Emes Ve-Emunah

Image from the Jewish Press

I like the Jewish Press. I wish other Orthodox weekly publications were more like them. They are by far the most inclusive Orthodox weekly periodical. A wide variety of Hashkafic perspective are published by them. They feature regular columns from Charedim, Lubavitch, and Modern Orthodox rabbis. They even feature a monthly column by Open Orthodox founder Rabbi Avi Weiss. And they have been very gracious to me in publishing hundreds of my post in their online edition. And a few even in there print edition. Nor do they refuse to publish pictures of women.

But - as I have stated in the past -there is one thing about their editorial policy that troubles me. It permeates just about every story they do. It is their very right wing approach to Religious Zionism. Now they certainly have a right to their opinion. And I hate to bite the hand that feeds me. (Well, they don’t exactly feed me since they do not pay me anything. But they do give my articles a wider audience - allowing me to reach people I would not otherwise be able to. And for that I am very grateful.)

So why does their version of Religious Zionism trouble me? Because in my view it borders on the extreme. I had written a post about an example of this a few months ago. To their credit they published it despite the fact that my views were diametrically opposite theirs. The critics opposing my views that commented on it were vicious. Including a threat from one individual to have my posts banned from the Jewish Press. Thankfully they have not banned me.

The Jewish Press subsequently published a rather harsh rebuttal to my post. I submitted a response to that rebuttal which they did not publish. I suppose they have a right to have the last word. It’s their paper.

I’m afraid I have to do this again. And if they choose to publish this one, they will not doubt have a similar response.

Yesterday’s online edition of the Jewish Press featured an upbeat story about a marriage that took place on Har HaBayis - the Temple Mount. They described the details of how this came about and could not have expressed more joy that it happened – wishing a hearty Mazel Tov to the young couple. As if the most normal and Jewish thing one could do was to get married on Har HaBayis.

My immediate thought was, ‘How many Jews are going to be killed because of this?’ This kind of comment always precipitates rejoinders like the following from the right wing of Religious Zionists:

‘How dare you blame the victim?!’ ‘Jews get randomly get stabbed and you blame an unrelated event that had nothing to do with the victim who was killed or wounded?!’ ‘What is the matter with you?!’ What kind of a self hating Jew are you?! ‘Go join up with your friends Hamas since you seem to be endorsing killing Jews randomly!’ ‘If your worried about inciting the Arabs to violence, why not bar Jews from living in Tel Aviv?! (…love that one.) ‘The truth is they don’t want Jews living anywhere in ‘Palestine’ which to them is every inch of Eretz Yisroel including Tel Aviv.’

I suppose in the eyes of people who share those views it makes me an antisemite.

Well, I am not an antisemite. I just care that Jews might be killed because some people got their jollies getting married on Har HaBayis. There is little doubt in my mind that the series of almost daily stabbings in all parts of Israel that began back in October – is a result of these kinds of activities on Har Habayis that took place at that time. There were no Jews stabbed on a daily basis like this prior to that. Not in Tel Aviv and not even in East Jerusalem.

That violence finally seems to have died down. But I fear that an incident like this may rekindle it by Arabs worried about losing the Al-Aqsa Mosque – something a few even more fanatic Jews have been promising to do.

First of all, Har Habayis is not a wedding hall. Even if we had full control of it. The idea that one wants to get married in the holiest place on earth may have its appeal – even if it is not designed to be used that way. But at what price?!

Yes. As I have said numerous times. Har HaBayis belongs to the Jewish people and no one else. But God in His infinite wisdom has put obstacles in front of us. He has allowed another nation to place a building in its heart in service to their own religion. And has assured that all the nations of the world support them. God does not appear to want us up there now.

The Charedi Gedolim of yesteryear and even the current Charedi rabbinic leaders have issued a blanket Issur- forbidding entry to any part of Har HaBayis. That’s because Jews in our day are in a presumed state of perpetual Tumah – spiritual uncleanliness. We’ve lost our ability to remove ourselves from that state.The Makom HaMikdash may not be entered in that state. Now it is true that there are some areas that allow people that are Tameh. But the Charedi Gedolim fearful that those areas may be breached inadvertently or otherwise have decreed that all Jews should stay of of Har HaBayis. I agree with them.

Religious Zionist rabbis on the other hand – have determined which areas are permissible and allow – and perhaps even encourage people to go up there. I could not disagree with them more. First for the reasons the Charedi Gedolim have given. But also because it incites them to violence. I believe that the Charedi rabbinic leaders agree with that reason too. That is unarguable. I suppose the reason Religious Zionists encourage Jews to go up there is to assert our rights. To make it known to the Arabs that we are not relinquishing them. Besides, the Israeli government approves of it. The idea being that both Jews and Arabs have a right and are therefore allowed to go up there.

To me this is exceptionally foolhardy and has brought untold tragedy upon Klal Yisroel. I see no upside to the wedding ceremony that occurred there. Only a downside. And I protest it strongly – as well as protesting the Jewish Press approval of it.

I want to make one thing perfectly clear. My motives in protesting it is in service to saving Jewish lives. It is simply not worth putting the lives of all Israeli citizens at risk in order to show that Arabs who’s boss. Until it can be proven that going up there does not do so, I will remain opposed to it no less than the current Charedi leaders are.

Joseph Waldman calling the bank about the money given to him in error (YWN)

How sad it is that when an Orthodox Jew from Kiryas Joel is honest, it make the news. YWN reported a story about a Chasidic man that returned money to a bank that was given to him in error. Kiryas Joel resident Joseph Waldman cashed a check for $25 dollars and was given $2500 instead by the teller.

Every Jew has an obligation to be honest. Stealing from a bank is a violation of the law of the land - the Dina D’Malchusa. Which makes it a violation of Halacha. But even without that, to allow for a possible Chilul HaShem is not in anybody’s interest – except for the antisemites of the world who revel in stories about dishonest Jews. They salivate about these kinds of stories we constantly hear about in the media.

Well this time there is what YWN calls a Kiddush HaShem. Perhaps. But consider the possible consequences of his not having returned the money. It is very possible the bank would have traced the error back to him. And then he would probably have been criminally charged with theft. So not only would he have been ethically wrong, he would have been criminally wrong.

And that would have been a Chilul HaShem. Mr. Waldman was very wise to return the money. He was additionally wise to record the conversation with the bank informing them of the mistake and to have someone take a video of the actual return. This way everyone can see what he did.

I have to wonder though, why he didn’t immediately notice that the money he got back was far in excess of the $25 dollars he was supposed to get. What took him so long to notice? Most people count the money they receive from a bank teller to see if they got the right amount back. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he was in a hurry, just took the envelop with the cash in it, and ran out without checking to see if the amount he received was correct.

That this story makes news - makes it a ‘man bites dog’ story. Which implies that most of the time Orthodox Jews will not think twice about keeping money given to them in error. Which is the way of the world I suppose. But aren't we supposed to be the most ethical nation in the world? Shouldn't our standards be higher than''the way of the world'?

It is so sad that so many Jews do not take seriously our mandate to represent the values of the Torah. So that when some does, it becomes news.

At the end of the day, I applaud what Mr. Waldman did. He did the right thing – even if he decided to record himself doing it and so that others could see it. I just wish it wasn’t so newsworthy that an Orthodox Jew is so honest.

Chasidic activist Ezra Freidlander (left) and Governor John Kasich (JTA)

When I say we are in the silly season, I’m not kidding. Yesterday I saw a couple of videos of Ohio Governor John Kasich touring Orthodox sections of Brooklyn. One was in a book store and the other (courtesy of Rafi’s ‘Life in Israel’ blog and available for viewing below) was in a Matzah factory. I say silly because of the way Mr. Kasich looked throughout that tour. I don’t think I have even seen a facial expression that looked more like ‘get me out of here’ than I saw on Mr. Kasich’s face. Not to mention the absurdity of his comments about Jesus in front of all of those Chasidic Jews.

Now, I am sure that Governor Kasich is not an antisemite. But that didn’t make him look any less uncomfortable in that environment. The question is why? Why would a group of obviously religious Jews make him so uncomfortable (or at least look that way – even if he wasn’t)?

I think that the answer is the distinct cultural look of these Chasidic Jews. They look radically different from most of the American mainstream. He probably felt like he was on a different planet.

Please do not misunderstand. I would be the first one to defend the the right of any group or individual to dress in any manner they please as long as it was lawful. The freedom to be who we are and express our differences is one of the values I hold dear about this magnificent country in which we live.

But that doesn’t mean that it won’t make you uncomfortable to be surrounded by a group of people that look so radically different than the rest of a society. Of which you are a part. So it is not the religion, or the Orthodoxy that makes him uncomfortable. It is the specific look of a specific segment that might.

The irony is that part of the reason that Chasidim look this way is specifically to be different. They do not want to look like the rest of a society whose culture they perceive as decadent and reject. They take literally the biblical admonition of Lo Selechu B’Chukas HaGoy (do not follow in the statutes of a non Jew) and Uv'Chukosehem Lo Selechu (in their statutes you should not follow).

Another more mainstream interpretations of this Halacha is that it applies only to the immoralities of their culture. Not to all of it. But for Chasdidm anything a non Jew does, should be avoided by a Jew.

So to Chasidim - if a non Jew wears a suit, we must wear a Kapote or Bekeshe. If a non Jew wears a normal looking fedora, we need to make a hat that looks different. If a non Jew speaks English well, we must not.

