Money Not Well Spent

Evanston Jew has written a post suggesting that Jewish philanthropy dollars would be well spent by building an infrastructure for the purpose of socializing amongst Jews that is outside the realm of the religious… a sort of secular meeting place for Jews. He suggests five such projects. His rationale can be summed up by this excerpt:

“A Jew who is not religious or does not attend synagogue on a regular basis can not rely on religious services to provide something of a Jewish social life.”

I could not disagree more.

It's not that I am opposed to his suggestions per se. It's just a question of priorities for very limited resources. It would be a much more efficient use of Jewish funds if they were spent on education.

As for places for singles to meet... why do we need to create a environments that already exist? A center for singles that is Jewish? How so? Because its attendees are born that way? If one is Jewish in name only why not just immerse oneself in the culture and “do as the Roman’s do”?

What exactly is the point of creating a secular environment for Jews? Even if there are secular Jews who do not want to intermarry, I would challenge them and ask them why? What do they need their Judaism for? Why do they care? Marry a non Jew. What difference does it make to them? Does the Jewish philanthropy need to provide a secular environment to advance their secularism?

Of course I do not really want to see intermarriage at any level of observance. I am only pointing out that a lack of education about one's own religion is the key here. One should know why it is not permitted to intermarry. It should not be for some vague notion of... say... of parental disapproval with no basic understanding as to why it is wrong.

That being said, the Torah world is woefully short on providing singles of any age with a legitimate venue for meeting. But it should be done through existing agencies that deal with it. Not by seeking expensive new vistas of limited value.

If one wants to marry Jewish I think it ought to be for the right reasons and that can only come about with education. Otherwise what is ultimately accomplished? True their children will be Jewish but it is highly unlikely their children will even care and they will probably assimilate out in any case. And if not them, then the next generation. We need to stem that tide and creating secular venues will not accomplish that.

Besides, what exactly is the point of two Jews getting married and living a life devoid of any Judaism? …Or Judaism filled with heretical inaccuracies about it such as Conservative or Reform? Even if they practice a ritual or two, in the end it will be totally meaningless and will almost certainly have no meaningful impact on their children and even on less future generations.

If one does not choose the Torah way of life as inherited from our forefathers ...handed down from Sinai, I see little if any value in such a Judaism.

One who has been born into a secular family and not had the opportunity to learn about Torah Judaism should be provided that opportunity. One who knows about it and has rejected it can hopefully find his or her way back. For those who have so totally rejected the Torah that there is no hope of ever winning them back, well frankly, I am not interested in providing them with a secular Jewish venue (not that they would ever want one).

So the bottom line is that spending our resources on the kinds of things suggested by Evanston Jew is an extreme misuse of philanthropic dollars. I would instead promote those very same dollars to be used in education at every level, including adult education... or Kiruv.

As for providing meeting places for singles... Yes! Of course. As I said, we need to do that. And we haven’t done enough. But it ought to be done through the many fine religious organizations already doing it, such as Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis’s Hineni. One of her most successful projects is in getting singles together. If anything that should be expanded upon. But a place like "Makor" (described in Evanston Jew's Post) which is dedicated solely to young people to meet, hang out, and watch movies… Instead of a good Kiruv organization? I don’t think so.

Sex Abuse: Reality Based Action, Not Faith Based Wishing

I am once again pleased to link yet another cutting edge article by Rabbi Yakov Horowitz on the subject of sex abuse in the Torah world. I cannot say it enough times. He truly is a man of great courage. Here are some excerpts:

“Communal change can only happen when there is an honest assessment of the facts on the ground and the steely determination to do whatever it takes to improve matters. In other words, when reality-based thinking rules, not faith-based wishing. Sadly, in the area of molestation, we are nowhere near that stage yet.”

“I think it is a terribly sad statement that an individual who sold non-kosher food in my hometown of Monsey ran for his life the moment the story broke and was not seen since, while a fiend who molested both Jewish and non-Jewish children in Boro Park is living comfortably in Jerusalem while evading extradition.”

“I cannot understand why members of our community are not willing to report the criminals who are selling drugs to our kids directly to the police. This is, in my opinion, a misplaced application of the concept of mesirah. Ten years ago, I asked our leading gedolim if I should pass along information to the police regarding drug pushers. I got a unanimous psak that drug dealers have the full status of a rodef (one who poses life-threatening danger to others), and that I have not only the right, but also the obligation to do everything in my power to have them arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. In my opinion, there is no substantive difference between a drug pusher and a child molester.”

Message to Lubavitch: Time to Come Home

There is something very curious going on over at cross-currents. Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein posted about a public debate he had with Dennis Prager. In passing he mentioned that Mr. Prager made a very good point about why he thinks Lubavitch Kiruv works so well and Rabbi Adlerstein conceded the possibility.

This post has generated over 70 comments thus far, a lot for this particular blog where the comments are fully moderated. What was interesting was what most of the comments were not about the debate or Dennis Prager. They were mostly comments about Lubavitch, many of them hostile… along with responses by Chabad Shaliach, Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie of Yorba Linda, California defending Lubavitch.

If the cross-currents comments section is any kind of barometer about what the Torah world is thinking, Lubavitch is in big trouble whether it realizes it or not. The Torah world has all but rejected them. Not necessarily by ostracizing them or excommunicating them. But by almost totally ignoring them... and virtually everything they do. Which is a lot. There is hardly ever a word ever mentioned about Lubavitch or the Rebbe in the publications like Artscroll or Feldheim the two power-house publishers of English language Judaica. There is never any mention about Lubavitch in the classroom. And in private conversations between Rebbeim and Talmidim, if it is ever mentioned at all, it is usually in a negative context.

I have written about Lubavitch many times and the problems I have with them. This post is not specifically about that. It is more of a message to Lubavitch about their status in Klal Yisroel, one that I think they are not entirely aware of. They have been marginalized by mainstream Judaism. In some cases they have not only been marginalized but they have been totally and strongly rejected. Gedolim, like Rav Shach ZTL, among others had long ago started speaking out publicly agaist them. In still other cases they are ridiculed because of their Messianist beliefs. And the more that time passes the more these attitudes become entrenched in the thinking. I do not think that Chabad leaders realize the depth and breadth of this rejection.

While it is true that internally they are a growing movement… exponentially so, it seems… and it is also true that are very successful at what they do… they are none the less alone in the greater Torah world. And their obliviousness to this fact makes it seem as though they actually prefer it that way. Perhaps that's the case, I don’t know. But they should realize that no man is an island and neither is a singular group an island unto themselves. No group can survive as a part of Klal Yisroel when they march entirely to the tune of their own drummer, to the exclusion of all others… and that is what they do. There is hardly ever any cross fertilization between any of Orthodoxy and Lubavitch. The fact is that no Orthodox group really cares to work with them. And Lubavitch will only work with other Orthodox groups when it suits their purposes. They have their own methods, their own goals, and they are mostly only interested in furthering them.

Recent case in point: I have a dear friend who is a Rav… a Mora D’Asra of a small Midwestern town. One of his closest friends was the Lubavitch Shaliach there. They worked together on some joint projects there and since they were just about the only Frum Jews in town, they became fast friends. Or so my friend thought. But then something happened. Baalei Baatim from a neighboring city wanted to set up a Yeshiva in this town. They enlisted my friend the Mora D'Asra to help. He enthusiastically agreed and started to help them raise funds.

Along came the Shaliach and tried to stop it. He claimed that this Yeshiva would take away from Lubavitch’s fundraising in that town. He begged, cajoled, and threatened my friend to try and get him to join forces and stop this Yeshiva from opening up! The friendship was suddenly over! They are now barely speaking to each other. The Yeshiva opened despite this Shaliach’s opposition and now this small town has a religious presence the likes of which it hasn’t seen since the days of the “Great Depression”, when newly arrived immigrants from Europe populated it.

This is what Lubavitch does. They are interested in furthering their own goals, lofty though they may me… and will utilize any and all methods to achieve them. And in this small Midwestern town the Lubavitch Shaliach used the Morah D’Asra in furtherance of his Chabad projects. But when he saw his turf being challenged by a Yeshiva which included his friend’s help, he quickly discarded that “friend”. There was no real friendship there. The Mora D’Asra was just a means to an end for this Shaliach. And now my dear friend, the Mora D’Asra of this small town, realizes that. He had indeed been naïve.

The time is long overdue for Lubavitch to re-think its position in Klal Yisroel. It is time for them to stop being so self centered … so Rebbe centered! They may be growing…. but what are they growing into?! The Rebbe is long gone. He died on June 12, 1994. It is long past time to act as though they realized that. Moshichism has to be forcefully rejected in totality. No more dancing around this issue with excuses, explanations, and apologetics. Instead of being admired for their successes, Lubavitchers are becoming at the very least the laughing stock… or worse to the rest of the Torah world.

Though forcefully rejecting Meshichism would be a very significant start, that alone would not be enough. They need to re-integrate themselves into the mainstream. They need to rejoin the rest of us by making a bold move… something along the lines of sending their children to our schools. They would not lose their identity by doing so. That’s how it used to be when I was growing up in the fifties and early sixties. Lubavitchers could be found in every day school, high school, Beis Yaakov, and Yeshiva. They were an integral part of the community then. There was interaction and cross fertilization then. Some of my Torah U’Mesorah day school teachers were Lubavitchers. We were on the same page. Back in those days I used to look at their dedication to Kiruv as a model for all of Jewry. How I admired them! They truly had… and continue to have… Ahavas Yisroel and considered every Jewish soul precious. Their kindness and caring is genuine when it comes to Kiruv and other Lubavitchers. And their successful Baalei Teshuva were all mainstreamed in those days. But no more. They are now Poresh Min HaTzibur.

The separateness has to stop. They have been Poresh long enough. It’s time for them to come to their senses and re-integrate. It is time for them to come home.

1938 All Over Again?

This past weekend it was once again my privilege to attend the annual NCSY Midwest Mesorah Region annual conclave. This is a convention of NSCYers from eight states and one province in Canada. Every time I go I am inspired by what I see and this year was no exception. Teenagers from all walks of life in various stages of observance (some never having experienced a real Shabbos) all together eagerly learning about Torah Judasim and loving it.

