Emes Ve-Emunah

New National Security Adviser, John Bolton

As it applies to Israel it is almost impossible to understate the significance of John Bolton as President Trump’s as new National Security Adviser. (...replacing H. R. McMaster). Bolton is a politically conservative foreign policy hawk that almost makes Prime Minister Netanyahu look like liberal pacifist. This White House position does not need congressional approval . So… he’s in! End of story.

The Trump administration is by far the most pro Israel administration in the history of Israel’s existence. By far. Increasingly so… as he keeps replacing pro Israel advisers with even more pro Israel advisers.

My own view on what being pro Israel means is a practical one. I support whatever it takes to make Israel a strong, safe, secure, and prosperous country at peace with its neighbors and the indigenous Palestinian population. How do we get there? That too is a matter of controversy. Which is why I don’t see the previous administration in the same evil light as some of my coreligionists of the political right do. However, even though the proper path towards that end is unclear, my heart is with the current administration’s policy. How can it not be?

I am also more or less pleased with the rest of his foreign policy decisions as well as most of his domestic policies. With the exception of his protectionist tariffs, his polices have benefited the economy greatly. Not going to go into details. But the proof – as they say – is in the pudding. (Lowest unemployment in decades, lower taxes… just to mention a couple of things.)

President Donald J. Trump

And yet, I still believe that a man like Donald Trump dishonors the office he holds. And I wish he wasn’t President. His life is filled with accusations of sexual harassment – his denial to the contrary notwithstanding. And even in the highly unlikely event that all of his accusers are lying and he sexually harassed no one, his life is still one filled with immoral behavior.

One can see his true character when he believes no one is listening. As was the case in that now infamous recording on a bus on the way to the set of Access Hollywood a few years ago. Not to mention cheating on his wife and having affairs with a porn star and Playboy centerfold. He denies that too. But those denials are so laughable, that he hurts himself more by denying them then simply admitting to them.

My feelings are therefore terribly mixed about this man. It is impossible to understate my disgust with him as a human being. A man like this should never hold the highest office in the land. He should not be the symbol of leadership in the world. Being the leader of the free world comes with responsibilities. Not only must he have policies that work. He should be an exemplar of ethics and morality. A role model for American children who might want to grow up to be President someday. What kind of role model talks and behaves the way our current leader does? The President of the United States is often called the leader of the free world. It almost turns my stomach to say that. World Leader! Ugh!

Trump is more than embarrassment. Much as I like most of his polices, I can’t stand the man. I’m not even sure what to wish for. I’m not so crazy about an impeachment and removal from office. Although that may happen, I don’t think that is good for the country. Too much of an upheaval. Although I do like the idea of having someone as honorable and moral as Vice President Mike Pence as his replacement. Pence is the antithesis of Trump. He might even be more pro Israel than Trump. But impeachment and removal from office might be too high a price to pay.

The iconic 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Sometimes I wish we were back in the 60s.When there was an unwritten policy among reporters not report on the President’s private life. It is now rather well known that JFK, one of the most popular Presidents in US history (to this day) had extra marital affairs and various sexual escapades while he was in the White House. His private life probably was as immoral as Trump’s. And even though some White House reporters knew about it, they chose not to report it. As bad as cheating on one’s wife is, it is not the public’s business really. It is between the cheater, his wife, and his lover. That would never fly today.

Although it was a false narrative, it was one I preferred over the truth we now must live with. Today, digging through whatever garbage a reporter can get his or her hands on in order to smear an office holder is the highest priority these days. Investigative reporting used to be about substance. As it was with Nixon and Watergate. Today, anything goes.

One might ask, ‘Isn’t it better to know the truth?’ I’m not so sure. If it does not affect public policy, then what a President did 10 years ago with a porn star hardly qualifies! All it does is identify how truly immoral the man is... and it demoralizes the country.

I miss the good old ‘Camelot’ days of JFK, when the public was infatuated with this handsome and charming young war hero who was now President! His life with First Lady Jackie and his two young children, Caroline and John, John, was depicted as idyllic! JFK was the role model so many young people aspired to be. Oh how I miss those days. I don’t think we’ll ever see that again!

A true hero of the Jewish people, Rabbi Yakov Horowitz (Torah Cafe)

This is why I have issues with survivor advocates. Instead of Rabbi Yakov Horowitz being one of their heroes… when his name comes up it is usually in the context of criticism. Sometimes even disparagement! Despite all he has done and still doing. And all the sacrifices he has made and still makes for the Jewish people. It is as if none of that matters. Why? Mostly because of his opposition to a bill in the New York state legislature that would extend the statue of limitations whereby survivors could sue their abusers and enablers.

Rabbi Horowitz’s believes that this bill would unfairly harm schools that are in no way responsible for what happened decades ago. Those schools had an entirely different student body, parent body, faculty, administration, and board of directors.

Aside from being grossly unfair to the school as it exists today, the damage done to those involved with the schools now is far greater than what is gained now for survivors that were victimized decades ago by an entirely different group of people. If these kinds of situations could be exempted from that bill, then I am pretty sure he would support it. For this, Rabbi Horowitz has been subjected to unfair criticism as not being being supportive enough of survivors.

Rabbi Horowitz has not let this get in the way of his resolve to fight sex abuse. To that end, he has not only talked the talk. He has walked the walk. Actions speak louder than words. Instead of criticizing him in any way, they ought to be cheering him as a champion of their cause – even if they disagree with him on this point.

What kind of champion is he? All one has to look at all he has done and what he is doing right now.

He has been in the forefront of educating all varieties of observant Jewish communities about how to protect their children. He has been speaking to them personally; he collaborated on and published (in both English and Hebrew) a book about prevention. He has made several videos recordings on these issues which are available for free viewing on-line. And when it comes to punishing the guilty he is first in line. As was the case with convicted child rapist, Nechemaya Weberman.

Rabbi Horowitz attended Weberman’s trial every day in support of the survivor that testified against him. Despite the nasty comments by Weberman’s Williamsburg supporters vilifying him. And vilifying the survivor who because of her abuse, went OTD. Without getting into the tragic details of Weberman’s abuse, suffice it to say that his conviction resulted in a 150 year prison term.

And now once again he is there for Jewish children, protecting them from yet another sexual predator: a licensed social worker and Bar Mitzvah tutor, that spent about a year in prison, and registered as a sex offender after his conviction in 2009 for abusing two boys in Brooklyn.

In 2014 he and his family moved to Israel’s Har Nof neighborhood in Jerusalem. Har Nof is filled with children of primarily Charedi parents. Israel has no sex offender registry. Rabbi Horowitz – ever vigilant to warn people about this guy - a level 3 offender. Level 3 means that he is likely to reoffend.

Obviously that predator’s peace and that of his family was disrupted by that information becoming public. He has sued Rabbi Horowitz for slander (defamation of character). The case is now in progress.

At this moment Rabbi Horowitz is in Israel (to the best of my knowledge - at own expense) fighting this lawsuit. There is no telling how this case will turn out. Israeli defamation laws do not require the plaintiff to prove his reputation, livelihood or social standing has been harmed. Apparently all he has to prove is that negative things were said or written about him.

Rabbi Horowitz could easily lose. Which in my view would be a terrible injustice. In essence he would be punished for doing the right thing and warning parents about this predator. A verdict for the plaintiff would also have a chilling effect on others that will now be reluctant to warn a community about a level 3 predator that immigrated from the US and moved into a their neighborhood.

There should be no escape for sex offenders. They should not be able to move to a neighborhood in Israel and free to do as they please without warning them about him.

Rabbi Horowitz has done a great service to the residents of Har Nof. One for which he has devoted time and money. One in which he might have to pay a price. It does not matter to him. Because for people like Rabbi Horowitz protecting young innocent children comes first. His own welfare comes second.

That is why he is there and deserves our accolades and unequivocal support. Considering a life spent teaching Torah to young children, working with young people that have gone OTD, being in the forefront of protecting our young from sex abuse, and making sure that the guilty are punished, he has in my view done more for the Jewish people than all the survivor advocates combined. This is not to minimize the good work they have done. It is only to put a proper perspective on it. I only wish there were more people like him.

US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman (WJD)

How right he is! From the World Jewish Daily:

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told a global antisemitism conference in Jerusalem that the "new antisemitism" is more dangerous than the old.

“The new antisemitism worries me a bit more,” the ambassador said.

“It is the irrational, deceitful, and insidious vilification of Israel and its supporters under the guise of political commentary. It is just a cleverly repackaged form of hatred against the Jewish people.” He noted that this new antisemitism is not stigmatized like the old.

“There are places in Manhattan—where I worked for 35 years—where if you attended a cocktail party and said ‘I hate Jews,’ then you would be politely escorted to the door.

“But if you said, ‘Isn’t it a shame that after Jews survived the Holocaust, they turned into Nazis themselves against the Palestinians,’ if you said that, you might be offered another drink and invited to hold court on your interesting point of view.”

This attitude can be found among the ‘enlightened’ liberal left. Which is the political philosophy of the Democratic Party in the US and the Labour Party in the UK.

My how times have changed. Both of these groups have been the home of the Jewish voters for longer than than I have been alive. And for good reason. It was the liberal view that championed our cause. Liberals are less ideologues and more pragmatists. They look at the problems of the here and now and ask, what can we do about it.

During the Holocaust, it was the liberals that championed our cause. Political blue blood conservatives tended to be more isolationist and prejudiced against those that were not of their kind - Jews being among them. Political liberals on the other hand welcomed all comers, Jews included. When Jews were being slaughtered in Europe, it was the liberal left that took up our cause. It is therefore only natural that we have always found a home among them.

Case in point. Hollywood is notoriously liberal. To the point of being so far to the left, that many prominent Hollywood figures were suspected of being closet communists. They were persecuted and blacklisted by the conservatives of the time - led by Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy.

But it was also liberal Hollywood that was in the forefront of activism on behalf of Holocaust victims. They were involved in many protests and pageants organized by Hillel Kook (Peter Bergson), a Zionist Revisionist who came to America during the war years to stir up public support for Holocaust victims.

But things have now changed. Liberals that supported Jews during Holocaust are today the ones that may say the kinds of things Ambassador Friedman has noted. And be welcomed by their peers as individuals with interesting views.

This has translated into how politicians on the political left deal with known antisemites like Louis Farrakhan. Illinois Congressman Danny Davis has publicly praised him for the positive values he preaches and has instilled in black youth. That Farrakhan has said some vile things about Jews is shrugged off. While Davis does not agree with Farrakhan about Jews, he shrugs off such comments – saying that many leaders have some views that we don’t support but one has to look at all the good they do and ignore the bad.

That’s almost like saying that Hitler was as a great leader of the German people even though you don’t agree with his antisemitism. Which is in fact one of the vile things Farrakhan has said.

The recent Women’s March in Washington had the same problem. Some of its leaders refused to condemn Farrakhan and instead accepted his support of their movement.

The same thing is happening in the UK. Only there the problem seems much worse. Apparently even Jews that are die-hard members of the liberal Labour Party have had enough. From Ha’aretz:

The Crisis Between Jeremy Corbyn and British Jews Has Reached Boiling Point. Corbyn’s support of anti-Semitic mural in 2012 has come back to haunt him, and the Jewish community has had enough of the Labour Party leader’s tolerance.

Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn

This is quite a damning article in a newspaper whose views ares probably the most liberal/left in Israel. Realize that Corbyn was elected Labour Party leader by a wide margin. Labour is one of England’s two major political parties. Corbyn therefore stands poised to become the UK’s next Prime Minister.