I hasten to add that wearing a Kipa - which almost every Orthodox Jew does - makes Orthodox Jews stand out and look different, too. But I think it is a question of degree.

For Chasidim - so strong is their desire to not follow the culture that they try to isolate themselves. What better way to accomplish that, then to look and sound so radically different. Their thinking is - if you don’t look and sound like a ‘Goy’ you won’t act like one. Which is a terrible way to behave. Wear your own distinctive clothing and speak English only when necessary (Yiddish being the preferred language) so that you will not be tempted to join them since they will look at you as weird anyway.

However, if you look at the video of Governor Kasich and these Chasidic Jews, there is a very definite attempt by the Chasidic activists accompanying Mr. Kasich to get him to like them… to appreciate their culture. They go out of their way to explain the beauty of Judaism as they understand it and live it. They fully understand that making a good impression on a possible future President is important. It is always a good idea to have a national leader look favorably upon a constituency.

For his part Governor Kasich understands the kind of voting power that exists in Chasidic world. That’s why he’s there. To get their block vote. But I’m not sure it worked out for either of those goals. Kasich kind of blew it with his Jesus comment. And I don’t think the Chasidic Jews succeeded in making a favorable impression on him either.

In one of those videos, Kasich asked some Chasidic Yeshiva students what they were studying. They answered the Talmud. He said that he meant what specific material they were studying. They answered they were studying about ‘Shabbat’. I have to wonder if Kasich even knows that many Chasidim do not have a secular education at all… which is one reason they do not speak English well. That the only subjects they study are religious subjects. How would he feel about that if he knew? Would he even care? …as long as he gets their block vote?

At the end of the day, no one did anything wrong. Aside from my issues about their lack of education (which leads to a whole slew of other problems) I have no problem with choosing the lifestyle they lead, including the way they look and sound. God bless them for living the ideals of Judaism as they understand them as long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others. That – like I always say – is what America is all about.

Chasidim should however realize that there may be negative consequences to that. I doubt for example that Governor Kasich or any non Jew that has this kind of encounter would ever say that their way of life is one that should be emulated.

University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor (NPR)

I was recently asked by a woman I respect (even though we disagree on a few things) to comment on an essay Rabbi Steven Pruzansky wrote on his own personal blog. I responded that I was not inclined to comment, because of the overwhelmingly negative response already published - with which I agreed. I felt that I had nothing to add.What he wrote was out of line and wrong, but since there has been so much written about it, I did not want to pile on. She responded that my voice was needed since I am viewed as someone more right wing than those who were currently responding.

I thought about it, but I just wasn’t sure how to express my feelings about it accurately. However, I understand the need so I have decided to add my voice to those who have criticized his essay.

What Rabbi Pruzansky seems to be saying is that despite identifying it as such there is no such thing as a rape culture on college campuses these days. What is called rape today would never have been called rape in the past. But because of our promiscuous times - where ‘hooking up’ seems to be the norm - a coed who cries rape by a fellow student hasn’t really been really raped at all. It is a relationship gone bad. He thereby excuses a rapist that had some sort of relationship with the victim. In short he seems to be promoting a kind of ‘blame the victim’ mentality.

Here is the thing, though. Unwanted sex is rape, whether it is at gunpoint or at a party where alcohol and/or drugs are being served. Can anyone imagine it wouldn’t be? Excusing or explaining it away because of a permissive culture where women are willing participants does not change that fact. Does he not realize that it doesn’t matter what kind of relationship there is? Has he not heard of marital rape? If a woman does not want to have sex with any man and is forced to have it - it is rape. Period.

How does Rabbi Pruzansky think his words affect the women that were rape victims over time? Here is an excerpt from one rape victim’s response:

I was traumatized by the experience of being a rape victim and having the cops doubt my credibility, and am re-traumatized when people like you today suggest it was my fault.

It doesn’t matter whether the rapist was carrying a weapon, a roofie to put in a victim’s drink, or emotionally manipulates them. Rape is rape…

60 percent of rapes are unreported (90 percent on campus) because women have given up trying to convince people like you that they were subjected to a violent, demeaning, dehumanizing condition, one that could cost them their lives, by men who simply wanted to assert their power over them.

Last Friday the RCA posted an open letter on Facebook responding to Rabbi Pruzansky. It more or less reflects my own view here. Here are the key excerpts:

(Rabbi Pruzansky) argued in a way that many find objectionable and was hurtful to many who themselves were victims of sexual violence or who were troubled by what he said…

The empathetic, pastoral ear and heart that were absent from his entry implicated his colleagues. We as religious leaders feel an added and primary responsibility for compassion, for the defense of the weak and the vulnerable, and to defend those who are or consider themselves victims of aggression and assault…

However, we are dismayed by the overkill that has become the response to Rabbi Pruzansky's blog entry. Some have misrepresented his remarks; some are fomenting personal attacks and boycotts against him… Response to perceived disrespect is not through disrespect

I think that final point should not be overlooked. I have disagreed with Rabbi Pruzansky before. More than once – on a variety of issues. And I strongly disagree with him here. But I do not think he is a bad person. Nor do I think he intended to hurt anyone. He was trying to convey a point about the current promiscuous culture so prevalent on college campuses today (which is unarguable in my view) and suggest that abstinence would be a way to turn the tide… and lower if not eliminate the number of rape cases.

One can agree or disagree with that. But there is not a doubt in my mind that there is a ‘hook up’ mentality on college campuses today. That has created a culture where having casual sex with a coed is as acceptable as eating a candy bar. The values of modern times have taken a deep dive downward. The idea of abstinence as a solution is laughed at. It is unworkable in today’s culture. The idea of saying ‘no’ to this culture by refusing to participate in it is seen as unrealistic. Maybe so. Everyone who does not have strong religious values regarding the morality of having casual sex sees no problem with it as long as neither of the participants are in a committed relationship with another person.

There is little doubt in my mind that this attitude creates an environment that in many cases sees a man talking a woman into having sex with him even if she doesn’t really want it as ‘no big deal’. There is no question that incidences of rape on college campuses have increased in recent years. I think the promiscuous society in which we live (especially on college campuses) has contributed to the numbers.

This of course does not excuse rape when it happens under any circumstances. This is where Rabbi Pruzansky went wrong. But the increase is real and there has to be a reason. (I don’t think it is only the fact that reporting it is up. I think the actual rape numbers are up, too.) There may be other contributing factors but I don’t think this one should be discounted.

Had Rabbi Pruzansky stuck to this point, I might have agreed with him. Unfortunately with his words he entered to territory about which he seems to have little knowledge… and hurt a lot of people in the process.

I’m off to the holy land. My wife and I will be in Ramat Bet Shemesh for Pesach with my son and his family. This will be my first Pesach in Israel (...my wife was there once before we were married) and everyone assures me that it is an amazing experience. I am looking forward to it… and to enjoying my grandchildren.

I will be Davening mostly in Maasas Mordechai on Nachal Dolev. If you are in the neighborhood. come on over and say hi.

Meanwhile, today is a travel day so there will be no new post. For extra credit... the above is a picture of my entire family (including the Israeli branch) ...all of my children; all of my grandchildren; my wife and me. It was taken last Chol HaMoed Sukkos in Highland Park, Illinois. Do you know any of these people? Which ones are the Israelis? Can you spot me? (Hint: I'm wearing an orange t-shirt and standing next to my wife - also wearing an orange t-shirt. She's the one in the skirt.)

Hope to ‘see’ you all right back here on Tuesday.

Alan Dershwoitz (Breitbart)

This is one of those times when blaming the ‘victim’ was justified. Famed attorney and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz was accused of sexual assault last year by a woman know only as Jane Doe #3. He denied the claims.

Ordinarily someone accused of sexual misconduct will do that. Has there ever been a sex offender that admitted his crime? If he wasn’t caught, he will deny it. So when Dershowitz denied it, skepticism prevailed. After all the vast majority of sex abuse accusations are valid. So denial by the accused is standard operating procedure. For me that tainted the reputation of someone I admired. Mostly for his principled stand supporting Israel.

When a man of his stature does that, it means a lot more than if I do it. Especially when a liberal like Dershowitz does the defending. But after he was accused, I saw him more as a liability than an asset. Who wan’t an accused sex offender defending anything I believe in?

Well here is what was reported in Breitbart:

“(Jane Doe #3’s attorneys Bradley Edwards and Paul Cassell) acknowledge that it was a mistake to have filed sexual misconduct accusations against Dershowitz and the sexual misconduct accusations made in all public filings (including all exhibits) are hereby withdrawn.”

This was after Dershowitz filed papers proving that he couldn’t have been where the misconduct took place at the time it was reported to have happened.

I guess that’s the kind of proof you need when you are accused of a sex crime.

I have not been reticent to call out our own religious community about its slow uptake in how sex abuse should be treated. Far too often the accused is believed over the victim. Especially when the accused is a respected member of the community with no known history of abuse. That it might have gone on for years in secret does not occur to his defenders. Denials by the accused are not only believed, but often result in further victimization of the victim. And if a family members gets involved – like when a father believes his son and reports the abuse to the police - he can be accused of the actual abuse. This happened in at least one case I know about in Lakewood. Fortunately that family has survived and to the best of my knowledge is doing well. Some (but not all) of the father's accusers have apologized to him.

