The Progenitor of Modern Orthodoxy

There is a fascinating post on Hirhurim by Rabbi Gil Student that asks the question: Was Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch Modern Orthodox?

Although I am pretty familiar with the Hashkafos of Rav Hirsch’s Torah Im Derech Eretz (TIDE) and Austritt (which basically advises that Orthodox Jews leave the wider Jewish community when its leaders are anti Orthodox) I am certainly no expert in it.

Suffice it to say Rav Hirsch was a firm believer in studying Torah and Mada as an integral part of being a more educated Jew and therefore better Jew.

But do his views really make him modern Orthodox? I think Modern Orthodoxy must first be defined. It is a term that is defined differently by various segments of Orthodoxy. The following is my definition.

The word Orthodox implies that one is observant and follows Halacha. This does not necessarily mean that an Orthodox Jew follows every Halacha. It just means acknowledging that a Jew is supposed to follow it.

An Orthodox Jew tries to the best of his ability to fulfill all of the Mitzvos but does not always succeed. In fact there may be areas where any given individual Orthodox Jew is in constant failure to follow one Halacha or another. But as long as he realizes that he is indeed failing and does not do it Lehachis – in defiance of God – then he is still Orthodox.

There are however three major Mitzvos that a Jew must follow which have traditionally been used to define an Orthodox Jew. If he doesn’t follow them he cannot really be considered Orthodox. These Mitzvos are: 1) Shabbos, 2) Kashrus, and 3) Taharas HaMishpacha - observing Shabbos, keeping Kosher and keeping the family purity law (e.g. a married woman using the Mikva). Although there are other factors involved pertaining to belief (as in the 13 Ikkarim of the Rambam) as it pertains to one's actions those are the three defining Mitzvos of an Orthodox Jew.

This definition applies to Orthodoxy at all levels - from the extreme left of Modern Orthodoxy to the extreme right of Charedism.

The word modern means that one accepts modernity and engages in it both academically and as a legitimate lifestyle choice. Combined with the word Orthodox one must add the following condition - as long as there is no conflict in Halacha.

Modern Orthodoxy then includes both right wing and left wing modern Orthodox Jews. The differences between these two ends of the MO spectrum is more Hashkafic than Halachic.

Charedi Hashkafos do not see any positive value at all in modernity (even when it does not contradict Halacha) unless it relates to health or Parnassa. Otherwise engaging in it is frowned upon and strongly discouraged.

Where does this place Rav Hirsch? Let us examine some of the descriptions of him mentioned by R’Gil (based on an article by Rav Yitzchak Blau):

R. Hirsch occasionally exhibited some unusual practices, such as wearing canonicals adopted by Christian and non-Orthodox clergy, enforcing limitations on head coverings (link) and removing Kol Nidrei from the Yom Kippur liturgy…

I can’t imagine any Orthodox Rav doing any of these today.

Quoting Rav Blau, R’ Gil mentions two things about Rav Hirsch that are decidedly not Modern Orthodox:

1. Non- (or anti-)Zionism

2. Separation from the non-Orthodox community (Austritt)

But there are six things about Rav Hirsch pointed out by Rav Blau that are decidedly modern Orthodox:

1. Analyzing biblical characters as great but flawed human beings

2. Considering the legends of the Talmud (aggados) to be non-binding

3. Asserting that the science of the talmudic sages was occasionally incorrect

4. Encouraging women’s intellectual development

5. Embracing a Universalist belief in the spiritual value of all people regardless of race, sex, nationality or religion

6. Believing in the inherent value in secular studies, including the liberal arts

I was not aware that all of these six items were part of Rav Hirsch’s Hashkafos. I was aware of the final 2 items but not the first 4. But I will take Rav Blau and R’ Gils word for it.

In any case these are all controversial beliefs in our own time. R’ Gil points out (as have I many times in the past) - Charedi leaders have tried mightily (and have partially succeeded) in revising these beliefs out of Rav Hirsch’s Hashkafa. They want to make Rav Hirsch Charedi and his Hashkafos of TIDE nothing more than Charedi Hashkafos with German Minhagim. Ascribing to Rav Hirsch any of those six beliefs as a L’Chatchila is denied and seen only as a B’dieaved - a necessary concession to the enlightenment spirit of the times – a B’dieved that no longer applies today.

But those who have studied Rav Hirsch in depth know the truth. It is all in his writings.

So what was Rav Hirsch in the end? Was he the prototype for today’s modern Orthodoxy? R’ Gil concludes that he was somewhere in between Charedi and modern Orthodox. My own view is a bit more complex.

Using the information supplied by R’ Gil, I would have to say that Rav Hirsch was very unique and not quite ‘peg-able’. His controversial views about wearing canonicals adopted by Christian and non-Orthodox clergy and removing Kol Nidrei from the Yom Kippur liturgy seems to almost take him out of Orthtodoxy itself. Forget about modern.

On the other hand his views about Austritt and Zionism of even the religious kind would put him squarely on the Charedi side of those issues. But the six items at the bottom of those lists are clearly modern Orthodox views.

But as ‘unpeggable’ as he is, in my view he is in fact the true progenitor of modern Orthodoxy despite his apparent discord with respect to some Charedi and some Modern Orthodox practices and beliefs.

He may not exactly fit the mold but those six points are a virtual textbook of Modern Orthodox beliefs. While we moderns may not agree with his views of Zionism and Austritt, I believe it is very possible that Rav Hirsch may have changed his views about Zionism in the post Holocaust era, much like the Rav did.

And with respect to Austritt, there too he may have had second thoughts today where engaging with seculars is not the same as it was in his time. Most secular Jews are not interested in ‘reforming’ Judaism as they were then. Today outreach requires engagement, not Austritt.

While there may be minor differences in today’s Modern Orthodoxy, (and there is no way of knowing this for sure) I nevertheless believe that in his heart Rav Hirsch would have been clearly in the modern Orthodox camp, at least the right wing version of it.

Torat HaMelech - Epilogue

I just saw this on Matzav. I guess I am in good company. Here are the relevant portions of the post:

Chacham Ovadiah Yosef, head of Shas’ Moetzet Chachmei Hatorah, said yesterday that he is opposed to the Sefer Toras Hamelech, at least partially because it is considered hisgarus ba’umos (antagonizing the nations).

“We should give considerable attention to the nations of the world and not assist in a writing that could be interpreted as racist,” Rav Ovadiah said. “The Torah respects everyone since everyone was created b’tzelem Elokim (in G-d’s image).”

Rav Yosef also added that “the petition against renting apartments to Arabs was also unnecessary.”

Sefer Toras Hamelech features a theoretical halachic discussion of killing a non-Jew during wartime…

Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv was also quoted by various sources as objecting to Toras Hamelech.

“There are people who do not understand that the Jewish people do not live only in Israel,” Rav Elyashiv was quoted as having said. “Such writings can bring danger to the lives of Jews abroad. We are playing with fire here and are endangering other Jews.”

Killing Innocent Arabs

I have no tolerance for violence. Especially murder. That is the position taken by a very controversial ‘Halacha’ book by a radical Rabbi, Yitzhak Shapira. He ‘gives Jews permission to preemptively kill gentiles under certain conditions in wartime’.

I have no respect for this man whatsoever. Here is a man who under the guise of ‘intellectual Halachic discussion’ advocates murdering innocent people. Unfortunately I am not surprised by this mentality. Even though he is a Lubavitcher Chasid, he is of the mentality usually associated with the extreme right wing of religious Zionism that sees every Arab in Israel as a potential murderer of Jews.

I am sure he did not actually advocate going out and killing a few Arabs randomly walking down the street even in a time of war. But I am equally sure that his hatred for the Arab caused him to write the portion of his book that uses Halacha to justify murder ‘under certain conditions’.

The question arises as to whether in a free society one shouldn’t be able to say or write whatever he pleases, no matter how odious. I certainly agree that freedom of speech is a fundamental right of any democracy. But as Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes Jr. writing for the majority said in a freedom of speech case:

The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic. [...] The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.

It is therefore justifiable on the part of Israel to prevent such an obscenity from being published. There is no greater ‘clear and present danger’ than inciting a frustrated and angry Arab populace to the kind of violent reaction they have demonstrated time and again – costing the lives of far too many innocent Jews. Telling Jews that it is Halachicly permissible to kill non Jews – even children ‘under the right conditions’ is an invitation for the kind of Arab uprising that ends up with a lot of dead Jews.

