Okay so Aish does not actually say it overtly. In Aish's dvar torah for Parshat Tzav, http://www.aish.com/torahportion/livelyparsha/Lively_Parsha_Tzav.asp, there is this dude, and he is called in the devar torah ''the great Rabbi Elchonan Wasserman.''
Who was Rabbi Wasserman?
''Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman (1875-1941) (Hebrew: אלחנן וסרמן) was a prominent Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva in pre-World War II Europe. He was one of the Chofetz Chaim's closest disciples and a Torah scholar of note, and well known for being a strong opponent of secular Zionism.''
(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elchonon_Wasserman)
Understand this. Wasserman did not think that Israel should exist. The wikipedia article said that he opposed secular zionism but he was not much of a religious zionist either. In http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/rabbi_quotes/wasserman.cfm, it says with bringing a citation in that he rejected any proposal for a jewish state. That is, he rejected any proposal for a jewish army, especially at a time when having a jewish state and jewish army would not have been a particulary bad idea, but rather one of those ''could not have come too soon'' kind of ideas.
In a sick episode of orthodox hypocracy, in an Aish.com current article ''No Thanks Mr. Ghandi'' (http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/No_Thanks3_Mr._Gandhi.asp), by Rabbi Shafran, Shafron rightfully condemned Ghandi for suggesting that the jews should follow the independence strategy that Ghandi used against the British. However, Shafran called the same Elchanon Wasserman a ''great Lithuanian Jewish religious leader and scholar,'' Wasserman just happened to be against the state of Israel i.e. jews defending themselves against genocidal enemies.
Am I the only one who sees a disconnect between someone being against Ghandi saying that the Jews should let themselves get killed, and at the time saying that someone who was against a very primary means of jewish self defense, namely the state of Israel, was a GREAT RELIGIOUS LEADER AND SCHOLAR?
Of course probably since Aish is an outreach organization to nonorthodox jews, these Aish articles kinda forgot to mention that Wasserman was antizionist. This amounts to nothing more than sweeping history under the rug by showering praise on ''Rabbi'' Wasserman who would and should otherwise be largely disliked.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
ORTHODOX UNION ---- ROAD TO TYRANNY???
On the Orthodox Union's home page (ou.org) for a couple of days now at least, it says now that the owner of succah.com is in violation of Jewish law. It previously said that there was a seruv (a seruv is a document holding someone in contempt of a beit din) against him but that part got erased [correction: it got erased from the announcement section and only remains in the file name].
I was reluctant to post on this becaue the link to the more information was not working on my computer and now it does, and I can now confirm that no further information is given ... on the OU's web site anyways. One would have to use Google to find more information on why this dude by the name of Sam Rosenbloom received a seruv.
It is bad for the OU to not give any further information if there is a seruv against someone (such as WHY there is a seruv against someone) because it sets a precedent of people just taking the OU's word for it and that is one step towards possible corruption in the future. Seruvs could be placed on anyone for a personal agenda and who are we regular people to question the high and mighty OU?
Okay, so this seruv happens to be because Mr. Rosenbloom is refusing to give his wife a get. That's not a nice thing, and Rosenbloom should get a seruv. However, when the OU mentions that someone got a seruv for not giving his wife a get, I feel that it is important that along with making the seruv public, the OU should also make public Mr. Rosenbloom's side of the story. Perhaps Mr. Rosenbloom does have a legitimate issue with is former wife and because of the lack of information from the OU ... we will never know.
Again, making public all sides of the story when a seruv is issued by a bait din or in any bait din case is important for avoiding corruption.The OU apparently didn't know that and the funny thing is that on their home page it has a feature link called "Guarding Your Tongue and Bringing Moshiach." The OU did not seem to know how to guard theirs. Orthodox hypocrisy knows no bounds.
I was reluctant to post on this becaue the link to the more information was not working on my computer and now it does, and I can now confirm that no further information is given ... on the OU's web site anyways. One would have to use Google to find more information on why this dude by the name of Sam Rosenbloom received a seruv.
It is bad for the OU to not give any further information if there is a seruv against someone (such as WHY there is a seruv against someone) because it sets a precedent of people just taking the OU's word for it and that is one step towards possible corruption in the future. Seruvs could be placed on anyone for a personal agenda and who are we regular people to question the high and mighty OU?