But every once in awhile the accuser gets it wrong. And sometimes it is an outright lie that was made for personal gain. I don’t know that this was he case with Jane Doe #3. But if I had to guess, I would say that there was probably either a financial motive… or that she is just plain mentally disturbed. After all she also accused Britain’s Prince Andrew and former President Bill Clinton.

But her lawyers believed her nonetheless. And they were going to extract justice. Probably in financial terms.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that even in a climate where victims are usually right and often mistreated by a community that defends an accused abuser that is likely guilty… even though life-long struggles that occur to people that were abused (hence their preference to be called survivors) when these things happen to people… there is still the very real possibility that someone was falsely accused… and when that happens not always can he disprove those allegations the way Dershowitz did. And that will result in devastating consequences - not only for the accused but for his family as well. Not to mention that when things like this happen, it can hurt the credibility of future victims of abuse.

Guest contribution by Dr. Yehoshua H. Breyer*

2010 study: One in four domestic violence cases are men (Daily Mail)

A few days ago I wrote about the sensitive subject of rape on campus and Rabbi Pruzansky's perspective on it. About which I was very critical. That post drew quite a variety of responses. One of which was sent to me privately by an experienced Orthodox mental health professional that deals with cases of this type. He discusses a tangential issue that is rarely spoken of but is quite serious and more common than most people realize. You may recognize his writing style. I have featured his thoughtful words here before. With his permission I offer it here in its entirety. It follows.

I concur that true rape is on the increase. In fact, sexual activity has extended far beyond the boundaries that existed for centuries – a healthy and precious part of a loving emotional, marital relationship. We have at the present countless forms of behavior that is recognized as sexual behavior, and the permissiveness about the entire subject, both the action, and the communication in verbal and image terms would be unrecognizable to earlier generations.

Virtually all advertising is founded on some form of subliminal sexual message. Books do not sell without something sexual in the content or marketing. With the “new values” being set for America and other countries that consider all sorts of perversions legitimate, we are only facing something far more monstrous than just the “oldest profession”.

Among the problems here is the disconnect, often to the 100% level between physical intimacy and the emotional relationship. If all of sex is about drama, entertainment, and the moments of physical pleasure, than there becomes the underpinning of addiction to it, where that becomes an end in itself. Such experiences are, by definition, devoid of true meaning, and are fleeting moments of endorphin rush. If there is no pursuit of something more lasting, this just gets repeated, and becomes the raison d’etre. If the target participant is unwilling, then the option that is preferred is to overcome the resistance. Whether that means physical force or some other form is irrelevant. That is rape.

But there is another huge problem here. I divert for a moment. The field of domestic violence is becoming seriously damaged by a phenomenon that occurs whenever legislation is passed to create a new attitude and to lash back at a cultural pattern. The DV system is flawed by bad research, that allows a limited amount of information to be recognized, despite scientific rigor.

This model assumes that all DV (domestic violence) is perpetrated by the male against the female. So there are no shelters for battered husbands, and there is not a single program in all 50 states to protect a husband that is being abused by his wife. Existing DV programs deny the vast amount of true science that finds the male edge as perpetrators of DV at around 56%. This means that close to 50% of reported DV is simply untrue. And a few states have introduced legislation to make the false reporting of DV a crime that can be prosecuted.

Let’s get back on track. Rape exists, is illegal, horrible, and is probably increasing. And it is also underreported. However, I also suspect that there is a percentage that is too big to ignore of false reports of rape. It is too easy to do that, and no one needs to prove a thing. This has already been documented, even in a case that was covered in national media.

The subject has too many complicating factors. I hesitate to buy into anyone pushing a single agenda.

*not his real name

Rabba Sara Hurwitz - first woman to be ordained by an Orthodox rabbi

One of the most troubling things about the currents in Modern Orthodoxy today is the fact that some very sincere and honorable women feel slighted and disrespected because of the opposition by rabbinic leadership across the Hashkafic spectrum denying ordination to women.

An intelligent woman that I respect very much recently explained that to me in a facebook discussion. If I understand her correctly, she said that denying something to a woman only because she is a woman, (and no other reason) denies her the ability to be who she really is… and is capable of being based on her personal strengths and talent. That is not denied to men. Which makes it inherently unfair. And since there is no real Halachic basis to deny women the right to be ordained, that makes it hurtful.

I have been having this discussion for quite some time. And I am truly hurt myself, when people are hurt because of my religious views. That is the last thing I want.

Why am I so opposed to giving women Semicha? I have stated my reasons many times. But at the end of the day, the main reason is that rabbinic authorities across the Orthodox Hashkafic spectrum are opposed. Including the Roshei Yeshiva at YU, the flagship institution of Modern Orthodoxy. So it doesn’t really matter what I – or anyone else thinks.

One might deduce from this that I am Charedi in the sense that I believe in the infallibility of rabbinic leadership. This is not the case at all. If one does a cursory look at the many times I disagreed with a rabbinic body on a variety of issues - one will see that I am not like that. At the same time (…and I have expressed this before as well) I do not believe that rabbinic leaders should be ignored. Far from it. They do posses more Torah knowledge than the rest of us. So that in cases where there is universal agreement across the Hashkafic spectrum on an issue, there is little room for people like me or others of lesser stature to debate it with them.

It’s true that some individual and even quite knowledgeable rabbis (but of admitted lesser stature) have argued against the prevailing rabbinic view that a woman may not be ordained. But that view pales when compared to the entire vast body of rabbinic opinion by rabbis of great stature across the Hashkafic spectrum with which they disagree. This in part is why the Modern Orthodox RCA in a recent resolution voted upon by its membership has rejected the idea ordaining women so completely.

The fact that critics have pointed out that it was a close vote does not really indicate the level of opposition. A lot of those (but certainly not all) who voted against the resolution were in favor of it in principle – but felt that a new resolution which basically reiterated their previous position was counter-productive. So they voted against making the resolution, but not against the principles contained therein.

One must respect the rabbinic opinion if it is universal. It is not like the issue of Metzizah B’Peh. Where there is a variety of views by rabbinic leaders – depending on what their Hashkafa is. That’s why the RCA has the policy of rejecting the legitimacy of female rabbis. To say things about them like ‘they are an old boys club’ or the like is untrue and grossly unfair. So that even if some of them were like that (which I don’t think they are) they can’t all be like that.

At the end of the day, I have to respect rabbinic leadership when its agreement on an issue is across the board in the wide spectrum of Orthodoxy. I firmly believe their agreement on this issue is no less principled that those that disagree with them.

But that does not make me feel any better about hurting fellow human beings that see this is an unfair constraint on their personal growth in Yiddishkeit. They too are principled. And I am personally hurt when my views hurt others even though it is unintentional.

It’s Erev Pesach. I want to take his opportunity to wish everyone a happy and Kosher Pesach. I have been quite involved with my family here and enjoying every minute of it. As in the past I am linking to a number of past Divrei Torah I’ve written that anyone may use at the Seder table. They are all printable. Here is the list:

The Four Cups

Why are Women Required to Recite the Haggadah

Sinas Chinam and Pesach

The Fifth Cup

The Torah is Not in Heaven

L'fichach

Pesach, Matza, Marror

Yochel MeRosh Chodesh

Amen

Maschil B'Gnus U'Mesayem B'Shvach

Heseibah L'ikuva

Kol Difchin

Baruch Shomer Haftechaso

The Haggadah and Kriyas Yam Suf

Kriyas Yam Suf

Torah Thoughts for the Seder

Updated

Baruch Dayan HaEmes. My brother Barry Maryles passed away on the 1st day of Pesach in Chicago. Assuming the Meis (body) arrives at Ben Gurion Airport on schedule the funeral will take place Tuesday in Israel at the Eretz HaChaim Cemetery near Bet Shemesh.

There will be no new posts until after the Shiva - which begins this Motzi Shabbos.

Shiva Information

I will be sitting Shiva at 13/9 Nachal Shimshon in Ramat Bet Shemesh - Aleph (RBS) Motzi Shabbos and S,M,T between 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM

...and with my brother Jack by Sandy and Levi Shultz at Tarshish 7 in Hashmonaiim S,M,T from11:00 AM to 3:00 PM

I will be sitting Shiva in Chicago with Barry's children and my brother Jack on Wednesday night after Mincha til 9:00PM and Thursday after Shachris til 9:00PM at 2826 W. Morse.

Get up from Shiva: Friday morning after Shachris

Davening times (Minyanim) in Israel (all in RBS on 13/9 Nachal Shimshon):

Motzi Shabbos: 8:15 PM
Shachris S,M,T: 7:00 AM
Mincha S,M,T: 7:05 PM
Maariv S,M,T: 7:45 PM

Davening times (Minyanim) in Chicago - TBA

Barry and Brenda around the time of their engagement

‘Goldene Hendt’. That is what my father always used to say about my brother Barry. Er Hut Goldene Hendt. Which means his hands were golden in the sense that he was an extraordinarily talented craftsman. Virtually anything he touched - produced golden results.

I used to idolize Barry. When I was little I wanted to be just like him. I wanted to be around him all the time. He was my role model. Barry bought me my first bicycle, my first watch, and a little pool table that my mother let me set up right in the living room.

When he was drafted, I became the saddest little kid in town. My big brother was leaving me. Who’s going to fix my toys? Who’s going to be my role model?

Barry was a Holocaust survivor along with our older (surviving) brother Jack. They were inseparable. They did everything together. I was a baby boomer - born after the Holocaust. I did not share the horrors they experienced. I cannot imagine what it must have been like for two young teenage brothers to lose a mother, 2 older brothers, twin sisters, and other relatives they both knew very well. I cannot imagine what it was like for them to live in three different bunkers hiding in constant fear of being discovered and killed by the Nazis. But survive they did.

