Via The Rabbi

So the item was written on Asara b'Tevet?! Bi...

2012-05-30T09:44:33.108-04:00

So the item was written on Asara b'Tevet?! Bialik, or national poet was born on that day. He dreamed about a Jewish culture that wasn't "religious" or "not-religious", but expressed our national values as, say, the French, or the Danes, or any other national unit expressed themselves, naturally. He saw it wasn't working and left the Tel Aviv of the late twenties for Ramat Gan. He wasn't a political Zionist either, preferring the ideas of Ahad HaAm, his neighbor and soul mate that thought that Herzl's indiscriminate ingathering of exiles that turned out to become a Jewish State "in name only". We know that now, in an Israeli culture where the media places Jewish values in a corner, placed on display around the holiday-time, like the Mesorati-Conservative movement.

The fact is, that Haredim are far more in tune to Israeli life than any of its Secularist Yevsek opinion leaders would like to be. This item, using all the tricks in the to castigate them proves how willing Jewish leaders abroad to join the party. At some point, even they will discover at some point their religious practices will be considered arcane and useless, and run to the Haredim, who don't give up that easily.

Synagogue Zionism vs Unzionist synagoguism. Just w...

2012-05-29T09:24:07.986-04:00

Synagogue Zionism vs Unzionist synagoguism. Just what the Jews have always needed. Which side is being manipulated?

PS - somewhat unrelated, but anyone claiming that ...

2012-05-28T13:27:43.258-04:00

PS - somewhat unrelated, but anyone claiming that they "achieved Zen enlightenment" is talking through their hat. Even the Dalai Lama doesn't claim to have achieved enlightenment.

I had to look up "DER STRUMMER" on Wikipedia: "Der Stürmer (literally, "The Stormer;" or more accurately, "The Attacker") was a weekly tabloid-format Nazi newspaper published by Julius Streicher from 1923 to the end of World War II in 1945. It was a significant part of the Nazi propaganda machinery and was vehemently anti-Semitic. Der Stürmer often ran obscene and tasteless materials such as anti-Semitic caricatures and propaganda-like accusations of blood libel, pornography, anti-Catholic, anti-capitalist and anti-"reactionary" propaganda too."

So in addition to claiming to have achieved "Zen enlightenment", and claiming to speak "in all honesty", Reb David is not exactly a sticker for the truth here either. And seems to exist in Loshonhora Land.

I don't care if the Masorti piss in the kiddus...

2012-05-28T13:25:40.330-04:00

I don't care if the Masorti piss in the kiddush cup. Denouncing them does not refute their argument.

The Talmud DOES teach that "Torah that is not accompanied by a worldly trade will, in the end, amount to nothing and will lead one into sin."

The Talmud DOES tell you what jobs and professions the Sages had.

So, even if the Haredi saved you from born-again Christianity, they are wrong about this ... and the Talmud tells you so. Explicitly. Or do these life-long scholars skip that section?

Buber? Even in Herzl’s lifetime, there were those...

2012-05-28T13:12:39.048-04:00

Buber?

Even in Herzl’s lifetime, there were those ostensibly within the Zionist camp who expressed their opposition to such a state, foremost among them the German-Jewish philosopher Martin Buber. Once a follower of Herzl, Buber rejected what he considered to be a narrow Jewish particularism.

Buber argued vociferously on behalf of a binational state, committed to the needs of its citizens, rather than a state committed to the needs of the Jewish people. Buber and his supporters opposed the creation of a uniquely Jewish state, even as the Labor Zionists, led by David Ben-Gurion, struggled to bring Herzl’s dream to fruition.

I was at Aish HaTorah years ago for almost a year ...

2012-05-22T14:33:35.508-04:00

I was at Aish HaTorah years ago for almost a year and they really got me believing that Torah was definitely from Mt. Sinai. Years later, I have read much of the literature that academics put out, and it seems that it is almost definitely NOT from Mt. Sinai.

I am confused because – if the Torah is NOT holy in this sense, what is going on with Aish and Orthodox Judaism? I confess I still feel like the ONLY real Judaism is Orthodox Judaism, and I often feel guilty that I have so many problems with it. Frankly, according to the crowd I hung out with, I am not on the right path at all.