As always it was a fun weekend for these kids heavily sprinkled with Torah and inspirational stories of sacrifice for Judaism. NCSY usually has a guest speaker at these events and this year it was Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis. The theme of the conclave this year was “Fear versus Faith”. And who better than to speak on this issue than a woman who has survived the horrors of the holocaust and has built one of the most successful outreach programs in America, Hineni. So she spoke. And indeed she inspired… with true stories of her father, grandfather, and others who sacrificed much to remain Frum even through the darkest days of the holocaust. Many tears were shed at the two sessions where she spoke.

But in the course of her presentation she started to compare the current situation of the Jewish people to that of pre-war Germany: “It’s 1938 all over again, my friends!” I was taken aback by this statement. She went on to compare various events, how Jews reacted to them then, and how they react now. She said we are falling in to the same trap of complacency as Jews of America in 1938. She warned that we are living at the most dangerous time since the holocaust. And then she cited examples to make her point: The apparent impotency of the Israel military, the lack of will in the Israeli populace so necessary to fight and win wars… Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s vow to wipe Israel off the map, his nuclear ambitions, and his holocaust denial… Islamic fundamentalists that are willing to give up their lives in the cause of killing Jews, making them more dangerous than Nazis… former President Carter’s new book bashing Israel… universities as hotbeds of anti-Israel ideologies (read: Anti Jewish) The appeasement attitudes of the newly elected Democratic congress… and many more such indicators all leading up to her point that “It is 1938 all over again!”

I agree with every point she made. But in this case, the total is not equal to the sum of all of its parts. While there should obviously be great concern for all the problems she listed, we are NOT living in 1938. The differences between then and now are far greater then are the similarities. Indeed I found it a bit strange the she preceded this “warning” about our state with her own inspirational story that in fact contradicted her conclusion. It had just happened:

It was the newly revamped Yad VaShem dedication in Israel. Leaders from many countries were invited to participate and many came. President Bush could not attend so he called Rebbetzin Jungreis to represent him at the affair. She was given a Presidential plane and some US officials to accompany her. 1938 All Over again? I don’t think so. Can anyone imagine something like this having taken place in 1938? Even France, perhaps the most anti-Semitic country in Western Europe has just given their highest medal, The Legion of Honor, to a Jew whose mission in life is to fight anti-Semitism. One may not like Abe Foxman, but one cannot deny his identify as a Jew or his position as National Director of the Anti-Defamation League. And Israel, with all of its problems is still a military power house with nuclear weapons… unlike 1938 where it was powerless. The US has never had a closer relationship with Israel than it does now. This is true of Democrat and Republican administrations.

Rebbitzin Jungries underestimates the American people if she thinks we are in 1938 all over again. As I posted yesterday, the American people are a great people… yes even Democrats. To say we are in 1938 is far from accurate. Of course there are similarities, and as she pointed out in some ways it is worse. But in no way are we in any danger both now and in the immediate future of concentration camps, gas chambers, and crematoria.

In no way are we going to be subject to cruel medical experiments. The holocaust denying Ahmadinejad is evil. And he would wipe out the State of Israel if he could. But he is not Hitler. He has not rounded up the Jews of Iran and put them in concentration camps, nor will he. Europe of 2006, as anti-Semitic as they are, is not Europe of 1938 where much of its citizenry were all to eager to collaborate with the Nazis.

This does not mean that the problems she enumerated aren’t real. They most certainly are. And they need to be dealt with. And as I wrote on a previous post, I am pessimistic about the convergence of all those negative events that are impacting us… as so ably enumerated by Rebbitzin Jungries. But please let’s not overstate our case. Doing so does nobody any good and just turns a legitimate concern into hysterics. And that de-legitimizes us. We need to be accurate, if we want to be heard. Otherwise we are going to be perceived by all as hysterical alarmists and no one will pay us any serious heed.

A Tribute to the American Spirit

Yesterday I saw the movie “World Trade Center” directed by Oliver Stone. I highly recommend it. It literally moved me to tears. For those who don’t know it is a movie focusing not so much an the tragedy of day, although that was the backdrop, but on the survival and heroism of certain indivduals involved in rescue missions… the so called "first responders". Without getting into the details of the movie, suffice it to say that it was one of the most inspiring movies I have ever seen. And the movie reminded me what we are fighting in Iraq. No matter what your feelings about the wisdom of our involvement there is, there can be no doubt about what we are fighting. And the movie does a good job reminding us of it.

As I said, 9/11 was the backdrop. But the story was a showcase about the American spirit. Watching this movie, I could not help but think that these people clearly Christian, were Americans. And that I was an American. And that bond is unshakable. There was no us and them. No Christian and Jew. No Blacks. No Whites. Just Americans. The movie truly brought me to tears as I realized that the American people are truly a great people. The phrase “Medina Shel Chesed” is a deserved appellation. When the chips are down there is no one you want involved more, than the American hero. It does not matter what ethnicity. It does not matter what race. It does not matter what side of the political fence one is on. And it does not matter what religion one is. None of these matter in this “nation of immigrants”. What matters is that we are all Americans. And that is what I felt watching this movie.

Of course there are plenty of selfish people here in this great nation. We do have our faults. And there are plenty of criminals, racists, bigots, and the morally depraved. But they do not represent the character of this country. It was the heroes of 9/11 that do. And the specific heroes of this movie were not unique. Many other “first responders” from other cities drove cross country to help, putting their own lives at risk in order to help find and save their fellow Americans… offering to do what ever was needed of them. So indeed, I never felt more like an American… a part of this people… than I did on that day. And this movie reminded me of that.

And that brings me to the following point. I remember hearing that Rav Matisyahu Salomon had criticized those who were riveted to their TV screens that day… as I was. He was speaking to the Bnei Torah. He said something to this effect: “Alright… it’s a tragedy. But, how much do we have to watch? How many times do we have to see those buildings fall down?” …as television news kept showing it again and again. “Enough already.” “At this pint it’s Battalah.” “Go back to the Beis Hamedrash!”

I remember being both saddened and angry by those comments. I do not recall any other rabbinic leader in this country making similar comments. Upon reflection, I really think it is because Rav Salomon is not an American that he felt that way. He does not know or appreciate the American people. This is not a criticism of him, just an observation about how this event impacted American rabbinic leaders versus how it impacted foreign rabbinic leaders, which Rav Salomon still was... having arrived recently from England at that time.

By contrast, back when I was in high school and JFK was assassinated, TV screens were brought onto the HTC campus (if I recall correctly into the dining room) for the entire event until after the state funeral. My rebbe at the time, Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, was clearly moved when he spoke about it. Never once do I recall him saying "enough already!" or words to that effect. I do remember, however being told by him on Sunday morning when I walked into the Beis Hamedrash that Jack Ruby had just killed Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK’s assassin. This is how an Amercian rabbinic leader reacts. When an American tragedy strikes we are all Americans. And that is a real tribute to this country.

Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch and Science

There is a short article in the current Jewish Observer. It was written by Rabbi Joseph Elias. He was in fact my elementary school principle in Detroit. He is a man I greatly respect and admire. But he is controversial figure in the greater Orthodox world in the sense that many feel his expertise on Rabbi Hirsch’s philosophy is biased towards a Charedi interpretation. But he is entitled to that interpretation, as are those who disagree with him as I do.

The current article was written as a response to many criticisms he received about an earlier article he wrote on the subject of the Theory of Evolution. In defending his position that Rabbi Hirsch rejected it, I would note with a bit of irony he actually ends up quoting something by Rabbi Hirsch that shows his complete support for science …even to the extent that if the Theory of Evolution were ever proved, then he would accept it within a Torah framework.

This was made clear by what Rabbi Elias also mentions at the end of his essay in the context of why Rabbi Hirsch rejects evolutionary theory: “(I)t is accepted by most scientists - but only because it is the sole theory that dispenses with a Divine role in the origin of our earth – not a reason that Rabbi Hirsch would ever accept.”. There is an extra-ordinary statement later added in brackets that should not be glossed over: “until there will be proof for evolution”. This statement is very huge. It implies that if evolutionary theory were ever to be proven, then according to Rabbi Hirsch we would have to accept it.

If memory serves me correctly, I have never seen such a view espoused by any serious defender of the literal interpretation of the Sheshes Yimei B’reshis. The view almost universally espoused by them is that if science contradicts the Torah narrative, reject the science. Period.

Now I am not an expert in Rabbi Hirsch’s approach to science and Torah in general nor am I an expert in his approach to the Theory of Evolution in particular. But this lone statement by Rabbi Elias is indeed very telling and raises questions about those who so easily reject science if it contradicts the Torah narrative. There is no point in denying that Rabbi Hirsch would resort to allegory if he had to. We know that Rabbi Hirsch respected science greatly. And went to the trouble of saying the following: ( S.R. Hirsch. Collected Writing, volume 7, page 57):

"The bible does not describe things in terms of objective truths known only to G-d, but in terms of human understanding… The Bible uses human language when it speaks of the "rising and setting of the sun" and not of the rotation of the earth, just as Copernicus, Kepler, and other such scientists, in their words and writings, spoke of the rising and setting of the sun without thereby contradicting truths they had derived from there own scientific conclusions. Loshon Bnei Adam, "human language", which is also the language of the Bible, describes the processes and phenomena of nature in terms of the impression they make on the human senses, without thereby meaning to prejudice, in any manner, the findings of scientific research."

He was very clear about that. It makes me wonder what Rabbi Hirsch would say about the scientific proofs… not about evolution which indeed still has many unanswered problems… but about the ancient age of the universe. Surely he would accept the science on that issue. Surely he would not reject the famous Tifferes Yisroel on this subject.

Would Rabbi Hirsch be critical of those who banned Rabbi Slifkin’s books? Or would he “get on his hands and knees” and beg Mechila for his views? I think the latter is untenable.

