore we have no problem saying "shehasimchah beme'ono".

We should educate our men and women in the charaidi and in the modern orthodox world, [to] develop a wonderful relationship with each other. Marriage is a lot more than just a physical or an earthly union to enable you to discharge the obligations of "pru urevu" [be fruitful and multiply] and "onah" [relations]. Marriage is something else, way beyond that.A person should feel towards his wife, and vice versa, [that she is] his best friend. [She is] his confidant. [She] is his soulmate. [She] is a lot more than just his sexual partner or the mother of his children. To me, wherever I go I always want my wife at my side. I have seen gedolai Yisrael. I grew up watching the Rav. I saw Rav Moshe. I saw Rav Yaakov. I saw the way they related to their wives. It was a living mussar saifer. It was truly chavairtecha ve'aishet britecha.

I don't have that much time to go out at night. I published thousands of pages. I am always busy. People call me and say, "Rebbi are you busy?" I say, "If I wouldn't be busy, would I be your Rebbi?", but please you called, you have a sheailah [question], go ahead. I try my best to go out with my wife once a week. It doesn't always work out that way. When I go to a wedding I go to mesameach chatan vekallah [cause the groom and bride to rejoice]. But there is a meal. You are sitting. You're talking. The greatest joy is to have my wife next to me. She is my chavairah. She is my aishet briti. She is a lot more than just my physical partner or the mother of my children and grandchildren. She is my confidant. She is smarter than me. She supplements me, complements me. Sometimes helps me paskin sheailot [make halakhic decisions]. I always appreciate when someone asks me a question [while] my wife is listening. Her input to me is sacred.

Tzniyut is tzniyut. I reiterate, if people normally eat separate Friday night, then I understand [that] when they make a wedding they are going to have separate seating. They live in the Rema's framework, not the Levush's framework. When I am invited to Chaim Yankel's [child's] wedding, the same Chaim Yankel who sits mixed Friday night, goes to restaurants with his wife, goes here and there with his wife, with his girlfriends, etc., suddenly at his wedding, the falshe frumkeit. It is frightening to me.

In the charaidi world there is a real problem today. The pilagshim [concubines] didn't come out of the modern orthodox world. The pilagshim came out of a certain right wing world, whatever truth there is to it. [see The Washington Post, June 2, 1996] But you cannot deny that in Lakewood there is guy living with a pilegesh, bifnai am veaidah [before the nation and the community]. He has two apartments, two "wives", two sets of children. This is already not an aberration. This is frightful. We have developed an Adah veTzilah mentality. These people who had pilagshim were interviewed. Hashem yerachem. [May Hashem have mercy.] These are Bais Yaakov girls speaking. It is mind boggling.

Now, what gives me the right to speak like this? First of all, I have to tell you I was just told, that Rabbi Frand [dealt with this issue on a tape]. I refused to listen to the tape [until after I gave my response today]. I can't believe what goes on.[One] of my students called me the other day, "Rabbi Frand says exactly what you said, exactly. He says that if they eat separately Friday night....". I couldn't believe my ears. Baruch shekivanti... I have to get an honorary semichah from Ner Yisrael.

Finally I conclude. If we want to know how to inculcate frum values, I always quote Rav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg. He says where I come from, Lithuania, when a woman went to high school and college, 99% of the time she became not frum. [On the other hand], in Germany women are professionals, women are doctors, and all of them wear shaitels and are medaktekot bemitzvot kallot kechamurot. Rav Yisrael Salanter came in to Rav Azriel Hildesheimer's school to see him. (Rav Yisrael Salanter lived in Germany for many years, as you know.) They told Rav Salanter that Rav Hildesheimer was giving a shiur. Rav Yisrael Salanter goes into the bais medrash to see what the shiur is about. He comes in and the whole bais medrash is filled with women. Rav Yisrael said if a rav were to do that in Lithuania, they would put him in chairem. But he says, "Yehi chelki beolam haba [Let my portion in the world to come be] with what Rav Azriel Hildesheimer is doing here in Germany."

I can never forget in my time, in Y.U. circles I never heard of separate seating, until I left America. It wasn't shayach, not just [in] Y.U. [circles], [but also] in the Litvishe circles. Rav Aharon Kotler, Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Yaakov Kamenitzky, the Rav, how many weddings [did they attend] with absolute mixed seating. There was separate dancing, but mixed seating. It was normal. It was par for the course. For their own children, (I was at the weddings), there was mixed seating. There was no question about it. Each one's kavod was with his rebbitzen. [They were proud to say], "This is my rebbitzen." These were their joy.

I remember when in right wing circles the first outflow of the Hungarian or the Chassidic influence appeared in America [and this] ultimately leads to everything we have today... this attempt at separate seating, etc. I remember Rav Yosaif Breuer who was revered. He was a man who was baki in all of shas. He said [that] he is not in favour [of separate seating]. He is against [separate seating]; but if you can't stem the tide, the young people have to sit mixed. When they asked why, he said, "Because mitzvah gorreret mitzvah [the fulfillment of one commandment leads to the fulfillment of another]. We want people to make shiduchim. We want boys and girls to meet. We want dates to come out of this [wedding]." This was a beautiful, a normal, and, above all, a healthy approach.

The Truth about Great Historical Figures

A few years ago I started reflecting on whether the study of history can ever be legitimately studied. I am a big fan of the study of history, especially when it impacts the Jewish people. I devour biographies of great figures in Jewish history whether they were Gedolim, apostates, or just average people who were victims of circumstance.

Halacha requires us to at times to omit negative information from Gedolim and does not require us do so in the bios of Reshaim. In fact it probably requires us to editorialize about just how bad the Reshaim were. The problem is that it is left to the writer to make subjective judgments about who is good and who is bad and which information is bad or good.

The Sridei Eish, (Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (1885-1966) letters that were published a few years ago by Professor Marc Shapiro and seem to reflect very negatively on him are a case in point. Should they have been published? Did they indeed paint a negative picture of him? Did the Sridei Eish want letters that he wrote and therefore obviously believed, to be published? These letters paint a picture of a Gadol that we might not otherwise have. If he meant what he said and took the time to write down the words then perhaps he did want people to ultimately know his feelings. Or was this a one time polemic written in private correspondence which reflected a moment in his life that did not really reflect the essence of the man. Furthermore, are there other letters that would contradict, or explain better what he meant?

Another example, as I have mentioned several times in the past, the book, “My Uncle the Netziv” is a classic case how the best of intentions about what is appropriate information is highly subjective. An Artscroll “approved” author/translator wrote a very positive portrait about the Netziv only to be condemned by his peers for publishing what they considered negativities about him. The book was “pulled from the shelves”. And of course there is the famous (or should I say infamous) book by Rabbu Nosson Kaminetsky, “The Making of a Gadol”, that was banned for these very sorts of reasons.

History is a very important educational tool. One can and should learn a lot about how to conduct oneself through the biography of great individuals. But when history is sanitized to fit someone’s agenda, no matter how noble, it takes away the true lesson and replaces it with someone else’s vision of what the lesson should be. In the case of “My Uncle the Netziv”, and in the case of “The Making of a Gadol” everything published was done with great love and admiration by the author for his subjects. If there was any behavior that the subject of those books would not have been proud of, it did not appear in the books. But, those books were banned because of a personal view of what is appropriate to write about great historical figures and what is not. This, in spite of the fact that the subjects of these books had no problems with their own behavior. Obviously. None of the Gedolim acted in ways that were against wht they belived to be appropriate behavior. But that didn’t stop people from banning them and the subsequent removal from the shelves.

To me this is clearly wrong. One cannot learn how to conduct himself from historical sources if those sources are censored in the agendized fashion mentioned above.

What about mentioning the behavior of certain role models that they are not proud of. Let us say that a certain Rosh Hayeshiva committed adultery with a married woman. The story has been successfully suppressed from public knowledge. He is an admired figure in Charedei circles. Should one who has absolute knowledge about the affair tell the story? Should history not record those events? Should the laws of Lashon Hara (LH) dictate what can be written historically? And when is it LH? How do we define it? If someone was a Noef and then did Teshuva, should we in fact tell the story and show the level of public Teshuva that a Gadol is capable of and that Teshuva should be sought by anyone for any Aveira? Or, should we not bring it up. Why tarnish his name at all in the eyes of his admirers? Is the precption of a Gadol as pristine in all his life’s endeavors better than an unsanitized truth?