There has been much made of the endorsement of this book by two prominent Rabbis, Kiryat Arba Chief Rabbi, Dov Lior and Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, son of Sephardi Gadol Rav Ovadia Yosef.

The Israeli government called them in for questioning. I can’t really blame them for wanting to question these rabbis about endorsing such a book. They have refused to be questioned. In the case of Rabbi Lior, he was arrested for incitement suspicions. He was released after 2 hours of questioning.

But before he was released his religious Zionist supporters and sympathizers went to the streets and protested so violently that it rivals the riots by the Meah Shearim types in their protests against things they don’t like. As I’ve said in the past. The extremists from both camps are birds of a feather. Violence is their calling card. That they are on opposite ends of the Hashkafic spectrum is beside the point.

These are people who take the law into their own hands when they see something they don’t like and disrupt the public peace by creating dangerous conditions via their rioting. Like setting tires on fire. VIN has posted pictures and a video of the rioters. It can be seen here.

They are no better than animals. Instead of ‘defending the Kavod’ of their Rav – which is probably what they thought they were doing, they endangered innocent lives, polluted the air and created a huge Chilul HaShem! I hope the Israeli government prosecutes them to the limit of the law and throws them in jail for a while so they can think about what they have done.

Rabbi Yaakov Yosef’s son Yonatan defended his father’s position to not to appear before authorities. From the Jerusalem Post:

“This is study-hall discourse,” Yosef's son Yonatan said of Torat Hamelech on Tuesday. “The Torah itself says much more extreme things – like those who desecrate Shabbat must be killed. Does that mean that anyone who reads the weekly portion should be indicted for incitement? Everyone understands that there is a difference between the text and the actions; nobody thinks that religious people are going to go out and kill secular people for not keeping Shabbat.

“There is no reason for investigators to meddle in halachic issues, and besides – it’s not rabbis who take people out to war, rather the government and the army,” said Yosef.

Of course that is true. Theoretical discourse is different than calling for action. But what he fails to understand is the incendiary nature of a book permitting the killing of innocent people - even children - ‘under certain conditions. One that could bring death and destruction to the Jewish people in a climate where there is so much frustration and anger that is so easily incited to hurt us.

It is therefore disappointing that these two rabbis endorsed such a book, even if there is some sound Halachic reasoning behind it. The book quite clearly yells ‘Fire!’ in the crowded theater of Israeli society. These rabbis refused to be interrogated saying that Halacha is above the law and not subject to questioning by a secular government. They may be technically right. But that is a poor excuse for not simply answering a few questions. Israel would be derelict in its duty if they did not try to prevent the results of a book that legitimizes murdering innocent Arabs ‘under certain conditions’!

Furthermore, it is not too much of a stretch to say that a few hot-headed extremists will be justified by this ‘Psak’ to start killing a few Arabs they don’t like. After all how much justification do the Baruch Goldsteins of the world need to do the kind of thing he did - killing innocent Arabs while they were in prayer at Maaras HaMachpela?

Sometimes I wonder about our vaunted ‘Jewish intelligence’. What possible gain was there in giving this book an approbation?!

A Yeshiva that Teaches Torah, Mada, and Midos

Although my alma mater has taken some right turns in recent years. It is light years ahead of its Charedi competition in the matter of tolerance of different Hashkafos.

Is it the same Yeshiva I attended? No. I would love to see a faculty that included the same people I learned from back in my day. The faculty then included Torah giants as well as giants in the fields of Jewish philosophy and Jewish History.

Imagine a faculty that included Rav Ahron Soloveichik as Rosh HaYeshiva. Imagine having on board such revered Gedolim as the Ateres Mordechai (Rav Mordechai Rogov), Rabbi Yaakov Perlow (The Novominsker Rebbe) and Rav Moshe Wernick who learned in pre Holocaust Slabodka. Imagine a faculty filled with European trained Rebbeim - one of whom who had a masters degree from the University of Chicago in the field of history (Rav Selig Starr).

Imagine the high level of learning that took place then. Mir Rosh HaYeshiva, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, was a student there. So too were many others who have gone on to become great people in their own right.

This was a Yeshiva that said Hallel on Yom Ha’atzmaut and promoted the ideals of Torah U’Mada and Torah Im Derech Eretz instead of denigrating the former and dismissing the latter as secondary at best.

Imagine having on faculty brilliant thinkers like Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who in his day was considered one of only two Orthodox Jewish philosophers in the world (the other one being the Rav); Rabbi Dr. Leonard C. Mishkin, whose expertise in Jewish history had few peers; and Rabbi Dr. Joseph Babad who was the dean of students and who was fluent in seven different foreign languages. Imagine a teacher who was an expert in Tanach and has published many in depth scholarly volumes on the subject, Rabbi Dr. Abraham Lipshutz. (He is still on faculty there.)

This is the school that I attended for many years back in the sixties and seventies. It no longer exists in that form. All the great people I just mentioned with the exception of Dr. Lipshutz have either left or passed on.

Although the faculty of my day cannot be matched, HTC today has a brilliant faculty in both Limudei Kodesh and Limudei Chol that is led by a new Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Avraham Friedman. And it still says Hallel on Yom Ha’atzmaut and not only sees studying Mada in a positive light - it has an accredited college on campus offering a growing number of programs and degrees.

This has come to light recently in an article by Rabbi Hillel Goldberg the Charedi oriented publisher of the Intermountain Jewish News. His son just graduated high school there (Fasman). What he wrote about my alma mater makes me proud.

Here are some excerpts:

First, academically. A rosh yeshiva (dean) in Israel says that he visited 27 schools this year while recruiting, and found the senior level in the Skokie 12th grade to be the most advanced in the country.

In Torah study, these kids have goaded each other, motivated each other, pushed their teachers, and certainly were pushed throughout their four years; for instance, by our son’s rebbe this year, Rabbi Meir Segal. He has tremendous focus, a truly remarkable concentration on Talmud study, utterly impervious to the usual admixtures and distractions of our culture, with the ability to engage and elevate his students.

Then, too, this class won more than its share of full-ride and other major college scholarships.

Second, socially. Here are 34 graduates, absent any cliques, mutually supportive, each happy for the achievements of the others. A cohesive group with a healthy competitiveness, each student genuinely exuberant when the other succeeds or wins. Now, a class like that is luck. And that’s a blessing.

One of the things most lacking in today’s Yeshiva world is tolerance. If there is a predominant Hashkafa of one type, it is promoted to the exclusion of others. So if a Yeshiva will invite the Novominsker Rebbe to address the Bachurim, they would not likely invite Rav Hershel Shachter. And if a yeshiva would invite Rav Shachter to address the Bachurim, they would likely not invite the Novominsker.

Not so HTC. Describing his son’s experiences there Rabbi Goldberg says the following:

During their years at Skokie, the class had the privilege of periodic visits and addresses from the likes of Rabbi Yaakov Perlow (the Novominsker Rebbe), Rabbi Herschel Schacter, Israel’s Ashkenazi and Sephardi chief rabbis, and many other rabbinic eminences, not to mention their own rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Avraham Friedman.

As I said I am truly proud of my alma mater. If anyone wants their child to receive an excellent education in both Limudei Kodesh and Limudei Chol - with great Rebbeim as role models and exposure to more than one Hashkafa, let them consider HTC’s Fasman Yeshiva High School. They will not be disappointed.

Two for Rabbi Shafran

Rabbi Avi Shafran got it right. He recently wrote 2 columns in Ami – both republished in Cross Currents that deserve our attention and appreciation.

In one article he has eloquently stated our case as Orthodox Jews. It is a position as Jews that all fair minded individuals Jew and Gentile alike would – I think – agree upon.

Rabbi Shafran accurately describes the nefarious and thinly disguised anti Semitic motives of the proponents of the anti circumcision bill on a San Francisco ballot this fall. Their motives were recently exposed in all their anti Semitic glory via a ‘comic book’ that featured caricatures of Jews that would make Hitler proud. This ‘comic book’ rivals some of the worst anti Semitic propaganda in Nazi Germany that makes Jews look like sinister butchers of innocent little children - contrasted to a blond blue eyed Aryan ‘Superman’ who saves the day.