So even though all the questions about evolution are legitmate, if science were to somehow prove that evolution occurred, it seems as though Rabbi Hirsch would reconcile the Torah narrative where a literal interpretation would become an allegorical “Lashon Bnei Adam”. This is quite a remarkable revelation about Rabbi Hirsch and it totally counters the approach by much of current rabbinic leadership on this issue who like Rabbi Chaim Dov Keller reject almost any science presented on issues like this, no matter how clear the evidence might be.

I believe that this is Rabbi Hirsch’s approach and in my view any articles that imply otherwise are misleading.

Bright Beginnings

I have a policy of not accepting announcements of any kind on my blog. It is not designed as a bulletin board but as a vehicle to generate discussion about topics concerning the Torah world. I have therefore turned down many such requests. But I am going to make an exception this time. It is in the cause of finding solutions to the problem of sexual abuse and my respect and admiration for the individual involved.

On a personal note, Mr. Barry Ray who will be involved with the project here in Chicago is a man of great personal integrity. He is a friend and have known him for over 40 years. His generosity of spirit, time, and finances is legendary here in Chicago. He does not lend his support lightly. When he does it is with complete devotion and determination to succeed. If Barry is involved it just adds to the value of the project.

I therefore now present a letter sent to me this morning by Rabbi Yakov Horowitz:

Dear Readers:

Since my “Keeping Our Children Safe From Sexual Abuse” column was posted, I received many emails from compassionate people looking to become part of the solution and help fund the abuse-prevention booklet that I wrote about at the end of my column. In fact, an editor who works in graphic design even offered his services to this project pro bono.

Quite a number of people requested that I create a venue for those who wish to make donations to this particular project (the abuse-prevention booklet) and/or for those who wish to fund some of the projects that I have been writing about in my columns over the past months and years.

To honor these requests and to help actualize many of my dreams for the enhancement of educational and social opportunities for Jewish children around the world, I am pleased to inform my readers that I am initiating the "Bright Beginnings Program." (Within 30 days, I hope to post a mission statement for Bright Beginnings on my website and list details regarding some of the programs that I would like to move from concept to reality.)

In order to provide prudent financial management and oversight, I asked two highly respected askanim (lay leaders), Mr. Barry Ray (Chicago) and Mr. Mendel Zilberberg, (Brooklyn), to serve as trustees and Co-Chairman of the Bright Beginnings Program. Michael Stein, CPA, a partner at the accounting firm of Brand Sonnenschine LLP, (New York, New York) has graciously volunteered his services pro bono and will be serving as Treasurer of Bright Beginnings.

In order to provide financial reporting and transparency to current and prospective donors, Mr. Stein will be posting interim quarterly financial statements of Bright Beginnings on my website, and will be engaging the services of an outside accounting firm to conduct an annual, year-end audit, which will also be posted on my website.

Bright Beginnings will be a division of The Center for Jewish Family Life, a 501-c3 that I founded several years ago to support Jewish families in the quest to raise self-confident, well-adjusted children. Bright Beginnings will operate as a separate entity and 100% of your donation will go to funding its programs.

We welcome those who wish to contribute to the publication and (free) dissemination of the sexual abuse prevention booklet to send their contributions to:

Bright Beginnings
c/o Mr. Michael Stein
377 Broadway, 9th floor
N.Y., N.Y. 10013

Please make checks payable to Bright Beginnings and indicate on the stub that the funds are dedicated for the abuse prevention booklet, should you wish them to be designated for that purpose.

Thank you for your interest and may Hashem grant us our most fervent wish - that all His children realize their fullest potential.

Yakov Horowitz

Immorality in Western Culture

NBC’s “Today Show” had a segment on the subject of pre-marital sex, yesterday. According to a statistic cited, fully 90% of all Americans born since 1950 have had sex before marriage. I knew that the percentage was high, and even that it was probably a majority of Americans. I based my estimate on the fact that the country seems to be divided between those with conservative values (i.e. those who voted for President Bush) and those with liberal values (those who voted for Senator Kerry). Though not exclusively so, Conservatives tend to be more religious and Liberals tend to be more secular. I figured their sexual mores were divided more or less along the same lines. But I was wrong. 90 percent?! That includes both segments of our culture. That was a bit of a surprise.

In any case this is not so in the Torah world. Although I know that it happens, it is extremely rare for Orthodox Jews to have pre-marital sex. (Although I am told that in Orthodox “singles” enclaves like the Upper West Side of New York it is on the increase, I believe it is still a tiny minority. At least I hope that’s the case!)

What can be said about this amazing statistic? I think it deserves some analysis. For one thing it shows exactly the kind of world we live in... and that Orthodox Jews of nearly every stripe are not in significant numbers a part of that statistic. And that says a lot about our commitment to Torah values. The phrase “Azoi Vie s’Kristlezach, Yiddletzich” is not a universal truth. It is not true that all values of secular culture creep in to the Torah world. Certainly not these which are so anathematic to the Torah. True some of the negatives of our host culture are absorbed by the Torah world but it has a stopping point. The “buck” stops in a very significant place.

Why does the civilized world which is that of western culture so easily succumb to Taavah?

I think that it is in the nature of the way a free society evolves. In western culture the entertainment industry is a very powerful influence. The attention paid to Hollywood’s products by the vast majority of Americans is far greater than the attention paid to the moral values of their religious teachings, or of morals of their grandparents and great grandparents. Our great grandparents lived in a time that the entertainment industry wasn’t so pervasive... that of the-pre Hollywood era. Our Grandparents lived at a time when entertainment actually had some standards of decency in the pre-sixties Hollywood era.

There has been a defining down of decency in our culture ever since the sixties: the era of the baby boomer. I believe that the natural sexual drives of every human being combined with the following are some of the primary reasons for the moral decay of our culture:

1. There has been little or no moral teachings in the general culture about sexual behavior by parents over the past several decades.

2. The advent of oral-contraceptives has made pre-marital sex consequence free.

3. Hollywood’s depictions of love, romance, and sex has evolved with ever declining standards of decency.

4. Parents who received much of their parenting skills from Dr. Benjamin Spock’s book “Baby and Child Care” misunderstood Dr. Spock’s message of “permissiveness” in parenting: Just let their children do what ever they wanted with little or no discipline. This created a basically self centered... self indulgent type of individual.

5. There has been a relaxed dress code in schools ever since the sixties.

6. Parents and in some cases even grandparents who as “baby boomers” came of age in the sixties, themselves experimented with sex.

How any parent subjected to the above, who may now realize that sexual promiscuity is a bad idea, preach sexual restraint to their children? They can try. They should try. But their own example about moral values speaks louder than their words.

This, it seems to me, is the prescription for what we have today... 90% of all people having premarital sex.

It seems obvious to me that Christianity has failed miserably in teaching their flock. Whether Roman Catholic or Protestant, they have failed to instill sexual mores. Of course there are many Christians who are celibate until marriage. I would bet that they are mostly Evangelical. But that accounts for total of only10% of the entire population!

Not so Orthodox Jews. We have been pretty successful at instilling those values in our children even with all emphasis on sex that permeates every facet of our culture. This is a country obsessed with sex. And Americans are saints! ...compared to Europeans or South Americans. I think this says a lot about the commitment and values of Orthodox Jewry. We live in this kind of world and yet we are able to successfully transmit our values to our children.

The culture we live in also helps to somewhat explain the virtual explosion of sexual perversion that has been plaguing our community of late. Of course this is not the primary reason that we have sexual predators and abusers. But it has to be a contributing factor. Sexual stimuli are all over the place. It is almost impossible not to encounter it, no matter how sheltered we lead our lives.

It filters its way into our world... certainly for those of us who participate in the culture. But even for those who are careful to avoid it, there are billboards, ads on the sides of public busses, newspaper and magazine ads that feature nearly naked women. Just walking down the street on any summer day one will invariably encounter a woman in very immodest dress. Bare female midriffs are almost the norm. Is it any wonder that some weak willed people, stimulated so often, fall prey to their own Taavos?

What can be done about this constant bombardment of sexual stimuli? I don’t know. I do not believe that sheltering is the answer. At best, it is only a short term solution. And it can have disastrous consequences upon our children in some cases when exposure to it comes suddenly and without warning. If unprepared, it can really cause harm leading the curious mind to secretly seek more. But over exposure to the culture most certainly has its victims.

But at least in one sense we have been spared. We are not party to the current trend of pre-marital sex. And that is truly a blessing.

Hundreds of Children

Once again I am pleased to provide a link to an article which provides invaluable information about a subject much discussed on this blog, the problem of sexual abuse. As in the past it is done in a Shaila and Teshuva way. A letter writer asks a good question and Rabbi Horowitz answers it. The website is Charedi oriented and is part of a Chicago Community Kollel program. The question is framed from a Charedi perspective. But it is relevant to all of us. Rabbi Horowitz’s insights are quite valuable, in my view. His perspective is well worth the time and effort to read. Here is an excerpt. In dealing with the question of numbers of children in the Torah world who are abused:

“How many children are we talking about? How many abuse victims are there? I posed this question to the three experts mentioned above. Each of them responded by saying that there is no research that they know of in the frum community and they have no hard numbers. But when I asked if they would say that there are a) tens, b) hundreds or c) thousands [of abused children], each responded that there are surely hundreds. In fact, Dr. Pelcovitz mentioned that he gets about 5 calls per week from parents seeking help for their abused children or from adults seeking counseling from scars left from childhood abuse.”

Learning Hard

There is a post on a blog called DovBear that today tackles the issue of whether the time spent daily by someone learning in a Yeshiva or Kollel is indeed on par with the time spent by those typically working at regular jobs. He bases it on a typical Yeshiva schedule sent to him by a anonymous poster.. (although I'm sure this was actually first posted in one of the comments on my blog.) Here is the 5 day per week schedule (Friday and Shabbos are off):

9:15 - 1:15 morning seder
1:15 (1:20 in the summer) - Mincha
1:30 -3:30 - Break
3:30 - 6:45 - afternoon seder
6:45 Maariv in the winter

He then adds that one cannot count night seder since many Baalei Battim learn at night too in addition to their jobs. And if you factor in vacation schedules and Yomim Tovim the amount of time actually spent is far less than the average worker spends at his job. Does this mean that we should be insisting that they put in even longer hours? No.