While he has to the best of my knowledge never personally said anything that was antisemtic, it is clear for the that he has tolerated it from his supporters. His rhetoric has mainly been anti Israel. Not anti Jewish. Although being anti Israel does not necessarily equate to being antisemitic. But often it is used as a cover for that. That Corbyn tolerates and accepts support of antisemites, and sometimes takes his time condemning it, it makes one wonder whether he actually is a closet antisemite. Protestations by Corbyn to the contrary not withstanding!.

It boggles the mind how any Jew can be part of a political group that tolerates this kind of thing. Even if they are liberal – as most non Orthodox and some Orthodox Jews are. That is the way it still is here in the US. But in the UK the liberal left is finally being challenged it seems. What will it take to get politically liberal Jews to do that here?

By contrast, political conservatives are the ones that most openly and loudly condemn the antisemites of the world today. And they don’t need the Jewish people to tell them to do it either. Today’s conservatives are not yesterdays’s conservatives. They are not the blue blood Republicans of yesteryear that had discrimination codes against the Jews. As former President Ronald Reagan once said about switching parties: ‘I didn't leave the Democratic Party.’ ‘They left me!’

The Republican Party, where most conservatives reside now embraces us. They wish we would come over to their side. I think many of us already have. At least those of us that are Orthodox. While there are still many Orthodox Jews that remain loyal to liberal views that are espoused and promoted by liberal Democrats - the trend is away form the left and toward the right.

I’m not saying that politically conservative values are identical to the biblical values that are so important to us. Far from it. But at the same time, I think that on the whole, a conservative ideology places a higher value on the bible than liberals do. Which if you think about it, makes sense. A liberal interpretation of the bible is a lot different than a conservative interpretation.

The bottom line for the Jewish people is to see the reality of antisemitism in our day and see where it has now found a respectable home. One might want to counter by saying that the neo Nazis, KKK, and White Supremacist groups are found almost exclusively on the conservative right. That is true.

But they are openly antisemitic and do not disguise it as just being anti Israel. These groups are also a fringe that are not welcome anywhere in conservative circles. Conservatives across the board condemn them. Not so with the the more nuanced antisemites of the left. Which was exactly Ambassador Friedman’s point. Only he had the tact not to lay the blame where it belongs: On the political left where they are tolerated as people with interesting views.

3 members of a recent panel discussion on the tuition crises (Jewish Link)

I read with interest an article lamenting the cost of educating our children Jewishly. Especially in Modern Orthodox circles where tuition is very high. This phenomenon it seems is the number one concern of Modern Orthodox parents.

There was a panel discussion about that recently in New Jersey in which several educators participated. Various solutions were discussed. Some of them quite innovative. One idea was to get the New Jersey State legislature to pass tuition tax credits. Similar to one that was just passed in Illinois.

In Illinois, taxpayers can write of 75% of the tax dollars they owe by contributing to a state scholarship fund that will be distributed to qualifying parents who apply for it. The consensus among panelists that was that the New Jersey legislature is not going to do that.

Other than the fact that teachers unions probably oppose it there is no good reason not to try doing that in every state. Why New Jersey legislators would oppose it escapes me. Unless they are afraid of losing union support for their re-election.

In fact here is no reason that an actual voucher system wouldn’t work. I know there are studies that show it doesn’t. But I cannot understand why. Let us examine the issues.

The United States has a compulsory public education policy. Today, virtually every child in America is required to attend a public, private, or parochial school that teaches the basics. The public school system is fully funded by federal, state, and local governments with confiscatory tax policies.

Private and parochial schools are privately funded. This means that parents mostly foot the bill. The rest of their funding comes from philanthropic donations via a variety of fundraising efforts.

I have always questioned why a government that requires all students to be educated in basic subjects and committed to funding it, denies those funds to private and parochial schools parents. It seems to me that this is a form of discrimination. The decision to choose where to send your child should not be penalized. Wherever a student gets their basic secular education, it should be paid for by a government that has committed to paying for the education they mandate. That should therefore include funding that portion of a school’s budget that teaches those mandated subjects. Regardless of whether it is a public, private or parochial school.

Those who argue against doing so for parochial schools say it would violate the establishment clause of the first amendment - separating church from state. Parochial schools teach religion. End of story.

But is it?! No one is asking that any of their religious subjects be paid for by the government. But surely the required secular subjects should be. Why should parochial school parents be denied the same benefit public school parents have?

The government mandate to teach basic secular subjects combined with its commitment to fund it demands that all schools be treated equally. In my view it is unethical to deny private and parochial schools funding to teach same required courses they pay public schools to do.

I never understood those that oppose it on constitutional grounds. I see no violation of the first amendment.

Neither do states like Indiana that have instituted voucher programs. Vouchers allow parents to send their children to the schools of their choice - as long as the money is used for the educational purposes the government mandates

In a parochial school - vouchers of course do not pay for the expenses involved with the religious portion of a child’s education. Nor should they. But they would substantially reduce the tuition load parochial school parents are so heavily burdened with these days.

I see no valid constitutional argument against vouchers if used this way. I see only a universal, moral and ethical application of the nation’s commitment to fund the education of all of its children.

So why isn’t the Indiana model applied nationally? I think the answer is the usual one: Follow the money. Taxpayer dollars are not even enough to fund the public schools. Adding private and parochial schools into the mix would mean operating at an even greater deficit or raising taxes through the roof. Either that or funding education at a much lower level per student than it is now. Which would mean lower salaries for teachers. Or fewer of them by increasing class size. Which is not an educationally sound policy.

This is why teachers’ unions are so opposed to vouchers. The claim is that it will hurt students. But I think the real motivation is that it will hurt teachers. That may be true. But teachers should not come first. Students should.

Parents in parochial schools argue that without vouchers, tax dollars they spend on public schools do benefit their children at all. The counter to that is twofold. One: send your children to public school. Two: those tax dollars do benefit parochial school parents the way they do everyone living in a society that mandates its children to have a basic secular education. Even though they do not necessarily have any children in school.

Option one is not realistic. The greater benefit by far which is denied to private and parochial students - is to parents that actually utilize the public schools for their children.

There is also the claim that poor students will be short changed by vouchers. That never made any sense to me. Unlike the present where a public school parent must send their child to the neighborhood school - with vouchers any parent, no matter how poor will have the opportunity to send their children to a better public school. How does that short change them?

What might happen - which is what teachers unions are really afraid of - is that certain neighborhood schools will have to close their doors. They argue that many poor young people will no longer have a neighborhood school to go to. How does that make it better for them?

This is untrue. A bad school that closes is a good thing. A public school teacher I know that works in the inner city told me that many of the teachers end up just babysitting. Their students are not interested in school. Many students are passed through the system - graduating high school as functional illiterates. It is also true that many of these young people end up in the street with all the attendant negative influences in those neighborhoods. Some of which are crime infested!

I am not going to go into the sociological reasons for this. Other than to say that the culture in those communities is not one that values education for a variety of reasons. Some of which are not their fault. But that does not change the facts. Which are that a lot of taxpayer dollars intended to educate inner city children are being wasted. Although there are some students that rise above their adverse backgrounds, far too many don’t. Which is why some of those neighborhoods are high crime areas.

Those who argue to keep funding those inner city schools have good intentions. They will say that taking money out of the system and placing elsewhere is the opposite of what those communities need.

Throwing good money after bad is not the solution. It has been tried for decades without any real success. Although there are some schools that have somehow turned things around, it should be obvious to anyone paying attention that a lot of the money spent on those schools is wasted. Many of the teachers there are being paid just to ‘babysit’.

Why not divert the money to where it will be spent the way it was intended to be? On students that will actually be educated the way the government says they should. Whether they are in public, private or parochial schools.

What about the poor inner city students that will be left behind? They do not have to be. You cannot change that culture overnight. But you can change the kind of education they get to one that will be more beneficial to them.

There ought to be different focus for a neighborhood where the culture does not value or cannot value even a basic secular education. The focus should instead be primarily on literacy and vocation. Those who want more for their children can take advantage of vouchers. Those that want to escape the life of the street that their neighborhood offers them will I believe benefit greatly from vocational schools. It is a different type of learning. One that will give them motivation to succeed by giving them a marketable skill. Vocational schools will surely be more productive than those currently in the inner city. And I’ll bet that they would require a lot less taxpayer money

What about the inner city teachers who lose their jobs because of school closings? Frankly teachers come second. Students come first. Perhaps those teachers that can be retrained to teach in vocational schools. This way they can actually earn their pay as teachers instead of being paid to babysit. That would be a win for everybody.

New York State Senator Simcha Felder of Brooklyn

You would think that Judaism itself was under attack in this great country of ours. Hearkening back to the days of Czarist Russia whose government persecuted Jews openly. And with the help of some Reform Jewish leaders tried to eradicate Orthodox Judaism under the pretext of improving their education.

That is of course complete nonsense. The United States doesn’t do that. Nor does any state or city government therein. It would undermine the very reason for this country’s founding. Which is codified in the first amendment to the constitution.

The real issue is about whether certain mostly Chasidic Orthodox schools live up to their educational responsibilities as required by the state. No one in America wants to deny anyone the right to the religious education of their choice. That is what the ‘Free exercise’ clause of the first amendment is all about. That constitutionally guaranteed freedom does not, however, eliminate their responsibility to also teach required secular courses - or their equivalent.

It has been pretty well established that he above mentioned schools do not live up to that responsibility. That is why they are being challenged. Most mainstream Yeshivas, on the other hand, do live up to that responsibility. They are not the ones being challenged. Nor would they have anything to fear from a review by educational officials if they were being challenged.

YAFFED has been in the forefront of this challenge. It is clear to me what their fight is about. It is not about undermining Judaism – which is what they are constantly being accused of. It is about getting those schools to comply with state educational requirements – same as most other mainstream Yeshivas in New York do.

Besides, it wouldn’t even matter if their motive was to undermine those Yeshivas (which to the best of my knowledge has never been proven). Achieving their stated goals would actually strengthen them. Not undermine them. It would give their young better tools function in the modern world.

Activists on their behalf that are resisting a review by educational authorities claim that these schools' unique education is sufficient preparation for life in the 21st century. Their students have been doing just fine without teaching state mandated basics.

That, in my view, is a highly questionable assertion. There are far too many people educated in those communities that can barely speak the English language properly- having practically no knowledge of English grammar. Imagine trying to fill out a resume with that handicap.

Sure, most of them have jobs. Some of them end up in business and have actually become quite wealthy. But for most their lack of skills give them little more opportunity than working at menial jobs for very low pay – clearly not enough to support their typically very large families. Which often means resorting to government financial assistance.

None of this is new and has been discussed here many times. But it pains me to see a religious legislator who has himself received the benefits of a decent secular education in the Yeshiva he probably attended trying perpetuate a system that denies that advantage to their young. From Politco:

There have long been questions about whether private yeshivas, which predominate in Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn and the lower Hudson Valley, are meeting state standards for non-religious instruction. The sources said state Sen. Simcha Felder of Brooklyn, a Democrat who sits with the chamber’s majority Republican conference, was pushing for yeshivas to be exempted from review by education officials. Previously, the sources said, Felder and other parties to the talks were willing to authorize a study of the issue.

Felder went from supporting a review of those yeshivas to requesting them to be exempt from it. What possessed him to change course? Why does he want to exempt the young people in this community from the ability to improve their lives?

Even more shocking is what NYC councilman has said about this. From VIN:

New York City Councilman Eric Ulrich of Queens

A Queens councilman, (Eric Ulrich ) himself the product of a private school, called out critics of the yeshiva system, saying that attacks on religious schools are unfounded and could have widespread effects that could be devastating to faith-based communities throughout New York State...