Rabbi Shafran correctly notes that the opposition to this bill from the non Orthodox establishment has been as strong if not stronger than it has been from Orthodox quarters. He noted that a urologist who has taught at both the Hebrew Union College (Reform) and at the University of Judaism (Conservative) has promised that if the bill passed he would to be the first one to drive to San Francisco and break the law by performing the ritual. But I really think the following excerpt says it all:

The broad defense of bris milah is intriguing. Non-Orthodox movements have abandoned many parts of the Jewish religious heritage and deeply changed others. One would expect something less than enthusiasm among non-Orthodox Jews for something as challenging to a contemporary mind as circumcision—the injuring, after all, as the anti-circumcision advocates never tire of shouting—of an innocent baby who is not making the choice of the procedure himself.

To be sure, there may be health benefits and likewise, to be sure, an infant’s nervous system has not likely developed full sensitivity to the pain of a cut. Most eight-day-old baby boys fall asleep shortly after their bris milah. But, all said and done, why would Jews affiliated with movements that have abandoned not only entire areas of halacha but entire verses of the Torah hesitate to jettison a Jewish practice that seems to a simple mind to be “barbaric” (as the early Reform movement in fact labeled it)?

In answer Rabbi Shafran refers to something called the Pintle Yid. That is the tiny spot in every Jew’s heart that can spark a yearning in every Jew to fulfill their destiny as Jews. I agree. That’s why there is hope that with successful outreach and education we can turn the tide against assimilating out of Judaism and into intermarriage.

The second article in Ami addresses another phenomenon. One that I have written about many times. It is why we should all be patriotic Americans. It is about how for the most part the moral majority of Americans think about Israel and the Jewish people. In it Rabbi Shafran quotes Walter Russell Mead, a Bard College professor of foreign affairs and humanities. I believe that his views represent what has been called the moral majority. The comment was apparently made with respect to the unbelievably favorable congressional reception given to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

“Israel matters in American politics like almost no other country on earth. Well beyond the American Jewish and the Protestant fundamentalist communities, the people and the story of Israel stir some of the deepest and most mysterious reaches of the American soul. The idea of Jewish and Israeli exceptionalism is profoundly tied to the idea of American exceptionalism. The belief that [G-d] favors and protects Israel is connected to the idea that [G-d] favors and protects America.

“It means more. The existence of Israel means that the [G-d] of the Bible is still watching out for the well-being of the human race. For many American Christians who are nothing like fundamentalists, the restoration of the Jews to the Holy Land and their creation of a successful, democratic state after two thousand years of oppression and exile is a clear sign that the religion of the Bible can be trusted.

“Being pro-Israel matters in American mass politics because the public mind believes at a deep level that to be pro-Israel is to be pro-America and pro-faith. Substantial numbers of voters believe that politicians who don’t ‘get’ Israel also don’t ‘get’ America and don’t ‘get’ [G-d].”

It’s good to know that in the climate of Israel bashing that has currency in many universities dominted by leftist professors, that there is at least one sane voice who understands what is instinctively known to most Americans.

Thank you Rabbi Shafran for bringing both of these stories into a popular Charedi periodical and on Cross-Currents. These messages are important for all Jews to hear.

Don’t They Know How Frum He Is?

Here is one fellow who I am absolutely convinced does not text on Shabbos.

Not only that, but he probably completely rejects contemporary societal values. He would for example never dream of wearing anything other than the Chasdishe Levush (clothing) in the street. That is obvious from the photo.

He is wearing a Bekeshe which is the Chasidic version of a Kapoteh. The Chasidic Bekeshe does not have any ‘four corner’ issues – requiring Tzitzis be attached. The Litvishe Kapoteh does - requiring one of the corners be rounded off so that it only contains three corners thus obviating the need for Tzitzis.

Elie Berger is of course very careful about such things – preferring the more Mehudar Chasidishe Bekeshe over the Litvishe one.

He also has a great business. This is a fellow who works for a living. He is not afraid to get his hands dirty. But that is not the only thing that is ‘dirty’ about him. He had decided to pad his income by cheating insurance companies.

But that’s OK. What are insurance companies for if not to cheat them? What a great idea he had. From a New York Daily News story - here is how it’s done.

The fraud was very clear here," District Attorney Charles Hynes said yesterday of the alleged scam at Perfect Collision in Borough Park. "The defendants were taking cars with minor damage and enhancing that."

They're accused of pounding vehicles with hammers and chisels to compound blemishes and increase their profit margin. They would then cash refund checks from insurers and pocket the money…

Scam – Shmam!

Ma Tovu Ma Naim! How wonderful it is to see such ingenuity on the part of the Frumest kind of Jew – a Chasid. I’m sure that he thought, ‘Those stupid insurance companies will never know what hit them’. ‘It’s win - win for everybody. The client gets his car back fully repaired, I make some big bucks off the insurance company, and no one gets hurt. The insurance company loses money?! Who cares! They have tons of it! Besides they’re Goyim!

Elie seems to have done pretty well doing this:

When investigators raided Berger's home, they said they found more than $700,000 in cash - even though he had filed for public assistance.

Wow! He enhanced his income by filing for public assistance. How clever. Why didn’t I think of that?

Prosecutors said the suspects could face additional tax and welfare fraud charges.

Both mechanics were slapped yesterday with a truckload of counts, including insurance fraud and grand larceny.

The nefarious government just had to stick their nose in. Now this poor Jew trying simply trying to make ends meet is probably going to go to jail for his innovative idea on how to make some real money. What a bunch of anti Semites. Don’t they know how Frum this guy is?

What a walking Chilul HaShem!

A Parent Considering of Public School

Last week I wrote about a problem that is not often addressed but one that I believe deserves our serious attention, the 90% of Jewry that are increasingly losing their Judaism through high assimilation and intermarriage rates. As part of a possible solution I suggested that we open up our religious schools to the wider Jewish community and begin to engage our secular brethren and convince them about the importance of their children learning more about their heritage via a more formal Jewish education.

During the course of the conversation on that lengthy thread the same issue that always comes up when talking about Jewish education dominated the discussion: the high cost of it. Jewish education is vital to the continuity of Judaism. If there is any vital issue that has a greater impact on young Jewish families than financing education, I’d like to know what that is.

This is not a simple problem. We are between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand we want to give our children top notch educations in both Limudei Kodesh and Limudei Chol. We want the best teachers and good curricula in both. We want good resources. We want enrichment programs. And yet we can’t afford to pay for it. I believe we are at a crisis moment. Parents are being taxed like never before. With tuition figures like $30,000 per child per year, and scholarships being more difficult to obtain than ever – I believe the crisis is unprecedented.

I have always felt that the money was there. Not in the form of tuition but in the form of philanthropy. But we are nowhere near being able to raise that money yet. Meanwhile the people who can afford it least are being asked to sacrifice the most. Some schools have a minimum tuition that some parents cannot afford, and do not forgive those minimum amounts. That is how serious the problem is. We are taxing the poor instead of the rich.

But even those with very good incomes well into 6 figures – struggle mightily. That is not hard to see if you have only 3 children at a total tuition of $90,000 dollars!

The following is a comment by a parent serious about her Judaism. It was made in that comment thread in that post. I believe it demonstrates just how serious this problem is. The credo of any religious school is that no child will be turned away because of finances. That sounds good on paper. But do we really mean it? Here is the comment in its entirety:

This is all about money.

My husband and I are BT's since prior to the births of our children. We are committed - not "Lite" anything. (FWIW, we are a "no-TV" household.) We have, kah, 4 children, all of whom have been in day school from the start (the oldest is in yeshiva). This year the tuition bill is such that we simply cannot pay it all - even though we both work in professional jobs the bill is astronomical, and it just isn't there. The school's attitude is that we should "put it on a credit card"...not an acceptable option nor one for the long term!

For the first time in all of these years, we are truly considering switching our younger children to public school, if only for a year or two, to get a little financial relief. I am shocked as I sit here, even writing such a thing, but truly we see no other way out. For the tuition that we'll save, we can take a third of it and hire a private rebbe to learn with the children every afternoon after school, and we'll still come out about $25-$30k ahead. Undoubtedly the secular education will be superior in our local public school (I have NOT been impressed with the secular education our children have received thus far in the day school system). I also suspect that the daily individual attention from a rebbe will enable them to progress more in limudei kodesh than they would in a classroom environment.

I'm not so excited about them being in a non-religious environment, but I don't believe, especially at the elementary level, that it is the worst thing in the world. Through the years, we've heard the hysteria around public schools, but it sounds just like more of the usual xenophobia which we long ago learned to tune out. Certainly the public schools in our area are very good, and the few frum parents who have had to resort to them (for financial reasons - like ourselves) have had good things to say about how the children did academically and socially.