I have often said that my son, who until last year (when Yeshivas Mir, Yerushalyim, hired him as a Shoel uMeishiv) was in Kollel full time (for over twelve years) was the hardest working person I knew. I still think he is. True, his schedule resembled the one above and his vacation schedule was also the same. But what makes him hard working is the intensity of the time he spends doing the work. It isn't just about just about quantity of time spent. It is equally about quality of time spent.

If everyone would put the intensity into their jobs that my son and thousands of other Bnei Torah put into their learning, the workforce would be far more productive.

That being said, I realize that many people who work in the workforce are also dedicated to their jobs and work with the same kind of intensity. But the idea that Bnei Torah are just living the 'laid back' lifestyle with lots of time off is not accurate. (Altough just as in the workforce... there are slackers in Yeshivos and Kollelim who work as little as they can get away with.) How many slackers are there in Kollelim and Yeshivos? Plenty. And they shouldn't be there. They waste precious resources that could be put to better use for Klal Yisroel. But that is the subject of a different post.

I am here to tell you about the importance of Limud HaTorah. While that should be obvious to anyone who ever attended a Yeshiva, I have dectected a bit of a cynicism about it by many who call themselves Modern Orthodox. I don't mean to say that learning Torah is totally bashed by them. But I do sense a sort of second class citizenship being given to it. And by no means should this be the case. Limud HaTorah is the number one endeavor one can particpate in. 'Talmid Torah K'Neged Kulom' says the Mishna in Peah when speaking about the relative importance of learning Torah versus all other Mitzvos. And Centrism believes this no less than does Charedism.

The differences between the two Hashkafos have nothing to do with how we view Limud HaTorah. Both Hashkafos believe that Limud HaTorah is number one. Our differences are in other areas, not in this one. And those who learn Torah L'Shma and for whom the phrase Torah Umnaso apply deserve our unqualified moral and financial support. Their 'profession' is at least as important a factor in the eyes of God and therefore in our lives as is any other vital profession.

The 'cream' of the Torah learning world is vital to our existence and our future. We do in fact need rabbinic leaders who know Torah at the highest levels. We need Poskim who can answer difficult Shailos which requires massive amounts of Torah knowledge. And their training ground is the Beis Hamedrash. And it requires many long years of dilligent study. How many should be doing it versus how many are doing it is beyond the scope of this post.

But it cannot be emphasized enough that the true leaders of Klal Yisroel have always been those who were Moser Nefesh to gain that highest level of Torah knowledge that very few people in any generation can achieve. We need more people like Rav Moshe and this is the only way to get them.

Sexual Abuse: The Accused as Victims

This morning I was apprised by an acquaintance of yet another prominent Rebbe in a prominent Yeshiva who, not long ago, was accused of sexual abuse of some of his students. The accusation includes behavior going back many years. I found a website that spoke of his misconduct. And after reading all the accusations, I am not convinced of his guilt. But the results of those accusations seem to have cost this Rebbe his position in the Yeshiva and his reputation for life. If he is guilty, he deserves that… and a lot worse. But if he is innocent, a great injustice has been done with irreparable harm to the individual, his family and the Torah world.

I don’t know whether to be more upset at publicizing accusations without substantiations or more upset that there have been so many abusive teachers that have managed slipped through the cracks. Actually I think I am most upset by the cover-ups by people in positions to do something about them. But which ever situations are the worst, none of them are tolerable.

The problem in this case is that a website that is famous for it will name a suspect and then list the accusations by supposed victims. Not evidence. Just accusations. But often the accusations describes behavior that is far from abusive… even if some what questionable.

Here is basically the sum and substance of one accuser’s experience: “(The rebbe) would tell me he loved me and would hug and kiss me inappropriately. In this day and age, what rebbi does this?”

This is hardly a description of sexually abusive behavior. But that did not stop them from listing it first in list of accusations by those who described their experiences.

I don’t know if the individual Rebbe I was told about is guilty of anything or not. And certainly the argument of “better to be safe than sorry” should apply when the welfare of our children is at stake. But that does not mean that we should disregard the rights of an established Rav based on flimsy evidence? No.

What to do in such situations? I don’t really know. But whatever side we err on there is potentially great harm for the other. It is best not to err at all. And the way to do that is through prevention.

We need to devise a procedure for preventing sexual predators from getting teaching jobs at our religious schools. Much has been done by private individuals to forward this idea and in New York, where legislation has been passed mandating background checks of all applicants for teaching positions even in religious schools. But I don’t think that other major metropolitan areas containing large populations of Jews and religious schools have such laws on the books yet.

It would behoove the rabbinic leadership of cities like Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles to consider lobbying their elected political leadership for passing legislation like that of New York.

But that is not enough. There needs to be a mechanism for protecting our children as well as the Mechanchim who can al too often be frivolously accused, whether because of personal vendettas or simple misunderstandings about perfectly innocuous behavior.

Here is at a minimum what should be done. Anyone applying for a teaching job should be given psychological testing to see if he has a predilection for sexual abuse. Applicants should supply references and those references should be thoroughly checked. Police records should be checked to see if an applicant has ever been charged with a sexual crime… and how many times he has been so charged. Why? Well, if for instance he (or she) was charged only once in a long career, it should be evaluated for possible a vendetta type false accusation.

There should be a zero tolerance policy for any sexual abusive behavior. Anyone caught doing so, even once, should be immediately fired and automatically barred from any teaching job anywhere in the world and the name of the perpetrator should be spread throughout the Torah world to all schools. Anyone caught trying to cover up for a known abuser should get the same treatment as the abuser and never be permitted to work in Chinuch again.

These are just some steps that come to mind. I’m sure that there are other good suggestions about how to proceed in this area that don’t come to mind at the moment. But even though the situation now extant deserves this kind of scrutiny and it is long over-due (far too many victims over far too many decades)… it is equally important to protect innocent educators from frivolous accusations as well.

How to do this is beyond the scope of this essay. But No less important because if we lose sight of the innocent Mechanech’s rights to protect himself from false accusations of a disgruntled student, we have not gained. We have lost… because if too many innocent Mechanchim get hurt, Chinuch will never be able to attract good Mechanchim again.

Message to the Rabbinic Leadership: Be Careful with Your Words

In the course of the continuing conversation about whether a Gadol can be manipulated I have made reference to Rav Nosson Kamintesky’s exposition of how his book, “The Making of a Gadol” was banned. He describes how Rav Elyashiv was manipulated by his Askanim to ban that book ahead of schedule. Of course this is disputed by those who refuse to believe that it is even possible. They try and spin the words of Rav Kaminetsky to make it look as innocent an event as possible. Nobody was deceived. It was just a missed communication.

And I have a bridge to sell you.

But there is another statement that Rav Kaminetsky made with respect to Rav Elyashiv. Bear in mind that Rav Kaminetsky considers Rav Elyashiv to be the Gadol HaDor. Rav Kaminetsky says that this entire episode could never have happened if Rav Shach were alive. What could he possibly have meant by that? Was that a disparaging comment about Rav Elyashiv? I don’t think so.

He was just stating a fact which he observed about Rav Elyashiv in light of behavior he observed by Rav Shach. Was Rav Kaminetsky bashing a Gadol? Of course not! The fact remains that a Gadol can make mistakes. And we have a right to say so if we perceive it as such. And we have an obligation to point out the negative consequences of such mistakes when we see them happen.

I received the following e-mail from a Chashuva Charedi Rav. Lest anyone think this is some radical individual shooting from the hip and masquerading as a Charedi, I can assure you he is not. He is about as mainstream Charedi as one can get. The only difference between him and many other Charedim is that he does not automatically endorse pronouncements from Rabbinic leadership if he feels they are wrong. He forthrightly protests it to them in private when he feels it appropriate. And, yes... he does disagree with them quite frequently. The El Al boycott is one such area of disagreement. Strong disagreement!

For reasons having to do with his very active position in the Charedi community and maintaining his good relationship with the rabbinic leadership so that he can effect change from within, he chooses to remain anonymous to the public. Never-the-less, his frustration with respect to the boycott generated the following letter to me.

Bearing in mind his standing in the Charedi world and his level of frustration with the boycott, I present... with permission... his e-mail in its entirety. I have only deleted his name and any identifying remarks that would reveal his identity. The words are entirely his, not mine. Here is the letter:

Chachomim Hi'zharu Bidvarechem

Harry:

This El Al "psak" is causing such hardship for Charedim. Not the phonies, but the sincere ones. And it is always like that.

Someone I know very well (lives in bnei braq-large family-starting to get into shidduchim-no $$ to buy apt's for them-not getting shidduchim for their daughters.........) just came to USA to visit elderly mom. SHE CANCELED 3 TICKETS "the gedolim said we should"
Cost her $2400. That is for an Israeli!!!!!!

Yesterday a wealthy friend of mine was solicited by an Israeli meshulach. He gave my friend his terribly sad tale... and told him how he needs money for this and that .... AND TO BUY A NEW TICKET TO EY since he cancelled his.

Read through the Gemorah and see the care in which real Gedolim had for the $$ of the common folk. And weep that we have elderly Tzadikim surrounded by controlling thugs who are in cahoots with the heads of the "Vaad for Mishmeres bla bla" on and on.

All the while, these thugs are pocketing millions to control access to the Tzadikim. I'll bet their kids and grandkids don't worry about popping $700-800 for a ticket. That's the take on one American "balabos" who will slip them money for a Bracha from the Tzadik.

I think this is the crux of the issue. There is confusion nowadays between a Tzadik and a Gadol. A Tzadik is just that -- a Tzadik. A Gadol is a wise, bold leader. They are very different from each other.

I am close to someone who lived in Muncatch pre-war Europe. The Minchas Eluzar, who was quite the firebrand, was known to almost never 'Assur' a chicken on Erev Shabbos since he knew how poor his people were and they wouldn't have food to eat. He would turn over heaven and earth looking for a Heter.

Today, these fellows seem to spend every waking moment looking for the "Chumrah de jour"

BTW; I keep seeing the same mindset re internet -- Kanoish Roshei Yeshiva telling people to leave jobs where there is internet.