(He) said that he was grateful to have received a religious education that was reflective of his family’s values, which ultimately inspired him to a career in public service...

The councilman also called into question the motives of anti-yeshiva activists, remarking that they “continuously attack the Orthodox Jewish community under the guise of educational quality.”

In an email sent to VIN News, Ulrich described allegations that yeshiva students are receiving a substandard secular education as “egregious and absurd.”

“I’ve had the opportunity to sit in on courses at yeshiva schools, and it is clear to me they take secular education seriously,” Ulrich, who has personally visited Orthodox and Chasidic yeshivas in both Brooklyn and Queens, told VIN News. “I was genuinely impressed with the teachers, who are dedicated to giving their students the best education possible.”

Councilman Ulrich must have observed a mainstream Yeshiva that does comply with state mandates. Either that or he has been duped. Unless things have suddenly radically changed. If the latter is the case, they should have nothing to fear by a review by educational authorities. I doubt they would be so adamantly opposed to it.

I hope that New York State Senator Felder’s attempt to exempt those Yeshivas from review fails. Let them be examined. Let the educational chips fall where they may. It can only bode well for the future if these schools are finally forced to do what every other mainstream Yeshiva is doing by giving their young better tools to succeed at life in the 21^stcentury.

Rabbi Ron Yitzchok Eisenman

I have never met Ron Yitzchok Eisenman, the Rabbi of Congregation Ahavas Israel in Passaic, New Jersey. But I have read his words in periodicals like Mishpacha Magazine. I don’t know all that much about his background. But I can attest to his character based on how he act.

My first ‘encounter’ with that was a few years ago at the ‘Internet Asifa’- a gathering organized by Charedi rabbinic leaders designed to express the dangers of the internet and ban it from our homes. At the time survivors of sex abuse stood outside and protested the fact that the very real pain they suffer as survivors of abuse has never been treated with anywhere near the concern internet use has. They felt justifiably ignored.

Some of the attendees that saw the protesters sneered at them - objecting to their protest as inappropriate and irrelevant to the urgent agenda on the table. Which of course hurt them even more. But not Rabbi Eisenman. He attended the Asifa but left early to stand with survivors. I was impressed by that.

Rabbi Eisenman is a product of Yeshiva University. But with his long beard, Kapote, and Chasidic hat he looks more like he belongs in Lakewood or Boro Park … in what must be a synthesis of the modern Orthodox world of YU and Charedi world. Perhaps that is why I like him so much. I like people that take the best of both worlds. I rarely if ever disagree with him (to the best of my recollection).

Rabbi Eisenman publishes ‘The Short Vort’ - a weekly Dvar Torah that he emails to subscribers. The latest of which was sent to me by a Jerry Gothheil, who post comments here frequently. It is entitled My Fifth Son*. It stuck a cord with me.

I assume that the title is a take on the four sons of the Hagaddah, with his own fifth son, Aryeh representing a fifth son not mentioned.

What makes Aryeh unique is the path in Judaism he took. Which is different from the one the Charedi world insists upon for their youth.

The Charedi world places on pedestals Lomdei Torah - those that study Torah. The more time they spend, the more they value them. Which is why the trajectory of their entire educational system in all grades and beyond is towards a life of pure Torah study – ultimately in a Kollel. That is the highest form of service to God.

As one lessens the time spent on Torah study – even for legitimate reasons, so too lessens his value. Leaving a Kollel is usually done because of the need to support a family. Not that they are considered bad by any means. Just not as great as the one who stays in Kollel learning full time. This is the accepted norm in Charedi circles. Those who don’t ‘make it’ in Kollel think of themselves that way.

This is the mindset that Rabbi Eisenman seems to be addressing. His point is that a Jew should be valued by what his talents and abilities are and how he uses them in service to God. Not only by how well or how much Torah he studies.

Aryeh did not follow the path the Charedi world tries mightily to send everyone down into. Studying Torah in a Yeshiva was not where his talent lay. He decided to serve God in the direction his talents led him. In my view as well as that of his father’s, he is by far serving God much better than if he would have forced himself to stay in a yeshiva and eventually in a Kollel.

This is not to say that he wouldn’t have succeeded at some level. I’m sure he could have. There are a lot like him that do. They do not rise to the top, but are there nonetheless doing what they have been taught as the best way to serve God, no matter what other God given talents they have.

I agree with Rabbi Eisenman about his son. He describes in glowing terms how he has served God in his job. And he is very proud of him.This is the way we should all feel about our children. We should encourage them to use their talents in service to God rather than in the ‘cookie-cuttter’ way that Charedei education indoctrinates them to do.

It’s just too bad that he had to spell it out for us. Makes me wonder how much people like Aryeh are looked down upon in the Charedi world - just because they chose a different path. It surely makes life difficult for them in a variety of ways, not the least of which is in the Shiduch (for dating marriage) department. A working boy in the Charedi world does not get that many recommendations for dates.

That is because young women in the Charedi world are indoctrinated the same way. They are taught to value only boys that are learning. Which is why they are so often better educated than their husbands since part of their indoctrination is to support their husbands in Kollel. Which means getting the kind of education that will enhance their earning power.

Not so Aryeh. He recently got engaged. Tova is described by Rabbi Eisneman as a jewel. This is clearly a young woman who has not ‘bought the farm’. I wish them all a hearty Mazal Tov. Now if only the rest of the Charedi world could see things through Rabbi Eisenman’s eyes.

* not available online

One might note that the Haggadah purposely omits the name of Moshe except only once in passing. Considering that Sipur Yitzias Mitzraim (telling the story of our Exodus from Egypt) is one of the primary Mitzvos of the evening - that might seem surprising. The central figure in the story is practically absent from the narrative.

There is a reason for that, though, which is stated in the text itself: 'And God took us out of Egypt - NOT through an angel; NOT through a Seraph; and Not through an agent... But God Himself in all His Glory.' In other words when telling the story of our Exodus - we want to emphasize God's direct involvement in freeing us from slavery and exiting Egypt. So we do not mention Moshe except once in passing.

There is a passage in Hosea (12:14) that says 'With the prophet (Moshe) who brought us up from Egypt and with the prophet we were guarded'. Does this not contradict the idea of emphasizing God's direct involvement and putting Moshe more directly into the picture? And why does it say 'brought us up out of Egypt' instead of the more precise 'exiting Egypt'?

R' Velvel Soloveitchik answers that there are two different issues here: 'Exiting Egypt' and the journey to enter the land of Israel. When telling the story of the Exodus we emphasize God. But when speaking of the journey up to the land of Israel we speak of God's agent, Moshe. Which is why the book of Hosea uses the expression 'brought us up'. This refers to our journey in the desert up to the land of Israel where Moshe led us. But when dealing with the actual Exodus we use the phrase exiting Egypt.*

With this short Dvar Torah I want to wish all of my readers and those who comment here a Chag Kosher V'Sameach. As always, I include links to past Divrei Torah related to the Haggadah.

*adapted from Torah L'Daas by Rabbi Matis Blum

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

Misguided Jews protesting violence at the Gaza border last Shabbos (JPost)

‘Now is the time to stand together and create hope.’ These were the words of Jewish protesters in Tel Aviv on the first day of Pesach (which was on Shabbos this year).

Expressions of hope would normally get a lot of support from me. As I have said many times, I support any reasonable path toward peace. Even one that involves painful concessions by Israel if it would end the bloodshed and result in a lasting and permanent peace, friendship and prosperity for both peoples.

I nevertheless am appalled at the cynical misuse of those words by a group of extreme secular Left wingers from my own people in Israel. People that would feel quite at home in the confines of the right wing religious extremists, Neturei Karta. At least with respect to the destruction of Israel.

The protest by these misguided Jews is based on my observation of how the Left generally views things. They were protesting Israel’s deadly response to Palestinians protesting the boycott that has created horrible living conditions for them in Gaza.

Without context - it seems like an easy call to blame an army shooting live ammunition at Gaza’s civilians protesting that. That makes it easy for antisemites like Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to call Netanyahu a terrorist.

But there s a context that changes everything.

Gaza’s Hamas leadership has a sworn intent to destroy Israel. That is a religious imperative for fundamentalist Islamists. Israel has no choice but to defend itself against large groups of Israel hating protesters from a people that has demonstrated it willingness to kill and maim innocent Israelis; their own innocents; and even martyr themselves for the cause. A breach of Israel’s border by a group like this surely qualifies as a threat to innocent Israelis who rely on protection from its security forces.

That Gaza’s resident Palestinians suffer so terribly and blame Israel for it puts Israeli citizens at risk for violence and bloodshed by these protesters. Could Israel have handled it differently? I don’t know. But I am not in a position to second guess the security decisions of Israel’s military and civilian leadership. Unlike Erdogan, I do not believe any of Israel’s leaders are terrorists.

I will however admit that the optics are bad. Viewing this event out of context does make Israel seem trigger happy. But it is imperative to look at the historical context of this situation and see who is really to blame for the very real suffering of Palestinians living in Gaza.

There has never been a moment where the Hamas leadership in Gaza has sought peace with Israel. Hamas is an Islamic fundamentalist group that believes that the existence of Israel is a blot on Islam that must be eradicated by any means necessary.

Their perspective is that the land that the Jews now occupy was taken illegally by force from the indigenous Muslim Arabs that lived there for generations in peace as its sole legitimate possessors. It is therefore their sacred duty to repossess it from the illegitimate European Jewish colonialists that took away that land.

They are committed to that goal at all cost - willing to sacrifice not only themselves but their own children – which they have used as human shields for the sole purpose of blaming the Israeli aggressors for killing their children indiscriminately. A narrative they have been successful at promoting. A narrative which is of course a huge lie. Israelis have no intention of killing young innocent children. Fundamentalists using them for shields are the ones to blame.

Gaza leaders have spared no blood or treasure towards their religious goal of taking back the entire land of Israel. Every dollar needed to achieve that goal is spent on it, regardless of where it came from or what it was intended for. Money is spent on things like ‘terror tunnels’ so that devout Palestinian Jihadists could cross into Israel undetected so that they could terrorize, kill and maim as many innocent Jews as they could to the point of martyring themselves if necessary.

It is also no secret that fundamentalist terror supporting regimes like Iran who see Israel the same way as Hamas does - has been supplying them with all manner of weaponry to do the same. Which thus far seems to have given them an endless supply of rockets to fire indiscriminately into civilian Israeli populations. The Jihad from Gaza has been going on from the moment Israel withdrew from it – allowing Palestinians to have complete self rule there.

Israel was hoping that the Palestinian leadership would focus on building up Gaza as a shining example of what a future Palestinian state would look like. But instead of doing that they turned their entire focus on destroying Israel - leaving Gaza to deteriorate into the huge mess it is in now. Living conditions for their people are horrible. And that’s putting it mildly. By taking a Jihadist approach against Israel they have shortchanged their own people. They see Palestinians suffering as a necessary price to pay for their religious goal of getting the land of Israel back. And it is a plus for them to get the world to blame Israel for their suffering.

Once Israel saw what they Gaza’s leadership did with all the money and raw materials they received from other countries that wanted to help them, they were forced to blockade all deliveries so that weapons smuggled into Gaza from terrorist Islamist fundamentalist states like Iran for the sole purpose of attacking Israel would be thwarted. This is why Gazans are suffering. Needed supplies of food and medicine that should have been delivered to them have been prevented from getting there by a boycott Israel and Egypt needed to apply for purposes of defending their own people from deadly attacks.

That is the context. But it isn’t too hard for Palestinian leadership to blame Israel for their suffering. After all Israel is the one preventing needed supplies from their people getting them. What about Egypt? They are not Jews occupying their land. Israelis are. So they get the full blame.