I'm really just sick over the whole thing. I want my kids in day school - I truly do. If the money's not there, however, it's not there. I do find myself somewhat bitter about the fact that if we were a kollel family or if I were a SAHM, the school would be coughing up the scholarship. Instead we're a full-tuition paying family, and have been each and every year for over a decade, who just got priced out of the market, and nobody seems to care.

Half Shabbos - A Failure of Modern Orthodoxy

What a sad development. Chilul Shabbos has now become an excepted norm among modern Orthodox adolescents. Many teenagers are now observing what is being called ‘Half Shabbos’. They violate Shabbos by texting on their cell-phones.

In my wildest dreams I could not have ever imagined this happening. I am not talking about kids going OTD. Most of them according to an article in the Jewish Week are observant in every other way. They are good and decent kids and aside from texting do not violate Shabbos in any other way. They keep Kosher and do all the other things associated with Orthodoxy. But for some reason they violate Shabbos in this way and they know it. What’s worse is that it doesn’t bother them.

Refraining from using electronic devices on Shabbos has become one of the hallmarks of Orthodoxy. No Shomer Shabbos Jew would be caught dead doing it.

Until now.

The question is - why is this happening? Is it a failure of modern Orthodoxy (MO)? I have to believe that it is. Not that they God forbid teach it. But that a modern Orthodox environment is more conducive to violating what is perceived (incorrectly) as minor Halachos.

Many people compromise Halacha. Especially those I would call ‘modern Orthodox Lite’ – which I define as those who are more modern than Orthodox. These are the people who are Orthodox by habit and by peer group affiliation – more so than by conviction. They are often more concerned with lifestyle than with Halacha and will sometimes compromise Halacha in favor of lifestyle.

This is the kind of Jew who when challenged about a laxity in Halacha will answer ‘everyone picks and chooses’ what they follow and what they will not. They do the best they can but they are not going to lose out on a lifestyle choice just because of a minor Halacha. This is not to say that they do not care at all about being observant. They do. But they do as much as possible to limit it from impinging on their lifestyles.

So – for example many MO-Lite women will not dress in accordance with the letter of Halacha and wears shorts in public, or wear skimpy bikinis at the beach. These are the people who will eat fish in restaurants. These are the people who might come to Shul on Shabbos and hardly say a word of prayer and instead talk incessantly with their neighbor.

But none of them drive a car on Shabbos. All of them keep two sets of dishes (meat and dairy) and buy Kosher meat. And most of them generally buy food products with at least some kind of Hechsher – at least in the home. (Like I said - they might eat fish out.)

But they also send their kids to a day school and religious high school. Partly because of peer pressure and partly because they do want to instill at least a little Yiddishkeit in their children.

The problem is that the level of accommodation to modernity these parents have via Halachic compromise is not lost on their children. They see their parents compromising all over the place and they figure, why can’t they compromise on texting? Even though they know it’s wrong, they see their parents doing the same kind of thing. They have simply ‘picked and chosen’ what they will compromise on. It seems like such a minor compromise, especially when everybody is doing it anyway. When doing it as part of a large peer group, most if not all guilt is eliminated.

I do not personally text all that much. But I am not unaware of the addiction texting has become to a great number of people. The addiction is so strong for adolescents that they cannot seem to get away from it even for the 25 hour period of Shabbos. Combined with the attitude of Halachic compromise learned from their parents – it isn’t too hard to see how this happened.

As noted in the article, schools are very aware of the problem but are equally stumped as to what to do about it.

I have no answers but, I do think it is a failure of modern Orthodoxy that this has happened at all. Just as there has been an under-emphasis in many Charedi schools of Bein Adam L’Chaveiro there is an under-emphasis in many MO schools of Bein Adam L’Makom.

That said, I would note that this phenomenon is not exclusive to modern Orthodoxy. From the Jewish Week:

According to interviews with several students and administrators at Modern Orthodox day schools, the practice of texting on Shabbat is becoming increasingly prevalent, especially, but not exclusively, among Modern Orthodox teens.

But I think it is pretty clear where the greater problem lies. It lies with the ‘Lites’ of which most are modern and some are Charedi.

This is a great challenge for modern Orthodox rabbinic leaders. Shul rabbis and school principals need to figure out how to tackle this problem before it spirals out of control – if it hasn’t already.

Adult education seems like the way to go with this. Parents who are ‘lite’ have to be shaken out of their comfort zone of complacency and urged to pay more attention to the Bein Adam LaMakom. There needs to be more Mussar in those communities taught in the Shuls on a regular basis.

And it can’t just be haphazard. There needs to be a coordinated and organized effort by all Shul rabbis to implement a program that will instill a more Halachicly committed mindset to the ‘Lites’.

That is the only way that children will learn not to text on Shabbos. They have to see similar commitments at home. The best teacher of values is not the word of the parent but the action. Parents are the most important and significant people to a child and must be role models for them. One cannot live a life full of compromises and expect their children to not have any of their own.

Updated: 6:09PM CDT

Lord Jonathan Sacks - Following His Lead

Lord Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of England has corroborated what most of us already know – that Jewish education is the key to the survival of the Jewish people. And no institution has been better at education Jews than the Jewish day school.

I think that has become clear not only to Orthodox Jews but even to the leaders of other denominations. Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionists Jews have all begun setting up their own school system and Jewish Federations have been helping them. Many Federation leaders (at least here in Chicago) now understand the importance of a Jewish education beyond the hated afternoon classes that many young children are forced to attend after a full day in public school.

I recently wrote about the need to do something about the over 90% of American Jewry that have become so assimilated that in some cases there is barely any connection to their Judaism at all.

Intermarriage is at an all time high. Within a generation or 2 the vast majority of this 90% will be lost to Judaism completely – almost irretrievably. This simply cannot be allowed to happen.

I made some suggestions as a springboard for discussion about how we can change things. Basically we need to do better outreach and make our day schools attractive to the typical assimilated non observant Jew. Making the day school an attractive alternative to a public school education is a necessary key to success in keeping as many Jews Jewish as possible and perpetuating them into the future.

The biggest hurdle in my mind is the lack of will on the part of our rabbinic leadership. The second biggest hurdle is the increased level of financing Jewish education that is already overtaxing virtually every parent who isn’t at least a millionaire.

The overwhelming sense I got from much of the commentary to that essay was that changing the paradigm is a virtual impossibility.

I don’t think so. England actually did change the paradigm. Because there you have rabbinic leadership who was not willing to accept the status quo. From Jerusalem Post:

Speaking at a panel on the future of European Jewry at the Presidents Conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Sacks recalled how in 1993 he knowingly created an artificial sense of crisis to try and put an end to four decades of decline in the population of British Jews.

“We were losing Jews at an alarming rate,” he said. “If we did nothing, the community would die. The solution was clear to us: We had to rejuvenate the Jewish community, and we learned from history that education was the most powerful tool.”

To reach out to parents of Jewish children in Britain, he signed his name to a controversial ad campaign aimed at stirring up a public debate.

“In 1993 we took out a big advertisement of lovely young Jews, the kind you’d all want your children to be, and one by one they were falling into the abyss,” he said. “The headline read: Britain has been losing Jews every day for 40 years.”

The campaign worked.

Sacks said that in 2005, about 63 percent of Jewish children studied at Jewish day schools, as opposed to 25% in 1993.

All I can say is, WOW! A 38% increase in day school attendance in a span of 12 years. Apparently issues that prevent it from happening here did not prevent it from happening there.

As Orthodox feminist Ms. Blu Greenberg always says, ‘If there is a rabbinic will there is a Halachic way’.

I do not see any real Rabbinic will here. I instead see an emphasis on the concept of ‘Al Tharas HaKodesh’- a higher state of holiness. The current Zeitgeist is to create an environment of like minded individuals that will reject anything but the purist of Jews as members – certainly as far as day schools and high schools are concerned.

Parent bodies desire an ‘upgrading’ of admission standards so that their children will not be influenced by values they do not subscribe to. One school in Chicago just implemented a ‘No TV’ rule. All future admissions will require that there be no TV in the house. Most of the parents in that school don’t have one and are upset by those students who do - and come into the classroom every day talking about ‘what was on TV’ the night before. They want to eliminate that influence from their children. What about parents who do not want to remove TVs from their homes? ‘There are other day schools...’ they will be told.

This is exactly the opposite of what they should be doing. Isolating oneself even from members of your own religious community is a sure prescription for maintaining or perhaps even increasing assimilation out of Judaism to percentages much higher than 90%.