Okay, so this seruv happens to be because Mr. Rosenbloom is refusing to give his wife a get. That's not a nice thing, and Rosenbloom should get a seruv. However, when the OU mentions that someone got a seruv for not giving his wife a get, I feel that it is important that along with making the seruv public, the OU should also make public Mr. Rosenbloom's side of the story. Perhaps Mr. Rosenbloom does have a legitimate issue with is former wife and because of the lack of information from the OU ... we will never know.
Again, making public all sides of the story when a seruv is issued by a bait din or in any bait din case is important for avoiding corruption.The OU apparently didn't know that and the funny thing is that on their home page it has a feature link called "Guarding Your Tongue and Bringing Moshiach." The OU did not seem to know how to guard theirs. Orthodox hypocrisy knows no bounds.
KAPUT: ORTHODOX RABBI WHO ENGANGED IN SAME BEHAVIOR AS HIS FORMER OPPRESSORS
[begin ap article]
Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum, a Talmudic scholar who led a yeshiva in Brooklyn for more than 50 years after fleeing Nazi-occupied Poland and briefly taking refuge in Shanghai, has died. He was 87.
Berenbaum died Sunday after a long struggle with cancer, said Rabbi Pinchos Hecht, executive director of the 1,200-member Mir Yeshiva.…
Berenbaum was born in Poland and studied in a yeshiva in the town of Mir before World War II.
As the Nazis rolled across Eastern Europe, Berenbaum and other yeshiva students fled across the Soviet Union and resettled in Shanghai, China. From there, they eventually emigrated to the United States.
Steven Bayme, national director of contemporary Jewish life at the American Jewish Congress, said the yeshiva helped preserve "a world that was otherwise lost."
"The rescue of the institution during the Holocaust by going to Shanghai was an act of incredible daring. It took enormous courage and perseverance," Bayme said.
Leadership of the Brooklyn yeshiva will pass to Berenbaum's nephew, Rabbi Osher Kalmanowitz.
[end ap article]
In the Failed Messiah blog,
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/rabbi_slifkin_book_ban/index.html and on http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2008/01/baruch-dayan-ha.html, it is noted that Berenbum took part in banning Rabbi Nosson Slifkin's book, nazi-like behavior intended to stifle criticism and alternative views. As someone who had to flee from nazis, the talmudic scholar Berenbum should have known that book banning is bad. Also, it is bad for Orthodox Judaism for them to give the appearance that Orthodox Judaism can only survive if there is censorship of the outside world.
Slifkin holds that the scientific material in the Talmud is not as authoritative as its halachic material, whereas the ultraorthodox view the Talmud as infallible.
Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum, a Talmudic scholar who led a yeshiva in Brooklyn for more than 50 years after fleeing Nazi-occupied Poland and briefly taking refuge in Shanghai, has died. He was 87.
Berenbaum died Sunday after a long struggle with cancer, said Rabbi Pinchos Hecht, executive director of the 1,200-member Mir Yeshiva.…
Berenbaum was born in Poland and studied in a yeshiva in the town of Mir before World War II.
As the Nazis rolled across Eastern Europe, Berenbaum and other yeshiva students fled across the Soviet Union and resettled in Shanghai, China. From there, they eventually emigrated to the United States.
Steven Bayme, national director of contemporary Jewish life at the American Jewish Congress, said the yeshiva helped preserve "a world that was otherwise lost."
"The rescue of the institution during the Holocaust by going to Shanghai was an act of incredible daring. It took enormous courage and perseverance," Bayme said.
Leadership of the Brooklyn yeshiva will pass to Berenbaum's nephew, Rabbi Osher Kalmanowitz.
[end ap article]
In the Failed Messiah blog,
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/rabbi_slifkin_book_ban/index.html and on http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2008/01/baruch-dayan-ha.html, it is noted that Berenbum took part in banning Rabbi Nosson Slifkin's book, nazi-like behavior intended to stifle criticism and alternative views. As someone who had to flee from nazis, the talmudic scholar Berenbum should have known that book banning is bad. Also, it is bad for Orthodox Judaism for them to give the appearance that Orthodox Judaism can only survive if there is censorship of the outside world.
Slifkin holds that the scientific material in the Talmud is not as authoritative as its halachic material, whereas the ultraorthodox view the Talmud as infallible.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
"SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS FOR HERITICS!!!!!!!!! READ SPORTS ILLUSTRATED AND GO TO HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The only good Jew is a bored Jew - Orthodox lunatics deemed that Sports Illustrated is not appropriate for a yeshiva dormitory.
Click Here to see on Kvetcher.com
Click Here to see on Kvetcher.com
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
"WE ARE THE ORTHODOX!!!!!! WE WANT YOUR SOUL!!!!! KISS YOUR FREEDOM OF THOUGHT OUT THE WINDOW ... YOU WON'T BE NEEDING IT!"