Those participating in the protest see Israel boycotting their needed supplies. Some of them are Palestinian fundamentalist predisposed to the cause of ousting the Jews from their land. Those that are not fundamentalists have also been convinced to blame Israel rather than their own leaders for their strife. Even Leftists Jews refuse to recognize the real culprits here.

The reality is that when Israel gave the Palestinians Gaza, they had every reason to see it thrive.Had they decided to build up their country instead of focusing all of the resources on destroying Israel, Israel would no doubt have helped them achieve that goal. Had Gaza’s leadership turned to their Jewish neighbors for help, Israel would surely have done that. Israel wants peace with her neighbors. They have no interest in fighting continual wars.

The protesters in Gaza either don’t realize that or worse - consider the greater goal of getting back the entire land of Israel worth dying for. In the process they get sympathy from a world that refuses to recognize the realities of context. The message is that Israel just wants to make Palestinians suffer.

It is imperative to understand these underlying facts before judging Israel’s defense tactics. They should realize where the real blame should be placed for deaths of 16 Palestinian protesters. It is their own leadership. They are directly responsible for the horrible conditions in which they live right now. And they are the ones that should be protested. If the rest of the world watching this would be honest they too would doing that too.

Conservative Rabbi Seymour Rosenbloom officiating at an intermarriage (JTA)

What a revelation! I was both amused and appalled by the responses to Carey Purcell’s oped in the Washington Post. Carey, who described herself as a stereotypical blond WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) – was raised in a community where Jews were scarce and grew up knowing little about Judaism. After moving to New York and landing a job where almost everyone was Jewish she began being invited to Chanukah parties and Pesach Seders. Which she said she grew to love.

Because of this environment she had opportunities to date Jewish men. But after dating two of them she has sworn that off. She proclaimed that she was tired of being a Jewish man’s rebellion and vowed to never date them again. (I only wish all non Jewish women would take that pledge. But I digress.)

I don’t blame her at all. The description of how those two courtships progressed explains why she feels that way. Which seemed quite reasonable to me as follows.

At first religion was not an issue. These men were not observant in any way. In each case the relationships developed and became serious. But when things got serious enough to consider marriage, then ‘out of the blue’ all of the sudden their Judaism started to matter. Which eventually led to a breakup. In both cases her former fiancés ended up marrying nice Jewish girls.

For an observant Jew like myself, this is a positive outcome to what could have been a disaster for the Jewish people by adding two more people to the vast number of intermarriages. Had they married Carey, it would have been the end of the line for them. Unless Carey would have had a Halachic conversion which required her to become observant, their offspring would not have been Jewish. And that was a highly unlikely scenario. After century upon century of Jewish continuity the Jewish line would end with them. Their offspring would not be Jewish.

It is impossible for me to know whether these two Jewish men will raise their children with any sense of Jewish consciousness. But at least their children are Halachicly Jewish and will have parents that cared enough about it to marry a Jew. Hopefully that spark of Jewish identity that caused these two men to end a relationship with a non Jewish woman and marry someone Jewish will flower into something bigger and even more meaningful.

As for Carey, she was hurt by those experiences. She will never date Jewish men again. And I don’t blame her one bit. But if one reads the responses to her column in social media, one would think she was a closet antisemite! (Or to put it the way one Jewish man did - vaguely antisemitic.) In my view this is a gross misrepresentation of her attitude about us.

Carey was fully prepared to marry these two men. She was probably in love with them. Closet antisemite don’t do that – even those that say ‘Some of my best friends are Jewish’. Coming from a community where she had practically no clue about Jews and Judaism she took a job where almost everyone was Jewish and came to learn more about it by experiencing some Jewish culture through them. Which she learned to love. That may have even been her motivation to date Jewish men in the first place.

How any of that translates into closet antisemitism is beyond any rational interpretation of her words. She is no more an antisemite than I am. Her reasons for not dating Jewish men were legitimate. Her experiences led her to believe that at the end of the day those 2 men just wanted to have a fling with a ‘Shiksa’. At least subconsciously. She invested herself emotionally into those relationships only to be rejected in the end. I think she’s probably right about that based on who those two men married.

I am going to ho out on a limb here and say that only Jews that value dating non Jews had this reaction. It is though they are proclaiming to the non Jewish women of the world, ‘Don’t listen to Carey’. ‘She clearly didn’t have a grasp on the real problemss of those relationships and blamed it on Judaism.’ ‘Please do not get scared off form dating us.’ ‘We want to date you… and even marry you.’

Bolstering this view is the cold hard fact that according to Pew over 70% of non Orthodox Jews do marry out. Without the slightest hint of guilt about it. Often with the approval of their Jewish parents. A 21^st century phenomenon that was unthinkable just a few short decades ago. Most non observant parents cared about their children marrying Jews then. That’s why there were so many sham conversions. Now, nobody cares.

The typical young Jewish male has been assimilated to the extent that he could not care less whether his Judaism will be perpetuated through him into future generations. They just want to be fully assimilated to the point where Judaism is not an issue anymore. And what better way to do that than marry out and live a successful fully secular life and raise children with no religion at all.

The consequences have two possible scenarios. If the woman isn’t Jewish and the children are raised as Jews, the problems can be enormous if they ever begin to take their Judaism seriously. Because even though they think hey are Jews and were rasied that way, they will have to convert. And if the woman is Jewish and her husband decided to raise their children as Christians… do I even have to explain the tragedy there?

All of this quite clearly demonstrates why the future of non Orthodox American Jewry is so bleak. As long as there are Jews that think it tragic that a Non Jewish woman has sworn off dating Jewish men, then I am hard pressed to see any kind of future for them as members of the tribe.

What kind of future will these children have?

I have never met New York State Senator Simcha Felder. All I know about him is that he is an Orthodox Jew serving a constituency - a large part of which includes Chasidic Jews. I have always believed that when an Orthodox Jew is elected to high office, that he will vote with our best interests at heart while being careful to represent all of his constituents.

Meaning non Orthodox Jews as well as non Jews. What this means to me is that when a bill is presented that will help us without hurting the rest of his constituency he will vote for it. And certainly would vote against a bill that would hurt us.

Mr. Felder might seem to have done that by holding the entire state budget hostage until it capitulated and included his provision for not-for-profit private schools with long school days (basically - Yeshivos). The budget passed with his provision added.

Mr. Felder wants Yeshivos to be exempted from the state requirement that all private and parochial schools offer a curriculum that is substantially equivalent that of public schools in core subjects. But it isn’t clear from the language just how his provision will impact the Chasidic Yeshivos in question. From the Forward:

The language in the new provision about elementary and middle schools offers a likely win for the yeshivas. The language of the provision is specific, and spells out what yeshivas do — and, by implication, do not — need to teach. The provision specifically lays out curricular goals for English, math, history, geography, civics, and science. But it makes no mention of arts or music. And the language about the curricular goals is notably narrow. It requires that students have an “understanding of civics and the responsibilities of citizens in world communities,” for example, but not an understanding of the workings of the U.S. government.

I’m not sure whether this is a win or a loss for the young students of Satmar and like minded schools. Despite the fact that Satmar leadership is celebrating it as a win, it seems like the requirement to teach core subjects are still in place. Why the celebration? I suppose the question is in how these requirements are interpreted, implemented and enforced.

Will Satmar be free to keep those courses out of their curriculum - satisfying it by, for example - saying they teach the basics within the confines of their religious studies? Or will they actually be required to offer real courses on those subjects? If the Mr. Felder’s provision is the latter, then it will be a victory for the students - if – and only if – the requirements are enforced. If it is the former, then Mr. Felder may think he has helped Satmar schools by forcing this issue down the legislature’s throat, but in my view he will instead be hurting them badly.

Satmar leadership may be happy to remain in their cultural bubble where only their rules and values mean anything to them. They may be happy to ‘comply’ with this new provision without any meaningful curriculum to back it up. The students may be happy too. But they will lose – even if they don’t realize it yet.

They will lose when they find out just how difficult it will be for them to provide for their large families in a world that demands a decent education in order to get a decent job. They will have to keep resorting to menial pay for menial work – and rely heavily as a community on government financial assistance.

The kind of assistance that begets fraud after fraud by community leaders that justify it because they believe that they are helping their members meet their financial needs - with no other way of doing that. In too many cases they end up scamming the system.

The massive amount of religious looking Jews that have been convicted of fraud in recent years has made no impact on them. They believe that they won’t get caught, I suppose. They are unwilling or unable to learn from recent history. Eventually they will have to pay a price.. as will the entire Orthodox Jewish world because of the Chilul HaShem it causes. In fact it just happened again. From Arutz Sheva:

Two senior administrators at a hasidic school in Brooklyn have admitted to scamming the federal government out of more than $3 million.

According to the New York Daily News, Elazar Porges and Joel Lowy admitted that they had inflated the costs of a school-lunch program for needy children at the Central United Talmudic Academy, a major school affiliated with the Satmar hasidic sect.

This might mean prison time for those two gentlemen. They inflated their costs because they needed the money to survive. But I have no sympathy for thieves. Not when an obvious part of the solution is to better educate their people so that they can better provide for their families and their schools.

True, a better education and resultant better income does not mean that Satmar and like Chasidic enclaves will eliminate their continued need to resort to government aid in order to help them support their very large families. But it might just reduce the incidence of fraud. Which besides being against Halacha is also a major Chilul HeShem!

Nothing new in my analysis here. What is new is what Mr. Felder has done. In my view, he will judged by how his the new provisions are interpreted, implemented, and enforced. If it leads to bettering the lives materially for the Chasdim of Satmar, then I salute him. If on the other hand it doesn't because it will legitimize Satmar’s current educational paradigm, then he will be contributing to a poverty situation ripe for continued fraud and Chilul HaShem.

I don’t know whether his motive was to satisfy Satmar’s leadership or to satisfy the needs of their Chasidim. I hope it was the latter. But that Satmar’s leaders were involved behind the scenes and are celebrating it as a victory leads me to fear it was the former. Which means we might be seeing a lot more convictions of the most religious looking Jews among us for fraud

One more thing. It seems certain that PEARLS, a group founded in 2016 to supposedly improve the secular education in these schools has thus failed in their mission. I’d love to be proven wrong. But I doubt that I am. Because if they have succeeded all of this would be moot.

Limousine motorcade honoring 63 Peleg 'Bnei Torah' (YWN)

It’s worse than I thought. The damage to Klal Yisroel wrought by Peleg’s (the Jerusalem Faction's) late leader, Rav Shmuel Auerbach is beyond anything I would have imagined. Perhaps that is why I have heard that he has been referred to a Zakem Mamre (a rebellious elder) by leaders of the more rational (in my view) segment of the Yeshiva world.

That term is reserved for a member of the Sanhedrin that rebelled and ruled against the other members - a crime punishable by death. Although not exact and clearly not applicable in our day, the comparison is apt and shows just how egregious his rebellion is considered by mainstream Charedi leaders.

I hate to speak ill of the dead. But it’s hard NOT to when (as reported by YWN) you see the tens of thousands of Yeshiva students in Jerusalem participating in an event honoring 63 of their own hat violated a law considered acceptable by the mainstream.

I was under the impression that Peleg consisted of a relatively small group of Yeshiva students. Perhaps no more than a few hundred or at most a few thousand. But the turnout at this event clearly indicates otherwise.

One might recall the kind of protests Yeshiva students form this group participated in on behalf of the misguided belief promotoed by R’ Auerbach. He believes it is forbidden for Yeshiva students to register for the draft. Even though by doing so they could continue as they have for decades – avoiding army service for as long as they are registered as full time students in a Yeshiva or Kollel. That is in fact the road taken by Rav Aharon Leib Steinman. He urged Yeshiva students to register.