I take note of the many stories in the Gemarah about certain of Chazal who were tempted by Aveirah or who actually did Aveiros. The Gemarah does not shy away from the truth. Why did the Gemarah have to tell us about the Cherem that R. Elazar was put in after the Maaseh with Tanur Achnai. Surely we did not need to know that a Tanna was put in Cherem. But a lesson was to be learned about the severity of going against the Rov (majority opinion) and “Lo Bashomayim He” even if one had a Bas Kol (heavenly dictate) on his side.

We can see from the Gemarah that historical lessons are important and the Gemarah seems to indicate that negative stories can be told about even Gedolim if one can learn something positive.

The question arises, when do we know what to include? If one has an Agenda as an adherent of Agudah or as an adherent of TuM, and one believes strongly in it’s ultimate Emes, as opposed to other opposing philosophies, should one seek to emphasize his point of view through selective editing of his material? The Charedi point of view would say emphatically, YES. But perhaps a Centrist with an agenda might do so as well.

This makes history almost impossible to know. Halachic restriction combined with competing philosophies about which Hashkafa to emphasize will make knowledge of history almost impossible. Striving for objectivity simply does not always work.

This is why I like to read bios written by authors with opposing viewpoints, and try to glean those elements in common that the books do not dispute, as truth, or as near truth as is humanly possible. Having an agenda of my own I probably read with my own bias and take from my readings what suits my own agenda. I do not do this on purpose but no doubt I do so at an unconscious level.

So, history is important. As someone famous once said, if one does not learn from history, he is doomed to repeat it.

But how do we really know what the truth of history is? I guess we cvan't really ever know with complete certainty. But we should strive to do the best we can because we either learn from it or are doomed to repeat it.

The Mark of a True Gadol

I have been asked by many to write more about my experiences with various historical figures I have encountered. This request always brings me back to my Rebbe, Rav Aaron Soloveichik. When he was Niftar, I wrote a eulogy for him from which I gleaned this post. I thought I would share some memories of him that illustrates why he was a Gadol and why others today do not seem to measure up.

His knowledge of Torah, his Bikius in Shas and Poskim had few peers. His Shiurim provided great clarity. It was pointed out by R. Aaron’s son, R. Moshe Soloveichik, during Rav Aaron's Hespid that R. Moshe Feinstein considered R. Aaron one of the Gaonei HaDor. It was reiterated by his son-in-law, R. Rapahel Marcus, who read from what I believe was the Smicha document which R. Moshe Feinstien issued to R. Aaron. It should be noted that this statement was made at a time when the Brisker Rav was still alive, as was, The Chazon Ish, Rav Aaron Kotler, Rav Yitzchak Hutner, Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky and his brother, R. Yosef Dov Soloveitchik. I will never forget that Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker Rebbe, flew into Chicago for the sole purpose of being Maspid Shloshim at Yeshivas Brisk for a man whom he considered to be his own Rebbe. He told us that it was Rav Aaron who taught him how to learn a Rambam.

His Hashkafa was one which encompassed all of Torah and an appreciation for Mada which he had espoused to all of his Talmidim. He could quote with equal ease from the Rambam and R. Chaim as he could from Victor Hugo and often did so as the occasion called for it. He never shied away from his beliefs even when they were unpopular. Rav Aaron believed in engagement with society and that Kiddush HaShem meant not only for Klal Israel but even the Umos HaOlam. One of the clearest memories I have is when R. Aaron spoke to as full Beis HaMedrash of Talmidim, faculty, and Baal HaBatim condemning the Viet Nam War as immoral and condemning then President Nixon. This... at a time when it was not yet popular to do so, infuriating many of the mainstream who supported the war at that time. How proud I was of my Rebbe, my Rosh HaYeshiva.

His Hashkafa forms the basis for my own Hashkafa. He was a man who stood up for Emes without regard of the consequences to himself. It did not matter who or how great the numbers of individuals who opposed him. He was a Rodef Sholom, willing to go to the greatest of lengths to avoid Machlokes. But when it came to Emes, he was a Kanoi on its behalf, never flinching. This thought was expressed by the Maspidim on the day of his funeral and at his Shloshim, who retold of episodes in his life which caused him so much Agmus Nefesh. These were events many of which I participated in, as a Talmid and as an admirer.

I want to relate one personal story which I believe illustrates the mark of a true Gadol. When my father had his bladder removed shortly before his death he needed to have a bag attached to his ureter which collected urine and had to be emptied occasionally. There was an issue of Tumah. My father wanted to know if there was any problem of saying Tefillos and wearing Teffilin, with a bag full of urine. Rav Aaron Paskin'd that it was no problem. Since it did not pass through the Eiver it did not become Tameh.

But he told me that there was another issue regarding Shabbos, namely the issue of carrying the bag of urine in Reshus HaRabim. So I immediately asked him to Paskin. He told me that he didn’t know those Halachos so well and that I should ask someone else. I was puzzled by the response. How could this Baki in Poskim not know? But I did as he asked. And was given a Heter for my father and advice as to what my father needed do to avoid Yitziah, carrying on Shabbos.

Much later upon reflection, I realized of course that Rav Aaron knew what the Psak was. But he did not want to Paskin for my father. Rav Aaron’s Shittah is vary Chamur on Shabbos and his Psak would’ve created a great hardship for my father who loved people and loved going to Shul... confining him to a virtual prison in his own house every Shabbos for the rest of his life. How ironic that after his stroke, many years before my Sheila, Rav Aaron was exactly so confined. But he knew other Poskim were more Mekil and told me to look elsewhere, And lest I press him to give me his own Psak, he simply told me that he didn’t know.

This is the mark of a true Gadol. Most Poskim when asked a Sheila will Paskin L’Chumra if this is their Shita, even when they know there are those who will Paskin L’Kula, creating hardships in some cases. But R. Aaron was an Ohaiv Es HaBrios and tremendous Bal Chesed who always put his own Kavod Last.

Klal Israel has lost a great leader, a member of a generation of great leaders who are all irreplaceable.

The Letter

In an attempt to better understand some of my problems with Lubavitch. I am posting a letter I received a couple of months ago by someone who was Mekarev through them. He is undergoing tremendous stress in part because of his experiences there. I have changed some of the identification details so as to prevent anyone from recognizing who he is, but the letter is otherwise unaltered, including spelling errors. I answered him immediately and we have an ongoing correspondence. Here now the letter:

Harry,

I have probably never met you, and I do not know who you are but after having looked at the Avodah message boards and frumteens.com, I have become very intrigued by your attitudes and beliefs towards lubavitch. As you wrote somewhere that you get worked up about this issue, I was hoping that you would be able to provide me with some insight concerning what I am about to say. As I don't know you, I don't know if you were a lubaitcher, or if you are a lubavitcher, but I am interested in your view of the lubavitch movement. From non lubavitchers, I have seen two main viewpoints: lubavitch is good, thanks to their global kieruv work, and lubavitch is bad, thanks to their messianic shtuss. From my experience, both are true: lubavitch to say the least, has good intentions, and their messianic stuff isn't all that good. But for me, there are more pressing issues - namely, those discussed by yourself - such as university, employment, life, and lubavitch vs. non-lubavitch.

Before I continue, I should give you some background. I live in (a small city), and I became frum through lubavitch when I was 13. As you have written, I first became lubavitch, and then frum. I tried to follow all of their beliefs. I had such a happy childhood: I played sports, I had numerous friends, I went to school, I watched tv, and I was an avid hockey fan. This all changed when I joined lubavitch. Every second was supposed to spent learning torah, so I completely quit my sports, left my friends, and bitterly fought with my parents. I was taught that sports, tv, travel, and all other actions not involving G-dliness were wrong. I was also taught that non-jews and all non-lubavitchers were evil, and people to stay away from (there was one time when one of the shluchim here needed a bucket. It was full of insects, so he just dumped it on the floor, explaining that the janitor was a goy and he could pick it up).

School was the same. Secular studies and music "poison your mind" I was told, and they were forbidden at all costs. My parents forced me to finish public high school.

Against lubavitch's wishes, I was involved with (a non Lubavitch kiruv youth group) for a few years, before going to (a well known Kiruv type yeshiva) in jerusalem (a non-lubavitch yeshiva) after high school. I went there for a year and didn't like it. I then went to a yeshiva in new york which was even worse. I then ended up back in (my home town).

The lubavitchers kept encouraging me to go back to yeshiva. "What about a parnassah?" I asked them. "Don't worr"y they replied, "G-d will help - learning torah is more important".