I feel like I need a deprogrammer. When I stumble on Jewish sites like this one that are not Haredi – I am intrigued at the difference, but I still have feelings that authentic Judaism is orthodox Judaism (and yet, that orthodox Judaism is literally built on a lie about the origins of the Torah.) It is confusing, and scary.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I’m in some pain actually.

Tuvai

I dropped out of Yale University while getting str...

2012-04-22T05:39:09.463-04:00

I dropped out of Yale University while getting straight As in 1992 because I had to discover G-d and see if it was possible for a human being to know His will. I studied philosophy, poetry, and anthropology, meditated, achieved Zen enlightenment, became a born-again Christian, and became proficient in all of the world's spiritual traditions. By 1994 I was studying gemara in the Mirrer yeshiva in Jerusalem. If one man's story means anything, I would say that in all honesty, any earnest student of religion and meaning will see that the Judaism we inherited is still the greatest show on earth. And he or she will also discover that "hareidi" Judaism is the only authentic continuation of that tradition. The other streams are all basically various personal and/or political vendettas, with beautiful platitudes but sparse content, as many of the commenters to this blog have noted.
I turned 40 three days ago, and yes, I live in a hareidi neighborhood in Jerusalem, I have 7 (thank G-d) brilliant kids with stimulated minds and happy, fulfilling childhoods, I have been studying and teaching in kollel for nearly 20 years, and now I need a parnasa (means of livelihood). I was recently offered a merit scholarship to the law faculty of Hebrew U. in Jerusalem, and I'm applying to med schools in Israel and America. I've been living in Israel for nearly 20 years without making "aliyah", and I (like Martin Buber, who co-founded the Zionist movement with Theodor Herzl), believe that the secular state of Israel is pure avodah zarah (idolatry, or ethnocentric worship of oneself). I am a devout hareidi, I more or less support the Hareidi version of the Beit Shemesh conflict, and I am a liberal, a humanist, and a feminist, as well.
I LIVE HERE AND KNOW THIS TURF BETTER THAN ANY OF THE FOLKS WHO WRITE ABOUT IT, AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE AVERAGE HAREIDI ISRAELI IS MUCH MORE SIMILAR TO ME THAN HE IS TO THE "DER STRUMMER" PICTURES YOU'RE GETTING FROM THE ANTI-RELIGIOUS LEFT!
I am full of concerns about the long term future of the Hareidi world, and of Israel in general, and I do not paint any rosy pictures.
BUT ANYONE WHO CARES WITH EVEN A SMALL FRACTION OF HIS HEART WILL PURSUE A DIFFERENT AGENDA THAN THIS UNBRIDLED HATRED!
We need to find constructive ways that will bring helpful means of education and earnings potential into those Hareidim who CHOOSE to work, while continuing to respect the holy pursuit of those who CHOOSE the millenia-honored profession of learning Torah. And no liberal worth his salt would wage a covert (or sometimes overt) kulturkampf against an entire viable community with a different worldview.
All of these so-called portraits showing the "dark side" of Talmudic students are bogus yellow journalism at best, overt anti-Semitism at worst. If I picked through ANY population in the world, ESPECIALLY that of secular Israel, I would find you a plethora of anecdotal portraits that would make your hair stand on end, and that would make even the lowliest Hareidi in the world seem an absolute saint in comparison.
I don't mean to say that the Hareidi world is doing everything "right", or is necessarily culturally in line with all of the Torah precepts we ought to emulate. Far from it. But we're not "wrong" either. Please, give your fellow man the benefit of the doubt, look for the positive at least as much as you seek out the negative, and let this impure spirit of seditious hatred evaporate. Amen.

By the way what does the rabbi who wrote this lett...

2012-04-19T12:30:12.163-04:00

By the way what does the rabbi who wrote this letter do for a job-It seems he is a rabbi making a living off his very limited tora knowledge. At least orthodox rabbis know something conservative know much less tora so they are taking advantage and making an occupation of knowing less Tora. They should all go to work and forget aboutbeing rabbis because the consevatives just break the rules of the Tora to make a buck

the masorti movement missed one crucial point: TOR...