What value is there in isolating a child ‘Al Tharas HaKodesh’ to the point where there is no interaction with the outside world of even religious Jews? Is raising a child ‘Al Taharas HaKodesh’ worth abandoning the rest of Jewry to the winds?! Are all the students who attended this school before the new rule lesser Jews? Are they handicapped and unable to achieve the heights of Judaism that this new rule will ensure? Does this new rule make any real difference in how their students will turn out? I seriously doubt that.

I see no alternative. The status quo will in a generation or two beget a spiritual holocaust of no return. And it is being accelerated by school boards devoted to ‘raising the standards of religiosity’. How can we be so selfish as to allow that to happen?

Perhaps our rabbinic leaders should have a conversation with Lord Sacks.

A Lack of Humanity

I am not one of those knee-jerk advocates for Jonathan Pollard. As a trusted naval analyst with high security clearance he committed a serious crime - espionage - against his country. While his motives may have been in part altruistic he was paid money for that information. Giving sensitive secret information to Israel which he may have felt was vital to their cause was nonetheless wrong and not his call.

It seems pretty clear based on both the testimony at the trial and the continual attitude over the years by members Central Intelligence Agency that serious damage was done to national security at that time. Damage that may have endangered the lives covert CIA operatives.

On the other hand I also believe that based upon everything we know which includes clemency requests by numerous government officials - both past and present - that he has already been punished enough and ought to be released at this time.

However unlike many of those lobbying for his release right now, I do not think we ought to be spending any political capital on this because he is due for release in any event in a couple of years. That said, I still think he ought to be released now as a matter of both principle and humanitarian concern.

I bring all this up because of the recent death of Jonathan Pollard’s father, a man who stood by his son and tried to obtain his release over all these years. Jonathan’s attorneys asked that he be allowed to attend his father’s funeral. The request was denied.

I am frankly appalled at this lack of humanitarian concern for a human being who has been rotting in prison for decades. How in Heaven’s name can anyone justify not giving a man - who has never been given any furlough for any reason and has spent the last 25 years in a federal prison - permission to attend his father’s funeral? It is beyond my comprehension that his prison-keepers could be so cruel. How many fathers does this man have? Especially one who was so dedicated to his son? Could they not have allowed this one time release for the most basic of humanitarian reasons?

This is not what I have come to expect from this great Medinah Shel Chesed. I have no clue whose responsibility it is to grant requests such as these to federal prisoners, but whoever it is, I think he, she, or they failed miserably as human beings.

More Torah - Less Ehrlichkeit

I am pleased to present yet another prominent individual who feels the way I do on at least one serious issue that I have with the current state of religious education. I wrote about this recently and said pretty much the same thing. How many people will accuse this individual of Charedi bashing? I can certainly understand why they would. This individual feels exactly the same way I do. Here is an excerpt from an Ami Magazine interview - itself excerpted here:

" Years ago, doors were open for any child who wanted to learn. No one was afraid that a child would spoil others around him. If a child wanted to come to a Yeshiva, then he belonged there. We are so busy protecting our children today, yet more and more children are going off the derech. Why? Because they are made to feel like second class citizens."How then should a school develop its policies? Where do they draw the line who they accept? "

There shouldn't be a line! If you have a child in a school and you have a problem with him, then you deal with that problem. But to initially close the door to a child because you anticipate a problem is simply not fair.

Schools limit their parent body to this or to that- whether it's families whose fathers are only in learning or only mothers who cover their hair. If a child wants to come to your yeshiva let him come. He'll learn that some people devote themselves to a life of learning or that it's a mitzvah for a woman to cover her hair. What will happen? Why don't they let the child in?!"

"Reputation"... "That's what they're concerned about. The bottom line is, you can always make room for one more child. Certainly today's generation has more torah, but there's less ehrlichkeit (sincerity). There's too much emphasis on chitzoiniyus ( outward appearance) today.

What can we do about it? We can be more aware. We can try to change it. We can accept everyone for who they are. It's a matter of ahavas yisroel (love of every Jew); every yid is a yid and every mensch is a mensch. Even if a person is better in this aspect or that aspect than another, if someone sees the next person as a nothing, then he is the one with a problem."

All I can add to this wonderful insight is ‘Amen’!

Update: The person interviewed in this article is Rebbetzin Dovid Feinstein. Here is the opening paragraph in The Lakewood View:

The following is an excerpt from a recent Ami Living magazine interview with Rebetzin Feinstein. She relates what it was like growing up orthodox when most Jews were not observant, and the influence her parents, and her father in law, Rav Moshe Feinstein ZT'L, had on her life. At the end of the article she discusses a topic that is all too fitting for the current atmosphere in Lakewood.

Askan

It has come to my attention that once again a Charedi Jew has resorted to lying in order to make modern Orthodox Jews look bad. He usually posts here as Askan.

In a previous post about the negative experiences of a black fellow in the Charedi world, Askan decided that he would disguise himself as a black man. Using the pseudonym Leroy (in itself showing racist tendencies by using a name commonly used as a pejorative nickname for for a black man) Askan posted a comment about how badly the modern Orthodox community of Teaneck treated him.

In his guise as Leroy, Askan tried to imply that his formerly positive view of Orthodox Jewry was changed to a negative one because of my blog.

This seems to be the modus operandi of a significant part of the Charedi world. If you don’t like what someone says about you – attack him. Make him sound like the problem.

Instead of dealing with the problem they turn a blind eye to it and treat the messenger as the problem. His attitude about bloggers like me is - if we were only smart enough to sweep everything under the rug, no one would know the truth and we would retain our good name. As if there were no other media reporting any of it.

Unfortunately lying to protect image is an understandable consequence of an over-all Charedi attitude about the importance of protecting its image at all costs. And they cleverly and selectively cite Halachos about Lashon Hara and Mesira as justification for it.

This ends up with a philosophy that I believe is in part at the root of the problem.

One may never say anything negative about the Torah world under any circumstances. There is no such thing as evil in our midst. We are all basically all good and it is the evil media that vilifies us. If there is some issue that needs correcting we'll take care of it. But by all means keep it in house and under wraps. And the ‘Mussar’ coming out of those circles is that all accusations of impropriety by even the most responsible of reporters are not to be believed. Even when there is damning evidence of wrong doing.

If a religious Jew ends up being convicted of a crime - it was anti Semitism that did it. Not his proven guilt of a crime. All efforts are made to get a convicted felon out of jail because he wears a Yarmulke.

That is how the Charedi world is taught to think. That’s why biographies about Gedolim of yesteryear never mention anything that the Charedi world consider negative – even if other segments of Orthodoxy would consider it positive. In a Charedi biography every Gadol was born a Gadol – coming out of the womb wearing a Shtriemel!

So I can’t really blame this guy for thinking it’s OK to lie in order to make his point. But it is this very attitude that contributes to the problem. If we sweep everything under the rug (and by implication we do not fully co-operate with police investigating the crime) it perpetuates criminal activity. Frum criminals will never be reported to the police. It involves Lashon Hara and Mesirah. After all - what Frum person will violate these Halachos? Especially when public Mussar is more about that that than about the crimes that some Orthodox Jews are accused of committing?

This fellow – Askan – has not done the Charedi world any favors. He has instead reinforced the image Charedim as people bent on protecting their reputations at all cost – including lying about other Orthodox Jews in order make them look worse by comparison.

I don’t think he succeeded. At least not with me. I know too many Charedim who do not lie and feel the same way I do about many of the things I write about. Charedim do not lie any more than modern Orthodox Jews do. But the more Charedim there are like Askan - the harder it becomes to believe that about them. I hope he’s proud of himself.

An Ounce of Prevention

The above is a 33 minute video professionally recorded at one of Rabbi Yakov Horowtiz's abuse prevention talks. It teaches parents how to have "the most important conversation they will ever have with their kids"

Many people who are involved in protecting children from sex abuse feel that the only way we will stop this tragedy of abuse is to circumvent our institutions,take the case directly to the parents, and have them train their kids about personal safety.

I am therefore pleased to post this video as a public service and recommend that parents with 'camp age' children speak to them this week before camp starts. It is a message of paramount importance.

Does Communal Isolation Breed Bad Behavior?

An alert reader sent me the following question asked on ‘Yahoo Answers’ a few days ago. It describes experiences an African American man had living among religious Jews. I found it both very revealing and very troubling. Here is the question in its entirety:

This has been bugging me for a while. I've bounced around from different neighborhoods over the years, most of which were within walking distance of a synagogue and have taken part in many Jewish activities for fun, so this isn't from an ignorant standpoint. Where I live now, on the other side of the street are a few Orthodox Jewish houses. Here's the issue.