May God have mercy.

Update: At the request of the Rav who wrote this post, it has been modified from the original. He apologises for those words used in reaction to what he heard about the impovrished people who cancelled tickets.

The Sound of Music

Update
Due to factual errors the original post was deleted.

A word of expalantion is in order. I posted just before I went to work to a remote location this morning. I had no access to a computor. I was informed of the errors by cellphone and had to ask someone to delete my post for me quickly without much of an explanation.

I am now back and would just add that there were a bunch of mistakes, big and little ones... that were reported to me in error. My current information is from a more of a direct source. It is in fact deserving of its own post, but I have decided not to do so because of the original mistakes. I do not want to take the chance of misreporting the facts again, even though my information is more accurate now. My original source just made a honest mistake... mis-hearing or mis-interpreting information. To err is human and no malice was intended on my source's part or on mine.

Once again I apologize to all concerned and am sorry if anyone was offended by my inaccuracies.

Erev Shabbos Chanukah

Tonight we light the first Ner of Chanukah. I thought it might be of interest to discuss the question of lighting the Menorah on Erev Shabbos. How can one be Yotze the Mitzva if we are lighting the Menorah on Friday? The Mitzvah is fulfilled at the moment of lighting (Hadlaka Osah Mitzva). This means that the Mitzvah was actually done before the day of Chanukah, this year before Chanukah actually begins.

The answer is that we have no choice. Since the actual first day begins on Shabbos itself, lighting the Menorah on that day would be a desecration of Shabbos. So we light it earlier at such time when it is permitted and yet as close to Shabbos as possible. And we make sure that there is enough oil or candle to burn … Ad She Tichle Regel min HaShuk (when people usually finish walking in the street) which according to most Shitos is one half hour after Tzeis. This is the time when Persumei Nisa is extant.

But one may not light the Menorah any earlier than Plag HaMincha which is defined as an hour and a quarter (Shaos Zmanios) before Shkia (sunset). This is based on the position of the Tanna, R. Yehuda who says that Plag HaMincha begins the Zman Maariv and ends the Zman Mincha.

(The rationale is as follows: Teffilas Mincha represents the Tamid Shel Bein HaArbaim whose Zman ends at Plag. And the Ner of Chanuka corresponds to the lighting of Menorah in the Beis HaMikdash whose Zman begins immediately after the Korban Tamid … when Plag begins).

This allows it in at least some minimal way to be considered lighting in its proper time. And certainly Mincha should therefore be Davened before Hadlakos Neros on Chanukah.

The question arises, if we are relying on Plag HaMincha to be define the Zman Maariv, How can we light the Menorah and then go Daven Mincha in Shul afterwards? This is in fact an almost universal practice. Is this not in effect a Tarti D’Sasri? Aren’t we creating a contradictory situation by lighting in the Zman Maariv and then Davening Mincha, which Halachicly must be done during the day before the Zman Maariv? The answer is: yes we are. So how is it that this is almost the universal custom?

In fact some Shuls now offer early Mincha on Fridays of Chanukah so as to avoid this contradictory situation. But the vast majority before Shuls don’t. Besides, during this time of year it would be extremely difficult getting home early enough to Daven Mincha before Hadlakas Neros.

Should one then Daven Mincha B’Yechidis (without a Minyan) in order to avoid this contradictory situation?

The answer is No. One should not be Mevatel Teffila B’Tzibur if one cannot Daven Mincha before Hadlakos Neros. If one cannot find a Minyan before Hadlakos Neros, one should light first and Daven B’Tzibur afterwards. Though the above is a nice Drasha, it is not Meakev Teffila B’Tzibur.

Can There Be Creatures Any More Vile than These ?

I hate beating a dead horse but this caught my eye earlier today. I can’t just let it go by without comment. No matter how much I try, I can’t ignore these people. This article so disgusted me… I wanted vomit. It was in the Washington Post... a respected newspaper read by millions of people. Here is just one example of their utter vileness. I can’t believe that anyone who calls himself a Jew, let alone religious, would do the following:

"Rabbi Aharon Cohen walked into a conference room with former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, discredited academics, and more than a few white supremacists and served up a rousing welcome speech. "Let me express my gratitude to the illustrious organizers of this valuable event," Cohen told the 67 delegates from 30 countries..."

These people have been universally and strongly condemned by every segment of Orthodox and secular Jewry. But somehow, that isn’t anywhere near enough.

We Have a Pope

I write the following knowing full well that I will once again be accused of bashing Gedolim and/or Charedim. And my protestions to the contrary will not sway my critics. They will once again use this post to “prove” their contention that I am a Charedi basher. And that is truly a shame because by ignoring the content of the post and focusing on me they truly miss out on realizing that there is “something rotten in Denmark”. A situation has developed in Klal Yisroel of major import… that ironically… serves to undermine Torah and Judaism… in the NAME of Torah and Judaism.

I say this with a heavy heart. It starts with the call by Rav Elyashiv to boycott El Al airlines. According to an article to be published in the Yated as reported in the blog, Yeshiva World:

“Gedolim (led by Rav Elyashiv) have called for a boycott of El Al because the airline’s top management did not honor an agreement to avoid flying on Shabbos.

I lamented this fact when it was first reported and commented why I felt that way. But since then, there have been talks and everyone thought that things could be worked out. Apparently, the talks fell through.

But what really bothers me a great deal more, are some comments made in Yeshiva World which I believe to be an essential element that divides… not only Charedim and Modern Orthodox… but even Charedim amongst themselves! Two very distinguished Charedi Rabbanim, both of them in Chinuch and both of them involved with Agudah have privately e-mailed me that they think this boycott is foolish. But, one of these Rabbanim, a huge Talmid Chacham in his own right, went so far as to say it is foolish and sad that many Charedim believe that no one can Paskin against Rav Elyashiv!

Here is the rest of the story.

The Yated article went on further to say that people should cash in tickets they were already holding and buy tickets on other carriers... even if there are penalties. To put it the way Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz put it: "When you cross that threshold into the fuselage, it is if you have taken a Sefer Torah, thrown it on the ground and walked on it for your convenience."

It appears that Rabbi Dovid Cohen of Flatbush, paskened during the past few days, for those who asked him, that if they have already purchased a ticket they need NOT cancel and lose money. They can fly El Al.

Is this great Posek now joining the ranks of Gedolim bashers? According to some people he is! From Yeshiva World:

“If (Rabbi Cohen) did Pasken this way, you can then … ask him why he “succumbed to the level of those that are mevaze Gedolei Hador” …I do have ways to be mevarer... If one hears someone going aginst the Gedolei Hador and he is not moche then he is no better the the one going against the Gedolim. I WILL CONTINUE TO BE MEVARER MORE AND IF INDEED HE DID PASKEN AGAINST MARAN HARAV ELYASHIV THEN HE HAS LOST HIS CHESKAS KASHRUS AND CAN NOT BE RELIED UPON TO PASKEN A SHAILA!! In the Torah Velt today Harav Elyashiv is the POSEK ACHRON WITHOUT QUESTION!!!”

How low some members of Charedi Klal Yisroel have sunk to be able to say this about a Posek of the stature of Rav Dovid Cohen. They have virtually declared Rav Elyashiv to be the pope! …and Rav Dovid Cohen a person who is Mevazeh Talmidei Chachamim!

If this were but one individual speaking his own mind and not representative of a great number of others who think exactly like this, I would not be so sad and not be wrtitng about it. I’d just chalk it up to a lack of intelligence. But I’m afraid that’s not the case. I am saddened and angered by this turn in Charedi thinking… and so too, is a Chashuva Charedi Mechanech par excellence who e-mailed me with similar thoughts. There are far too many people who think one cannot Paskin against Rav Elyashiv, no matter how much Torah knowledge one has.

This is yet another example of the state of brain-washing that going on in parts of the world of Charedi Chinuch.

Alas, this is not the first time such rhetoric has been spouted. It happened in the “Slifkin Affair”. That was the first time I realized how pervasive this kind of thinking is. So many people who believed along the same lines that Rabbi Slifkin believed were told that Rav Elyashiv Paskined” that it is Kefira. And they all left this Hashkafa like rats deserting a sinking ship. I will never forget Rabbi Orlofsky’s letter. He was in Kiruv using arguments similar to Rabbi Slifkin when dealing with educated Jews. When told of Rav Elyshiv’s Psak he dropped those arguments like a hot potato and “got down on his “hands and knees” begging for Mechila! Or at least that’s what he thought Rabbi Slifkin should do.

And this is the mindset. Harav Elyashiv is the POSEK ACHRON WITHOUT QUESTION!

We have a pope!

A Chanukah Story from Seattle

I have never been a fan of Lubavitch’s drive to put up giant Menorahs in the public square. It is usually done where one finds a giant Christmas tree. I’ve always felt that it was a bit self serving and besides the point of Chanukah to do so.

Pirsumei Nissa (spreading the story of the Miracle which took place on Chanukah) is one of the prime characteristics of the holiday of Chanukah. And Lubavitch uses this rationale for putting up these giant Menorahs. But is it really Pirsumei Nissa? I’m not so sure. Our such our sages gave us specific instructions how to go about that. And it was codified in Halacha in the Shulchan Aruch. No where does it say that we are obligated to put ourselves on display alongside Christmas.

Yet this has been the policy of Lubavitch for as far back as I can remember. There it is: Two symbols of two religions standing side by side in common bond. We are all brothers. Is that what Chanukah is all about? I don’t think so. (Of course Lubavitch wouldn't say so either but that is kind of the impression one gets from these displays)

Chanukah is about the Nes Nister which was victory of the Chashmanaim (The Maccabees) over a superior occupying army… enemies who tried to destroy our religion. It is about the Nes Nigleh of the Pach Shemen (the cruise of pure oil) that lasted for eight days instead of only one. Eight days is the time it had then taken to process more pure oil. It has absolutely nothing to do with brotherhood or Christmas trees. What exactly is being said about Chanukah by making sure that where ever there is a Christmas tree, there is a Chanukah Menorah? But that is what Lubavitch does. I do not see any real value in it. Instead I see problems.