After the war, my brothers were sent to the New York branch of the family and were enrolled in Yershiva Torah VoDaath. But they were not well suited to the world or the Yeshiva – having been raised in bunkers under siege instead of in day schools or even a Cheder. Jack stayed on in New York and pursued a career as Chazan. Barry moved to Toledo where our father had relocated from Cuba - accepting a position as a cantor at Anshei Sefard, a synagogue in Toledo.

Barry was good with his hands and sought a career where he could use them. He eventually

found a job in a dental laboratory that allowed him to observe Shabbos and Yom Tov by

excusing him from work on those days.

Before long, he was drafted into the army. It was 1952 during the height of the Korean War.

Barry was determined to advance his career and asked for duty in their medical division where

he could hone the skills he learned in Toledo. They agreed and sent him to Germany where the

best training in the field was located. He became a master dental technician there.

After his two year stint in the army, he joined my brother Jack in Chicago who had by then found a position as a cantor.

Soon after they opened Maryles Dental Laboratory and ran a successful business for over 50 years.

But the story doesn’t end here. Barry enabled my father to move to Chicago by training him in dental technology. I owe my own success in the dental business to Barry as I was trained for the subspecialty of dental restoration at my brothers’ expense. In short it was my brother’s ‘Goldene Hendt’ that ultimately provided financial stability for my parents and for me and my family.

There is no way to repay him now that he’s gone. I loved my brother. He was a good man. A loving husband and father to four children who always wanted the best for them. They are all now very successful in their on respective fields. I know that he died proud of his family. But after his wife Brenda died a few years ago, he was never the same.

Barry died on the first day of Pesach. I was not aware of his Petirah until Chol HaMoed. It was a shock to all of us. What started out as a wonderful Pesach vacation with my children and grandchildren ended up with sitting Shiva for my brother upon the end of Yom Tov. Until then I could not observe Aveilus B’Farhesia (in public) so it was Yom Tov almost as usual for me.

I will end with the words from the website of Rabbi Aron Wolf, a Chabad Rabbi who founded and heads the Chicago Mitzvah Campaign (CMC). As part of his work Rabbi Wolf is a chaplain in Chicago area hospitals - providing for the needs of Jewish Patients. He was there for my brother:

About a week before Passover, an unexpected health event unfortunately prevented "BM" (Barry Maryles - HM) from following through on his long-anticipated plan to spend the holiday together with many members of his family in the south of the country. Needless to say, this upsetting turn of events was the cause of much worry and concern to BM and his family. So it was quite a relief to hear the medical report that BM was anticipated to improve and slowly recover from the unexpected experience.

Sadly however, the events during the week that followed continued to defy expectations, as BM's health took yet another unexpected turn for the worse. On the eve of Passover, when Rabbi Wolf came to visit BM in the hospital and to help him put on tefillin, he found BM unable to respond or communicate in any way. Although the nurses seemed to think BM was just tired, Rabbi Wolf was very concerned. He returned to visit BM again that afternoon, this time finding that he had been transferred to the ICU.

With the patient lying unconscious, Rabbi Wolf began saying the words of the Shema prayer at his bedside. Incredibly, at the sound of the familiar holy words, the patient actually began to stir. And then, with great effort, and seemingly from an almost other-worldly place of consciousness, BM managed to audibly mumble the Shema along with the Rabbi.

"Seeing BM in that condition and then hearing him say the Shema along with me was just an unbelievable experience," said Rabbi Wolf. "It felt like having a small window into the world of the soul..."(T)he very next morning - the first day of the holiday - BM passed away.

It's Trump versus Clinton (image from BBC)

This is not an endorsement. Just reality as I see it. Not a reality show... but reality.

First let me say that as it stands now I endorse Hillary Clinton for President. Not because I like her. I don’t. And I am not the only one that feels that way about her. She has a 52% unfavorable rating according to a recent poll.

She is arrogant and talks down to people. and seems to scowl every time she speaks publicly. Her policies seem to be not much different than the current President. If anything they may even be to his left! Her views on Israel and its current leadership are not much different than his. But I am still going to vote for her because of the alternative.

There is something in the air. That is the only way to explain the Donald J. Trump phenomenon. It is a phenomenon that I now believe will put him in office come January of 2017. And by office I mean President of the United States. Making him the leader of the free world. I hope I’m wrong. But I don’t think I am. Donald Trump has defied conventional wisdom. He has done the impossible. He has received an overwhelming endorsement from Republican primary voters. By the time the primaries are over he will no doubt have the largest number of votes of any Republican or Democrat in the history of primary elections.

This despite an even higher unfavorable rating than Clinton at 57%! Acting and sounding like a boor he is perhaps the most unqualified candidate for President in American history. He has virtually insulted his way into becoming the presumptive Republican nominee.

From the very start his rhetoric caused controversy. Instead of inspiring a sense of leadership and diplomacy among voters he succeeded in sounding like a an anti Hispanic bigot. NBC immediately canceled his popular reality TV show, The Apprentice, as they did the broadcast of the Miss Universe Pageant which he owns. Macy’s canceled his clothing line immediately. This is how his candidacy began.

Ordinarily, such beginnings would be the death knell to anyone seeking any kind of public office. Who in his right mind would vote for a bigot? Political pundits across the board condemned his remarks. Including members of his own Republican party. I saw him as a joke. No one took his candidacy seriously at first. But the opposite happened. Despite almost universal disgust and revulsion from just about every corner, his candidacy took off. He seemed unstoppable. The insults continued.

He constantly insulted other Republicans that had any serious chance of challenging him - picking them off one at a time. His personal attack after a Fox News debate against a female reporter was unprecedented in its mean spiritedness and vulgarity. His ridicule of a physically impaired reporter mimicking his symptoms is abhorrent and beneath contempt.

Ignoring the constitutional right to freedom of religion, he proposed barring all members of a major religion from entering this country. His promise to round up all illegal immigrants and ship them out of the US to their homelands… and his call to build a fence between Mexico and the US and make Mexico pay for it is inhumane. And ridiculous in the extreme. And Mexico’s leader was not the only foreign leader he has insulted or that has been appalled by his rhetoric.

His lack of any experience in government, domestic or foreign does not seem to matter. Nor does his boorish behavior. And Trump knows it. He said it himself early in his campaign. If he were to shoot someone in the middle of Times Square, people would still vote for him. And that isn’t even the half of it. He has been ridiculed by every television comic to the point where anyone else would have long ago been laughed out of contention. But none of it matters. He keeps winning… and keeps defying all conventional wisdom. One might have thought that if his early gaffes didn’t do him in, surely the later ones would. But they didn’t. And they won’t. For the most part Trump has been a downhill steamroller on grease.

It would be easy to chalk this up to the unenlightened masses. But I have seen far too many rational, intelligent, and educated people say that they support him, despite his behavior. Even Orthodox Jews… across the Hashkafic spectrum from Charedi to Modern Orthodox. People whose views on any other subject are as rational as can be. I don’t get it. It does not make sense!

One might challenge my prediction by saying the polls show Clinton beating him badly in the general election. I don’t think it matters what the polls say. Besides, now that he has the nomination he has changed his position 180 degrees on some issues. His tax proposal cutting taxes for everyone including the very wealthy has now become a floor which will be negotiated. He now says that the end result will be that the rich will pay more (as he says they should) while the middle class will be protected and pay less. He had said that he opposes raising the minimum wage but now says he supports raising it (albeit through the states and not the federal government).

Some would call this flip-flopping. I would call it telling a given set of voters what they want to hear and another set of voters the exact opposite because that is what they want to hear. Which kind of makes him a liar. And not to be trusted. We have no clue what his actual policies will be or even what his governing style will be. The Trump we see now is not the Trump we will get. I am sure of that.

What about that foreign policy? Especially as it pertains to Israel? He’s all over the place. He is pro settlement and yet has promised to be even handed broker and negotiate a peace deal between Palestinians and Israelis.

Trump will continue to defy conventional wisdom and win the general election. What happens the day after remains to be seen. I will however hazard a guess that the Trump we have seen on the campaign trial is not the Trump we will get. I don’t think anyone has any idea what he will be like. He is neither a conservative nor a liberal. He is Trump.

My hope is that the person described in a recent articles in Charedi publications is the real Trump. The reporters that interviewed him conveyed an image of a very respectful and rational man who is kind, generous, and thoughtful. A man that does not make rash decisions. A man that is very pro Israel. Someone that actually does care about the welfare of this nation and its people. And that his lack of any experience whatsoever will cause him to seek the best minds he can find to help him to carry out his agenda – whatever that may actually be. I just hope it is an agenda that I can support.

Rabbi Dr. Yitz (Irving) Greenberg

This is one of those instances where I have to say, ‘You’re both right’. But not entirely. I’m talking about a recent article by Rabbi Yitz Greenberg in the Jewish Week - and Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer’s response to it in Cross Currents.

Rabbi Greenberg, who is certainly in the most left wing of Modern Orthodoxy has written a rather lengthy lament about what has happened to Modern Orthodoxy in the last 50 years or so. It has moved to the right. And in some cases, lamentably so. I agree with him.