This fight is not about whether there should be some form of service by Yeshiva students to their country when it is demanded of everyone else. Although I personally strongly support that notion, I can understand the mentality that opposes it. This isn’t about that. It is about how far one has to go in order to reject that notion. The rational approach is R’ Steniiman’s. Which is to follow the law when it doesn’t interfere with one’s primary goal. Which is to study Torah fill time for as long as possible without distractions or interruption. (Although there are other reasons that the Charedi world opposes army service, they are beyond the scope of this post.)

R’ Auerbach’s positon is more – idealistic – one might say. He refuse to have even the slightest connection to army service. Registering for the draft is a contradiction to that. Not to mention that in their eyes it is a slippery slope to eventual service. Which is the reason they are willing to go to jail rather than register.

I don’t even have such a problem with that. My problem is how they react to it when it happens. As noted here a few of the times when that reaction raised it’s ugly head – the Chilul HaShem that ensued was a price to high to pay for that ideal. A price that undercuts any idea that you are doing it L’Shem Shomayim (in service to God’s will). There is an expression in the Gemarah that goes as follows: Yatzah S'charo B’Hefsedah – The gain is overwhelmed by the loss. The Chilul HaShem that resulted with those protests surely negates any gain they would have had – even if one would agree with them in principle.

As much as it pained me to see those kinds of things being done by students touted as the ‘best and brightest’ among us, I was somewhat consoled by the fact that these people are in the minority. But after seeing those crowds celebrating 63 draft dodging Yeshiva students that went to jail for their misguided beliefs, I wonder how many of these participants supported those protests seeing them as a Kiddush HaShem instead of the Chilul HaShem. I am also beginning to wonder which side is mainstream? It appears that both sides are. And that’s depressing.

Why are these young people like that? Let me speculate a bit.

While the numbers of non observant Jews in America is declining, the very successful increase in the numbers of Orthodox Jewry in the 20 and 21^st can in my view be traced to the successful network of religious day schools, high schools, and Yeshivos. I don’t think there can be any doubt about that.

They taught us to be observant which kept us from total assimilation. But in some cases (both here and in Israel) that has brought us some collateral damage. Because some of that Chinuch has been distorted into a mindset that one must ignore the world outside and follow only what is taught on the ‘inside’: what is taught in the religious schools.

Being observant almost by definition means being different. That difference is extended by some Mechanchim (educators) to see the entire outside world as the antithesis to an observant life. The combination of rejecting the outside world while relying on one’s teachers for instruction and advice in all matters is where the problem lies. This worldview creates a predisposition to ignore common sense when an educator tells you to do so or implies it. That allows a Chilul HaShem that would be obvious to any normal person to be considered a Kiddush HaShem. If you are told you are fighting God’s wars by resisting the draft and at the same time see anyone getting in your way as an enemy of God, you get Peleg.

If I were a non observant Jew thinking about becoming observant and saw this… I would do a quick 180 and ask myself ‘what was I thinking?

Postscript

I was going to write a simple post today wishing everyone a Chag Sameach for the last day (or days) of Pesach. And I still do. But this event has so upset me that I just had to speak out.

Gut Yom Tov

Eliezer Berland (Arutz Sheva)

I wish I could day I am surprised by the scene depicted in the video (below) in the Jerusalem Post of Rabbi Eliezer Berland visiting the Kotel. Unfortunately I’m not surprised at all. It is the nature of charismatic leaders to retain followers even after admitting to rape and other sex crimes and spending time in prison for it. To his followers it doesn't seem to matter. He is treated like a rock star. And yet despite my lack of surprise by any of this, I still wonder where the rational mind of these people went. What is it about Rabbi Berland that allows them to venerate a man that has admitted to and was convicted of rape?!

The answer is that this is the nature of a charismatic personality. It was probably his charisma that attracted people to his outreach based Yeshiva, Shuvu Banim in the first place. That is why it is so shocking when prominent, highly accomplished people are caught literally with their pants down.

This is the reason it is so important to report suspicions of sexual abuse directly to the police. The accomplishments and accolades a successful person receives for his accomplishments make it nearly impossible to see them is the negative light that reality shines upon them. So they rationalize it as lies or as misunderstood behavior. Even after personally admitting to what he did serving time and apologizing for it. It is as if he never did anything wrong. He is comes off as a hero for ‘suffering’ time in prison as a means of atonement for the sins of his followers. (Sound familiar?)

Added to this phenomenon in the case of people like Berland whose appearance is that of a pious leader in Breslov with his long beard an Peyos and traditional White Kipa and Kapote and it’s just plain hard to picture that an 80 year old man who looks like this, could have ever done what he was accused of and said to have admitted to. They simply don’t believe it.

His charismatic ways insured a large following. His public personna must have conveyed a strong aura of piety of the type seen in other religious leaders with a large following. If one did not know about his sex crimes, one saw a man whose personal conduct was comparable theirs.

His pious image did not go unnoticed by legitimate religious figures like Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Grossman and Rav Chaim Kaneievsky. How could a man like Berland have raped anybody?! Denial is a natural response o someone whose history, personal conduct and achievements are so clear. They must have believed that it is all a bunch of lies; pure gossip or Lashon Hara which at best was half truths with more to the story that would explain and exonerate him. In other words what has been reported couldn’t possibly be true or taken at face value.

It was a façade. But I don’t think Berland started out that way. He probably actually was good at reaching out to non religious Jews – bringing them to observance. It’s quite possible that until he fell victim to his own lust to the point hurting others that he was sincere in what he did.

His early life had no incidences like that. At least none that have been reported. It was typical of the stories one hears about how how great people become great. He studied in the finest Yeshivos and Kollels in and at one time had as a Chavusa, the Steipler Gaon, one of the truly great Torah luminaries the 20^th century. The Steipler was a man whose behavior defined refinement and humility! Although his path to greatness was not unlike many others that achieved it, he was ultimately flawed and in the process allowed his lust to lead him to sexual gratification at the expense of others.

So it is understandable that a man with his educational influences and history of good works – a man that until he committed those crimes might have had an ArtScroll biography written about him, still retains his followers. He certainly still looks the part! Which may be why he got preferential treatment at the Kotel. And probably why he has retained thev enration of many of his followers (if not all of them).

One lesson to be learned here it is the one issued by Chazal" Al Tamin B'Atzmencha Ad Yom Misecha - Don't believe in yourself until the day you die. It is pure folly to be overconfident in your own piety. Of course in Berland’s case , it became more than about succumbing to his lust. he became a predator.

Another lesson is that one must never place all of his marbles in one basket. Do not rely on one individual for your Judaism. One must face the truth when it confronts you and not run away from it. No matter how much it distresses you. You must throw away the chaff and retain the wheat. In this case the ‘chaff’ is Berland and the ‘wheat’ is the Torah values you attained. Those values are real despite the medium in which your discovered them.

And prehaps the most important lesson to learn here is that no matter how great someone seems to you, not matter what his achievements are in life. If he is accused of any kind of sexual misconduct, do not be blinded by his past contributions to the world. By destroying one soul he has destroyed the world. That is how he should be viewed now. Unless he does real Teshuva which means going to every individual he hurt and asking for forgiveness and then asking God for it - he should be shunned.

EMTs of Ezras Nashim (Ezras Nashim Website)

If there is a better example of misogyny among some of my fellow Orthodox Jews I’d like see it. Frankly I don’t think there is.

YWNposted a story that is apparently floating around Boro Park about a tragic event that happened there. It openly ‘warns’ people not to use ‘Ezras Nashim’ because of their apparent ineptitude. Which resulted in woman’s death.

Ezras Nashim is a volunteer group of EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) created and operated by women for women. It was founded and is run by the Honorable Judge Ruchie Freier, a Chasidic woman living in Boro Park. She saw a need in that community and filled it. I cannot say enough about Mrs. Freier. For me she is a role model for what women in a world where they are frequently discouraged to do - can do. Ruchie Freier is a Chasidic wife and mother of six who trained to be an EMT, founded the innovative Ezras Nashim, got her law degree and then eventually got elected as a judge - now serving in criminal court.

I have no clue whether the story in YWN is true or whether it is fiction. My inclination is not to believe it. But even if the bare-bone facts of the story are true, the description of ineptitude on the part of the female EMTs is so filled with bias that one would have to be an idiot to believe that spin.It obviously does not resemble the truth about Ezras Nashim in any way! The writer’s agenda is clear. He explicitly states it at the end of the story, albeit in a way he thinks makes him sound like it’s all about saving lives:

I am writing this because I myself when I had a certain medical emergency called Ezras Nushim and they nearly killed me. I cannot go into details…

First, it is likely that the writer is Chasidic because of the way he spelled the word ‘Nashim’ as ‘Nushim’. The pronunciation is in the Chasidic dialect. That should not come as a surprise since Boro Park now consists primarily of Chasidim.

Now before I continue, I want to make perfectly clear that I have no issue with that likelihood. I mention it for the following reason. It might help to explain why the grammar in his description of that event is so poor. It is very possible that the writer attended a school that had no formal secular education.

One might protest and say that this is irrelevant to this issue. But I don’t think it is. Although not all Chasidic groups feel this way, those that insist on not providing their male students with any secular education – tend to shun the idea of women getting involved in anything remotely public. They believe doing so is immodest. Becoming an EMT is no exception. They believe that men can handle these issues just fine without them. Probably even better! Which is what the writer of this story seems to corroborate.

I obviously can’t say with absolute certainty that this is the case here. But that last paragraph strongly suggests that kind of bias. While most of the rest of Orthodox world has been praising the creation of Ezras Nashim, which has endorsements from some of the most right wing Poskim anyone can imagine - this writer found a way to criticize them without seeming to be misogynistic. Except that he failed miserably in the attempt. It is pretty clear to me that he is.

It is unfortunately quite obvious to me from the nearly 300 comments on that story that there are more than a few Orthodox Jews quite thrilled with what he wrote. It justifies their misogyny with a claim that it is all about saving lives. They might think that their opposition is perceived that way. But there misogyny comes through like a locomotive - loud and clear.

It is important to know for the rest of the Orthodox world to know this. And to understand that that this post was written with an agenda. Which is to destroy this fine organization for the ‘best of religious reasons’:

Pikuach Nefesh is involved. It will save lives. Those who opposed it were right. These women just can’t hack it. Women are incompetent in a crisis. A woman died because of that. Let us make sure that this never happens again and boycott Ezras Nashim (and put women back in the kitchen, barefoot, and pregnant, where they belong).

My hope is that the vast majority of mainstream Orthodoxy will see right through this post and realize it is agenda based and has no resemblance to reality.

I am absolutely convinced that the women who volunteer for Ezras Nashim are every bit as qualified as men who volunteer for Hatzalah. It wouldn’t surprise if they are even more qualified. Because of existing inequities between men and women in general - women may even have to work harder to ‘make the grade’ than men in order to be certified.

It’s like what Ginger Rogers said about her famous dance scenes with Fred Astaire. Who is considered one of the greatest dancers in movie history. She not only had to do all of the steps Astaire did, she had to do them backwards and in heels.

The moral of the sorry here is that anyone who reads that story in YWN – don’t believe it! It is either not true or woefully misleading about what actually happened. The presentation of the facts is clearly biased against women. I’m sure that any fair investigation of the facts would reveal that. If you are a woman living in Boro Park and wish to have qualified female EMTs attend to you in a medical emergency, do not hesitate to call the EMTs at Ezras Nashim. Anything Ruchie Freier is involved with is pure gold. They will not let you down.