And nowhere was that demonstrated more than in SeaTac International Airport operated by the Port of Seattle this week. In an effort to push Lubavitch’s policy of putting Menorahs wherever one finds Christmas trees, Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky, the Lubavitch Shaliach in Seattle had threatened to sue the airport for refusing to allow a huge Menorah to be put next to their tree. What this has done is open up an avenue for good people, American Christians to think ill of the Jewish people. “Why are these Jews trying to take away our Christmas symbols?” “Where is their holiday spirit?”

From an article (one of many) on the subject:

“Bogomilsky threatened to drag Port of Seattle officials into the nearest courthouse where it is definitely unconstitutional to display religious symbols. …The decision to remove all the airport’s Christmas trees rather than fight Bogomilsky’s lawsuit or give in to his demands led to a protest by other airport workers and to an international news story.”

Do we really need to read items like this in the media?

What purpose does it serve for this young rabbi to threaten the good people of Seattle with a law suit? What will he accomplish? He certainly does not generate any good will. Credit must be given to the citizens of Seattle for the enormous restraint they showed in not attacking this rabbi, Jews in general, or Judaism. They mostly showed disappointment. This is a real tribute to the low level of real anti-Semitism that exists in this country.

But this rabbi risked exacerbating it with his lawsuit. Is a big Menorah display really worth all the negative publicity generated by such a threat? I don’t think so. He has withdrawn the hreatened lawsuit and the Seattle airport has re-installed their trees. And they promised to be more ecumenical in the future. But was all this worth the bad vibes he generated? Absolutely not. He had to know that he was going to generate ill will but that did not stop him. Of course as soon as the publicity became too negative he withdrew the lawsuit. But it was very self serving of him to begin with to even consider it let alone threaten it.

It has long been the contention by civil libertarians that Church-State issues should prevent any religious symbls from being displayed on public property. I tend to agree with them in principle although one could argue that a tree has absolutely no religious value what so ever to any Christian denomination including the Catholic church. But even if it does, what harm does it do to Judaism if we let them have their tree?

Let them have their tree. And let us have Chanukah and celebrate it the way we are supposed to, not by grandstanding and making spectacles of it with large Menorahs in the public square. Rabbi Bogmilsky and all of Lubavicth would do well to abandon this entire custom of erecting giant public menorahs next to Chrstmas trees. Instead of that they should be encouraging lighting it the way one is supposed to, in the home, by a window the way the Shuchan Aruch tells us to. And maybe another incident like this can be avoided in the future.

The Truth of the Matter

Three hundred and thirteen and counting. That is the number of comments so far that my post about the Jewish Rosa Parks generated. I never thought it would. This is one of the largest number of comments ever received by my blog. In large part it was a debate between those who condemned the actions of the Charedim who acted like Nazis and those who condemned the woman who received the beating berating her for arrogance at not budging from her seat and inciting the response.

But one thing that kept coming up was the question of the story itself. It was claimed by many that it probably never happened. “Proofs” were offered like “ If it really happened, why didn’t the media cover it for?!” Well, we can put that puppy to rest now. It happened. End of Story.

Did the Holocaust Really Happen?

Last night on a nationally broadcast news program there was a segment which told of the conference Iran is having about the validity of the holocaust. I was very glad to see some Chasidic looking Jews attending that conference. That legitimizes it for me. They all had front row seats. I now realize that all the horrors of the holocaust can indeed be a subject for debate. Maybe there was no Kristalnacht. Maybe there was no degradations of fellow human beings. Maybe there were no bunkers that people hid in. Maybe there were no firing squads, death camps... or starvations... or medical experiments. I’ll bet all those archival films from that era showing all those absolute horrors were faked! ...and all the massive eyewitness testimony of survivors is just one big conspiracy. Who knows maybe my uncle didn’t get slaughtered the way my father and brothers described it to me. Hmmmm! Maybe they lied to me so that I could learn to hate Esav properly?!

Or... perhaps not.

Men with long white beards, felt Chasidic hats and long black Bekeshes who I’m absolutely certain Daven three times each day, drink only Chalav Yisroel, are meticulous in every possible Chumra of Judaism, and would certainly side with my Charedi critics on every issue I ever discuss, were there to give their imprimatur on this conference.

Who were those Charedim? I’m not sure but I’m fairly certain that they reflect the over-all views of Neturei Karta, a break off segment of Satmar who decided to put into action the extremely anti Medina policies of Satmar. But these gentlemen make Satmar look like Religious Zionists. They have finally done the unthinkable. They have legitimized holocaust deniers.

Now before anyone starts haranguing me about my lumping all Charedim together with these people... I’m not. Obvioulsy, there is absolutely no tolerance for these individuals by the vast majority of Charedim or Chasidim. But isn’t it curious that only people from this segment would even think about doing something as low as this? There were no other Religious Jews there of any type. Not one. Only these Chasidic people. They think they are making a Kiddush HaShem. And they presume to be standing for many others who agree with them. Who knows? Maybe there are other Jews who think like them and secretly endorse their tactics. And if so, I wonder how many?

I used to think that these people were the lowest form of human debris on the face of the earth. But that was before they decided to attend a conference on holocaust denial. There is absolutely no excuse for what they did and they have 6 million souls to answer to, not to mention the millions of survivors. These are some of the most contemptible Jews walking the face of the planet.

Rabbinically Mandated Sexual Purity

First the disclaimer. I want to be absolutely clear about this. Although, this is certainly a matter that has crossed every Chasan's mind when he first learned Hilchos Niddah, but not for the reasons about to brought up here. It is a matter of extreme importance and I do not want to be misconstrued. I am not advocating overturning a matter that was decided by Chazal, especially one involving Issurei Kares.

That being said, I call attention to an article that appeared in today’s Ha’aretz.

Therein an Orthodox gynecologist, Dr. Daniel Rosenak, discusses very frankly a problem that exists in Klal Yisroel that can be directly attributed to Hichos Niddah as we practice it today. Unlike myself, he in fact does advocate “"rethinking" the rules of Niddah”. He doesn’t necessarily say we should be abrogating a 2000 year old Halacha L’Maaseh. But in dealing with this issue he brings up a very fundemental problem in Hilchos Niddah that impacts on na great number of women. Fully 25% of all infertility cases he sees are based on observance of a Chumra institued during the era of Chazal, namely the Shiva Nekiim... the seven days post menstruation required to wait before emersion in a Mikva in order to have Halachically permisible sexual relations.

Briefly stated, according to biblical law a woman is permitted to immerse herslf after only seven days from the onset of her menstrual cycle (Dam Niddah). But in cases of a flow of non menstrual blood (Dam Ziva) that is contiguous for three consecutive days she is biblically mandated to wait seven days after the flow of blood stops. Because of the complexities in our day of determining which type of blood flow a woman is actually experincing and the severity of transgressing Hilchos Niddah, Chazal mandated that all blood flows be treated as Ziva blood requiring seven “clean” days, to be observed after the Niddah blood flow stops. This tacks on at least five extra days that a husband and wife must wait before having sexaul relations beyond what the Torah madates. And the vast majority of blood flows in women is Dam Niddah, not, Dam Ziva.

What happens in a great number of infertitlity cases is that ovulation, the fetility period, takes place during these “extra” days and by the time of immersion, the fertility peiod has passed. Quoting Dr. Rosenak from the article:

“Through my work as a gynecologist, especially in the ultra-Orthodox and national religious communities, it transpires that more than one quarter of the infertility cases result from what is called 'halakhic infertility.' That means that tens of thousands of women go to the mikveh when their period of ovulation is past.”

Now it is true that there are Halachic ways to deal with the problem. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that many of these Halachic solutions are fraught with problems of their own. Dr. Rosenak who was criticzed by at least one Posek said that hormone therapy is one such safe solution. But is it a truly safe and satisfactory solution? Dr. Rosenak doesn’t think so:

"These are matters of life and death!" he wrote. "I tremble every time I am forced to prescribe hormones for a woman who has no genuine medical problem. Perhaps the woman sitting opposite me has an undiscovered genetic predisposition to breast cancer? Perhaps, heaven forbid, she could have a stroke?"

As I said, I do not in any way support the notion that we can countermand a clear Halacha mandated by Chazal. But it does raise a serious question. At what point is a mandate of Chazal become so counterproductive that it requires re-thinking? Is it toally imposible? We know that changes have taken place in the past due to an “Eis Laasos”. Would this qualify? Should the Aseh of Pru U’rvu be Doche a D’Rabbanan, even one as severe as this? I don’t know. But is is a question well raised.

Homosexual Rabbis and Same Sex Civil Unions

Something amazing happened last week. It was an event that might ordinarily be ignored by the Orthodox community but instead was rather extensively reacted to. Both Agudah through their brilliant writer Rabbi Avi Shafran and by the Rabbinical Council of America through an official statement. It was even the focus of the Rabbi’s Shabbos Drasha in the Agudah Shul in St. Louis where I Davened this week. What I am talking about is that the Conservative movement’s Halachic arm has decided by majority vote to ordain homosexual men and women into their rabbinate. They also voted to permit, at the discretion of the officiating rabbi, the union of same sex couples.

Why, one may ask is there so much discussion in Orthodox ranks about this issue? After all what do we care? Why is it our business that a movement which was years ago declared heretical has now taken yet another step away from normative Halacha?

I’m not exactly sure. But let’s take a closer look at it.

Let us first examine what exactly is so terrible about ordaining homosexual rabbis. The truth happens to be that there are probably some homosexual rabbis already practicing in the Orthodox rabbinate. And they may very well be rabbis in good standing… even amongst Charedim. How …you may ask… is that possible? The answer is that Judaism does not deal with inclinations. It deals with acts. The Torah realizes that people may have Taavos… desires for immoral acts. But desires not acted upon are not sinful. Desiring illicit sex is not the sin. It is acting upon the desire that is. So, if a rabbi has a pre-disposition for male sex it is his job to fight off those inclinations just as it is a heterosexual’s job to fight off an in an inclination for illicit heterosexual acts.