I used to say good morning, afternoon, etc. to Orthodox Jews that would pass by, gave back a set of keys to a man that forgot them at a bakery, and tried helping an elderly Orthodox Jewish lady that fell down, (I love this one) even had a woman tell her child that being black was a disease. They don't say anything back; the man didn't say thank you, he just took the keys from me; the elderly woman refused to let me touch her or help her up she just waited for the group of Orthodox Jews that were coming to her aid.

And if there's a group of them on the sidewalk, there is no way you can get passed without waiting off to the side. As for the woman, obviously she was just racist and I don't hold that against Orthodox Jewish people.I know, some of you are going to say well these are isolated incidents and are just coincidental....no they aren't.

Those are just a few that really stuck out in my mind over the years. I had lunch with a few of my friends and a teacher, some Jewish, and they told me that Orthodox Jewish people don't really associate themselves with people outside of their religious community, they feel that if you don't share the same religious views as they do, you have nothing to talk about, so you wouldn't be able to relate.

That's why they are secluded and have their homes within walking distance of kosher bakeries, deli, supermarkets, clothing/shoe stores, wig shops, Jewish schools, and synagogues. They didn't seem shocked when I told them about what the woman said to her child either, they said that you'll find that because Orthodox Jews are only social in religious community settings, many of them can be and are racist or ignorant due to their lack of exposure to other cultures/ religions.I don't know how accurate that is, because they don't live an orthodox lifestyle, but that makes perfect sense to me. Does anyone else know or can elaborate on why they're like that?

The answer given by a modern Orthodox Jew is the following:

It doesn't sound like you are talking about Orthodox Jews, but rather Ultra-Orthodox Jews. The Ultra-Orthodox Jews also split into two sects the Haredi and the Hasidic.

If you are a Christian you know there are dozens of types of Christians. It is important those who are not familiar with Judaism know there are almost a dozens types of practicing Jews as well.Many Ultra-Orthodox Jews particularly those who live in NYC (mostly Brooklyn and part of Queens) are in fact isolated from certain aspects of society. I would assume that you are talking about such Jews, please know they are a minority of the Orthodox Jewish population.As for the examples you gave, here is a little insight from a modern Orthodox Jew.

According to Ultra-Orthodox tradition women are prohibited from touching males who are not part of their family. It was nothing against you, but she just wasn't allowed to touch you because you are male.

I cannot excuse any racist remarks, but I can tell you that the Ultra-Orthodox Jews I know are not racist, but they don't live in NYC, so that makes them less isolated.As for the man and his keys, there is an Ultra-Orthodox practice of not speaking after one has washed his hands and before one has eat bread. If you gave the keys to this man during that period of time, he would not be able to thank you because he is not allowed to speak. I know that it might be a longshot, but sometimes it is nice to give the other person the benefit of the doubt.

I think that you are a nice person who is troubled by a culture and religion that you don't understand. I hope I was able to give you some perspective into some of the more odd aspects of their lifestyle that can come off as offensive.

Even though he makes a distinction between Orthodox Jews and ultra Orthodox he judges their rude behavior favorably – explaining it as necessarily Halachic with no ill intent. I agree that there was probably no ill intent. But I otherwise do not read this man’s experiences as being necessarily based in Halacha. I am in fact embarrassed by the behavior this man experienced. I see it as indigenous to those segments of Jewry that are the most isolated. The more isolated they are the more they tend to act in this way.

Let us examine what happened.

An elderly woman who falls and refuses to be helped by a black man. Is it because of the prohibition against physical contact? Perhaps. But I wonder if there wasn’t an element of racism attached. She did after all wait for Orthodox Jews to come along after refusing help. Were those Jews only women? Even if so does she not understand the concept of Chasid Shoteh? A Chasid Shoteh is man That the Talmud considers an idiot because of his Frumkeit - refusing to save a woman’s life because of the prohibition of touching a woman.

The explanation about the key incident sounds equally unlikely. There was no mention about a restaurant. A man forgot his keys at a bakery. This ‘good Samaritan’ spotted the keys, grabbed them and ran over to return them. Placing this incident in a restaurant in a circumstance where the Jew had just washed for HaMotzi and unable to talk is a real stretch.

I believe that it was nothing more than simple self- centeredness. It shows that Hakoras HaTov – gratitude - does not exist in that Jew’s life – at least as it applies to a non Jew – or perhaps it was even racist because the ‘good Samaritan’ was black. Where does it say that one may not say thank you to a non Jew? Nowhere! But it is clear to me that when a religious Jew behaves badly like that - it is Chilul HaShem!

The fact that this fellow clearly states that these are not isolated experiences testifies to a larger truth: Jews who live isolated lives separate and apart from the rest of civilization probably don’t even realize how their behavior appears to others. Either that or they simply don’t care – which is much worse.

I understand why the modern Orthodox fellow answered the way he did. He wanted to put the best face on a bad situation. I applaud him for that. But at best his answer is a band-aid to ‘cover up’ a problem indigenous to entire groups of Jews.

Those whose philosophies encourage living in total isolation from the rest of the world will beget the kind of behavior this black man commonly experiences. What this type of isolation gains in spirituality is therefore negated by the Chilul HaShem of the self-centered and perhaps even racist behavior that it breeds.

Selling Snake Oil - Hitting a New Low

I should have already gotten used to it by now. But I haven’t. It seems that every week in just about every Orthodox Jewish medium, my senses become assaulted with yet another pitch for Tzedaka via purchasing a Segula of some sort.

A Segula is an artifact or action that is seen to provide miraculous Godly solutions to whatever ails you.

Frankly I’m not even sure how the word came to be understood that way. Segula is used in the Torah in connection with the word people and it refers to the Jewish people. We are told by God that we are an Am Segula - a treasured people (Shemos 19:5; Devorim 7:6, 14:2, 26:18). I doubt tha as used today they have any real validity.

Be that as it may it has come to be used by certain segments of our people - most notably by Sephardim and Chasidim and has apparently gained increasing popularity in other segments of Orthodoxy.

There are many such artifacts that have gained currency even outside of Jewry in recent years. Most notably the ‘red bendel’ -a red piece of thread that has been wound 7 times around the monument of our Matriarch Rachel located in Bethlehem. Wearing it on your wrist is supposed to give you some measure of Divine protection or good luck. Pop music icon, Madonna wears one constantly.

Most of us just laugh it off. At least that is what I thought. But apparently a lot more people take is seriously than I thought. Not just the ‘red bendel’. But just about any Segula that is being sold on the market today – if the right people are selling it.

We of the more prominent ones is Talimdei Chachamim, saying Tehillim for you at the Kotel for 40 days straight. Others have included giving a certain amount of money to the right Tzedaka in exchange for make a woman fertile. These Segulos are being sold’ by Tzedaka organization desperate to provide funds. The idea being that if you ‘this or that’ Segula your specific problem will be solved.

The need for funding the poor in Israel these days is so great that the Tzedaka organizations are desperate for additional funds. The traditional (and respectable) methods of straight forward appeals to the public for Tzedaka because the need is so great has obviously not produced enough money to meet the current need. But selling Segulos has been very successful in ‘increasing the take’ for these organizations. I don’t know if all their needs are met, but there can be no doubt about the success of selling Segulos.

So the pitch is no longer about the need. The pitch is for the Segula. The actual purpose of the Tzedaka is hardly even mentioned. The ads – usually in the form of slick a multi colored pamphlet designed by talented graphic artists – are all about the wonders of the particular Segula. There are always pictures of respected Charedi rabbinic leaders in Israel liberally plastered all over those pamphlets showing them donating to that charity and by implication endorsing the Segula.

These adds also feature testimonials by those who used the ‘Segula of the week’who tell us how it miraculously helped them achieve the claims made of it in the ad.

The latest such Segula is featured in Marty Bluke’s ‘The Jewish Worker’ blog. It is a Segula ring made out of silver. The ring is promoted as the salvation to a myriad of problems: From curing mental and physical illnesses, to solving financial and legal problems, to providing Shidduchim… you name it!

And whose name do we find at the bottom of this ad? Among others, Rav Moshe Sternbuch. I don’t know Rav Sternbuch, but I seriously doubt that he would approve of this ad – even if he approves of the Tzedaka organization behind it.