Just to mention examples cited or alluded to by Rabbi Greenberg: The fact that mixed seating at weddings is becoming harder to find; the ArtScroll phenomenon that puts a decidedly Charedi spin on biographies and history; the fact that a lot of MO schools have turned to Charedi Rabbis as their Mechanchim (for lack of finding enough Modern Orthodox Mechanchim); and the fact that many of the ‘gap year’ Yeshivos in Israel that are Charedi recruit in MO Yeshivos.

This has indeed resulted in many young people raised in Modern Orthodox homes to become Charedi themselves - sending their own children to Charedi schools where they are taught values that are anathema to most Modern Orthodox Jews. Like the very negative view they take of the State of Israel, its leaders and founders; the view that Herzl is looked at as a Rasha instead of an instrument God used to return the land of Israel into Jewish hands after 2000 years of exile; the view that the Israeli army is a cauldron of anti religious assimilation instead of viewing it as Israel’s defense system; the increasing devaluation of secular studies and values; and the idea that insularity is the lifestyle of choice in order to avoid being influenced by those values. I could go on. But I think I have made my point.

Where I part company with Rabbi Greenberg is exactly the same place that Rabbi Gordimer does. Rabbi Greenberg believes that an important feature of Modern Orthodoxy should be to embrace the spirit of the times at the expense of traditional Orthodox values. Instead of lamenting the things I mentioned and trying to restore them as the legitimate values in Orthodoxy, he suggests that we return to a system that tolerated violations of Halacha as a means of retaining nominally Orthodox Jews that were not observant.

He further suggests we embrace innovations based on the spirit of the times in order to retain observant Jews that might seek membership elsewhere if their views are not incorporated in to the system.

This includes acceptance of organizations like PORAT that question the Divine authorship of the Torah. This is not Modern Orthodoxy. This is revisionist Judaism and not Orthodoxy – not all that different than the origins of the Conservative movement. It seems that Rabbi Greenberg’s motives are the same as the founders of that movement. He wants to ‘conserve’ Judaism. But you can’t conserve something by changing it into something unrecognizable.

Modern Orthodoxy – like Charedi Orhtodoxy is not some sort of malleable religion where traditions can be discarded and its values re-shaped to fit the times. Trying to incorporate ideologies that contradict Jewish norms is not the way to conserve Judaism. It is the way to turn it into something unrecognizable. Embracing the conclusions of modern scholarship of the bible is a break from the fundamental tenets of Judaism. If Rabbi Greenberg wants to know where acceptance of his view will lead- let him look at the Conservative Movement. They - like Rabbi Greenberg had good intentions. They wanted to conserve Judaism, too.

There is one thing that Rabbi Greenberg seems to misstate, that Rabbi Gordimer catches: that Rav Soloveitchik’s successors have not followed in his footsteps. That is not true. Yes, it seems that Rav Soloveitchik (the Rav) placed a much greater emphasis on secular studies and culture than his successors at Yeshiva University seem to. And it is also true that the majority of the members of the RCA have taken a more right wing stance on certain issues.

It is true that the RCA has turned rightward in the sense that they embrace a more traditional worldview which is closer to the Charedi worldview of their predecessors. But they have not rejected the values I lamented above - which have changed.

What about the Rav’s positive attitude about secular studies which Rabbi Greenberg’s says is no longer the case in the revised version of Modern Orthodoxy which he labels Charedi lite? Let us look at one of the Rav’s greatest students, Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, ZTL. I hardly think Rav Lichtenstein’s PhD from Harvard in English Literature and his clear embrace of what he studied there shows any less appreciation for it than Rav Soloveitchik’s.

If one wants to truly define Modern Orthodoxy they should read the works of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, ZTL and Yibadel L’Chaim, Rav Aharon Rakeffet. These two great students of the Rav knew him best. And their values reflect his.

At the end of the day, there are three things that seem pretty clear to me:

One: The Rav would have never embraced the values Rabbi Greenberg is promoting here.

Two: Expanding the boundaries of Orthodoxy in order to save it will ultimately have the same effect it did when the Conservative Movement did it.

Three: An Orthodoxy that embraces both modernity and tradition is the Modern Orthodoxy of the future. If it even has a future.

ZAKA founder, Yehuda Meshi Zahav (VIN)

I have always thought that Charedim should be subject to the draft in Israel in exactly the same way all other Jews in Israel are. I have written extensively on this subject. I feel very strongly about this. Perhaps even stronger than many to my left who would be satisfied with Charedim fulfilling their military obligations through national service.

For me it’s about whose blood is redder. The answer is everybody’s blood is red. If a secular or Dati Jew is subject to be put in harm’s way, so too should a Charedi Jew. What motivates me is the image of an Israeli mother mourning the death of a son killed in combat. A mission he was given because he was drafted into the army and was deemed best suited for combat by his superiors.

Now it’s true that most soldiers in Israel are not given combat missions. But it is also true that anyone in theory is subject to it… thus subject to the possibility of being killed in action. Why should only Charedi mothers be exempt from this possibility? No one wants to die. And not every soldier put into combat wants to be there. But that is what defending one’s country is all about.

That said there can be exceptions made in any category. Secular, Dati, or Charedi. As far as Charedim are concerned we need Torah scholars whose life’s blood is Torah. They should be exempt as a vital function of Israel’s existence no less than a secular Jew’s job or area of study is vital to Israel’s existence. Unless Israel’s army converts to an all volunteer one and the draft is abolished, no one group – Charedim included - should be exempt as a class. That said, everyone’s religious needs should be accommodated. In the case of Charedim, their units should be modeled on Nachal Charedi.

This is the reality of Israel. And this is the reality that Israeli hero and ZAKA founder, Yehuda Meshi Zahav saw when he came around to this type of thinking. As an article in the Jerusalem Post (republished in VIN) reports - this 11^th generation Israeli Charedi Jew who was firmly in the Eida HaChardis camp has now joined ‘the enemy’. Which to the Eida HaCharedis is the Israeli government, its founders and leaders. He used to participate in all of their protests against the government. From VIN:

Once upon a time, Zahav was the operations officer of the Eda Haredit extremist haredi group. He led demonstrations against Sabbath desecration, burnt Israeli flags, fasted and wore mourning clothes on Israel Independence Day, illegally removed dead bodies from the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute to prevent autopsies from being performed and put mice into the pathologists’ rooms, and sneaked onto archeological sites in order to prevent archeological excavations.

Why did he ‘switch sides’? Well he didn’t - really. He just decided that there are no sides. He explains:

The change in Zahav began on July 6, 1989, when a terrorist blew up a bus on the 405 route from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It happened on a road in front of the Telz-Stone yeshiva (Jewish religious seminary) in Neva Ilan. Zahav and his friends wanted to see what was happening, “and then, when the dismembered bodies were laid out before my eyes, when the sirens were echoing among the smoky fragments of the bus, when the bloodstained clothes were scattered over the area, when entire families were broken and erased in an instant, I realized that the quarrels between us were meaningless.

The type of skullcap you wear and the kind of clothes you wear pale in comparison with the real war we’re faced with. The Arab enemy doesn’t distinguish between the blood of a haredi, a secular person, and someone who’s modern Orthodox. We’re all connected. There’s no right or left. Everyone’s pain is the same. That was the moment when I crossed the lines…

He has paid a heavy price for his ‘rebellion’:

His grandfather, Rabbi Yosef Sheinberger, the mythological leader of the Eda Haredit and a fanatical opponent of the founding of Israel, refused to speak with Zahav for the last four years of his life.

Not only does he see all blood as being red, he agrees with the idea that Charedim should be educated in secular subjects. And he considers Yesh Atid founder, Yair Lapid, a friend. Which is yet another reason he seen as a traitor since Lapid has been deemed the devil incarnate by virtually the entire Charedi world.

Well, in my book, we need more ‘traitors’ like Meshi Zahav. He had a wake-up call that the leadership of the Eida and their sympathizers have not had.

With Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, on the horizon, the Eida types and their sympathizers will surely condemn it as they have in the past. Even those Charedim that will not actively protest it, will at best ignore it… and in some cases speak out against it. They will bolster their arguments with every possible wrong ever committed by anyone ever connected with Zionism… showing just how evil these people really were – and still are. They will point to all the past religious leaders that that condemned the state as a Godless entity whose purpose was – and still is – to destroy Judaism. I have even heard some of these people comparing the government of Israel to the Nazi regime in Germany!

But with few exceptions (and there are exceptions) those - both past and present - who condemn the State were no doubt not personally subject to the Holocaust - nor seen what Meshi Zahav has. They were not there.

They did not experience firsthand what it means to be freed from a concentration camp only to end up in a DP camp with no country wanting to let you in. When Israel became a state, the doors opened up to these survivors. The vast majority of them understand what was given to them and are grateful for Israel’s existence. They have been given a second chance at life and in most cases have done well.

I am reminded of one Chasidic Rebbe who lived through the Holocaust and suffered its indignities. When he was in a Nazi concentration camp, he was required to sweep the streets there. He promised that if he survived and was able to immigrate to Israel he would do the same thing. He kept his promise and every Yom Ha’atzmaut he went outside to sweep the streets. He understood what Israel did for him. And expressed his gratitude publicly. It would be nice if it didn’t have to take experiencing horrors of one kind or another for this kind of transformation to take place.

Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef (Arutz Sheva)

Recognizing the largely secular founders of the modern state of Israel, he pointed out "what was here 80 years ago. They (the pioneers of the modern state) were the emissaries of the Holy One blessed be He, in their merit we sit to study Torah. We have to be grateful to the Holy One blessed be He."