And this brings me to where I am now. I am currently 23. I have lost all of my childhood friends, my baalei teshuva friends from my lubavitch days (who have all chucked religion and turned to drugs), my friends from yeshiva, and my friends from (the high school Kiruv group I had joined. The lubavitchers have also told me that unless I go back to yeshiva, or unless I am willing to constantly come to their shul and support them, and drive them, and help them financially, I am not welcome. I had been davening at that shul daily during my high school years, for a period of about 4 years, but unless I follow their agenda, then good riddance to me.

The question is now what (and this is where I hope your insight can help). I feel a bunch of emotions: guilt, anger, and frustration, to name a few. Although I have had almost no contact with them for 3 years, I am still in their mentality: I am 1 year away from finishing my BA at university here, and it is secular knowledge and I feel guilty. I also feel guilty because I listen to secular music, I walk, I travel, I watch tv. I am mad - at lubavitch, at my parents, at my 'friends' from yeshiva, (and that Kiruv youth group), everywhere who (I feel) have just left me here. I am frustrated - I gave up everything, and have been left with nothing.

I am also not 'frum' to say the least. I don't know if you know much about (my home town), but the frum community here is minimal at best. Back then, it was lubavitch or ? The only viable alternative at that time was another local ashkenaz shul full of yiddish speaking seniors. I didn't fit in there either. I haven't been to shuld in years. I haven't observed shabbos, yom tov (yom kippur), or anything in years, and I probably will not be able to for years to come. The problem is that I still believe - in G-d, Torah, and judaism - but I do not trust lubavitch, yeshiva people, or virtually anyone else for that matter. I am also in (my small home town) where I am not exposed to many other options. My main goal right now is to recover, and internally bring myself back to life. This is easier said than done, but do you have any comments about this mess? From your posts, I have seen what you have written about some of lubavitches practices and agendas, but my question to you is what about the aftershocks of these practices, such as my current situation.

Sorry for the length here, but I did want to get this off my chest,

hope to hear from you soon,

Jacob (name changed)

Lubavitch: Do Their Ends Justify Their Means?

Another instance of Lubavitch’s insincerity was evident in a Chicago Tribune article yesterday. Apparently a Chabad Rabbi in North Miami Beach decided to “Bar Mitzvah” a 76 year old holocaust survivor who had never been “Bar Mitzva’d”. It seems that this fellow had been featured in a Valentine’s Day TV news story which told of how he met his wife as a child in a Nazi Concentration camp. The story which is quite poignant tells us that the young girl as a 9-year-old for months tossed apples and bread across a fence to help that little boy survive. He was later transferred to another camp and thought he had seen the last of her... only to find her by co-incidence14 years later on a blind date. He immediately proposed marriage and they have been living happily ever since. So this North Miami Beach Chabad rabbi, one Anchelle Perl, had heard about this and the fact that he never had a Bar Mitzvah he decided to make one.

First of all there is the question of how this young girl was able to feed this little boy apples from across the fence. The only way this could have happened is she wasn’t Jewish. That means he intermarried. (Unless she was Jewish and passed for being not Jewish during the holocaust... or that she converted before she married him. But these factors are too significant not to be mentioned.) So Chabad celebrates this man’s life of intermarriage by throwing him a Party?

But let’s give him the benefit of doubt and assume his wife is Jewish

How dishonest is this Lubavitcher! Anyone with even the slightest bit of Jewish knowledge on the subject knows that you don’t get “Bar-Mitzva’d”. There is no ritual requirement. Being a Bar Mitzvah happens automatically when you hit 13 years of age. Yet this did not stop this Lubavitcher from capitalizing on this fellow’s 15 minutes of fame and turning it into a Lubavitch event. His goal I’m sure was to get Lubavitch in the news as providing a long sought after Jewish ritual to a man who had suffered at the hands of the Nazis. But it was a lie. This seventy six year old Jew had been Bar Mitzva’d 63 years ago, automatically. But that didn’t matter to this Lubavitcher rabbi as long as he got good PR out of it. The fact that he was a Bar Mitzvah at age thirteen was no where to be found in the article. This rabbi did not want to spoil this tremendous PR opportunity with the truth, which would make this event entirely irrelevant.

This is why I say that to Lubavitch, the ends always seem to justify the means. They feel that the deception on their part was worth it because of the great PR Lubavitch gets.

With all the great potential Lubavitch has they never the less continue to do the kinds of things that alienates them from the rest of Klal Yisroel. And this is just another example of it. It is time they stopped misrepresenting the Torah’s views by participating in stunts like this. PR for Lubavitch is not what Torah is all about.

The Emunah of Rav Gifter

An op-ed in a recent edition of the Internet Yated that speaks about a letter Rav Mordechai Gifter wrote in response to someone who asked whether he should send his daughter to a seminary led by a controversial Menahel (principal, as he called him). He clearly advised against it, in part because he felt that this principal had near heretical views. Of course some of the other things he said were troubling, such as his belief that this principal was slighting a Gadol. I’m not sure if I would agree that what this Menahel said in reaction to not being received by this Gadol qualifies as that. But it is still unfair to judge whether Rav Gifter was justified in his view since we do not really know who the Menahel was or what his actual views were.

In my view we should give him the benefit of the doubt. If for example, the principal involved was someone like R. Emanuel Rackman who was almost universally denounced for teaming up with Moshe Morgenstern in a Beis Din to be Matir Agunos using the principle of "Kedushei Taus" based on the incorrect application of "Kol D'Mekdash Al Datah D'Rabbanan Hu D'Mekadesh"... I would have the same kind of problem as Rav Gifter did. I can't say that I agree with every point Rav Gifter made about this Menahel but certainly some of his accusations about this fellow are troubling.

But it is interesting to note how he ends off his letter. Here is the final sentence:

"That we cannot discern such a blemish R'l at present is owing to the impurity of our own faith."

Impurity of our own faith! It is good to see that one of the Gedolei HaDor of the last generation has admitted a flaw in his Emunah. What else could he have meant by a statement like this? He is clearly saying that because of an inability to discern a blemish in a seminary girl's Hashkafos that she picked up in a school that he believes teaches things that smack of heresy... that his Emunah is impure. Rav Gifter's Emunah...impure? Quite a revelation, if you ask me.

And it gives sanction to those who have great questions of faith to speak their minds on matters of faith as in the case on blogs like Godol Hador’s. While some of the comments made by both Mr. Hador and his commentators are bit over the top, they are never-the-less in good company.

Shiduchim, Suitability, and Sex Appeal

The Shiddach situation today seems to be in a state of disarray. You can hardly pick up a Jewish newspaper without an article or column which discusses it. The current glut of singles who live on the Upper West Side of New York City seems to be growing exponentially. But the problems of finding Shiduchim did not begin yesterday. They have been around for a long time. And the problems need to be addressed. There is too much at stake. There are far too many single people desperate to get married and have a family. I don’t really have any solutions but I am wary of those who say they do.

I am reminded of an article I read in the Jewish Observer several years ago on this subject which really upset me. In the article Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman suggests that the American system of dating has it’s roots in 1940's US culture even if one is dating for Tachlis and even amongst Bnei Torah. He claims it is foreign to Torah Judaism. He argues that there is no model of Torah behavior that our present system can be based on...no precedent in Jewish history for our present system. It is based entirely, he claims on the American cultural model which itself is based on a value system foreign to Torah Judaism. He therefore concludes that it has no place in the world of Bnei Torah. By no means does he advocate a Chasidic system whereby the couple meets only once or twice. But, he claims that our present system, having no Torah precedent is subject to much abuse such as becoming infatuated and thinking it is love... or putting oneself and one’s date in compromising situations that could be Halachicly problematic such as Yichud or worse, especially after long periods of dating. Additionally he says, with some justification that the American system of Shiddach dating prolongs unnecessarily the search process. He further cites Gedolei Israel of prior generations in Europe that gave us a structure that would be more appropriate for Bnei Torah and claims that it is the model still followed in Europe today.

Primarily the system he advocates and claims has the approval of past Gedolei Torah is one whereby devoting time and effort to gathering relevant information, usually by a parent, about prospective Shiduchim prior to the first date, and limiting the number of meetings would make the process more productive, less stressful, and enhance it’s Tznius. He further claims that since these were Gedolei Israel their sage council transcends time and space.

Even though Rabbi Wachsman had some good points, his system refuses to recognize the reality of American culture. To be sure Charedi Bnei Torah are heavily weaned away from that culture to an extreme (which I find personally objectionable but is the subject of another discussion). But no matter how sheltered one is from society at large that culture filters in at some level no matter how much one denies it.