2012-04-18T11:25:17.565-04:00

the masorti movement missed one crucial point: TORAH that is not accomponied etc.... Whilst they bemoan the haredim's lack of participation in the workforce, what tangible contribution have they made to serious torah study which comes anywhere near that of the haredim. They don't have any talmidei chachamim who work either, because they have no talmidei chachamim to start off with.

I think the writer was fairly balanced. Know that...

2012-04-18T06:34:35.257-04:00

I think the writer was fairly balanced. Know that he is addressing symptoms much like those that point out that he doesn't live in Israel. A better understanding of logical halakha would clear up the actual problem. Is the halakha that one may live off the taxes of the public to study Torah she b al pe? Is the halakha to live in the land of Israel for those that keep Torah? If you don't know the halakha you are simply spouting your own opinion, following your own eyes and own heart. Halakha does not mean following your fathers or your rabbi if they contradict logic. Halakha is the logical interpretation of Torah by a Torah observant Beit Din. Logical enough to feed into a computer and receive a true or false ruling. Sure you need math and science. netzarim.co.il

Wow. Your article at first frightened and dismay...

2012-04-13T12:42:40.331-04:00

Wow. Your article at first frightened and dismayed me, although I realized you have many things wrong. Then I understood you are not even a part of Israel - you live in the USA! How can you write such things about a country that you do not know, and in which you do not live? Extraordinary chutzpah.

Thanks for your comments here. I have always liked...

2012-03-25T21:38:24.511-04:00

Thanks for your comments here. I have always liked the fact that God provided the giant fish. It was the giant fish Jonah needed, and he was in the fish until he was ready. It took some prayer and some psalms to get there, but he finally made it out. I think many of us can relate to Jonah who eventually answered God's call, but he was a reluctant prophet at best.

Unlike you, I live in Israel, as an Oleh. Unlike y...

2012-02-23T12:22:56.093-05:00

Unlike you, I live in Israel, as an Oleh.
Unlike you, I am looking for a job in Israel.
Unlike you, I have 5 children in Israeli Chareidi schools.
In my son's Charedi school, maths is a major part of the syllabus.
As is Natural Science, as is Art, as is History.
Unlike you, I have a Cambridge degree.
Unlike you, I am Chareidi.
Unlike you, I don't distort facts to fit a political agenda

The Masorti (Conservative) stream in the U.S. func...

2012-02-21T10:08:21.218-05:00

The Masorti (Conservative) stream in the U.S. functions as a choir for the Democratic party, fabricating religious justifications for every new socio-sexual fad. Nonetheless as long as Israelis willingly receive massive public subsidies from the U.S. government and solicit private donations from American Jews, they have no business telling American Jews to be quiet about religious matters in Israel. How many American olim who boast of service in the IDF have turned in their U.S. passports and burnt their bridges back to the U.S.? Just as the Masorti practice "Judaism" in quotes, so also the dual national American Jews are "Israeli" in quotes. Jews in Brooklyn or Seattle have as much right as they do to opine about Israel.

I've been livin in this Holy land for 12 years...

2012-02-15T12:11:25.481-05:00

I've been livin in this Holy land for 12 years and in R.B.S a ,and i hardly agree with you .

It does look like a nice poster and I may pick up ...

2012-02-12T16:08:51.359-05:00

It does look like a nice poster and I may pick up one to encourage my children. Sorry but your jewish denomination is philosophically lame. I left my Masorti temple when they started preaching the JTS line that we all should have lesbian or Homosexual Rabbis. Sodomy does exist but its still a violation of the holy Torah (see Leviticus). Let Israel work out its own problems; the Masorti denomination is just playing politics to gain power.

Haredi society is basically a reaction to secular ...

2012-02-12T15:59:48.430-05:00

Haredi society is basically a reaction to secular society, the best way to live sis to combine Torah with Derech Eretz

I don't know which Isreali Charedim you are re...