Ynetnews.com has this article.
[Begin Ynet article]
Prayer for hire
by: Tamar Trabelsi-Hadad
Published:
01.01.08, 09:44
In one Ramat Gan school, attending a Torah lesson means an extra NIS 18 from Bnei Brak Rabbis. Concerned parents: This is a disaster
Religion or bribery? Haredi rabbis have reportedly started offering students at one Ramat Gan high school NIS 18 to attend Torah lesson, as noted by concerned parents. Is this a downpayment for becoming religious?
Principal of Ohel- Shem High School in Ramat Gan, Adam Kniksberg, said Monday at a session of the Knesset Education, Culture, and Sports Committee, that religious “missionaries” from Bnei Brak, that have as of late become part of the school environment, have started influencing its students little by little.
“They start off by instituting prayer sessions at the school, then move on to lessons in Judaism and keeping kosher at a nearby synagogue, and the end result is, at times, students who leave the school and do not enlist in the IDF,” said Kniksberg.
Deputy Chairman of the Education Division at the Ramat Gan Municipality, Mira Shannon, also expressed alarm at this growing phenomenon. “The secular school body has experienced a ‘religious terrorism’ of sorts since the arrival of these Bnei Brak ‘missionaries,” she said Monday at the education committee session.
This phenomenon had also raised concerned among local parents. Ramat Gan Parents’ Association Chairman and head of the Ohel-Shem school PTA, Danny Goldstein, said that parents at this Ramat Gan school are deathly afraid that their children will become Orthodox and refuse to enlist in the army.
“That would be a disaster as far as I am concerned, akin to religious parents who mourn a child who becomes secular as if he had died,” he said Monday at the Knesset committee session.
“There are three or four ‘missionaries’, that some may call Rabbis, who bribe students at Ohel-Shem into attending Torah lesson with NIS 18 payments. One single mother, who is struggling to make ends meet, told me, in tears, that her child will no longer eat at home because she does not keep kosher,” said Goldstein.
Most students who are goaded into attending the prayer session at school, noted Goldstein, are students from poor families who are in financial dire straits. It is these, and other parents, that have petitioned the city municipality for help in combating the ‘missionary’ phenomenon.
No religious or secular coercion
Ironically, it is a complaint lodged by MK Shlomo Benizri, stipulating that Ohel-Shem does not allow religious students to pray during their lunch break, which helped bring the whole ‘missionary’ issue to the attention of the Knesset Education Committee.
Head of the Education Division at the Ramat Gan Municipality, Moshe Bodega, stated Monday at the committee session, that the school principal does not allow religious students to pray in empty classrooms during lunch, mainly as this can lead to tension at the school, and because of these Bnei Brak Rabbis who try and coerce students into becoming religious.
Chairman of the Knesset Education, Culture and Sport Committee, MK Michael Melchior, said Monday that irrespective of the tensions at the school, Ohel-Shem must nevertheless try and accommodate religious students who need a place to pray.
“I object to religious coercion, but also to secular coercion as well,” he stated. “If the prayer sessions do not disrupt the school there is nothing wrong with holding them, and those students who truly wish to pray ought to be aided.”
[end Ynet article]
1) "One single mother, who is struggling to make ends meet, told me, in tears, that her child will no longer eat at home because she does not keep kosher,” said Goldstein.
Shouldn't these rabbis teach that her child should find some way to tell her mother about no longer eating in her home ... AND STILL FOLLOW HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER? In orthodox judaism the truth is that the fifth commandment does not apply when the parents are secular, but rather that the ballei tsheuva ( "one who repents ") should shun his or her parents upon becoming religious.
2) Religious proselytising does not have any business in secular schools.
3) Parents have legitimate concerns about these missionaries teaching their kids fanaticism (i.e. total separation of the genders, not being able to wear anything except traditional orthodox dress)
4) The comment section to this article on Ynet's website is filled with comments that reeks with the hatred and arrogance of the orthodox towards secular jews.