The Chazon Ish, Rav Yeshayahu Karelitz, ZTL

A couple of days ago, I discussed a possible explanation of why a charismatic rabbi and convicted rapist is still treated like a celebrity by his followers and some religious figures (like those at the Kotel). Making it even more perplexing is that he had admitted to his crimes before sentencing.

A Charedi Rav that I admire had the opportunity to read that post and sent me a related note with which I whole heartedly agree. I am honored to have been given permission to publish it here. He wishes to remain anonymous for reasons that will become obvious. It touches on a phenomenon that in my view has hurt Orthodox Judaism in major ways. Rather than explaining why, I will let his note speak for itself. It follows.

I read your post on Berland. While the article itself speaks about him, which could probably be summarized into כל הגדול מחבירו יצרו גדול הימנו, and that he fell prey to this, it did not address another issue that is relevant to all of Klal Yisroel.

The frum communities have fallen prey to a dynamic that has been absorbed from the secular world. It is called “Hero Worship”. Yes, we have grown to ascribe great things to personalities who have achieved public stature.

The truth is infrequently relevant, and traits that are unknown to the individual become attributed to him (usually men).

This occurs way too often with chassidishe rebbes, and is also rampant in the litvishe velt, where Roshei Yeshivos are similarly deified.

It is a serious breach when someone uses his status as a Rov, Rebbe, Rosh Yeshiva, or other (religious title) to claim expertise in many areas where there is zero experience. It is too common to hear some people with these titles offer advice and guidance in medical issues, chinuch questions, personal problems, family discord, shalom bayis, etc.

I get frightened when I see the families who have been irreparably damaged by this, and many in the mental health field are dedicating their time to service and repair the damage done by these non-experts who cling to the cloak of leadership.

Even presidents have advisors. Your take on Berland is quite rational. I am wondering about the followers. It seems that these personages become celebrities, can do no wrong, have achieved major levels of spirituality, and can carry others on their coattails to the heights of g-dliness.

Is the public so stupid? Are people so blind that they can gaze directly into a totally trashed sense of morality, but yet seek to prop it up with the fervor and passion that should be reserved for only HKB”H Himself?

While reading the periodic newscasts about the escapades of Berland while he circled the globe, I understood him. What criminal doesn’t even consider flight? But the followers always eluded me. They made no sense. The fellow admitted he could not maintain the chastity of a simple frum Jew, yet he occupied a position as a spiritual leader.

The dissonance of this is one of the loudest sounds in this entire saga. But the outside world does this, too. The celebrities are followed for their preferences of products they might never use, for their political opinions, and given respect that should belong to those who are true specimens of morality and spirituality, not them.

As I indicated, I could not agree with his assessment of today’s religious Jewish world more. In my view this mindset is a direct result of the concept of Daas Torah as it is now interpreted in the more right wing circles. Daas Torah is the modern day interpretation of Emunas Chachamim. Which is non existent today according to Rav Aharon Leib Steinman, ZTL. The degree of infallibility vested in leaders in both the Chasidic and the Lithuanian (Litvishe)Yeshiva world makes this phenomenon almost impossible to change.

While most followers of rabbinic leaders will pay lip service to the fallibility of their leaders – and might even cite instances of it, they nevertheless treat their leaders as though they are infallible.

How can they then find instances of fallibility? They might find instances of an admission by one of their leaders to a mistake they have made. But their followers would never do so on their own. That would be Chutzpah! …and tantamount to saying God Himself was wrong.

They will use the biblical command of ‘Lo Sasur’ - Do not turn (to the right or to the left). This was meant to apply to the instructions of a Sanhedrin. The Rishonim disagree how far this command should be extended. Most do not apply it to today’s rabbinic leadership. And yet - that is how it is applied today in right wing circles. Which makes up the majority of Orthodox Jews. In essence this has deified their rabbinic leadership - as the writer noted.

One can see this attitude quite clearly at Agudah conventions where many of the speakers will speak of ‘Daas Torah’ in the most glowing terms of near infallibility. One can also see it among Yeshiva students that will make no move without consulting their spiritual mentors (e.g. a Rebbi, Rosh Yeshiva, or Mashgiach). And then follow their advice – to the exclusion of anyone else’s advice or even their own common sense in some cases.

Even greater devotion is expressed by Chasidim about their Rebbes. Lubavitch being the most extreme example of that. That in my view is why they have a Messianist attitude about their late Rebbe. They consider him to be the ‘perfect’ human being - making him godlike!

(As an aside it is somewhat ironic that Telshe Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Chaim Dov Keller castigated Chabad in one of his more famous essays in the Jewish Observer. Calling them ‘Rebbe-Centered’ instead of ‘God-Centered’. Rabbi Keller has been one of their biggest critics. And yet it is ironic because some of that exists in his own backyard.)

It is also the reason that Peleg adherents are so stridently resiting the draft. They view R' Shmuel Auerbach that way.

As noted by the writer, Gadol worship (or hero worship - as he puts it) can have disastrous consequences. For example there is the vaccination controversy where one rabbinic leader has chosen to believe in junk science and openly express a view that vaccinations are a hoax. And need I mention the damage done by rabbinic leaders that require all credible suspicions of sex abuse to be first vetted by them before reporting them to the police?

I should mention that the writer is not alone in his assessment of egregious errors made by those Poskim that rule on matters they clearly are ignorant about. I recall a Melva Malka many years ago at HTC where Rabbi Moshe Tendler was the scholar in residence that weekend. He was asked to speak about his father-in-law, Rav Moshe Feinstein.

The one thing that stuck with me over all these years is how his father-in-law, Rav Moshe, would never Paskin without first consulting experts in the field about which he was asked. Rabbi Tendler told us about the horror stories from those lower level Poskim that were ignoramuses about the subjects about which they were asked - and yet thought they knew enough to Paskin without consulting experts.

Despite all of this, Gadol worship has taken hold. The world of Orthodoxy has changed. And like the writer indicates – not always for the better.

President Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen

Those who read this blog regularly know of my antipathy for the current President. I did not vote for him and still consider him an unprecedented embarrassment to this country. But those same readers also know that I am far from disappointed in most of his policies with respect to the Jewish people and Israel. I am in fact thankful to President Trump for them. Just as a reminder about some of them:

He has warmed up the relationship between White House and the Israeli leadership that turned ice cold during the last administration.

He has granted official US recognition to Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital, something I feared might escalate violence. I am happy to say an escalation of violence did not materialize in any significant way. Despite predictions by experienced diplomats and so-called experts on the Arab Israeli conflict to the contrary. And despite actual promises of violence by the Palestinian leadership. And despite near universal condemnation of this declaration.

The President has promised to not only move the US embassy to Israel but to expedite it in time for Israel’s 70^th independence day celebration next month.

There is also his decision to appoint the first observant Jew to represent America as its ambassador to Israel.

And there is his appointment of the magnificent Nikky Haley as America’s ambassador to the UN. Unlike recent UN ambassadors whose support was there but not always enthusiastic and actually deteriorated at the end of the last administration, Haley has been a staunch defender and unabashed supporter.

Last but nit east there was the commutation of Shalom Rubashkin’s 27 year prison sentence to time served. After 8 years in Prison - it was exactly the right call. One that had not only bi-partisan support in congress, but the support of many respected jurists, nearly all former Attorneys General and some past leaders of the FBI and CIA.

The President’s economic policies have been very beneficial to those of us that are invested in the stock market. Which is especially important to the elderly that rely heavily on their retirement portfolios. Their value has increased substantially ever since he took office just over a year ago.

While the market has been pretty volatile over the last few weeks when he started talking about imposing tariffs on imported goods (which would increase the production costs of businesses that need to buy those goods – the stock market has nonetheless retained its increased value – much of it resulting from his pro business tax cuts. Not to mention that those tax cuts that have helped lower jobless claims to the lowest level since 1973!

That being said, the President remains a disgusting creature in both his personal life and public life. His many comments disparaging a variety of people – even some of those that supported him is anything but Presidential. He comes off sounding like an adolescent name calling bully. Whose vocabulary is inferior to that of any competent 12 year old.

His tweets are often personal attacks filled with exaggerations and lies. His now infamous Access Hollywood recording describing how he gets away with all manner sexual misconduct because of his celebrity status illustrates a lack of decency and moral character. The voluminous accusations against him by women who said he sexually abused are a disgrace. The affairs he is accused of having with a porn star and a Playboy model add mightily to his negative image.

I am conflicted. Frankly, I can’t wait for the day he is no longer in office. As an American I am so tired of hanging my head in shame at the mere mention of the name ‘Trump’. But at the same I feel grateful for all he has done for Israel – and correcting what I believe was ultimately an injustice to a fellow Jew.

And yet, I happen to agree with him about the Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel investigation. I can’t help but see it as a total witch hunt.

Bob Mueller is recognized as a man of high integrity and is supported on both sides of the political aisle. He was appointed by Assistant Attorney general Rod Rosenstein to investigate whether there was collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign to influence the election favorably for Trump. And to see if the President is guilty of obstruction of Justice afterwords.

The investigation is nearly a year old and as of this date there has not been any indication that Mueller’s probe has gotten anywhere near getting evidence of ether of those things. There have been some indictments of peripheral people. And there is little doubt that Russian operatives tried to sabotage the election via cyber attacks. But so far none of this has been tied to Trump directly.

It should be noted that Republican members of their own bi-partisan probe found no evidence of collusion or obstruction after closing their investigation. (Obviously Democrats on the committee had a different take.)

But now that Stephanie Clifford has revealed that she was paid a $300,000 by Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, to remain silent about her affair with Trump, Mueller’s investigation has segued into that. However, since it has absolutely nothing to do with his mandate it was referred to federal investigators see if campaign finance laws were violated. The thinking is that the payment of hush money can be considered a contribution if it was done for purposes of the campaign. Federal investigators immediately sought and got a ‘no knock’ warrant to enter Cohen’s office and residence to seize any documents related to that investigation.

It is as if there is an unofficial conspiracy by Trump's political and personal enemies to find any dirt on Trump that they can. And they are looking under every rock until they find something that sticks. Which to me sounds like a ‘witch hunt’.

I’m sure that many will disagree with me and describe all this as par for the course in any investigation. When a committee comes upon information indicating a possible crime which is not within their purview to investigate, it is their obligation to forward it to those agencies that have that jurisdiction. But it still smells like a witch hunt to me.

I realize that Trump’s political opposition wants desperately to get rid of him. But not necessarily for the same reasons I do. They have a political agenda that the President has been undermining mightily! Much more than any other President of an opposition party in my lifetime.

Much as I would like to see Trump be replaced by Vice President Mike Pence - whose demeanor and behavior would honor this country instead of embarrassing it, I am disgusted by the tactics of using a witch hunt in order to accomplish it. The President may be the most immoral man to ever hold this office. But sad to say being immoral is not a disqualifier. And witch hunts are not a just means to a just end.

Zaidy Marcus and Dovid, a great grandson

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. In Israel every Jew with any sense of respect for the dignity of Holocaust survivors upon hearing the call of the siren - stops for a moment of silence in their memory of the six million Jews that perished.

As a child of the Holocaust I am particularly sensitive to anything to do with that time. My parents and my wife's parents all experienced its horrors and survived each with their own story to tell.

I just returned from a poignant program at Arie Crown Hebrew Day School where some of my younger grandchildren still attend. My 84 year old sister in law, Anne Maryles spoke. She told the assembled children there of her experience surviving that period of time. It was both the horrific and inspiring at the same time.