Rabbi Wachsman tries to refute the argument that European Gedolim could not possibly have imagined American society and that their methods, therefore would be applicable. “Surely”, he says, ‘Gedolim were aware that America is different, yet they conveyed their opinions to us with great force and clarity.” Perhaps they were aware that America is different. But they were not prescient, nor omniscient. They could not know the American experience. They could not know the power of the influences; positive or negative, impacting even the most sincere of Charedi Bnei Torah. They were, to be sure, trying to impress upon the Torah world the dangers of improper association with members of the opposite sex. Dating was but one such scenario to be avoided at all costs because in their world, the world of pre-war Europe... dating, American style was a slippery slope toward compromises in Tznius at best and Arayos at worst. So, In Europe they “put their collective feet down!” America, they likely reasoned, with all it’s permissive atmosphere, the situation would deteriorate even faster if “dating” in any form was to be the Modus Operandi of finding a Shiddach.

They system as we practice it today is far from ideal. In fact it is indeed laden with many of the problems attributed to it by Rabbi Wachsman. But in fact there is no ideal system. What works beautifully for one couple could be disastrous for another. What works well in one segment of our community as a whole does not necessarily work well for other segments or even for everybody in that segment. There is no one approach that can be universally applied. There are just too many factors that impact each individual situation.

Trying to standardize a particular system because it jives with another generation... another time, or another culture is counterproductive to the goal of finding the “right person”. Does a Modern Orthodox single really qualify for Chasidic style dating? Or Yeshiva type dating? Will the Chasid fare better if he adopts the dating habits of the typical Modern Orthodox? And what about a Baal Teshuva whose support system of research (usually parents) is all but non-existent?

The ultimate goal is for the single to find the right mate. But many roads lead to “Rome”. If I were to suggest an ideal system of dating it would likely be various combinations of all methods of finding a Shidach and then custom tailoring it, accentuating one or another aspects of it to the particular individuals involved. It is far more important to factor in background, Hashkafa, and environment onto an individual Zivug than it is to standardize the process into some sort of homogenized dating system. There has to be a realization that not everyone has the same goals in life. Different things are important to different people. Differing backgrounds dictate different approaches and this is a key objection to Rabbi Wachsman’s thesis.

Another objection I have to his thesis is his total lack of acknowledgment to the necessity of physical attraction. The only attention he pays to it is in the negative... saying in effect that love comes after marriage and anything felt beforehand is the American version of romanticized love which is nothing more than fleeting infatuation. While to a certain extent this may be true, it is never-the-less an important part of marriage to be physically attracted to the person with whom you are going to make a life together and live as husband and wife in every sense of the word. That Chasidim do not experience the phenomenon does not mean that it isn’t ever present and in our culture. We are virtually reminded of it all the time by all the media, entertainment or otherwise.

Sure... it is nice when possible to find out as much as one can about a potential date. This kind of research can eliminate a lot of “false starts”. But it isn’t always possible. And it is all too often the case that information is inaccurate. There is far too much bad information that is disseminated by biased individuals when researching Shiduchim, especially by some greedy Shadchnim. This can easily, and often does ruin a perfectly good match. Ultimately the only way one can find the right match is to do some research, take all information with a grain of salt and then go about the process of “discovery” through the process of dating.

The Emporer Has No Clothes

Yesterday’s Haaretz had an

article

which stated the following:

“Shas' election campaign is focusing on the war on poverty. But this is the biggest and most infuriating hoax of all. The ultra-Orthodox population is indeed poor, but this is an intentional condition. Graduates of the ultra-Orthodox education system go out into the big world carrying an empty "tool box," insofar as employment skills in a modern economy are concerned. They do not study English, mathematics or the sciences; and without knowledge in these fields, the ultra-Orthodox graduate doesn't have a prayer of finding a lucrative job that will lift him and his family above the poverty line.

The Shas and UTJ lawmakers vehemently opposed the introduction of the "core curriculum" into the ultra-Orthodox education system - and they were successful.

And they are happy with the situation, in which some 75 percent of ultra-Orthodox men do not work, but are registered as kollel students and depend therefore on the sector's breadwinners and MKs to get them grants and allowances that allow them to subsist, despite the fact that in the Diaspora, they had always worked - studied and worked, and did not live at the expense of the community.”

Nothing presses my "hot button" more than a story like this. What an outrage! ...and further proof of how bankrupt and immoral the Israeli Charedi system of education is. Is there any real wonder why I don't think there are any Gedolim today? Would any real Gadol allow Klal Yisroel to be so drastically led astray?

Now some might say that the writer is a known Charedi basher and I might agree. But the story has been corroborated by a Charedi friend in Israel who knows the system and absolutely agrees. And just because a writer is anti Charedi doen’t necessariy make his story untrue.

It has long been my contention that the Charedi Educational system in Israel is an inherently bad system. It is a system which does not allow any secular studies for boys past eighth grade and only minimally until then. This produces an ignorant dependency class that is forced to rely on government handouts. And when the government has to cut programs because of lack of funding, the Charedi leadership is the first and loudest to cry foul. But it their own fault. They are the ones keeping their flock in poverty.

Their reasons? Well, they seem to feel that unless students spend their every ounce of energy and all their time studying Torah they will never produce any Gedolim. But, where are the Gedolim that the system should have produced by now? They don’t exist.

Sure... there are many Bnei Torah who have spent the vast bulk of the time on earth learning Torah; they know a lot and there are a lot of them. But they are not Gedolim. They just know a lot of Torah. Knowing a lot of Torah does not equal Gadlus. The system has produced a huge number of Talmidei Chacham, but to what end? What purpose is all this knowledge going to serve? How many of them will become the Rabbanim, Rosehi Yeshiva, and other Mechanchim that Klal Yisroel requires. There are far too many who will not be transmitting their acquired Torah knowledge simply and the system is flooded. It is bloated with Bnei Torah who will do little else in life besides going to the Beis HaMedrash everyday and learning full time, their families in poverty and begging for...or worse... demanding government handouts.

So what should they be doing if not learning? How about working for a living, supporting their families and becoming productive members of society. The notion that one must make learning a priority at the cost of the welfare of Klal Yisroel is not what our Torah teaches. A life of full time Torah study should only be reserved for those with TRUE potential for Gadlus, not the more than twenty thousand or so doing it now. I don’t say that one shouldn’t spend a few years learning full time after marriage. But NOT without the responsibility of learning a Parnassa too. After learning a few years they need to leave the Beis HaMedrash and GET A JOB ...and be Koveah Itim. There is no point to learning full time and thereby maintaining a poverty class. To maintain a population of thousands of such people is counter-productive. They will not become Gedolim. They have reached a plateau. They know and the Charedi leadership knows it.

The time is more than ripe for a re-assessment by Charedi leadership of their educational philosophy. There has to be a change to an American style system of high schools that provide a secular studies program with an eye toward eventual Parnassa.

Unfortunately, however, the opposite seems to be happening. Instead of the Israeli system emulating the American one... more and more American Roshei Yeshiva like Rabbi Aharon Feldman are pressing for a move to the Israeli system of no secular studies.

These are no Charedi Gedolim who seem to be picking up the gauntlet. No one seems to have enough courage to tell the emperor that he is not wearing any clothes. It is up to the Bnei Torah themselves. They must for their own sake, the sake of their families, and the sake of Klal Yisroel wake up, learn a Parnassa, and get jobs. They must unite and ...yes, even rebel against their misguided rabbinic leadership on this issue and establish an educational system for their own children that includes secular studies with an eye toward Parnassa.

Jewish Blogs: Are They Good for the Soul?

Jewish Atheist, Krum as a Bagel, Misnagid, Godol Hador, B. Spinoza, Orthoprax, Lamedzayin, Daas Yachid, and The Jewish Freak. What do all these names have in common? They are the pseudonyms of bloggers and commentators. And of course they only scratch the surface of all the names used in the blogosphere

My relatively recent foray into the blogosphere has shown me something quite remarkable. The ability to both blog and comment anonymously or with pseudonyms has enabled people to say exactly what they think. Gone are the restrictions of what others may think of you... or worse that you will be ostracized from the community or thought to be an Apikores. It seems that there are many people out there who are Frum... even Charedi, and to the world... look, act, and speak the PC line. They are accepted into the community and no one is the wiser as to what they really think. Anonymity has brought out the true persona of a large number of Charedim and other Frum Jews who are quite unhappy with the Hashkafos and Hanhagos of their own peer community or worse... have serious questions of Emunah. They can now speak out without fear of being identified and the repercussions that might bring them. In some cases you might even see heretical comments, admitting a lack of belief yet they are probably members in good standing in their respective communities which are none the wiser.