It is rather well known that rabbinic leaders allow their good names to be used to raise money for the poor. It is also rather well known that these organizations misuse those names to imply endorsement of the ‘Segula of the week’. They take general statements made out of context and put them in quotes on the ad to make it seem like they are endorsing the exact Segula they are selling at the moment.

To say these ads are misleading is an understatement. The ad bout 40 Talmidei Chachamim that will daven for you at the Kotel shows pictures of renowned and elderly rabbinic leaders that are photoshopped to make it seem like the are all saying Tehillim together at the same for purpose of the Segula in the ad.

I cannot remember a more misleading practice in my lifetime by any Tzedaka organization. I know the need is great. But appealing to desperate people by implying that all their ills will be cured via a donation is the oldest trick in the book. But the slick 21st century advertising methods used by the modern day snake oil salesman has taken this phenomenon to a new low.

Many of the people they appeal to have serious life threatening illnesses and are being goiven false hope in the name of Tzedaka. And names like Rav Moshe Sternbuch, Rav Chaim Kanievsky, Rav Aharon Leib Steinman are being freely used in the cause.

I can’t think of too many things lower than giving false hope to desperate people. That the cause of Tzedaka is a legitimate one does not take away from the disgusting method they employ in raising funds. And yet we are in the midst of an explosion of these kinds of ads hitting virtually all of the Jewish media. They must really be successful in selling this snake oil.

Recently Rav Kanievsky was asked about a quote that was attributed to him in one of these ads. He answered that the quote was nothing more than a reference to a Gemarah he quoted in an entirely different context. But that didn’t stop the Tzedaka organization from using it to promote their snake oil.

I cannot understand why this is allowed to go on. Most of the people behind these ads are people who listen to their Gedolim. If even a single one of them would voice strong opposition it would stop. If they banded together and issued a ban on this type of advertising with the same force they put into bans on concerts, it would end it once and for all.

The question is, why don’t they do it? Why do they continue to tolerate snake oil salesmen in their midst? I truly do not understand.

Update: A history of these kinds of ads can be found in this link.

Making a Significant Dent

The evolution of the Yeshiva system in America is a tremendous success story. It has turned a story of near universal melting pot assimilation of Jewry into one of growing number of observant Jews. It has created a system where more Jews are learning Torah in more Yeshivos and are therefore more knowledgeable about Judaism than at any time in history. If one looks at the sheer numbers of Jews who are Shomer Shabbos in America today compared to numbers pre- Holocaust it boggles the mind. And those numbers are growing exponentially. All while the numbers in non Orthodox segments seem to be declining.

And yet as noted by the hard statistical numbers, Orthodox Jews are at best about 10% of the total number of Jews. It is also true that within Orthodoxy, many Jews are dropping out – perhaps as many as are ‘dropping in’ via successful outreach. I’m not sure which is greater – those leaving observance or those embracing it. But suffice it to say that we have a major problem. The success story of the Yeshiva system comes at a price. And it is a price that I do not think we have to pay.

The price of success for the Yeshiva in America is in large part due to its strength. Orthodoxy’s growth in numbers has created enough of a critical mass in each of the various Hashkafos to create a widely diverse Yeshiva system.

60 years ago when the American Yeshiva was relatively small and struggling for survival, diversity was a luxury that Orthodoxy could not afford. The pioneering Yeshivos – especially in outlying areas fought for every student they could get. Hashkafos were not an issue. The only issue was attracting students. This meant appealing to parents. Parents in the 50s and 60s - both irreligious and religious - wanted much the same thing for their children. A good secular education, character development, and a positive environment. The more religious a parent was, the more they cared about religious studies. And of course religious studies were never neglected in a Yeshiva.

But now because of our exponential growth we have a religious diversity that has created highly specialized schools that cater to only specific Hashkafos and are designed mostly for children from religious homes.

For Charedim the focus is almost completely on learning Torah, the more Charedi, the less emphasis there is on secular studies. In some cases they completely eschew secular studies. At the other end of the Orthodox spectrum modern Orthodoxy has a far greater emphasis on academics to the point where some schools have reduced the time spent on Torah learning to the barest minimum.

Competition within each segment for the best and brightest student has contributed mightily to the ‘children at risk’ phenomenon. Educators across the specrtrum of Orthodoxy realize this problem and are trying to figure out solutions to it. But what they have not discussed is the fact that the American Yeshiva has forgotten about the assimilated Jew. They have pretty much written him off.

Charedi Yeshivos are almost exclusively populated by observant almost exclusively Charedi students. I believe this is true to a lesser extent even in modern Orthodox schools. Most students come from come from modern Orthodox backgrounds. Very few – if any – come from secular backgrounds.

This leaves the assimilated non observant Jews to either one of the heterodox movements or Orthodox outreach organizations. While Orthodox outreach has been very successful over the last 40 or so years – as a percentage of the whole, they have hardly made a dent in the numbers of Jews who remain assimilated – many of whom are rapidly intermarrying and dropping out of their Jewish identity entirely.

This need not be the case. But Orthodoxy has to change its outreach and educational paradigm in order to make any significant changes. How, one might ask is that possible when there are so many factions that are often at each other’s throats? If we have a common enemy – assimilation – it can be done. Re-introducing quality secular studies programs into all Orthodox schools is a key element in any attempt at change.

How can we convince a Charedi school that eschews secular studies to have it as part of their curriculum? The answer is that not only is it possible but it’s been done. And it’s been done with the blessing of even the most right wing Gedolim of yesteryear. All that is needed is the recognition by today’s rabbinic leadership of the need – much the same way they recognized it when Yeshivos were struggling for students back in the 50s and 60s.

We need a two pronged approach in reaching out to our assimilated brethren.

One is in the way we relate to them which means engaging with them as much as possible socially. I would use the NCSY paradigm as the basis for our interactions. NCSY emphasizes the positive and de-emphasizes the negative.

For example when dealing with Shabbos, we don’t start by teaching the 39 Melachos which are forbidden on Shabbos. And we certainly don’t emphasize any attendant Chumros one or another of us might have picked up in our own lives. We start by inviting a family over for a Shabbos meal and showing them the positive environment of the Shabbos table. The 39 Melachos comes much later once they are ‘hooked’ on observant Judaism via the beauty of the positive side.

The second thing is to create a Yeshiva system that is appealing to the wider Jewish community. This means mandating a secular studies program that competes with or even surpasses the best of the public school system. It means having a program that emphasizes the importance of Torah learning and yet provides the best of secular learning. One that includes many tracks for all kinds of diversity (e.g. background, intelligence, special interests, learning disabilities, etc.) but unites the student body socially.

Character development should be emphasized at all time. It should be full of various enrichment programs for both religious and secular studies. And each teacher should be equipped and mandated to go out into the secular Jewish world and ‘sell’ their product. A product that for which they are a role model.

The argument that Charedi Yeshivos would never do that is false. Lakewood’s prototype Yeshiva high school in Philadelphia once had a top notch secular studies program. They were known for it. In recent years it has declined because the parents (many of whom are graduates of this very yeshiva or one like it) are now demanding more Torah and less secular studies. This is how they have been indoctrinated. Obviously this is not Halacha since the Philadelphia Yeshiva always had a good secular program. Telshe Yeshiva to this day vigorously defends retaining a secular studies program, although it too has diminished its importance.

These two Yeshivos demonstrate that having a good secular studies program need not mean a Yeshiva must change from Charedi to TIDE or TuM. We can still have Hashkafic diversity in Yeshivos without sacrificing the quality of a secular studies program. By the same token a TIDE or TuM Yeshiva needs to sacrifice their Torah learning to achieve excellence in academic studies.

This should be the prototype for all Yeshivos across the spectrum of Orthodoxy. While it may seem like an impossibility, I don’t think it is. If the leadership of all segments of Orthodoxy put their heads together and consider the benefits, it can be done. It will make Yeshivos far more attractive to parents who want to embrace observant Judaism but insist on good academics for their children. And it will have the additional benefit of tackling the ‘Kids at Risk’ phenomenon. This is what a diverse curriculum and student body can do for a child whose greatest strengths are not necessarily in Torah learning.

What about financing? Parents currently are taxed to the hilt – spending ever spare dollar they have on tuition for schools that don’t offer half the things I’m talking about. I don’t have any great answer to this problem. But I would remind people that the Philadelphia Yeshiva had a good secular studies program despite the income levels of its parent body. There are also plenty of wealthy Jews in all denominations that would be willing to put money into a Jewish educational system that works for everybody.