2012-02-12T15:52:25.745-05:00

I don't know which Isreali Charedim you are referring to, certainly not the ones I know who yes indeed, pay taxes, served in the IDF (did you?) and whose children are certainly more knowledgeable and skilled in Math and Science than the children I used to teach in the States. You wrote this on Assert B' Tevet? It is because of continuing Sinat Chinam (like yours) that we are still fasting on this day!

Haredi society is basically a reaction to secular ...

2012-02-12T15:42:10.360-05:00

Haredi society is basically a reaction to secular society, the best way to live sis to combine Torah with Derech Eretz

Well I read your interpretation and I do not agree...

2012-01-17T06:15:43.887-05:00

Well I read your interpretation and I do not agree with it.
First, I believe Jonah really existed.
Second, I believe it is meant primarelly to show God's mercy towards everyone. The message is that no matter how much you sin true repentance makes God merciful. As the psalms say God feels sorry for our sins. He cannot let sin unpunished , but he does like punishing the ones He created.
Third , inadvertly Jonah brings praise to God saying "as i knew you are a merciful God" .
Fourth it shows that we should not hate anyone , no matter what, but hate the evil deeds that they sometimes do. That is the message, love the person, but hate the deed.
I am a Christian and this is my favourite book of the Bible, because we show how we are all of us. We are hasty on making judgements on other people and become angry when God does not punish sinners the way we want to.

As long as your 6 year old draws pictures of "...

2012-01-15T10:36:57.579-05:00

As long as your 6 year old draws pictures of "Hannuka Trees" you can be clear in your mind that you are failing as a Jewish father and educator and frankly have no business telling others your life views and passing judgement on other Jewish groups and their decisions, "Rabbi". Forget the Chareidis being the "new Babylonians, rather look in the mirror and see another Hellenist/Mityaven. Before you get all defensive think about it - you can keep thinking in your box or you can climb out right now and love you fellow Jews.

Dear Rabbi, I was impressed by your blog about ha...

2012-01-15T06:50:17.829-05:00

Dear Rabbi,

I was impressed by your blog about haredim. Particularly by your statement that haredim contribute nothing to the State of Israel.

Your writing this from Pelham Manor in the distant USA might give you objectivity that the residents here in Israel do not have.

I ask you, have you ever served in the IDF? Have you ever supported the State with a resident's income taxes? Have you ever suffered with your children in the IDF, or been in the IDF yourself? Have you ever lived in Israel for any length of time, during those critical and dangerous times and events that we Israelis often live with here?

I assume that you have done some of this. I am not haredi, far from it, not even a fan of rabbis.

Nevertheless, reading your comments, written from the USA, about part of the Israeli population, fellow Jews, makes me wonder what right you have to say anything at all.

I ask myself, "Has he paid his dues ... has he taken the risks of living her in Israel through thick and thin ... has he taken any serious risks at all in his lifetime?

Or he just a shmeggege? "Talks the talk, but doesn't walk the walk."

Dr. Maimonides would no less turn in his grave if ...

2012-01-15T06:07:46.712-05:00

Dr. Maimonides would no less turn in his grave if he saw what the Masorti / Conservative movement has done to permit that which is forbidden. (In other words, he who throws stone should shower in the basement...The Masorti / Conservative movement ought not to talk about others' avairot when its very existence encourages desecration of Halacha.)

fantastic post, David,.. the links are especially ...

2012-01-06T12:51:26.361-05:00

fantastic post, David,.. the links are especially helpful and informative. Thanks for posting.

Your list of "sample" miracles is so rig...

2011-12-22T11:00:20.806-05:00

Your list of "sample" miracles is so right on. We get so complacent and busy (at the same time) with daily living, we don't stop to think of God's miracles. Just the fact that we get up every morning is something to be thankful for. Having experienced the birth of six grandchildren, it is truly a miracle when a health baby is born. I have seen the birth of three of them and each time was overwhelmed with the feeling of relief that they were healthy and the feeling of surety that there is a God. Hannukah is a good time to open our eyes. Thanks for reminding me.