I have been asked why I provide a link to Godol Hador. Godol Hador is the best example of the type of blogger I described above. He has written his thoughts from opposing perspectives which make him sound heretical sometimes.

But, I do not consider him to be a heretic at all ...just a very irreverent fellow who uses his intellect and does not deny a question because someone might accuse him of being a heretic. Anonymity allows him the ability to do that. I take his seemingly heretical comments with a grain of salt which I think he uses to provoke thinking about his issues as much as anything else.

His recent essay entitled “The Science of Judaism” was quite thought provoking and actually showed his very Masoretic approach to Emunah. It has generated nearly 600 comments so far. The one thing I like about him is the complete intellectual honesty that he might otherwise be reticent to use if his identity were known. The kinds of issues he raises are the kinds of issue we should all be thinking about so as to better examine, understand, and strengthen our own Hashkafos.

All this is an amazing revelation to me. It makes me wonder just how many in the Torah world have such doubts about Torah Judaism and yet, keep those thoughts to themselves. Is there a growing community of secret doubters in our midst? Are there significant numbers of doubters like these ...a sort of reverse Morrano society? And if so, is all this questioning and doubting a good thing? Or will this new freedom of expression take some of us down the abyss to apostasy? I don't know the answer to that all important question but it is my hope and belief that all this discussion will result in a renewed and better understanding of the nature of belief and make us all stronger in it. Knowledge, after all, is power.

AreYou a Centrist?

It’s another slow day around the Maryles ranch. I am just going to post a couple of thoughts that occurred to me today.

First, I was flattered (or should I say insulted) by Mr. Hador’s reference to me in his blog “Not the Gadol HaDor” yesterday, calling me the only member of the community known as Centrists. I pointed out to him that not only am I not the only member, I believe he is most likely a Centrist as well. By co-incidence a Charedi poster
on Areivm/Avodah asked me to differentiate between Maskilim and Centrism. I’m not exactly sure why he thinks that Centrists are just a bunch of Maskilim but here is what I wrote:

Maskilim by definition rejected Torah uMitzvos. They accepted Torah only as a piece of literature and perhaps reflective of an ancient culture. Centrists of course do not. The only thing they may have in common is a positive attitude toward secular studies.

Centrists are as loyal to the Torah as Charedim but believe in the principles of Torah uMada... the two towers of knowledge. Torah study is the primary tower, and Mada, the study of all the accumulated knowledge of mankind is the other tower. While Torah takes priority, Mada is a very close second to it. TuM grants high value to such knowledge because we believe that God wants us to study all of his handiwork and use it for the benefit of mankind.

Centrists also believe in the principle of M'kadesh Atzmecha B'Mah SheMutar Lach. We believe in full participation in any worldy pleasures as long as they are not K'Neged HaTorah. We also believe that full time Limud HaTorah should be reserved for the Yichdei Segula, those who are singled out for greatness in that pursuit, and that the rest of Am Yisroel should find their true Tafkid in life, pursue that diligently, and serve God and Klal Yisroel that way, all while being Koveiah Itim to fulfil "VeHagisa Bo Yamim Volielos."

This does not mean that we all live up to our ideals? Maybe we don't learn enough or are lax in one Mitzva or another. But we are not defined by how we fail. We are defiend by what our ideals are and what we should aspire to.

So am I the only one who belongs to that group? Does anyone else? Do you?

Islam

I’ve been meaning to write about this subject for a long time. I haven’t as of yet because I wasn’t exactly sure how to get my sentiments across. There are so many things to say that I don’t know where to begin.

Let me start with the following. The source of all the major problems in the world today is Islam. That’s quite a mouthful. But I believe it to be accurate. Islam is the source for the vast majority of terror and intimidation in the world today. I don’t just mean Radical or Fundamentalist Islam. I mean... Islam!

Islam is a religion that is at the core very primitive and it caters to a primitive mind. Now I will admit that I do not really know much about the Koran or its tenets. But I think it is fair to say that the actions and re-actions of adherents of Islam demonstrate quite clearly how they think. One need look no further than the current "cartoon intifada" to see just how primitve a great number of Muslims are.

Religious Muslims believe that their religion is the only way humanity should live and that heaven can only be attained through their belief system. They have absolutely no respect for any other belief system and consider all other beliefs to an impediment to an Islamic lifestyle and, therefore, to be fought to the point of death. To a Muslim, mankind must either submit to Islam or is condemned to hell. The slightest impediment to a Pan Islamic world is to be treated as an impediment to be destroyed. This means... whatever it takes even if one commits suicide and kills innocent victims in the process. The only difference between Radical Islamists and the rest of the Islamic world is the willingness to act on it.

That is why when the Twin Towers came down at the hand of Islamist terrorists the rest of the Islamic world cheered. It was a mark in the win column for them. They perceive the US and its support for Israel as the greatest current impediment to the goal of a world run by Islamic law. To be sure there were many Muslims who rejected and condemned the attacks. But not with any real sincerity and it was always followed by “well, we have to look at the source of the problem”... (a euphemism for Israel).

Islam cannot by definition countenance a State of Israel. The vast majority of Muslims do not think Jews have any right what-so-ever to be there. It doesn’t matter to them that before the Balfour declaration in an under developed Israel there were hardly any Arabs other than Bedouins in that location. It doesn’t matter that Palestinians were invented as a group well past the founding of the state. It doesn’t really have anything to do with who was there first. It has to do with their view that the Jews do not belong there. The land is theirs theologically. They do not recognize our legitimate religious claims to the land promised to us by God. They think the promise was made to Yishmael, not Yitzchak.

So all the terrorism really boils down to the Jewish people usurping their holy Islamic land. And whether it be Palestinians themselves or the non Arab Iranians, or the secular Iraq of Sadaam Hussein, or the fanatic Wahabism of Saudi Arabia... they blame all of their ills on the Jews. Not too much unlike like Hitler, they look at all Jews as the source of their problem and believe just about any negative story about us as truth.

This does not mean to say that Palestinians aren’t suffering at our hands. Of course they are. But, they have brought it upon themselves by killing our people. In order to have security we now target Palestinians for extra surveillance which by its nature causes them tremendous hardship. The hatred is thereby increased so that many a young Arab has enough of a reason to hate us even if he didn’t start out with the religious hatred against Jews preached at them from the Madrosses and Mosques for many, many decades. But of course that have that as the starting point of hatred anyway.

All of this is really a prelude to what I am about to say and doesn’t really scratch the surface of the problem. But I hope it at least sets the stage.

There is a problem in how the US government is addressing the terrorism threat. Only recently has there begun a realization of the real problem. The President has... and still is... referring to the problem as the war on terror. Occasionally he speaks of radical Islam as the problem and then immediately follows it up with apologetics about separating Islam from Radical Islam. This is incorrect. Radical Islam is merely the military wing of Islam in its Jihad against the non Islamic world. All of Islam agrees that an Islamic world is the ultimate goal. They don’t all actively pursue it as a goal only because they realize the absolute impracticability of it and futility of any actions on that front. But don’t think for a minute that the Islamist suicide bombers aren’t looked at as heroes and martyrs by the vast majority of them. They most certainly are. I’m not sure if the President realizes this.

The war in Iraq was initiated as a response to 911. There is no doubt about this in my mind. Iraq was a legitimate target in this respect because its government led by Saadam Hussein perpetrated crimes against humanity and was believed to be seeking weapons of mass destruction. Additionally he was certainly making payments to families who gave up sons as suicide bombers in Israel. He was and still is a true Jew hater. It is also absolutely a fact that the vast majority of terrorists and suicide bombers are being drawn to Iraq to fight the Jihad against the US. So it is imperative to continue the fight there until we win. Any other option would be to surrender to Islam who would then take control of Iraq and make it a world terrorist base with the goal of wiping Israel off the face of the map and then destroying the West and replacing it with Pan Islamism.

But I submit that Iraq was the wrong target. True it was an evil dictatorship that deserved to be overthrown but it was a secular dictatorship, not a religious one. It was not Iraq that was preaching Radical Islam but Iran. They should have been the target.