In the comments section Adam Eliyahu said
"I was raised secualr in th USA. Believe me, there is no way anti-Jewish laws could stand in America like they do in Israel. The good thing about this article is that it is the first time I have heard the term "secular coercion" in the media, though it is a painful reality in my everyday life. But shouldn't the headline mention something about that? Isn't it more horrifying that Jews are being forbidden to pray than that students get 18 shekels to go to a class? I think Israel is the only place in the world where Jews would consider a Rabbi to be a missionary. I remember when I was working as a cook in ahotel and I had to argue every day to get fifteen minutes to pray.The Muslims had no problem getting away foir a minyan. If the school had denied Moslems the right to pray, I am sure the reaction would have been more extreme, from the Moslems as well as the left -wing secular. "
SJ's Response: ITS A SECULAR SCHOOL DUMB ASS!!! DO STUDENTS PRAY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES? NO!!!!!! ARE PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES ANTI RELIGION BECAUSE OF IT? NO.
Dumb ass number two is a dude who wrote the ninth comment. He is Al from Canada. He is a beacon of orthodox tolerance. He wrote
"I experienced the worst anti-semitism from fellow secular Jews. I have been working and living in Canada all of my life and the worst shitheads I ever met were fellow Jews who would deny me and themselves their heritage. So it is in israel where the new "JEW" is front row and center. Here's one for you all the think about. The secular Jew as well as the new "JEW" is fast disolving into nothing. The religious Jew will prevail as they have till today."
So ..... secular jews are "shit heads." Gee. That is a great way of making friends with them and encouraging them to become more orthodox. (sarcasm)
Dumb ass number three is a guy named Avraham who is from the Negev. In his ignorant bile he wrote "Good for these Rabbis. These secular kids know nothing about their rich heritage & why they should be proud be Jewish & to live in Israel."
Uhhhhhhh how about Hebrew language? And it seems to me that the mere knowledge of hatikva is the minimum of knowledge in letting anyone living in Israel know why they are there. Lets operate on the assumption that the Israelis know their own anthem, okay orthodox?
In comment number twenty three, a commenter who wrote something in disagreement with what the missionaries were doing got called a "goy." In Orthodox Judaism, anyone who does not follow their practices & views in its entirety are just as gentile as the gentiles.
Joseph from Jerusalem in comment twenty eight said this "Jews, you find fault with Jewish Rabbis bringing their OWN JEWISH BROTHERS back to their Jewish roots. What a sad state secular Jews have become! A true shame to Klal Yisrael." So in other words, the secular jews who serve in the IDF and protects their fellow jews are a "shame to Klal Yisrael." Orthodox people SERIOUSLY needs to watch their mouths and -THINK- before they go on one of their hateful rants.
There is more, but basically you get the idea.
[Begin Ynet article]
Prayer for hire
by: Tamar Trabelsi-Hadad
Published:
01.01.08, 09:44
In one Ramat Gan school, attending a Torah lesson means an extra NIS 18 from Bnei Brak Rabbis. Concerned parents: This is a disaster
Religion or bribery? Haredi rabbis have reportedly started offering students at one Ramat Gan high school NIS 18 to attend Torah lesson, as noted by concerned parents. Is this a downpayment for becoming religious?
Principal of Ohel- Shem High School in Ramat Gan, Adam Kniksberg, said Monday at a session of the Knesset Education, Culture, and Sports Committee, that religious “missionaries” from Bnei Brak, that have as of late become part of the school environment, have started influencing its students little by little.
“They start off by instituting prayer sessions at the school, then move on to lessons in Judaism and keeping kosher at a nearby synagogue, and the end result is, at times, students who leave the school and do not enlist in the IDF,” said Kniksberg.
Deputy Chairman of the Education Division at the Ramat Gan Municipality, Mira Shannon, also expressed alarm at this growing phenomenon. “The secular school body has experienced a ‘religious terrorism’ of sorts since the arrival of these Bnei Brak ‘missionaries,” she said Monday at the education committee session.
This phenomenon had also raised concerned among local parents. Ramat Gan Parents’ Association Chairman and head of the Ohel-Shem school PTA, Danny Goldstein, said that parents at this Ramat Gan school are deathly afraid that their children will become Orthodox and refuse to enlist in the army.
“That would be a disaster as far as I am concerned, akin to religious parents who mourn a child who becomes secular as if he had died,” he said Monday at the Knesset committee session.
“There are three or four ‘missionaries’, that some may call Rabbis, who bribe students at Ohel-Shem into attending Torah lesson with NIS 18 payments. One single mother, who is struggling to make ends meet, told me, in tears, that her child will no longer eat at home because she does not keep kosher,” said Goldstein.
Most students who are goaded into attending the prayer session at school, noted Goldstein, are students from poor families who are in financial dire straits. It is these, and other parents, that have petitioned the city municipality for help in combating the ‘missionary’ phenomenon.