My daughter Rivkie Greenland has written a powerful and beautiful tribute to my father in law reminiscing about her personal memories. He was indeed a very great man. Someone that personified both Torah scholarship and humility. In honor of this day, her words follow in full.

I grew up with 4 survivor grandparents. Three of whom were at my wedding. Today, none are left.

ALL of my grandparents z”l lived through unspeakable horrors.

This post is dedicated to my Zadie Mordechai ztl, or as we lovingly called him, Zadie Markus. In his book “מיינע ליבע קינדער”(My Dear Children), he emphatically instructed us to understand the details of his story of survival and to never forget it.

I thought you might like to meet him first.

There is not one of us who did not adore him or think of him as a great person. He was a quiet man, and only spoke when spoken to, or when there was something very important to say. But with his very few words, we knew he loved my Bubbie (a”h) and Mom and Auntie Ruthie. We knew he loved all of us. I don’t know how we knew it...he wasn’t kissy or huggy or mushy.... but we just knew.

I vividly remember Zadie eating Farina in the kitchen of his house in Detroit, Michigan, on the corner of Dartmouth and Westhampton. As a very young girl, I remember visiting him in Bornstein’s Bookstore where he worked. I also remember visiting him at the place where he worked as a mashgiach. I remember asking him if he was allowed to take food from the caterer’s kitchen any time he wanted and he quickly said “no.” I couldn’t understand why. Im sure no one would have minded if he ate an egg roll or two if he was hungry.... But it didn’t belong to him, and he didn’t need it, so he didnt take it. It was as simple as that.

I remember the hot stamping machine he had in his basement. Zadie used to hot stamp things like benchers and Kippahs. I always wanted to try that machine. Something about creating detailed things intrigued me.

I vividly remember Zadie sitting at his Shabbos table and singing this niggun called.... well, I don’t know what it was called. I guess we called it “Zadie’s niuggun.” I don’t know where it came from, or if it had words. Did Zadie sing it at his Shabbos table with his family before the war? Was it passed down from generation to generation? Did he hear it somewhere? Or was it just ringing in his head? If I close my eyes tight, I can faintly remember the tune.

I vividly remember Zadie learning Torah. A lot. My mother said he learned most of what he knew after the war, beginning in his 40s. He was a huge Talmud Chacham (Torah Scholar). We all knew it. Yet, he was understated, never haughty about the Torah he knew. Often he was our Posek; usually because he was makil (lenient) on everything. And it wasn’t because he didn’t know the halacha. Zadie was makpid (stringent) to not make our lives any harder than they needed to be. He was that kind of person.

When we were older, we use to play “Stump Zadie with Torah Questions” at the Pesach Seder. As you can imagine, he won every time.

He was a man of simple needs but not a simple man. He lived through the horrors of the Holocaust. His ENTIRE family tragically perished. His ENTIRE town heart-breakingly destroyed. He survived by living in the attic of a righteous gentile for 4 years.

FOUR. YEARS!

He lived there together with 6 other Jews from his town. All that time, he Never saw the light of day. But the 7 of them survived and were eventually liberated. They were the only surviving 7 from their entire town.

He got married to Bubbie (a”h) soon after the war and was blessed with two beautiful daughters whom they sent to learn Torah in Bais Yaakov, without question of sending them to public school.

Like others post-war, he had many jobs. And not because he had many interests. Zadie Mordechai was THAT Jew... the one who got hired on Monday and fired on Friday because he was unwilling to be m’challel (desecrate) Shabbos. But he did not let that stop him. On Monday, he got up and got another job, the next week another, and another, and did whatever it took to retain a Jewish home with Torah values, always learning Torah, never speaking lashon hara, all this even after all the horrific years he had been through. This was Yaharog V’al Ya’Avor (not to be given up for anything) with him. His dedication and perseverance to maintaining a Jewish home with Torah values was unwavering.

I was lucky to be the first grandchild to name a child after him. My Mordechai, my Marcus (yes that is his real English name though we changed the “k” to a “c”) is the complete antithesis of Zadie’s personality. But there is a commonality between them and it may be the most important character trait of all..... perseverance and determination even in the face of difficult challenges.

I’m know he beamed with pride about the daughters he raised with Torah values who gave this mesorah over to their kids, who gave this mesorah over to their kids and, Bezh one day will give this over to their kids.

He loved and honored my Bubbie.He loved and honored his family and relished in their successes. He loved Torah.

That was it.

That was all there needed to be.

לעלוי נשמת all 4 of my grandparents a”h

Mordecahi Ben Yitzchak Isaac
Tziril Bas Avrohm Meyer
Shimon Ben Chaim Noach
Bayla Bas Tzvi

who survived the Shoah, dedicated themselves to rebuilding and living a life of Torah values and are no longer here with us to tell their stories. It is incumbent for us now to tell their stories for them.

Anti Israel extremists of Meah Shearim (Arutz Sheva)

I appreciate the sentiment. In fact, I might have in a moment of anger supported it. But ultimately it is a really bad idea.

I don’t know anything about Evyatar Elbaz. But he has apparently arranged for something he calls a ‘Victory Round’ to take place on Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) in the heart of Meah Shearim. Where riots have recently taken place which have included some of the most despicable behavior ever by religious looking Jews! As Elbaz noted in an article in Arutz Sheva, those riots ‘have turned the lives of Jerusalem residents into hell in recent months.’

"The peak of course was the violent and despicable behavior of those extremists who desecrated the funeral procession and kidnapped the body of the baby who drowned in a hotel in Ashdod. This is compounded by Jerusalem road-blocking, vandalism of city property, injury to haredim who decided to join the army, and of course their traditional contempt for state symbols such as Memorial Day for Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Independence Day,"

Elbaz and other activists will arrive Sunday in jeeps flying flags of the State of Israel. He says he is not afraid and is prepared for every neighborhood resident reaction. "They have to understand that with violence and crazy extremism they won't achieve anything," Elbaz stressed.

The problem with doing this is that it will not change the hearts and minds of people that believe the worst about Israeli leaders, - having referred to them more than once as Nazis. A march through those neighborhoods on a day that they consider a tragedy for the Jewish people will only make them angry. It may even spark violence between those proudly carrying those flags and those that spit on it.

As much as I understand and agree with Elbaz’s motives, I am strongly opposed at this march. Whatever statement they want to make will be outweighed by the violence that may very easily ensue.

His goal of conveying to them that violence and extremism won't achieve anything will fall on deaf ears. It won’t work,.

I don’t know what will. I have no real clue how to prevent future riots by those Israel haters. These are people with a mission! They are ideologues that will not compromise. They view themselves as guardians of the gates of Torah... soldiers for God at war with those that they think want to destroy it.

They see opposition to the State as a religious imperative –worthy of great sacrifice! And obviously worthy of hurting fellow innocent Jews in the process. Whatever it takes! For example setting dumpsters on fire which has been a tactic of theirs in the past creates toxic fumes that can easily harm the sick and elderly of their own neighborhoods. But they don’t care. For them, it’s all about their cause! Sound familiar?

The truth is that violent protesters of Meah Shearim have a lot in common with violent Islamic Fundamentalists. Their views on Israel - sourced in their religious beliefs - are for all practical purposes identical. They are both religious extremists that want Israel destroyed and are willing to hurt others when it suits their purposes.

So a mere march with Israeli flags down Meah Shearim’s main street will only strengthen their resolve and might result in violence that will not serve to advance their goal.

Instead of marching against them in their own neighborhoods, any ideology that causes the kind of continued riots that happen in this community should be condemned. Religious leaders that promote it should be isolated from the rest of the observant civilized world. They already have a start in that direction. They self isolate from the rest of us.

But even that is not enough. Although I don’t think it will ever happen, their rabbinic leaders who promote that ideology need to be condemned by the entire mainstream Orthodox establishment same as it does the extremists on the Left.

There can no longer be any kind of apologetics for them. There can be no “I condemn what they do but I agree with their motives’. No more ‘puff pieces’ in Charedi magazines about how wonderfully religious they are - and even how idealistic their anti Israel views are. Their leaders need to be completely ostracized by the rest of the Torah world as ‘Chutz L’Machane’ - outside the camp of Torah! A virtual Cherem if you will!

That should be accompanied by full support of the government to crack down on them if and when it happens again. No more pity. No more‘trying to get them off’. If laws are broken they ought to be punished to the full extent of the law. With the complete unequivocal support of all of mainstream Orthodox leadership. Protests to that should be followed with similar consequences. Even if every single one of them ends up in prison.

There are those that say, that even this won’t help. Perhaps they’re right. But as least the world will know that these people do not represent the Torah no matter how loudly they scream it.

I’m happy to see the Agudah on board. I received a communication from David Nyer* with a statement** from mainstream Orthodox institutions about the violence perpetrated by Charedi extremists in Israel.

Agudah spokesman, Rabbi Avi Shafran, has joined the RCA, OU, and Young Israel - condemning recent attacks perpetrated by Charedi extremists in Israel towards the IDF and Israeli police. It’s nice to see them speaking again with one voice on an issue vital to the Jewish world. Just as they have with respect to the extremists on Orthodoxy’s Left..

But as I’ve noted in the past (more than once) one has to look beyond the actual perpetrators of violence and recognize the source of the problem: The rabbinic factions in Israel whose anti Israel and anti Army rhetoric has given these miscreants ‘permission’ to behave this way. They reason that their leader’s condemnation of the government and the army justifies their behavior in this vein.

Especially since even the moderate Charedi leadership in Israel has been relatively quiet about these attacks. The staement made of that. And included the following appeal by Young Israel president Farley Weiss:

…to all Jewish Rabbinical and communal leaders in Israel to join us in condemning these reprehensible actions and we must do all in our power to prevent these attacks.”

I wish I had any confidence in this happening in any significant way. I may be wrong but even in America I do not for example see Agudah going beyond a statement.

I’m glad they have come on board with the sentiment. (Although it doesn’t really surprise me.) But actions speak louder than words. And I do not see them doing everything in their power to prevent these attacks. There are mainstream members of the Agudah Moetzes that actually side with the factions in Israel that inspire those extremists. They have made public statements expressing it and have attended anti Israel protest rallies organized by Satmar - standing side by side with their leaders in support of those sentiments.

Clearly the solution is in dealing with source of the problem. I just don’t see that happening because of the support by some of them of the view and rhetoric that inspires those extremists.

For me the course of action is pretty clear as I have outlined many times. The leadership that inspires these extremists should be shunned.

There are those who say it’s virtually impossible to do more than they already have. I’ve heard it all before. ‘What are they supposed to do with those extremists?’ ‘They don’t listen to anyone!’ That their behavior has been condemned falls on their deaf ears. They deem those extremists juvenile delinquents in any case - not interested in listening to their leadership.

But there is something the mainstream Charedi leadership in Israel can do. It is the opposite of what they have done till now.

I recall not long ago, an incident where one of the Charedi Knesset members interceded on behalf of one of the jailed draft dodgers and to got him released from jail. What he should have done instead is doubled down on that jail sentence and insisted that it be carried out in full. And made clear that that breaking the law will not be tolerated. As a legislator it is his duty to see back up law enforcement and the judicial system that metes out justice. The law must be followed. ‘Getting the guy off’ was exactly the wrong call and served only to encourage them to continue along their violent path. What’s to stop them? Certainly not any significant time in jail!

I once again say to the Charedi leadership in Israel to do more than pay lip service condemnation to the violence perpetrated by extremists (if they’ve even done that). And to stop saying that it is just a few extremists doing it. Because even if that’s true, it is clear what motivates them. Or at the very least gives them their excuse. They will say that they are simply doing something about the beliefs of their leaders. There has to be action, they say in order to make their point.