I realize that there are many more factors as to why the US chose to attack Iraq over Iran, but the fact is that if Islamism has its base it is Iran. At no time is this more evident than now with this new President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But it should not have been an epiphany. Anyone with even an ounce of knowledge about what Iran is all about, ...who runs it, and what it has been doing since its take-over by radical Islam 26 years ago... should have realized that this would have been a more logical target than Iraq.

It is Iran that actually attacked the US when it took over the US embassy in 1980 and took the embassy staff hostage. It is Iran that exported terrorism to Lebanon by creating and funding the first terrorist group to practice suicide bombing... Hezboallah. They are the ones who export Islamist terrorism and ideology more than any other single country and have forced Islamic law on its own citizenry. They preach hatred, mostly of Jews but also of Western values... in their schools and import that message to the all Muslims of the world

Currently, they are the ones who are flaunting their arrogance by proceeding with the development of nuclear weaponry and the proclaimed goal of wiping the Jewish state off the map. They are the ones who unabashedly say that the Jews made up the holocaust. And spread anti-Semitic literature such as the discredited “Protoclols of the Elders of Zion” as truth. They espouse the beliefs of virtually all Muslims in the Arab world and because of their religious zeal, feel empowered to flaunt and promote those beliefs more publicly than any other Arab Nation. So, THEY are the ones who need to be stopped and should have been attacked, not Iraq. That is the “bud” which should have been “nipped”.

Is it too late? Is our military over stretched? I don’t know, but I think that the US government would do well to re-asses its position with respect to Iran, re-examine the root of the problem and connect with it head on. They have declared a religious war, a Jihad, with the rest of the world and they believe they have God on their side. Nothing will stop a true believer from carrying out his mission, no matter what the odds. It is time the US recognized this and gave them the religious war they asked for. They started the Jihad. We ought to finish it. There is no other way to proceed but to destroy the enemy and the enemy is Islam.

Agudath Israel of America Must Change

I seem to be stuck in this current mode but I feel I must take note of Agudah specifically. In the course of a conversation on the Avodah/Areivim list, a poster made a comment that a prominent speaker would not speak at both an OU convention and an Agudah convention. Another knowledgeable and quite socially aware poster wrote the following line:

I am curious as to the identity of the prominent speaker who would even be asked to speak at both conventions.

This is quite a telling statement. It assumes the chasm to be so wide... that the OU and the Agudah are so far apart in Torah Hashkafa that a prominent speaker at one venue would hardly be invited to... or be willing to speak at... the other venue. And the OU is closer in Hashkafa to the Agudah than YU is, so the chances of a YU Rosh Yeshiva speaking at Agudah are about as good as the chances of having JTS chancellor Ismar Schorsh speaking there.

I'm sorry but this is sick. And it is Agudah's fault. I do not believe for a minute that the OU wouldn't invite a prominent Agudah speaker to speak at one of its events. It is the Agudah that I believe to be incapable of listening to a viewpoint even slightly different than their own.

There is no chance for Achdus, unless the Agudah "camp" opens their gates to hear other viewpoints... other Hashkafos and respect them, EVEN IF... they don't agree with them. That they are entitled to invite, or not invite, anyone they choose is no excuse. It causes bitterness and resentment from Agudah constituents toward anyone outside that camp, no matter how Frum... or how Ehrlich... no matter how big a Talmid Chacham. It promotes exclusionism, divisiveness, and bitterness and shows a fear of losing control over the hearts and minds of their own constituents.

Oh... they play a nice song. They pay a lot of lip service to Achdus in their literature and sometimes in their speeches. But they are only interested in one kind of Achdus... the kind that excludes anyone who doesn't think in lockstep with them. Their idea of Achdus is to come join Agudah, the umbrella organization for all of Orthodox Jewry... and don t question our pronouncements. Listen to the Gedolim
(meaning their Moetzes) to the exclusion of anyone else. And it is only their Gedolim who are deemed such.

I have often heard their representatives say something to the effect of: “Oh... we concede that there are other Gedolim and other Hashkafos.” But this is disingenuous and deceptive. It is as if they are saying we don't really think you have any Gedolim but we'll humor you. And that expression is the near verbatim standard answer when anyone suggests to an official there that another Gadol doesn’t agree with the Moetzes. They grant no real credibility to anyone outside Agudah as a Gadol (as in: ...SURE... you have Gedolim... wink, wink). This shows near contempt for any other Hashkafa. One gets the impression from such statements the sentiment that they feel it is damaging to one's Judaism if one is ever exposed to it.

Is it any wonder that RYBS was so antagonistic to them? Who can blame him? I will never forget the line I heard from him in a recording of a Shiur he gave (I believe it was in the 70s) to a group of YU alumni in a near angry tone: Es Gait Mich Nit Ohn Vos Tutzach in Agudah.

I wish we could all afford to have this attitude but we cannot. Agudah is holding all the cards now, or at least most of them. That camp is the one providing the purality of educators for many of our children. We can't ignore them. We need to change their attitudes about other viewpoints and have more of an Elu v'Elu approach because if we don’t our children will become like them and adopt the same attitudes.

The current animosity to any Orthodoxy outside their own is so strong that many Agudah constituents equate it to Conservative and Reform or worse, as has been shown by some of comments on my recent posts.

This cannot be allowed to continue. There must be an attempt to reconcile the two camps at least enough so that they respect each other, even if the don’t agree with each other.

Charedi Venom against Modern Orthodoxy: Is There a Solution?

The following is a verbatim quote in its entirety from the comment section of my post “Orthodoxy Against Itself”:

"Who says that the modern orthodox dont attack the heimisha frum crowd.Who has been spearheading a campaighn aganst milah. It is the modern orthodox that are more dangerous to authentic Judaism than the reform.The attack against milah and metziza bapeh reminds us of the nazis trying to destroy Judaism. It is the modern orthodox who welcome homosexuals into their temples and allowed gay clubs into their so called yeshiva college. It is the modern orthodox that try to cut the emotional chord to Torah Judaism by misleading their youth.Thank G-d things are changing and that here as well as in Israel modern orthodox youth are dumping their knitted yamulkas in exchange for the black velvet authentic ones.
Heshy"

Thank you, Heshy, for demonstrating exactly what, and just how severe, the problem is. Your words express better than I ever could exactly the kind of intolerance that has been bred by Charedi rabbinic leadership and what we are up against.

Heshy actually accuses Modern Orthodoxy of conducting a campaign against one of the most fundemental Mitzvos in the Torah, Bris Milah, and follows that up with painting us as more dangerous to Judaism than the Reform Movement. In the next line he actually compares Modern Orthodox Jews to Nazis.

A while back I posted my complaint about Rabbi Shimshon Sherer’s public statements in his Shul condemning Modern Orthodox rabbis wherein he said virtually the same things Heshy did, minus the “Nazi” comparison. Is it any wonder that a constituent of the right has taken the attack one step further?

Lest anyone think that Heshy is an anomaly and Charedim in general don’t really think this way, don’t be fooled. Heshy is the prototype for this type of thinking in the world of Charedi Bnei Torah, and I thank him for expressing his candor. It gives us clarity when one opens up the way he did. There is no room for disagreement and tolerance, as I said.

Instead of trying to figure out a way toward Achdus, it sounds as though a war is being declared by the right. Heshy has thrown down the gauntlet. Thank G-d, he says, that things are changing and modern orthodox youth are dumping their knitted kipot in exchange for the black velvet yarmulkes which he claims are the only authentic ones. This underscores the emphasis of the right on Chitzonus... appearances... the “Fernando” phenomenon I wrote about. But this is another issue... for another time.

What to do about it. One of the major problems, as I see it, is the fact that there is absolutely no contact what so ever between the two groups. YU students have never been exposed to a Shiur from a Charedi Rosh Yeshiva and Lakewood students have never been exposed to a Shiur from Centrist Rosh Yeshiva. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen. It does... perhaps more frequently than most of us realize. But it has never been on a large and significant enough scale and never in any official capacity. In my view such cross fertilization would once and forever change hearts and minds. It can only be beneficial to both worlds to have all the Bnei Torah be exposed to the Torah of all the great Tamidei Chachamim of both the Charedi camp and the Centrist camp. It must be mandatory. No boycotting. Of course neither YU nor Lakewood would ever institute such a program.

This is where philanthropy can be of immeasurable value. If there is any like minded philanthropist out there with a couple of million dollars to donate to both schools he could be of great help. In fact he could be the catalyst for change the Torah world so desperately needs.