No religious or secular coercion
Ironically, it is a complaint lodged by MK Shlomo Benizri, stipulating that Ohel-Shem does not allow religious students to pray during their lunch break, which helped bring the whole ‘missionary’ issue to the attention of the Knesset Education Committee.
Head of the Education Division at the Ramat Gan Municipality, Moshe Bodega, stated Monday at the committee session, that the school principal does not allow religious students to pray in empty classrooms during lunch, mainly as this can lead to tension at the school, and because of these Bnei Brak Rabbis who try and coerce students into becoming religious.
Chairman of the Knesset Education, Culture and Sport Committee, MK Michael Melchior, said Monday that irrespective of the tensions at the school, Ohel-Shem must nevertheless try and accommodate religious students who need a place to pray.
“I object to religious coercion, but also to secular coercion as well,” he stated. “If the prayer sessions do not disrupt the school there is nothing wrong with holding them, and those students who truly wish to pray ought to be aided.”
[end Ynet article]
1) "One single mother, who is struggling to make ends meet, told me, in tears, that her child will no longer eat at home because she does not keep kosher,” said Goldstein.
Shouldn't these rabbis teach that her child should find some way to tell her mother about no longer eating in her home ... AND STILL FOLLOW HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER? In orthodox judaism the truth is that the fifth commandment does not apply when the parents are secular, but rather that the ballei tsheuva ( "one who repents ") should shun his or her parents upon becoming religious.
2) Religious proselytising does not have any business in secular schools.
3) Parents have legitimate concerns about these missionaries teaching their kids fanaticism (i.e. total separation of the genders, not being able to wear anything except traditional orthodox dress)
4) The comment section to this article on Ynet's website is filled with comments that reeks with the hatred and arrogance of the orthodox towards secular jews.
In the comments section Adam Eliyahu said
"I was raised secualr in th USA. Believe me, there is no way anti-Jewish laws could stand in America like they do in Israel. The good thing about this article is that it is the first time I have heard the term "secular coercion" in the media, though it is a painful reality in my everyday life. But shouldn't the headline mention something about that? Isn't it more horrifying that Jews are being forbidden to pray than that students get 18 shekels to go to a class? I think Israel is the only place in the world where Jews would consider a Rabbi to be a missionary. I remember when I was working as a cook in ahotel and I had to argue every day to get fifteen minutes to pray.The Muslims had no problem getting away foir a minyan. If the school had denied Moslems the right to pray, I am sure the reaction would have been more extreme, from the Moslems as well as the left -wing secular. "
SJ's Response: ITS A SECULAR SCHOOL DUMB ASS!!! DO STUDENTS PRAY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES? NO!!!!!! ARE PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES ANTI RELIGION BECAUSE OF IT? NO.
Dumb ass number two is a dude who wrote the ninth comment. He is Al from Canada. He is a beacon of orthodox tolerance. He wrote
"I experienced the worst anti-semitism from fellow secular Jews. I have been working and living in Canada all of my life and the worst shitheads I ever met were fellow Jews who would deny me and themselves their heritage. So it is in israel where the new "JEW" is front row and center. Here's one for you all the think about. The secular Jew as well as the new "JEW" is fast disolving into nothing. The religious Jew will prevail as they have till today."
So ..... secular jews are "shit heads." Gee. That is a great way of making friends with them and encouraging them to become more orthodox. (sarcasm)
Dumb ass number three is a guy named Avraham who is from the Negev. In his ignorant bile he wrote "Good for these Rabbis. These secular kids know nothing about their rich heritage & why they should be proud be Jewish & to live in Israel."
Uhhhhhhh how about Hebrew language? And it seems to me that the mere knowledge of hatikva is the minimum of knowledge in letting anyone living in Israel know why they are there. Lets operate on the assumption that the Israelis know their own anthem, okay orthodox?
In comment number twenty three, a commenter who wrote something in disagreement with what the missionaries were doing got called a "goy." In Orthodox Judaism, anyone who does not follow their practices & views in its entirety are just as gentile as the gentiles.
Joseph from Jerusalem in comment twenty eight said this "Jews, you find fault with Jewish Rabbis bringing their OWN JEWISH BROTHERS back to their Jewish roots. What a sad state secular Jews have become! A true shame to Klal Yisrael." So in other words, the secular jews who serve in the IDF and protects their fellow jews are a "shame to Klal Yisrael." Orthodox people SERIOUSLY needs to watch their mouths and -THINK- before they go on one of their hateful rants.
There is more, but basically you get the idea.
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