What the Conservative movement has done is they have given their blessing to it. They are making a statement. “Declare your homosexuality and we will give you Smicha, no less than if you declare your heterosexuality”. This cannot possibly be in accordance with the Torahs’s strong and clear admonition against homosexual practice. One has no need to declare publicly his homosexuality if he does not plan on acting upon it.

The Conservative movement can no longer simply say, “Hate the sin, not the sinner”. They are saying, “Embrace the sinner and his sin.” Why else declare your sexuality before getting ordained?! No rabbinical candidate has ever been required to declare his sexuality. This is nothing less than turning the Torah on its head.

Granting rabbis the right to perform “homosexual unions” is the same thing. They can say they are not sanctioning marriage, just “civil unions” all they want. But if a rabbi does it, this gives the ceremony an aura of a religious sanction. Two men living together as husband and “wife”…blessed by a rabbi! Does anyone take seriously that such a union will be a “sexless” marriage? I think not.

No. The Conservative movement has completely lost any claim to being a Halachic movement. If anything they have become an anti-Halachic movement. Their rabbinic leadership is merely play acting at keeping Halacha now. I urge them to listen to one of their own leaders, Rabbi Neil Gillman who realized this fact quite some time ago and had the integrity to call a spade, a spade! The should drop the pretense of following Halacha once and for all.

So once again, why do we care? The answer is in an old Yiddish expression. “Azoi vie S’Krisiltzech, Yiddlezich”. Loosely interpreted this means that the Torah world is not immune to what goes on in the non-Jewish world. The Conservative movement long held out not succumbing to the current fad of granting homosexual behavior its imprimatur. There was a big internal dispute about it. But the “good guys” lost. And to their credit, they resigned. But just as this kind of thinking has permeated the Conservative movement, it has permeated the Orthodox world as well. While it is true that the RCA clearly denounced the Conservative movements new turn, the very fact that they felt the need to do so shows a concern that some of this kind of thinking will bleed into the more left wing fringes of Orthodoxy.

Not long ago the movie, “Trembling Before God” was released. It was, according to all reports, a well made movie featuring an Orthodox homosexual rabbi who “outed” himself. As I understand it, the movie also featured an interview with Ner Israel Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Aharon Feldman in that movie. Rabbi Feldman showed great sympathy towards Frum homosexuals, as we all should. But then some time after the movie’s release this homosexual rabbi wrote a “Teshuva” of sorts trying to justify his behavior.

We need to really be careful about this matter. It is one thing if someone is a homosexual and knows it’s wrong. Even if he has succumbed to temptation, he will will feel bad and want to do Teshuva. But when a sincere Orthodox homosexual rabbi tries to use the Torah as a source for permitting the behavior itself, can it be that we are not that far away from a Left Wing Orthodox Yeshiva ordaining practicing homosexual rabbis and condoning ceremonies of homosexual unions?

The Woman Who Would Be Rosa

There has been a letter floating around the internet about an incident that happened to a Frum woman on a bus that goes to the Kotel. It is kind of a turn on the Rosa Parks story.

The number two bus in Jerusalem whose route takes it from Har Nof to the Kotel is frequented mostly by Charedim. As such it has an unofficial status as a “Mehadrin” bus. Mehadrin busses are specially designated busses by Egged to serve the Charedi community with respect tp its religious sensibilities. Specifically separating the sexes, men in the front and women in the back. Why the back for women? Because, based on a Gemarah, a man is not supposed to look at the back of a woman. So women sit in the back, men in the front… problem solved. Except for the fact that women end up being second class citizens. Well, you might say it can’t be helped. It’s Halacha… you see. Besides, I’ve sat in the back of a bus. Not really so terrible. Not much worse than the front.

But is it Halacha? I don’t think so. If it were, no one would ever be permitted to take any bus anywhere that wasn’t segregated by sex. And we know that isn’t the case. So what the Mehadrin bus is doing is simply being sensitive to a Chumra. But… be that as it may. That is the custom that has evolved in Israel. There are official Mehadrin busses that segregate the sexes. And there are unofficial busses that operate this way.

There is an American Oleh, a Frum woman who would have none of that. She was going to pull a “Rosa Parks”. She decided that she wanted to go to the Kotel and Daven K’Vasiken. Every day. She took the number two bus, but instead of going to the rear she decided to sit in the “Men’s section”. Halacha was after all on her side. Why should she be relegated to second class citizenry? Besides, the number two buss is not a Mehadrin bus. It was a regular bus where people could sit where they wished. But, no one thinks of it that way. The vast majority of people using it are Charedi and treat it as a Mehadrin bus. That’s the way it’s been for years.

Well, after a few weeks of traveling this way and getting stares and comments from the Charedi passengers, men and women alike… all hell broke loose. A Charedi man decided he wasn’t going to take it anymore. He went over to her and asked for her seat and told her to move to the rear. Here is her account of what followed:

“I smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I'm not moving but there are 2 seats in front of me, 1 across the aisle - you can sit there". He refused and demanded MY seat. I was somewhat amused at this childish and arrogant behavior but told him again, politely and quietly, that I am not moving and that if he really, really wants to sit here, he could even sit in the empty seat next to me. But - I'm not moving. This man stared at me for about 10 straight seconds and then spat in my face. Without missing a beat, I jumped up, called him a son-of-a-(deleted), and spat back at him. This brought screams from the women calling me a crazy woman. He responded to my response with a push in the face and a punch to the breasts that sent me flying on to the floor. I jumped up and punched him back. At this point, no fewer than 4 other men jumped up - not to defend ME - but to ATTACK me by punching, hitting, slapping, and kicking me to the floor. I was fighting back the whole time but was no match for 4 men in such cramped quarters. I finally got enough aim to kick one man in the privates and he went limping back to his seat in unmistakable agony. (Yes, I DO smile every time I think about it in the aftermath). But, in the meantime, the "holy" man sat in my seat and had discarded my bag onto the middle of the aisle. I went after him again, demanding my seat back. He spat at me which evoked the same response from me. My snood had come off my head during this scuffle so I knelt down to the floor to find it and the "holy" man kicked me in the face. The kick was so strong that the dirty outline of his shoe could be seen on my right cheek. Within a short amount of time my cheek began to swell and it took no less that 4 Ibuprofens over Shabbos to keep the swelling and the pain down. At the time of the kick, however, I felt no pain - only rage, equally distributed between the Chillul Hashem and the perversion of what some of these Chareidim call "kedusha".”

The letter continues with more of the same.

What are we to make of all this? Well, I cannot tell you how embarrassed and disgusted I am by this massive affront to both man and God. Chilul HaShem does not even come close to describing it. How in heaven’s name can anyone decide that his rights have been so violated that it warranted Nazi-like behavior toward another human being, let alone a woman, let alone a Jew, let alone a Frum Jew?! I can’t even imagine such a thing happening in my worst nightmare. Not only one man, but several beating this poor woman to a pulp! The outrage should be universal, no matter how one feels about Charedim. These Charedim were criminals. Nothing less. But are they really crimnals in the eyes of all?

I’m not so sure. The evidence shows that no one on that bus was happy with what this woman did. She took it upon herslef to violate a the sensibilties of an entire community. And these peole felt it. They tried to stop her verablly from doing it… to no avial. And when this Charedi fellow decided to “do something about it” were the other passengers secretly cheering? Why did no one come forward to help her? It almost seems like this beating was cathartic for the other passengers. Their Kedusha was finally restored. The woman had finally been put in her place.

Can this really be the thinking? I’m not so sure it wasn’t.

To be sure, no one wanted this woman to be beat up the way she was, but based on the “rightous indignation” expressed by many passengers to her in the past, and the lack of anyone coming to her aid. I’m not so sure they weren’t all getting some perverse pleasure from this woman getting her “just deserts”. Of course I don’t really know what they were actually thinking. But circumstances do not seem favorable to conclude that the passengers were in any way sympathetic to her plight.

Now it must be said, that this woman did want to be a bit of a martyr here. She chose her battle. She had to know that she was upsetting people. Yet she continued sitting in that spot every day and upsetting everyone else’s sensibilties. This was no Rosa Parks type act. There was nothing racist going on here. Just a hyper-sensitivty to the mixing of the sexes. And the vast majority of women using that bus actually prefered this aragngement. So she was not really fighting for any real cause but her own.

And it finally came to a head. Was she right in insisting on this seat since it was legally her right… in spite of the community standards that opposed women sitting next to or in front of men? I don’t know. There is certainly room to question her wisdom on this issue. But there can be no doubt about the sheer evil that followed. And the people who participeted in beating her up were no better than Nazis. And the by-standers?

Sex and the Internet

There has been much written about the ills of the internet. These ills are so pervasive and all encompassing that they can affect virtually every aspect of one’s life. Just as the Torah mandates how one should behave in any and all circumstances, so to does the internet provide obstacles to observing Halacha in any and all circumstances.

The focus of much of the banning by Charedi rabbinic leaders is in the area of pornography sites. To be sure that is enough of a reason for them to be concerned. But that of course is not the only danger. Much heresy, for example, can be found there and easily destroy one’s spiritual health if one is insufficiently prepared.

But there is another phenomenon that seems to be taking hold in the Frum Community. Something I would call “Frum online hookup lists”. According to an article in an online magazine, there is a preponderance of Frum Jews “looking for Mr. Goodbar”... that is: commitment free casual sexual partners. These individuals are from all walks of Orthodox life, including a great number of Charedim. Many are married. They are often members in good standing in their respective communities with families and young children who would normally not even dream of “hooking up”. But the anonymity of internet has enabled these individuals to seek sex without being stigmatized by their own communities. And the problem seems quite huge.

I have to ask, “What is going on here”? Is Torah Chinuch failing in this regard? I realize of course that the vast majority of Frum Jews do not go on these lists looking for illicit sex. But there are significant numbers that do. FrumSex, a six-year-old Yahoo! Group boasts almost 2000 members!

This begs the question, “Is opportunity the mother of activity?” Would these people not be involved at all in such behaviors were it not made so easy for them? And does that matter? How big is the group of Frum Jews that are religious primarily because of rote behavior and peer group pressure?