I actually agree. There has to be action – by the more sane members of the Charedi mainstream in Israel. Actions along the lines I suggested in previous posts on the subject (such as those I mentioned last Friday). Not mere words accompanied by apologetics.

Unless and until that happens, this will continue. Innocent Israelis; some of them patriots serving in he military; some of those Charedi - will continue to be physically and emotionally hurt by these extremists. The Charedi leadership in Israel (as well as some of the Charedi leadership in America) that support the views that inspire those extremists must share responsibility for some of the evil that results. It’s too bad they don’t realize it yet. Or perhaps they do but tolerate it since according to them the greater good is being served.

*David Nyer, LCSW, is an Orthodox activist. He can be reached via email at djn415@aol.comfor any questions or comments.

**not yet available online. As soon as it is, I will link to it. Until then it is available in full here: (Link)

Rabbi Aharon Teitlebaum - Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Joel

Two wrongs don’t make a right. One might be tempted to use statistics about New York City’s public schools to bolster the argument made by the Satmar Rebbe. He argues against offering secular studies in their schools. He might point to those statistics and ask, what good is such a program? Why should they even consider it? And add that their own schools do a far better job educating their students than public schools do.

That argument has no sway with me. Because we are talking about two different populations.

One population is Chasidic. Their children come from homes where education is stressed as one of the highest of Jewish values.That helps motivate their children to learn. The public school population on the other hand consists to a significant extent of inner city schools whose students come from homes where education is not a high priority – if at all. I would not be surprised that the numbers are pulled way down by those inner city schools. From VIN:

Under the auspices of the United States Department of Education, the National Assessment of Educational Progress has been testing fourth and eighth graders nationwide on reading and math since 1966 in order to assess schools’ progress and improve education.

But reports from the NAEP’s 2017 tests have shown both city and state public schools have demonstrated little improvement over the past few years, with only 22 percent of fourth graders earning reading scores that reached the test’s “proficiency” level, compared with 27 percent nationwide.

Eighth graders had similar scores, with just 24 percent achieving the “proficient” ranking, compared to 31 percent nationwide. In both grades, black and Hispanic students’ scores trailed those of their white peers by a range of 23 to 30 points.

According to a New York Post editorial, the NAEP report demonstrates that despite the highest per student spending in the nation, New York State is failing its public school students.

There are really two issues here. One issue is whether secular studies do in fact benefit students materially - which of course segues into the decision by Satmar Rebbe to not provide those studies.

The other issue is how well universal public education as implemented now serves the public interest.

Satmar Schools

Rabbi Aharon Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Joel has expressed his opinion loudly and clearly. His comments are, however, are misleading. He has declared victory against those who wish to force Satmar to offer secular studies. The New York State legislature has granted Satmar schools an exemption from the state requirement of private and parochial to offer a secular studies program equivalent to public schools. His praise for State Senator Simcha. Felder who spearheaded this effort in the state legislature has been effusive. Calling it a victory over Gzeiras HaShmad (A government decree to convert Jews). He compared all current attempts to enforce that rule to the antisemitic attempts by Czarist Russia to force secular studies upon Yeshivos in his country over a century ago.

History records that those Yeshivos had shut down rather than submit to those changes. What the Satmar Rebbe fails to mention is the huge difference between what happened then and what is happening now: the differing motivations. Differences recognized by the philosophical heirs to the very Yeshivos that closed down at that time.

Today the vast majority of these Yeshivos offer a secular studies programs. Most of which is equivalent to what is offered in public schools. And even those that aren’t quite up to that standard, still provide a variety of secular studies that Satmar refuses to offer.

Claiming that this is a victory over Gzeiras HaShmad is therefore quite ingenuous. He has tried to bolster his argument by claiming the courses required by the state include ideologies that are anathema to Judaism - some of it being actual Apikursus. That too is disingenuous. While there may be some courses that might be taught in an unacceptable manner. Clearly they don’t have to be. Otherwise none of the Yeshivos that offer them - would. And then there is the slight little detail that Satmar girls actually do have a secular studies program. Do they teach their girls Apikursus?

I dare say that if their boys had the same curriculum that their girls do, there would be no controversy.

Some might argue that allowing the government to get their foot in the door – even in legitimate ways is a slippery slope to being forced to eventually teach Apikursus. The problem with that kind of thinking is that most Yeshivos have for decades been providing secular studies to their students without any problem. Obviously they were not worried about it at the start and have been proven right not to worry..

What about the claim by the Satmar Rebbe that their Chasdim are happy with their lot... and that they produce good, highly productive citizens despite the lack of any secular studies program? One need only read one letter (translated from Yiddish) to understand why this is at best an exaggeration. It was written in the form of an open letter to the Satmar Rebbe by a Chasid that actually loves his lifestyle, his community, and his Rebbe. And does not want to leave.

The writer has a relatively decent paying job byway of his own determination and self education. But he notes that because Satmar lacks any kind of formal secular education, he was left unprepared for the real world. He was denied the kind of income that the educated professionals he works with have via their education.Why was he short changed? Consider that his salary is well above the typical salary made by most other Chasidim in his community. And yet he is mired in debt and can barely support his large family.

He accuses the Rebbe in less than subtle terms of being out of touch with his Chasdim because of the relatively lavish lifestyle provided for him by his community as the Rebbe of Satmar. He does not begrudge him those perks. As the Rebbe of a major Chasidus, he deserves to be treated that way. But it does keep him out of touch with the financial realities his Chasdim face every day

I don’t know if this Chasid speaks for all Satmar Chasidim. But I’ll bet dollars to donuts that he is not alone. Which is exactly why some expatriate Chasidim have tried to get Satmar to do what other Yeshivos do - and offer a secular studies program. Same as they do for their own girls.

What do other Satmar Chasdim think about all this? I don’t know but I suppose that ignorance is bliss. I’ll bet many of them simply believe that their Rebbe knows whats best and are satisfied living their lives in poverty - using the welfare system as a source of income. heir Rebbe said this was a victory over Gzeiras HaShmad. So it must be true. Except that it isn’t.

Public Schools

The second issue is the state of public school education. The above statistics speak to the failure of public school education as it now stands. After decades of continually throwing money at the problem it argues mightily for a radical change. One that will direct motivated students into academic schools and re-route unmotivated ones to vocational schools. Vocational schools that will have only one major academic subject: English. Reading, writing, and speaking English is probably the primary tool for succeeding at a decent job these days. Outside of that training for vocational skills should be their mandate. I think parochial schools should offer vocational schools or programs too..

Vouchers that could be applied to all types of academic and vocational schools or studies would help solve a lot of the problems the above mentioned statistics indicate. Parents could then choose the school that’s right for their children instead of sending them to a neighborhood school that at best limits their options.

The argument by teachers unions that public schools must take everyone while charter, private and parochial schools can pick and choose who they want. would lose some of its luster.

One thing seems certain. Public education as it stands now is not working.If anything says throwing more money at the problem doesn’t work, the above mentioned statistics do. It’s time for a change.

Frida Vizel does a good job describing the truth about Chasidic education. In her Tablet Magazine article of the same title, she tries to be objective about her former community. The former Satmar community resident describes in some detail what life is really like there and tries to navigate between the two polar opposite descriptions of it. Claiming it is not as dire as Shulem Deen describes in his New York Times oped on the subject, but does agrees that they could still use a lot of improvement.

I should note that even though Ms. Vizel was educated by Satmar she is quite articulate. This does not however reflect the kind of education the men receive in that world. Women do get a secular education there. I don’t know whether she is observant or not, but that is irrelevant. I believe she has presented an honest view of Satmar life.

The point of her article is that their finances and job opportunities are a lot better than the impression one gets from the many stories and opinion pieces written about them. Here is how she puts it:

To hear the defenders of core education say it, a community of children without modern education will result in destitution and a reliance on government handouts—your tax dollars. The problem with this argument is that it is hyperbolic and insincere, even if census data seems to support it. It is true that Hasidim need to do more to provide adequate vocational training for jobs that require specific credentials. But that’s different from saying Hasidim are really one of the poorest communities in the country. Several factors skew the census data: Hasidim have very large families; I come from one of fifteen. They live in heavily concentrated areas, which amplifies any trend. Income might be underreported. And the community is very good at using its collective power to lobby and organize for as many government programs as possible. Just because people are good at getting benefits doesn’t mean they are poorer.

While Mrs, Vizel tries to use these words to defend her old community, I find this description falling short of that mark

The community is still grossly under-educated and its members often uses antiquated means to support themselves. This is hardly a prescription for a financially secure future in a 21^stcentury economy. Here is her description of how her community survives:

How do Hasidim make money if they don’t get a secular education? The Hasidic economy seems to operate in old-school, wheeler-dealer, handle-bandle kind of way. The men who don’t speak English learn it as they go along, and their female relatives help. When I was a child, my father would often phone from the office and ask us to ask our mother how to say this or that word in Aynglish. “And ask Mammi…. vus meynt alternate?” To this day, my father speaks a barely comprehensible English, even as he runs a large organization for disabled children and often interacts with Albany politicians.

Her father’s success is probably due more to his own personal determination and ingenuity than it is to any preparation through Satmar’s educational philosophy.

What about the statistics that say Satmar is the poorest community in the nation? It is true as she notes that a number of factors - such as large families - skew the census data. But she practically admits that her community under reports their income and actually is a lot better off than those statistics show. She also notes the extensive use of as many government programs as possible.

Well, that combined with under-reporting of income easily lends itself to possible massive fraud in the aggregate.

She might argue that everyone under-reports income to some degree. I doubt that. It is true that many people will hide a small amount of income and not report it to the IRS. Which is still wrong. But that's still a lot different than defrauding the welfare system by taking money they do not really qualify for. And even leaving ethics out of it, most Orthodox Jews do not depend on welfare and are statistically less likely to defraud the welfare system. Besides - the Jews doing it that least should be those claiming the highest level of Torah observance. I suspect the opposite is true based on statistics alone.

What kind of job training is available to Satmar Chasidim if they don't have a secular education?

By her own admission the kind of job training they get ‘in-community’ is limited to jobs that do not require specific credentials. Which means home town jobs like Torah teachers, store clerks, fish mongers, butchers and the like. We aren't talking about people with marketable credentialed skills, like plumbers, welders, or carpenters, let alone a profession requiring a higher education.

It is highly likely that all this translates into pay that is considerably lower than those trained on the outside – where apprenticeships in the trades most often lead to certification. Furthermore only those trades that serve the community are available for them to be trained ‘in-community’. There are a variety of trades that are not available to them simply because they are not needed in that community directly. The only apprenticeship training they can get for those trades is on the outside. Who is going want to hire and train someone that can barely speak English?

Mrs. Vizel also notes that one of their sources of income are Gemachs (free loan societies). Is that any way to support a family? To borrow as much money as one can?

It is also not so much of a surprise that the typical signs of poverty don’t exist in Satmar. Here is what she says to indicate that:

When I walk through my Hasidic community, I don’t see the markers of some of the poorer neighborhoods. There are no homeless Hasidim lying at the corner, no Hasidic mothers begging for food, no abuse of drugs to numb the pain. I see a people nicely dressed, with the children in ribbons and bows.

No one accuses Satmar Chasidim of being drug addicts. No one accuses them of not having great family values... or of not being great parents. The only concern is how they pay for being ‘nicely dressed, with the children in ribbons and bows.’

All of which brings me back to the issue at hand. The utter lack of any secular education for Satmar men. The Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Joel is shortchanging his Chasidim - with the false claim that he is fighting secular education as a function of Gzeiras Shmad. There should be no doubt about it. Unfortunately that is a claim bought into so easily by far too many of his Chasidim.

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