Here’s the deal: Offer a one million dollar donation no strings attached to both schools if they implement a mandatory once a week Shiur Klali, in the Beis Hamedrash on Sugyos each Yeshiva is learning given by Roshei Yeshiva of the other Yeshiva. For example Rav Hershel Schachter, would give a once a week Shiur in the main Lakewood Beis HaMedrash to Lakewood Bachurim and Rav Malkiel Kotler would do the same in YU. Mandatory attendance in both schools.

This, in my view would work. It would end the bias and each would be able to view the other with fairness rather than baseless hatred. There would not have to be any Hashkafa discussions and no one would have to change their firmly held beliefs in Torah uMada or Torah Only. There would only be a new and improved respect and tolerance. Will the 2 schools do it? A million dollars is a lot of money.

Without a step like this we will only get more Heshies.

Orthodoxy Against Itself

One of my major issues is the subject of an op-ed in yesterday’s Jerusalem Post: The idea of Achdus within Orthodoxy.

I have long hoped for a time where all segments of Orthodox Jewry would respect one another while at the same time disagreeing on Hashkafos. And just as writer Michael Freund has, I too have experienced the occasional Achdus that happens at a wedding where a mixed group of Orthodox Jews can participate together at a wedding in joyous harmony.

In the article, Mr. Freund points out that about 50 years ago, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and Rabbi Mordechai Gifter spoke at a gathering of the Rabbinical Council of America, the premiere professional organization of the Modern Orthodox rabinate. Imagine that happening today in a climate where Modern Orthodox rabbis are called Misyavmin by Charedi rabbinic figures! It could not happen. The stridency and arrogance of the “right” is too strong and leaders like Rav Gifter and Rav Moshe do not exist.

Right wing Orthodoxy has become arrogant because it has succeeded beyond its wildest dreams. It has created and is perpetuating a vision of Judaism that is so exclusive it doesn’t even tolerate deviation among its own ranks. The events surrounding the banning of Rav Nosson Kaminetsky’s book comes to mind... as do the events surrounding the banning of Rabbi Yosef Reinman’s book. Both men were forced into contrition and years of hard labor were wasted.

How can there be Achdus when a prominent figure in the Lakewood community tells me that the Kollel would not dare invite a Rav Hershel Shachter to speak at one of their events? How can we hope for unity when Dr. Norman Lamm, former President of Yeshiva University was so easily condemned by Rav Elia Svei several years ago when he was the Yoshev Rosh of the Moetzes calling him a Sonei HaShem?! This is a particularly grievous event because Rav Svei took comments that Dr. Lamm had made during a speech identifying the differences between YU type students and Lakewood type students. He compared them to the 2 Tannaim who had differing but legitimate understandings about the role of Torah study. Rav Svei took those comments out of context and made it seem as though Dr. Lamm had painted all Charedi Bnei Torah as just a bunch of cave dwellers. No tolerance. But it is an intolerance of the right. Not the left.

I am sure that there will be those who will say that there is plenty of intolerance of the right, in Modern Orthodox circles. And it’s true, there is. But let us examine who is intolerant in each case, and why. When you hear a boorish condemnation of a Rabbinic figure of the right by a member of the Modern Orthodox it usually stems from the ignorance which is so prevalent amongst Modern Orthodox Jewry. They lack any real understanding of Kavod HaTorah. In many cases their entire Jewish education is weak and did not last beyond high school, if that.

But you will never hear such comments from the leadership of Modern Orthodoxy. No Rosh Yeshiva or Rebbe in YU would ever dream of saying anything disparaging about any member of the Agudah Moetzes whatsoever. They speak of these people in the respectful tones one might expect from an Orthodox leader about fellow Orthodox leaders... even ones they disagree with Hashkafically. And who are the critics from the right? The very leaders themselves. Not all of them of course but enough prominent ones to make it clear to most Charedim about the complete rejection of any segment of Judaism they disagree with.

That generates massive intolerance from the whole group. For after all, if Rav Svei or Rav Keller can say these things about Dr. Lamm who are they to defend him? If the Jewish Observer which speaks for all of the Agudah Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah can so easily disparage a Gadol of the stature of Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, how can there be anything but animosity and disdain for his Talmidim, his colleagues, the institutions he worked for, or the rabbis he ordained?

In the article, Mr. Freund pleads for a return to Achdus within Orthodoxy: there has got to be a way to bring the various elements together for the sake of the common good. I, too, have made such pleas... for many years. But they have fallen on deaf ears thus far. The "right" does not want us. They don’t want their flock to be contaminated with our ideas.

Is there hope? Well, there is always hope. But I think that the ball is in their court.

HaGaon, Rabbi Dr. Chaim Zimmerman, ZTL

In the course of telling the story of Rav Ahron’s tenure in HTC I mentioned the exit from HTC of the late and great Gaon, Rabbi Dr. Chaim Zimmerman. Some have asked me about this great figure and I think I should try to clear up a few things. This may be a bit difficult since my memory is a bit fuzzy but... I will try to "get it right" and beg indulgence on any errors I may make. My words are not to be taken as disparaging nor as the final word on the essence of the man, but merely as my own recollection and reflection on the people and events of the time as I remember them and the circumstances as I understood them. I invite anyone with superior knowledge or a better memory to correct, add, or and modify that which I am about to write.

Rav Chaim Zimmerman was perhaps the Gaon HaDor of his time. His knowledge of Torah was indisputable. His Magnum Opus was a Sefer written on one of the most difficult subjects in Halacha, the international time zone. He was a great genius. It was said about him that he understood quantum theory as well as did Niels Bohr when most of the scientific community had scarcely heard of it yet.

He was one of YU's pre-eminent students and the one chosen by Dr. Bernard Revel to convince one of the Gedolei HaDor visiting the US on a fundraising tour for his own Yeshiva about the seriousness and caliber of the students in YU so that this Gadol would give a Shiur in YU. (I think it may have been Rav Aharon Kotler). This Gadol was convinced and did give such a Shiur.

At some point in time, HTC had hired him to join their faculty as the highest level Magid Shiur. I don't know the date or the circumstances because by the time I arrived as a high school student he was already there. (Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that his wife was from Chicago.)

As is the case with many a genius, he was quite eccentric... NOT your typical Rosh Yeshiva. He wore colored shirts and plaid sports coats. He was clean shaven and drove a Cadillac convertible. I will never forget the fun I had when as a sixteen year old I "hitched" a ride home with him once in his car. :)

Even though the times of his Shiurim were supposed to be fixed, he rarely stuck to them. He gave Shiur whenever he decided to at very unpredictable random times sometimes even past midnight. By the time I arrived he had a loyal following, who didn't mind. He had very little if anything to do with the rest of the Yeshiva. There was also a running "feud" between Rav Chaim and Dr. Eliezer Berkovitz. He considered some of Dr. Berkovits views to be heretical and, to say the least they were not on the best of terms.

In 1964 (IIRC), Rabbi Oscar Z. Fasman, the long term president of HTC retired and Dr. Simon G. Kramer was hired to replace him. The student council of the Yeshiva high school decided to throw a "welcome" Melave Malka for Dr. Kramer. During the Melave Malke, R. Chaim spoke and made a casual reference to Dr. Berkovitz calling him words to the effect of “my friendly Apikores". After he finished, a barely restrained Dr. Berkovitz stood up and said angrily words to the effect of: "I am not an Apikores, I don’t recognize you, and I don't even acknowledge your existence". He apparently was so enraged that he inadvertently knocked a glass Coke bottle off the table which broke. (Some people remember the incident as him throwing it on the floor).

The next day R. Chaim was fired. And shortly thereafter the Yeshiva had been put in Cherem.

The Yeshiva operated for a couple of years without a Rosh HaYeshiva until Dr. Kramer brought in Rav Ahron.

Public Apology

After thinking about it I realized that certain comments made in one of my essays were made in haste and therefore in error. Although I meant no slight to Rav Moshe Soloveichik, I never-the-less want to publicly apologize for anything I said that may have been hurtful to him. I certainly never intended to embarrass or harm him in any way. I specifically would like to correct a wrong impression I gave about his role in Yeshivas Brisk. He was appointed S’gan Rosh HaYeshiva together with his younger brother Rav Eliyahu Soloveichik. He was not, as I suggested earlier "passed over" in any way. This was an error on my part for which I profusely apologize. It was an error on my part due to a misperception. I should have known better.