If Orthopraxy is a source of the problem then it is no longer enough to just practice rituals in a rote manner for social reasons. One must be religious in both an idealistic sense and a practical sense with core ideals as the true motivation.

But the situation is probably a lot more complex than that. There are shades of grey. It could be that there are some with core ideals who still succumb to temptation. There are still others who are Moreh Heter, explaining away Issurim as being Muter. What was telling in the article was that Frum Jews seek out Frum sex partners. Why? Because there is a rudimentary desire to avoid Issurei Erva at some level. For example a man might ask that a potential female sex partner not be a Niddah and that she use the Mikva prior to their encounter so as to avoid the Issur of Kareis!

So why do I oppose a ban the internet if these terrible influences are so compelling upon even Frum Jews? ...who might encounter such websites by chance and then slide down the slippery slope to hell?

Because banning doesn’t help. Many of the people who utilize services like this know about the ban and are members of the very community that bans it. Does anyone think a rabbinic ban will prevent someone from using the internet if that same person would violate Issurei Erva? I don‘t think so. I have written about the pros and cons of the internet before and I won’t repeat the arguments here except to say that there is enough positive on the internet and enough people who are not interested in vilolting Issurim with it to not ban it.

So what’s the solution to these kinds of problems? I don’t know. The problems are real. Those who use the internet as a tool to achieve whatever form of illicit behavior they want is a pervasive fact of life ...and probably growing exponentially. I don’t think there is an effective answer that will be total. Making it the forbidden fruit will only increases appetites.

While this won’t solve the problem completely, I think that the educational system is the key. We need to examine why there are so many Orhtoprax... and not enough Orthodox! Why are Yeshivas turning out so many Jews who practice the mintutia of Halacha and seek Chumros like using the Chazan Ish’s Shiur for the Araba Kosos, yet when it comes to matters like these, some of those people succumb so easily?

It is about parenting and education. Children develop their personalities at a very early age. What ever input a parent can make to develop a sense of ethics and morality at the earliest age should be priority number one. Sexuality is a normal pert of the human pshyche. And it too begins to develop at an early stage. One should be careful not to traumatize a child at any sexual stage of development as this is the cause for sexually perverse behavior in adults.

There are two areas of education that need to be the focus if this issue is to be properly tackled. One is the teaching of morals. The other is dealing with the psychology of human sexuality. Our educators need to start implementing seriously, a curriculum that deals with these issues in tandem. But even that is not enough. Parenting courses should be given to every high school student, boy or girl. It should be mandated and guided by rabbinic leadership in conjunction with the best minds in the field of child psychology. To me this is a given and yet I believe it is virtually non-existent in the Orthodox world. Perhaps if this is done now it can eliminate this kind of behavior in the future... or at least diminish it. And perhaps it can even prevent yet another molester from ever developing again. I’m not sure. But at least it would be a step in the right direction.

Iraq, James Baker, and the Jews

The Baker Hamilton Bi-Partisan Report on Iraq was released today. I am not going to comment on the substance of this report since I basically agree that “staying the course” is not a viable option. See my recent post on the subject. But I do want to comment on one aspect. It is an aspect that is constantly being thrown up by various so called experts on the Middle East. The report strongly recommends that as part of an over-all approach to dealing with the problems in Iraq, the administration must engage more directly to solve the Israeli-Palestinian problem. The two chairman made it very clear that there is no solving anything unless the Israeli/Palestinian problem is solved. They said it was a unanimous concern of all the Middle Eastern leaders that they spoke to. Well, What a surprise! The Arabs want the US to engage in the peace process. I guess they feel the Palestinians should just be pressured to back off and leave Israel alone.

No? …Maybe not.

I can’t say I’m surprised at that recommendation. I’m not that familiar with Lee Hamilton’s views on Israel except to say that when he was in congress I do not recall him being all that supportive. But James Baker is another story. He revealed his true colors when he was Secretary of State for the President’s father. He cares about as much for Israel’s welfare as he does for Maldive’s welfare. In other words, not much.

The suggestion to engage in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians has been a code word for putting more pressure on Israel to give in to Palestinian demands. There is no consideration about the futility of that because of the intractable attitude from Hamas, the majority party in the territories to seek Israel’s destruction.

Serve up Israel on a platter. That’s the solution. I don’t care how they couch the terms. It is nothing short of what Baker said to his boss when he was Secretary of State. When asked about his views at the time, his attitude was something to the effect: Hmmm… 40 million Arabs, 6 million Jews… “Blank” the Jews. They didn’t vote for us anyway!”

What do they expect the President to do? Sell out the Jews to appease the Arabs? I really think that any individual who thinks that Israel can negotiate with people who have vowed to destroy it, is either an idiot, an anti-Semite, or a fool. It’s as simple as that. It can’t always be Israel who does all the giving and the Palestinians who do all the taking. The only people who should be getting pressure are the Palestinians. If that’s what the report advocates, then I am all for it.

An Absurd Position

Well, I guess we can rest easy now. The honor of Shmiras Shabbos has been upheld. The rabbinic leadership in Israel has decided to boycott El-Al. Again. Why? Because they departed from their policy of Shmiras Shabbos one time. It was done in response to a mechanical problem they encountered that caused tremendous delay for which they wanted to make up some time. I am not debating here the issue of Chilul Shabbos. There might very well have been Chilul Shabbos. And it should be protested when it happens. But to boycott an airline that has been more accommodating than any other to an extent that may cause its demise is ridiculous and counter-productive. Is it really necessary for our rabbinic leadership to boycott them and risk their financial ruin?

From an article in Ha’aretz:

“An official boycott could deal a fatal blow to El Al as it would obligate not only ultra-Orthodox travelers from Israel, but also tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox travelers from abroad.”

It is mind boggling that a boycott like this would be ordered by the rabbinic leadership. Remember that El Al is not a Frum airline. The El Al people people are about as sceular as they come. Yet in an effort to accommodate the Charedi traveler, Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblum reports that: “there is not currently any competitor that comes close to El Al in its efforts to be “chareidi-friendly.” To boycott to such an extent is biting of the nose to spite the face!

And statements like the one from Rav Chaim Kanievsky do not help matters either: “the plane's mechanical fault was a sign of divine confirmation of a statement Sunday by Rabbi Haim Kanievsky, an influential figure of the Lithuanian stream, broadcast on the community's Kol Hai radio station, that flying El Al endangered life.” How does he know that? Does he have Ruach HaKodesh? I doubt it.

So the Kaanaim who anticipate the coming “harsh steps” to be taken by rabbinic leadership have been canceling flights left and right: (There has been)“80% cancellation of reservations of Chareidi clients with El Al, despite the steep cancellation fees (up to $1700) imposed in some instances.”

What about talking to the El Al leadership before taking any action? No dice! “El Al CEO Haim Romano called the committee of rabbis for a meeting but was rebuffed Monday night.”

Now it is true that EL Al could use some tweaking in the accomdations it provides for it’s customers. But a boycott like this?! Absurd!

Sex Abuse and Agudah’s Response

There is an open letter to Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon at a blog located here. It contains a poignant step by step description of events concerning the sexual abuse case of a Rebbe at a famous Yeshiva and its apparent cover-up by the Rosh HaYeshiva. The letter castigates Rav Salomon for turning an abuse issue into a Kavod HaTorah and blogger issue.

In the comments section fellow blogger Rabbi Gil Student takes the blogger to task for not having enough courage of his convictions to identify himself. I totally agree and I think it takes away a bit from his credibility. That being said, I agree with the gist of what he says. Even though he gave no explanations as to how he came to know so many of the victims, or how he came upon so much detailed information about the involvement of rabbinic leaders with the case over the years, my gut reaction is to trust his account of events.

The real guilty party here is the Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Lipa Margulies, who apparently covered this thing up for so many years. I don’t know if he just stubbornly refused to believe it or didn’t care. I suspect the former but that is no excuse.

As for alleged abuser, Rabbi Yehuda Kolko, the overwhelimg evidence of his guilt shows that he is a very sick man and morally bankrupt … a man with little or no conscience. And while he was abusing his young victims for four decades, he managed to put up a good front. And it is my understanding that he raised a decent family. This makes the tragedy that much greater because among his victims are those very same members of his family. The shame they must feel is beyond description. I feel sorry for them. They must be going through a living hell.

The truth is that I find less fault with the handling of the rabbinic leadership who were involved in examining this case over the year. But there is some fault to placed there too, in their apparent inability to recognize that a real problem existed… the extent of it… and its longevity. Clear knowledge of it now and indignation over how it was handled is the result of our 20/20 hindsight. And in the defense of these rabbinic leaders, they must be protective of all Rabbanim who have a Chezkas Kashrus until proven otherwise. But I agree that they were a bit over zealous in this regard and not zealous enough in the other. The results were devastating. And the reticence to pursue this case more zealously, unnecessarily prolonged the problem. I’m sure that as we speak all involved regret not being more “hands on”. The result of this reticence is tragic... tragic for Kavod HaTorah, tragic for Klal Yisroel, and most importantly tragic for the many victims and their families.

I posted my views about UOJ when he decided to stop posting and gave him credit for his accomplishments while blasting his methods and shotgun approach to all manner of hearsay about others, many of whom were innocent.

But the bottom line is that this blogger is basically correct. Furthermore, I believe that if this letter is not responded to, it should be put in an even more public forum because the questions raised about Agudah’s response to this issue are valid in my view and deserve a public response.

I end with a comment made to the blogger by Yeshiva University Mashgiach Ruchani, Rabbi Yosef Blau:

"The pattern of failure of the rabbinic leadership to respond to the ongoing accusations over three decades is extremely disturbing. Your letter's credibility is enhanced by the specific chronology. When similar accusations surfaced about the OU, and how it dealt with allegations against Baruch Lanner, they created an independent commission to investigate."

"If Daas Torah is interpreted that the gedolim can not be questioned then no mechanism exists to evaluate the situation. Perhaps a group of rabbinic authorities who have not been involved and are respected for courage and integrity would be willing to examine the evidence and make suggestions for a future policy."

To this I say, Amen.