These are just some of my ideas about how we can change the Jewish heart and mind from one of Jewish indifference to one of Jewish pride. This may be a ‘pie in the sky’ idea but I believe that at the very least it should serve as a basis to begin the discussion.

Combating Assimilation

Not long ago I wrote a post that dealt with assimilation in America. I maintained that a certain amount of assimilation is a good thing. But as in all things, too much of it is bad and can lead to disastrous results.

The one downside to the freedom this great country offers its citizens is that too many Jews have opted out of their Judaism rather quickly. For Jews in pre Holocaust America it was particularly difficult to remain religious. Combined with an appalling lack of formal Jewish education for Jews the assimilationist pull of the ‘melting pot society’ was almost impossible to overcome. Jews were leaving observance in droves – happy to run away from the ‘embarrassing’ old country ways of the parents. They could not wait to become full fledged Americans in every sense of the word – and live the good life that this country promised them.

Of course this all changed after the Holocaust with the influx of many survivors who were intent on retaining their heritage. The time was ripe for a system of education where young people would learn to appreciate rather than reject their parent’s religious ways. Thus the day school as we know it today was born.

Holocaust survivors provided the student body for an explosion in day schools all over the country. Pioneers of Jewish education were quick to respond to the sudden change in demographics, established day schools and sent their best educators to cities all over America.

That stopped the hemorrhaging of Jews leaving Judaism. But the damage had been done. Even though the day school phenomenon had turned the tide and religious Jews growing in number, the numbers of Jews whose parents and grandparents had immigrated to this country and stayed religious was minuscule.

Even after over six decades of Orthodox growth I believe the percentage of non observant Jews in this country is still well over 90%! Intermarriage is at an all time high. The only segment of Jewry that is growing is the Orthodox minority. Other Jewish segments are declining in population.

The swing away from the melting pot society of the 60s helped a bit. Everything is about ethnic pride now. There are more Jews than ever finding their roots and becoming observant. But I believe that number is tiny by comparison to those opting out of any connection to their Judaism.

How does one combat this? How can we get assimilated Jews in the 21st century to return to their roots and appreciate their heritage? Is it too late? Should we just be resigned to the eventual loss of the majority of our people and concentrate on building from within?

There are some people who suggest that we have no choice but to do that. The numbers are simply too great to change anything. They argue that the future of Judaism is in teaching the children of the already committed. Not that they eschew outreach. They do believe it should be done, but they believe – with some justification – that the percentages of Jews that we can reach is tiny and that most assimilated Jews simply do not care that they are Jewish.

The entertainment media that is filled with many Jewish screenwriters are constantly portraying intermarriage in a positive light – in many cases reflecting their own marital situations. That certainly helps to explain the increasingly high intermarriage rate.

It is interesting to note that both the Conservative and Reform movement have noted the decline of their own numbers and have tried to combat it in ways that are almost opposite of their original principles. Many Reform leaders are openly advocating Mitzvah observance albeit voluntarily. Conservative leaders have looked at the success of Orthodoxy and realize that it is very much tied to the kind of education we give our children. They have therefore had a major push in setting up their own day schools. Even the Reform movement has tried to set up religious day schools for their children.

The question is what do we Orthodox Jews do about all this? Do we just keep doing what we have and ‘tend to ourselves’ leaving it outreach organizations to do what they can with their limited results (as a percentage of the whole)?

My answer to that is no. Kol Yiosroel Areivim Zeh LaZeh. We cannot in good conscience write of 90% of American Jewry – millions of people! First we should not only support the current outreach organizations but redouble our commitment to them.

But I believe we can do more. The answer is to promote the day school. Jewish education should be the goal of all young Jews starting from nursery school through at least high school. We Orthodox ought to stop being so self centered and open up our doors. We ought to hearken back to the beginning of the day school movement and invite all Jewish children in.

Instead of closing doors via the current elitism that plagues us we ought to be opening doors. If Beis Yehuda in the Detroit of the 50s and 60s could have a student base where 70% comes from non observant homes, there is no reason we can’t have the same thing today.

There is enough money to do it. To paraphrase Orthodox feminist Blu Grenberg: If there is a rabbinic will there will be a financial way. The problem isn’t so much financial as it is motivational. We need to be motivated ourselves and we need to motivate assimilated parents to allow their children to attend such schools. If the educational pioneers could convince the assimilated parents of the melting pot 50s and 60s, how much more so should we be able to convince the ethnic conscious assimilated parents of today.

Where will the money come from? Consider that since its founding an organization that was created to do just that spent $65 million since its founding. They were in the main unsuccessful. But their failure should not be looked at as the last best hope - and then abandoned. I believe that in the right hands it could be more successful than their wildest dreams.

The leaders of that organization need to think out of their current box and look to some of the early pioneers for ways to go about it. We may not get every Jew in America to return to their heritage. But we can certainly do better than abandoning 90% of American Jewry.

Exactly how we go about it is above my pay grade. The devil is definitely in the details. But if enough of our best and brightest from the entire spectrum of Orthodoxy put their heads together, you never know what can be achieved. That will take Achdus – which has always been an elusive goal. But what better way to achieve Achdus than with this?

Skokie Jew

There’s a gentleman (and I use the term loosely) who comments here fairly regularly that identifies as Skokie Jew. I have no clue who he is since he has refused to identify himself to me. He claims to be a Talmid of Rav Ahron Soloveichik. But he has proven himself to be very far from being Rav Aharon’s Talmid.

In an unbelievably brazen but grossly misguided attempt to defend the elementary school where he is a parent, he has called up the principal and demanded the resignation of a teacher who is the wife of another frequent commenter on my blog who had written about a bad educational experience he had there as a student. Skokie Jew saw that as an attack against the school. Neither I nor anyone else saw it that way. Every school has had students that did not do well. No school is perfect. But this ‘gentleman’ obviously felt that saying anything other than that the school was, is and always will be anything but perfect is sacrilege!

Furthermore he has threatened to take legal action against me if I refused to take down the comments that so upset him. All this without ever identifying himself.

First I want to make absolutely clear what my attitude about that school is. Yeshiva Tifferes Tzvi (YTT) for the boys and Joan Dachs Beis Yaakov (JDBY) for girls are both terrific schools that parents, teachers and administrators there can all rightfully be proud of. Five of my grandchildren attend that school. They are all happy, well adjusted, and doing well in both Limudei Kodesh and Limudei Chol. Their parents (my daughter and son in law) are extremely happy with the school.

Yes, its Hashkafos are definitely Charedi. If you are Charedi and want an exclusively Charedi education for your child that is where you should send them. That its Hashkafos are different from my own does not detract from their excellence as a school nor the success they have had in their mission. Furthermore I personally never saw any intolerance there in any of my relatively frequent visits there.

I happened to attend events there today for two different grandchildren - a granddaughter who graduated nursery school and a grandson (7th grade) who along with several of his classmates made a Siyum on Meseches Makkos. All I can say is that I had nothing but pure Nachas from both of them. I just returned from that Siyum. It was a beautiful event and every parent and grandparent of those boys should be proud of their achievement. It was all done in addition to their regular classes.

As for their secular studies program, I defy anyone to find a better Limudei Chol principal than Rabbi Ephraim Kletenik. Furthermore I have nothing but respect and admiration for YTT principal Rabbi Zev Meisels and JDBY principal Mrs. Ahuva Wainhaus.

How does my grandson do in secular studies? Let me just say that I will match his 7th grade secular knowledge against any 7th grader in any other school.

I just wanted to make as clear as possible my own views about the particular school in question. But that is not the point of this post. The point of this post is to condemn in the strongest possible terms the unmitigated Chutzpah to call up a school anonymously and demand that a teacher be fired because of a comment made on my blog by her husband.

Chutzpah doesn’t even begin to describe how despicable that was - as was the anonymous manner in which it was done.

That this ‘gentleman’ calls himself a Talmid of my Rebbe, Rav Ahron is an embarrassment. He has no clue about my Rebbe at all. His Hashkafos are as radically different from my Rebbe as is Satmar from Mizrachi.

If this ‘gentleman’ was anything like his Rebbe, he would send his children to a school, like his Rebbe did - one that says Hallel on Yom Ha’atzmaut. If he was anything like his Rebbe he would know that the absolute last thing his Rebbe would ever do is to demand that a teacher be fired from a job! If he was anything like his Rebbe, he would never hide behind an alias!

I am thoroughly disgusted and I apologize to the school, to the teacher, and to her family for any part I had in causing them problems!