One might think that the above sentiment excerpted from Arutz Sheva was expressed by a religious Zionist Rabbi and not a Charedi one. Well, in a sense it was. These are the sentiment of Rav Yitzchak Yosef, the Sephardi Chief rabbi of Israel. But he is very much in the Charedi camp in his Hashkafa - albeit from an obvious Sephardi perspective. He expressed those sentiments in the Great Synagogue on Yom Ha’atzmaut earlier today.

While it should not be surprising that the Chief Rabbi of Israel would say words of praise about Israel and its founders. One has to consider this in light of the fact that his views are generally sympathetic to those of the Charedi world. I recall him being very critical of the Israeli government on certain issues. Criticism which was identical with Ashkenazi Charedi rabbinic leaders.It’s nice to see that his views are more nuanced and that when it comes to realizing the significance of the Zionist builders of the state, he expresses gratitude to them. This is in stark contrast with the view of the Eida HaCharedis and Roshei Yeshiva like Rav Dovid Soloveitchik of Brisk in Israel.

But then again the Charedi world is not monolithic on this issue. Famed Ponevezh Rosh HaYeshiva. R’ Yosek Kahaneman felt the same way. He recognized what the secular Zionists did and expressed his appreciation by flying the flag of the State of Israel over his Yeshiva in Bnei Brak every Yom Ha’atzmaut. That is the case until this day. And on that day, Rav Kahaneman did not say Tahcnun, nor did the Bnei Yeshiva of Ponevezh. I don't know if that is still the case. But I suspect that it is not since R' Shach did say Tachanun on that day even while R' Kahaneman was still in charge. and as we all know, Rav Shach was his successor for many years.

But just as there are Charedim that understand the significance of the State of Israel, there are Charedi that refuse to recognize it at all – as mentioned above. They do whatever they can to show their contempt. From YWN:

According to a Kikar Shabbos report, vandals glued the lock that permit access to the rooftop of the building. It is believed this is not a coincidence but an effort to prevent flying the flag on this Yom HaAtzmaut.

The obstacle was overcome and the flag was raised in keeping with the yeshiva’s tradition.

These are the people that tend to burn Dumpsters and spit on reporters who cover their various protests. There are really 2 kinds of Charedim. And this is reflected in the conflict between the R’ Aharon Leib Shteinman faction and the R’ Shmuel Auerbach faction. The former might very well be in the same camp as R’ Yitzchak Yosef. That is why he has directed Yeshiva students to register for the draft. He is opposed to army service. But he understands that the best way to achieve results is through peaceful means. And I suspect that he, like R’ Yosef, and many other Gedolei Yisroel of the past (like R’ Chaim Shmulevitz) sees the founding of the state in a positive sense. That founders like Herzl were instruments of God for purposes of restoring the land of Israel into Jewish hands.

R’ Shmuel Auerbach, I would suspect falls into the camp that believe that Israel’s founding fathers were pure unadulterated Reshaim… evil people to who giving any kind of respect would be a Chill HaShem. This is what motivated that attack on Poenvezh.

The question is, which of these two approaches will prevail? The Eida haCharedis is a very powerful influence in the Charedi world. But my hope is that the kinds of views expressed by R’ Yosef will prevail and come to dominate the Yeshiva world. That would make the future look a lot brighter. A little respect for those with whom you do not agree can go a long way to reconciling the secular and Dati Israeli public with the Charedi Yeshiva world… and a big step towards Achdus. Happy Birthday Israel.

Image from surveillance video (JTA)

I watched the video twice. It was quite disturbing to see a Chasidic looking guy kissing a young child several times while holding him on his lap with his legs moving about. The video in question was a surveillance video of the principal of a Satmar elementary school in Kiryas Joel. He was interacting with a child who apparently needed some disciplinary measures.

If I was a parent in this school, I would demand that this fellow be relieved of his position and never be allowed to be around children of any age again. And if that were not done, my children and I would be out of there faster than the speed of light. There is no way I would ever want a child of mine - or any child - to be subjected to that.

That said, I am not entirely convinced that what I witnessed was actual sexual abuse. That’s why I watched it twice. It may have been… or not. I have never been a part of a community that disciplines children that way. It is quite possible that this video could be interpreted as a Mechanech simply telling that child how much he is loved by the principal – as he loves all children. And that he kissed him just like a father would his own young child.

He held him on his lap so that he would be forced to pay attention to him. But he wanted to assure the child that he was not ostracized and indeed loved. Kissing him several times to make that point. There was no sound to that video so we cannot hear what that Mechnech is saying. This is what Satmar in essence implied by a public statement on the issue:

“While this type of restraint may be unacceptable to some viewers, it in no way rises to the level of a criminal assault,”

Perhaps this is the means by which this principal deals with misbehavior. A means acceptable to Kiryas Joel parents.

For me, that would be a stretch. I was appalled by what I saw. At the same time I did not see any fondling, inappropriate touching, or other activity that is definitive of sex abuse. Did that Mechanech somehow pleasure himself while this child was on his lap? It’s hard to tell. And since I am not part of that community, I cannot say whether this kind of activity is more or less the norm.

The only people that may have a clue are actual members of Kiryas Joel where this incident took place. How do they see it? Are they comfortable with what they saw? Or did they even see it?

If I was in law enforcement that is the first thing I would do. I would select a fairly large panel of Satmar Chasdim from Kiryas Joel – consisting mostly of parents - to view that video and see whether or not what they witnessed was OK with them. In particular I would watch study their reaction to the video as they were watching it.

I would of course also ask the child how he felt about it, but only under the guidance of mental health professionals trained to deal with child sex abuse cases.

One thing is certain. We cannot allow this incident to go un-investigated – as Satmar would wish it to be. That is a ‘no go’ in my book. Because their bias in these matters are a matter of record. One need only look at how their sister neighborhood in Willamsburg dealt with convicted rapist Nechemya Webberman. He was sentenced at trial to 54 years in prison for the continued rape and sexual abuse over several years of a young teenage girl under his care. To this day, they proclaim his innocence.

Yesterday there was a raid by federal agents in Kiryas Joel. From the Times of Israel:

It is not clear whether Thursday’s raids were related to the videos. In March, FBI agents raided schools in the village — as well as in nearby Rockland County — in connection with their use of the federal E-rate technology subsidy program. Also in March, a United Talmudical Academy facility in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn was raided, reportedly on suspicion of defrauding the federal school lunch program.

Either way, this is a good thing they need to clean up their act in both educating their children and in how they handle sex abuse.

I’m sure that the Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Joel, R’Aharon Teitelbaum, is not pleased with this. I’m sure he considers those responsible for this raid to be a Mosrim – people that inform the authorities against a fellow Jew. Which is condemnable if it is done in an antisemitic locale where Jews would not be treated fairly. But as far as I am concerned there is no Mesirah in a country like this where Jews are subject to the same justice system as everyone else.

So if this raid misuse of federal funds, if proven to be true, it will be a major Chiul Hashem. Blaming a whistleblower does not excuse the crime – if there actually was one.

If this is about investigating if there was sex abuse, then the ‘Moser’ is their own surveillance system. And for that, they have only themselves to blame. But for which I applaud. Thank God for that. Maybe this will be the beginning of the end to sweeping sex abuse under the rug.

R' Aaron Teitelbaum, Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Joel (NY Post)

I don’t know the details. But here is how Josh Nathan-Kazis describes it in a Forward article:

The bill, introduced by Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffe in early May, is one of two proposals currently moving through the New York State Legislature that seek to give teeth to existing legislation that already requires nonpublic schools to teach subjects similar to those taught in public schools…

The bill would require nonpublic schools to submit reports to the state to prove that they provide instruction that is “substantially equivalent” to what is given in public schools, and would give the State Education Department the power to investigate and punish schools that don’t meet equivalency standards.

On the surface, I strongly support this legislation. Because I assume it is limited to exactly what this description says it is: to provide teeth to an existing law requiring core secular subjects to be taught in non public schools on par with what is taught in public schools.

In fact most non Chasidic Orthodox schools in America – whether Modern Orthodox or Charedi already comply with this law. Some better than others, but all comply to at least minimum levels to satisfy the New York State requirement. But the Chasidic schools of Satmar and similar Chasidic type schools - with little exception do not teach any secular subjects at all. (There are some non Chasidic schools that have been going in that direction too but at the moment they are still in the minority.)

The idea that there is a Hashkafa that devalues secular studies to the point of completely rejecting them as any part of their educational curriculum is something that has disturbed me to no end. (In Israel this is the norm for virtually all Charedi schools - Chasidic or not. But that is beyond the scope of this post.) There is no excuse for allowing your children to grow up ignorant of the world at large and how to function in it.

They will counter that they do just fine with the education they get and are able to support their large families without any such education. Adding that whatever sacrifice they make in promoting their insular lifestyles is well worth the trade-off that would better their lives if they were to engage with it. Not educating them in secular knowledge contributes to that end. Besides, they will say that the time ‘wasted’ on secular studies is far better used in studying Torah and related subjects full time.

Even if I were to grant them their right to educate their children as they see fit, there is the little matter of breaking the law. And the fact that the Chasidim of Satmar are being shortchanged while indoctrinated to believe that they are not. And that because of this lack of education they are made to rely on government welfare programs. Not to mention the fact that the financial pressure placed upon them by trying to support their large families on meager incomes - has caused some of the less scrupulous among them to devise schemes to defraud the government.