I also apologize for publicly referring to him without his title as Rav. Even though we are peers in the sense that we all received Smicha together, in a public forum such as this, titles should always be acknowledged because not doing so can too often be perceived as a slight and this too was never my intention. I should have followed my Rebbe's example in this regard.

The last thing I ever want to do is be hurtful to people I respect. If any of my earlier words were read by Rav Moshe and deemed hurtful, I regret them and ask for Mechila.

The Amazing Story of Rav Ahron, ZTL.

There is so much more that could be told. But here is at least part of the story... a significant part as I experienced it.

Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik was a controversial figure in Chicago almost from his first day of arrival. Chicago was ruled by a powerful group of forces that included the Mizrachi (Religious Zionists) leadership and the relatively new movement known as Traditional Orthodoxy which allowed Orthodox Shuls to remove their Mechitzos and install microphones.

The Traditional Movement was quite different than the Conservative Movement in that it was under the banner of Orthodoxy and virtually all Traditional rabbis were Musmachim from HTC. They were all Shomrei Torah uMitzvos and were given a Heter by their Rebbe and Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Chaim David Regensberg, to take these Shuls provisionally, while trying to install or re-install the Mechitza which in the end, was rarely ever accomplished. He felt that by refusing to allow Bnei Torah from taking these Shuls they would go to the Conservative JTS who by definition are Apikursim and the result would be that these Shul members and their children would be lost to Judaism. In fact many of these rabbis were somewhat successful in sending the children of their membership to day schools and religious high schools, Bnei Akiva and the like. But the consensus of every other Gadol including Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik was that taking such a Shul was Assur.

Mizrachi was the major religious movement in Chicago for decades and it remained unchallenged by other Orthodox forces such as Agudath Israel, Young Israel or Lubavitch who were all making inroads in other cities and... as was the case with Agudah... really taking over the hearts and minds of people in the various communities they were found. Agudah never had any luck in Chicago. Mizrachi and its youth division, Bnei Akiva, were too strong here. Its summer camp, Moshava was virtually the only summer camp that parents would even think about sending their children to. There was no Pirchei, no Camp Agudah, and no Camp Gan Israel... only Moshava. Mizrachi was all powerful. They virtually controlled Jewish life and the direction it should take. When Telshe Yeshiva decided to set up a branch here in the early sixties, it was hardly a blip on the Chicago radar screen.

This was the scenario when Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik arrived in Chicago in 1966. He was recruited by his friend and HTC president at the time, Rabbi Dr. Simon G. Kramer. Reluctant to come, he was urged by Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky to come here and fight the Traditional Movement. Dr. Kramer felt that the very popular Rebbe in YU and Yeshivas Chaim Berlin, was just the man to head HTC at a time when the school had recently been put in Cherem by other Gedolei Yisroel for firing the esteemed Gaon, Rabbi, Dr. Chaim Zimmerman. RAS was wooed by Dr. Kramer and promised full authority over the running of the school in every respect. After a settlement agreement between HTC’s board and R. Chaim, the ban was lifted and RAS accepted the position.

Rabbi Soloveichik began his tenure as the Rosh HaYeshiva by immediately alienating all the Traditional rabbis in the city whose members were powerful members of HTC’s board of directors. RAS instituted the policy of not allowing any of his Musmachim to take non-Mechitza Shuls without his express permission. Every Musmach had to sign a document which declared his Smicha null and void upon doing so.

Mizrachi, on the other hand looked to Rav Aharon as their spiritual mentor knowing of the Soloveichik sympathy and leaning towards Religious Zionism. Rav Ahron after all said Hallel on Yom HaAtzmaut, which was the policy already in place at HTC. He was made honorary head of Mizrachi and sat in a place of honor at the “Mizrach Vant” in the recently built Mizrachi Center in the then primary Jewish neighborhood of Albany Park. A marriage made in heaven one could say.

During his tenure at HTC, RAS enjoyed the love and support of his students. He was a man who thought of his students first and the Yeshiva and its faculty second. Here is an illustration of that which I will never forget. There was a top student in his Smicha Shiur who dressed in the attire common to college students of the day... blue jeans, blue work shirt, sandals, very long hippie like hair and beard looking very much like he belonged to the infamous “Chicago Seven” of Abbie Hoffman fame. Many parents objected that a Yeshiva student looked like this and complained to the Dean of Students, Dr. Joseph Babad. He decided to tell this student not to come back to the Yeshiva until he changed his look. RAS, upset by Dr. Badad’s directive, immediately countermanded the order, telling Dr. Babad that he was a top student and it was no one’s business how he looked and re-instated him. Student first, faculty and administration second. This attitude by RAS was a sore spot for some of the faculty who later turned on him as well.

RAS was a man who was not reticent to speak out on the issues of the day. Vehemently opposed to the Viet Nam War he spoke out in the strongest terms against the war in many public Shiurim in the Beis HaMedrash. This alienated many a Bal HaBos, parent, and board member who at the time were all in support of the war.

Then came the Buddhist missionaries. In the year 1972 Mizrachi leaders decided to sell their building in Albany Park whose Orthodox Jews were leaving in droves, and move their headquarters to the new Jewish neighborhood of West Rogers Park. There were not many buyers for this relatively new building since its uses were limited. They found an eager buyer in a group calling themselves The National Scouts of America. But that name was misleading. They were a highly missionizing sect of Buddhists out to get the people in the neighborhood to convert. The Mizrachi leadership sold them the building for a very high price.

When RAS found out about it, he was appalled and questioned the validity of the sale. Mizrachi had claimed that they were misled about the religious aspects of this group and wouldn’t have sold it to them had they known. But... that it was now too late. RAS countered that it amounted to a Mekach Taus, a sale under false pretences, that could be reversed. As a lawyer, he offered to represent Mizrachi in court to reverse the sale. Mizrachi leaders refused, stating as reasons the futility of such a move and the fact that there was a lot of "Jewish" money involved that would never be able to be realized any other way, the building having such low saleable value in the down market of a changing neighborhood. Mizrachi leaders also argued that it would not affect Jews in any case since all Jews were moving out of the neighborhood anyway.

And then all hell broke loose. At one meeting Rav Ahron protested vehemently that the organization of which he was the honorary head would dare sell a building to people who practice Avodah Zara, idol worship and whose specific purpose was to seek converts in a Jewish neighborhood. After being rebuffed at one meeting he showed his protest by lying down on the floor. He had to be carried out. I will never forget the time he told our Shiur of the public protest being organized at the Mizrachi building. He said we did not have to go but if we wished to participate there was a bus waiting outside of the Beis HaMedrash. We all went and picketed and were joined by Telzers whose building to this day is located a mere two blocks away from the site of that building.

It was to no avail. Mizrachi sold the building and bought another one in West Rogers Park. Rav Ahron quit Mizrachi and became bitterly opposed to them as did much of Mizrachi membership to him.

This was the final straw. After six years tenure at HTC, Rav Ahron’s contract was up for renewal and the board of directors who were now comprised almost exclusively of his enemies (with a few notable exceptions) were determined to strip him of his power and keep him only as a figurehead. They even had the backing of some of the faculty Rebbeim, the high school principal, and HTC resident Jewish Philosopher, Dr. Eliezer Berkovitz. Rav Ahron refused to be a mere figurehead. His contract was not renewed. There was a major split in the community.

Rav Ahron went on to create Yeshivas Brisk which at first enjoyed some success while HTC took a nose dive. Ultimately the fortunes of these two institutions were reversed with Brisk ultimately failing, while HTC now enjoys its greatest success since the sixties. Mizrachi has since become a near non-entity in Chicago replaced by the far more popular Agudah and Pirchei movements. Meanwhile the Lakewood Community Kollel strode into town and changed the hearts and minds of many of its citizens about their religious priorities. Gone was the loyalty to Religious Zionism. Its place had been taken by “Charedi” Hashkafos of the highly popular Roshei Kollel and members. The Traditional Movement has nearly died.

This was an amazing chapter in Chicago Jewish history that I was eye witness to. I only hope when history records it, that it will be done accurately and fairly. Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik was a seminal figure in Chicago who almost single-handedly destroyed the Traditional movement by forbidding his Talmidim from taking positions in their Shuls. Mizrachi’s demise was in large part, the result of the controversial sale of the Mizrachi building to a group of highly missionizing Idol worshippers.

His legacy is an everlasting tribute to his personal character and convictions. He was a seeker of Emes and an uncompromising individual willing to do whatever he could to stop injustice whenever and wherever he saw it.

May his memory be for a blessing.