Until now the law requiring educational equivalency has been observed mostly in the breach – with impunity from state government officials. So Satmar and like-minded Chasidim have lived in virtual ignorance of how to live in the real world and make a decent living – many of whom are oblivious to this very fact. While there are some very successful Satmar businessmen - some of whom are multi millionaires – this is obviously the exception. The vast majority live below the poverty line.

I care about my fellow Jews of Satmar. So, again, I support Jaffe bill as it is described in the brief excerpt above. If however it would give license to the government to force teaching values that are anathema to Judaism I would be opposed on first amendment grounds. I doubt, however, that this is the case since virtually all the Orthodox Jewish day schools and high schools that teach secular subjects have never been required to teach those values.

The Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Joel, however, insists that this will be the case. And he is complaining bitterly about the possible passage of this bill. From the Forward:

Teitelbaum, the Satmar leader, put the threat posed by Jaffe’s bill in stark terms. He claimed that the bill would allow the government to determine every aspect of the curriculum at Hasidic schools. “The worldview taught in public school, it’s hard to even bring it to my mouth,” Teitelbaum said.

I tend to doubt that. Interestingly other major Orthodox organizations like the OU and especially Agudah have remained silent about this bill, neither supporting nor opposing it. It makes me wonder if they privately feel that there is some justification to it, and yet will not officially support it for fear of alienating a constituency that sees Satmar as justified. Or are they simply afraid to get involved for fear of becoming government targets themselves? Perhaps they feel this issue is not worth spending any of their political capital on. Or maybe they simply haven’t had a chance to voice their opposition to the bill yet. I don’t know but I hope it’s the former.

Freedom of religion is paramount. But if that right is not infringed upon (which I do not believe this bill does), I am in full support of it. At the end of the day, if an educational curriculum is implemented similar to that of other Orthodox schools, it will be a win/win for everyone. But those benefiting the most from this bill will be the Chasidim themselves. They will be better able to support their families with it… relying less on government welfare programs.

Guest Contribution by Commentator*

PORAT panelist, Blu Greenberg, co-founder and 1st President of JOFA

The following report was written by a prominent educator who attended the launch of a new organization called PORAT.

PORAT describes themselves as Modern Orthodox. In my view however the only part of that description that may fit is the first word. I completely reject PORAT as having anything to do with Orthodoxy since they invite dialogue about whether God actually authored the Torah as per the bible critics. In my view there is nothing Orthodox about that. Other issues that are in the forefront of this organization are also problematic for me and most other mainstream Orthodox institutions… even Modern Orthodox ones like the OU and the RCA and YU.

So why bother with this report? Because PORAT along with it’s ‘parent’ ideology of Open Orthodoxy is trying to lay claim to the very term Modern Orthodox and has many prominent left wing modern Orthodox leaders endorsing it. Furthermore - rabbis ordained by institutions with this philosophy (e.g. YCT and Yeshivat Maharat) are increasingly taking pulpits in Orthodox synagogues all over the country.

This makes it a serious challenge to how Modern Orthodoxy will be defined in the future. A challenge that cannot be ignored. It must in my view must be addressed by mainstream Modern Orthodoxy. With that in mind, I present the following essay by ‘Commentator’ in its entirety. (I may have more to say about this later.)

Whether you are in sympathy with the aims and ideals of the movement or not, the launch of PORAT(“People for Orthodox Renaissance and Torah”) is a significant event.

An estimated 600 people turned out on Sunday evening for the launch of this organization which “aims to put the ‘Modern’ back into “Modern Orthodoxy”. Chairing the event was Steven Bayme; an opening, short video of greetings from Rabbi Riskin of Efrat was screened; and the closing (rousing!) address was given by Rabbi Avi Weiss. The bulk of the evening were four panel speakers: the new senior rabbi of Kehilath Jeshurun, Chaim Steinmetz; Blu Greenberg; Rabbi Benny Lau, from Jerusalem; and Anne Baldack Pava, a lay leader who has been prominent in national Federation leadership. Victoria Lindenbaum Feder opened the proceedings and greeted the participants.

Some notes:

The fact that the event took place in the newly-renovated/reconstructed sanctuary of Kehilath Jeshurun – the home of the Lookstein dynasty, until now identified with Y U ‘Centrism’ - and prominently featured its new rabbi, must be taken as a huge statement. Does the shul officially now identify with ‘Open Orthodoxy’?

Unfortunately, overall, for this attendee, the evening was a disappointment. Steve Bayme asked good questions. The panelists generally ignored them, and in response to the first question (“What is most important and valuable quality of M O? Is there something you would change?”), all the panelists seemed to read pre-prepared speeches on their definitions of M O, all of which overran their time allocation, all of which sounded like sermons, and none of which said anything that 99% of the audience didn’t know already. The rest of the panel part of the program was broadly similar; there were series of somewhat platitudinal monologues, and no actual interaction or dialogue between the panelists.

The audience was predominantly middle-aged, and looked like a very – well, sensible – crowd! There was also a heavy sprinkling of younger people in their 20’s.

The buzz-words which repeated as the qualities of the Orthodoxy being sought included: “Inclusion .. tolerance .. compassion...love…community…open tent… open discussion.. unifying force…grassroots voices…listening community …Orthodox…spiritual…non-judgmental…civil discourse...independent…self-confident”.

The single issue which seemed to most exercise the panel, and the audience, was “inclusivity”, especially as applied to the LBGTQ community (collectively and individually). The panelists (and, judging from the applause, the audience) all agreed without hesitation about ‘acceptance’ of individuals. Without being specific, Rabbi Steinmetz and Blu Greenberg seemed to hint at long-term willingness to consider a broader accommodation.

However, it was left to Rabbi Avi Weiss to close the evening with the most impassioned, and inspirational address. He spoke of the different groups ‘knocking at the door’ of the Orthodox Jewish community (‘Kol dodi dofek” – an allusion that would not have gone unnoticed by many) – including “Women, Orthodox seeking a mesorah [to which they can relate], converts, the mentally and physically challenged, LGBT community, seekers of discussion about faith… But the knocks go unheeded and the doors stay firmly closed”.

The message of the whole event was unclear. Avi Weiss declared that PORAT was to be a lay-led, grassroots movement, vaguely hinting that it was to complement YCT and Yeshivat Maharat. But he said this right at the end of the evening. No indications of lay leadership were seen or heard.

What was going to happen next? “Next week (!) we will be putting up a sign-up opportunity on our website where you can declare support for PORAT… we’ll look for 10,000 signatures. And in

September we’ll have another meeting “ (indicated it would be outside New York).

Well, all of that adds up to a lot less than a revolution, or, indeed, a movement. Will PORAT start shuls? Day Schools? Is it going to start blogs, Twitter, Facebook, to reach thousands? Meetings, panels and lectures are the communications of yesteryear, not of today. I feel nothing negative towards the organizers or participants of the event, or the movement. But it was disappointing.

*For personal and professional reasons, ‘Commentator’ prefers to stay anonymous.

RIETS Beis HaMedrash - Yeshiva University's Hashkafa must be strengthened

There is not a doubt in my mind that Modern Orthodoxy is under siege. Not a physical siege or even an intentional psychological one. But a siege nonetheless. It has been ongoing now for some time and happening right under our noses over the past few decades. We are losing the ‘war’. Right wing ideas and customs are taking hold in our world.

If Centrism is to lay claim to the term Modern Orthodox, we have to examine what has happened to us and why. And where do we go from here? How should we define ourselves as a distinct and legitimate form of Orthodoxy? It is not for nothing that many on the left see us as Charedi light. That’s because we have adopted many of their customs and Chumros. I know many Centrist Jews that wear black hats for example. It is now almost impossible to discern whether an individual is a Centrist or a Moderate Charedi. This has both good and bad implications. Let me explain.

In the positive sense, there is nothing wrong and everything right with taking Halacha seriously. In the past there was a lot of license in Modern Orthodox circles to look the other way as Halacha was skirted or even violated. The classic example of this was the idea of a Young Israel synagogue hosting an event where there was mixed dancing between the sexes. There are clear violations of Halacha when a man and woman that are not married to each other – or even if they are married but where the wife is a state of Nidah - dance with each other. Physical contact of any kind is not permitted. Certainly not in the context of a dance. But back in the day - this was largely ignored.

I will go a step further and say that there was a time where many Modern Orthodox women that were Shomer Shabbos and Kashrus but did not observe Taharas HaMishpacha (use a Mikva). Which means that both they and their husbands were in serious violation of Halacha. I personally know quite a few people like that. (Most eventually did come to observe these laws but it is clear that at one time they did not. In many cases it was because of pure ignorance of Halacha.) Today, virtually all MO women from right to left do.

Improvement in our day in these areas has led in part to a phenomenon which I call social centrism rather than philosophical or Hashkafic Centrism. Which means that moderate Charedim and Centrists each have our own Hashkafos, but lead our daily lives in almost indistinguishable ways.

But there is a bad side to this in the sense that many modern Orthodox customs have have practically disappeared. To take one example - Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet laments the loss of mixed seating at weddings and banquets. It is no longer fashionable to sit together with your wife and other couples at a wedding or banquet. One should hear or read a transcript of his Shiur on this. It is eye opening. While there are some weddings that are still mixed, the tide is turning away from that as many Centrist Jews want to accommodate invited Charedi Rabbonim and friends and that prefer to sit only with members of the same sex. And it is also sometimes the case that children of MO parents that have spent a year in Israel come back with Charedi ideas – having attended a Yeshiva that caters to MO but is as Charedi as they come – indoctrinating their students that way. (Some call this phenomenon ‘flipping out’.)

Which brings me to PORAT. Again. As listed by an anonymous attendee of their inaugural meeting - (identifying only as ‘Comentator’), here are the buzzwords that he heard there:

the qualities of the Orthodoxy being sought included: “Inclusion .. tolerance .. compassion...love…community…open tent… open discussion.. unifying force…grassroots voices…listening community …Orthodox…spiritual…non-judgmental…civil discourse...independent…self-confident”.

There is little if anything among these words that I would not support and endorse. However, it matters how we define some of the more controversial words or terms among them. Like open tent.

Contrary to what some have been saying about Centrism we are not rejectionists. Orthodox Judaism of any stripe, whether modern or Charedi should be open to all Jews, regardless of their level of religiosity or beliefs. One can and should accept every Jew at face value. What one may not do is accept some of their mistaken ideas about Jewish theology. Nor should one place any legitimacy on violations of Halacha that they may not observe.

We should not be judgmental. Nor hit them over the head with rebuke each time we see a violation. We should welcome all Jews under the tent of Orthodoxy with open arms. But if they ask, we need to be honest with them about whether what they are doing is Halachicly correct or not. Our approach should be through mentchlichkeit and to influence them mostly by example. But accept them into the community we must. They are Jews like anyone else. We are brothers and sisters. The Torah requires us to love our fellow Jew. And it mandates responsibility for one another.

Is PORAT the answer to these problems? For me the answer is clearly, no! First because of

PORAT’s interpretation of those buzzwords. They take the idea of ‘open tent’ to mean accepting not only the individuals themselves but their theological ideas as well. Ideas that are Apikursus bordering on Kefira. That is where I part company with them. This (among other things) crosses hard lines set by the spiritual mentor of Modern Orthodoxy, Rav Soloveitchik.

So what is the answer? Should we start a parallel organization that has its own ideas about how to define those words that would fit with our Centrist worldview? I am disinclined to believe that this will help. Sad as it may be, I don’t see grass roots type organizations accomplishing anything against the tide of right wing influences.

The only real way to return to our own identity as Centrist Modern Orthodox Jews is to each individually lead our lives that way. And to make sure that our schools reflect those views. We should encourage more Centrist young people to seriously consider a career in Chinuch. We need to develop more leadership along the lines of Rav Soloveitchik and Rav Lichtenstein. And we need to strengthen existing Centrist institutions like Yeshiva University

This approach may be ‘spitting in the wind’ since the Charedi world is growing at exponential rates - as is their influence (compared to the Modern Orhtodox world). Add to this the fact that Chinuch is a natural field for Charedi young people to pursue, and it seems like an almost hopeless endeavor. But if we are to return to – or retain any of our Centrist values, in my view this is about the best thing we can hope for.

The late Lubavitcher Rebbe as a young man

One of my pet peeves is how the right wing uses the word ‘modern’ when applied to religious Jews. What they mean by that is ‘less observant’. Which is a completely erroneous understanding of what ‘modern’ means to Modern Orthodoxy. Obviously. For a Modern Orthodox Jew, being modern means engaging with modernity and benefiting from it – without sacrificing Halacha at all. It most certainly does not mean less observant. And yet that is still how it is used in more right wing circles: To be modern is to be less Halachic.

It is true that many Modern Orthodox Jews do sacrifice Halacha in favor of modernity. I have called these people MO-Lite. But less observance is not the defining characteristic of Modern Orthodox Jewry any more than it is of Charedi Jewry because of the laxity in Halacha by Charedi-lite Jews.

But this definition of modern seems to stick among right wing Jews. If you are modern – you are just not as Frum.

I bring this up in light of an article by Shalom Kesselman to which I was directed. Therein, Shalom describes a problem taking place among younger Lubavitchers:

It is a fact that Chabad is becoming increasingly modern. I’m not suggesting that the movement or the ideology is becoming modern; rather that vast numbers of our young are settling for a “lighter” version of what it means to be Lubavitch.

While there have always been such people in Lubavitch and in every other Frum sect, we are now seeing more than ever before unprecedented numbers of youngsters embracing this modern Chabad lifestyle.

If by lighter they mean less observant, then this is truly a problem for them. I don’t know how accurate his observations are. But if the comments following this article are any indication, this is more than a personal anecdotal observation. The reasons he proposes for this phenomenon are intriguing.

One of those reasons is the easy access to the internet. This has made their lives less insular. One might argue that Lubavitch if anything is the antithesis of insular. That is true. No one is out in the world more than Lubavitch – engaging with Jews that in many cases are far removed from their Judaism.

But that misses the point Shalom is making. While it is true that their outreach work makes them familiar with the outside world - those that are not doing outreach live in an environment that is pretty insular. In fact they hardly interact with other Orthodox Jews. Even Charedi ones. Their entire social circle is Chabad. Especially among the young. (Yes there are exceptions. There are always exceptions.) With the internet so easily at hand they come to know a world that their parents (those not in outreach) never knew when they were growing up. A world that asks uncomfortable questions… and sometimes provides answers that are not compatible with Judaism, let alone Chabad.

Another problem is that their Rebbe centered lives were somewhat shattered when the Rebbe died. When a movement’s entire focus is on one individual and that individual is gone, that can easily cause a crisis of faith. Their response to it, however, is the rather well known. Instead of questioning their faith, they went the opposite way. At one level or anther they believed that their Rebbe would be resurrected as Moshiach… or at least that it was a distinct possibility. That is in part because the Rebbe himself kept talking about Moshiach’s imminent arrival just before he died.

When the Rebbe died, it generated a division among Lubavitchers. There were those who openly proclaimed the Rebbe to be Moshaich even while he was still alive - and awaited his 2^nd coming after his death. And there were those who believed the Meshichists were damaging to their cause and have een fighting them ever since.

Although the more public nature of that ‘war’ has subsided, it still exists. The Chabad Meshichists still believe he’s coming. And the Chabad anti-Meshichists think they ought to keep their opinions to themselves – as they are harming the Chabad ‘brand’ with such talk. Ultimately hurting the mission of outreach given to them by the Rebbe himself.

While both sides believe that it is at least possible that the Rebbe will ‘arise and lead them out of this bitter Galus’, the Chabad anti Meshichists do not dwell on this and see harm being done by those that do. This is still a fierce battle among the 2 factions, although they have managed to be doing it quietly these days. The fallout is twofold. A vacuum was created by the Rebbe’s death… and the state of ‘war’ among Luubavitch leaders was extremely ‘off-putting’ to young people.

It is now almost an entire generation since the Rebbe died. The imminent arrival of Moshiach predicted by the Rebbe over 20 years ago has not happened. He has not been resurrected.

Finally, there is their over-aggrandizement of their outreach people – called Shiluchim. If you are not a Shaliach in Lubavitch, you are apparently looked down upon. Shalom says they are often considered 2^ndclass citizens and even ‘losers’! The fact is that there are a lot more Lubavitchers that are not in outreach than those that are. When the majority of young people are considered 2^nd class citizens, it should not surprise anyone that it makes you a bit jaded about your movement.

Shalom adds that Chabad’s approach to educating their young has not changed - remaining the same as it was 40 years ago. It thus fails to recognize the new challenges that young people face.

My criticism of Chabad’s Meshichism remains. It has not changed. The fact that I have not been talking about it for a while is because I saw that doing more harm than good. There is no overt talk among Lubavicthers here in Chicago about the Rebbe being Moshiach. I spend a great deal of time in the mainstream Chabad Shul here and I would detect it if there was.

But the issue has not gone away. And it appears to have had a negative effect on Chabad’s young. Now it is true there are other things that can be blamed for the ‘modernization’ of Chabad – as noted. But those things are problematic for all Orthodox Jews. If Chabad wants to change the tide, I think they have to re-think their approach to the Meshichists.

Which in my view should include reassessing their over-emphasis on the Rebbe. Yes, he was a great man and great leader with few peers. But he’s gone now. His soul is in the Olam Ha’Emes along with the souls of other great Jewish leaders that have passed away. Chabad needs flesh and blood leaders to guide them. Not images from the past.

I am told by many Chabad members that the ‘anti Meshichists’ are in the vast majority of Lubavitch. If that is the case - they need to clean house and eradicate this phenomenon from their midst. It is not enough for them to ‘look the other way’while Meshichists hold sway in their very headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway.

That policy seems to have now shown to be counterproductive to their future… and for Klal Yisroel. I cannot overemphasize the value of their outreach programs. It is massive compared to any other Orthodox outreach programs out there. If there was ever a time where outreach was vital to the Jewish people – that time is now.

The Wedding on the Temple Mount

When Being Honest is Newsworthy

Being Different

Rape is Rape!

And Away We Go!

When an Accused Sex Abuser is Innocent

A Professional Perspecive on Rape

When Fellow Jews are Hurt Because of my Principles

Happy Pesach

Death in the Family

Golden Hands

The Trump Phenomenon - Defying Conventional Wisdom

What is Modern Orthodoxy?

When Reality Hits You in the Face

A Cheif Rabbi's Step in the Right Direction

Fraud? Sex Abuse? Or Neither?

Bringing Kiryas Joel into the 21st Century

The Launch of PORAT

Centrism – Where Do We Go from Here?

The Modernization of Chabad