Jul 1, 2008
making buses de facto mehadrin
Ynet (Hebrew) is reporting in the name of the Yated Ne'eman (which I have not yet seen) that the "Rabbinic Committee for Transportation" has found a new way to advance its desire to increase the mehadrin bus lines.
That is, they are instructing Bais Yaakov girls that need to travel on non-mehadrin lines, that they should still be careful to only sit in the back of the bus. By doing this, they say, they will turn non-kosher bus lines into kosher ones.
the idea is by creating facts on the ground, by making it de facto mehadrin, Egged will find it easier to speed up the process and declare those lines mehadrin.
In the letter to the Bais Yaakovs, the committee writes, "Those girls that are careful in tznius will find this a great merit, and will urge their friends as well to sit in the back of the bus. By guarding the rules of holiness and tznius, we will merit the Divine Presence with health, satisfaction, sustenance and fortune."
Furthermore, with the Jerusalem Light Rail project finishing soon, the Haredi community has set it eyes on the next project - working to make the light rail mehadrin.
They say that many bus lines to and from frum neighborhoods will be cancelled because of the light rail. Many of the cancelled bus lines will be mehadrin lines. Another problem is that because of the light rail, many bus lines will be altered, causing many bus lines to be diverted to new routes going through Geula and Mea Shearim neighborhoods. That means all these non-mehadrin lines will go through Geula, and bring many secular people through the neighborhood. This will be a "spiritual destruction of the neighborhood", they say.
On the other hand, instead of looking at it as destruction of their ways, they could look at it as an opportunity to make a Kiddush Hashem on people they would otherwise never have come in contact with.
I found a copy of the pashkevil:
I actually saw the קול קורא in today's Yated. I will try to scan it in and post it when I get home from work.
ReplyDeletea kiddush hashem...... you have to do that anyways....
ReplyDeleteI take the 19 bus every day through Geulah to Mt Scopus. It is a wild mix- the secular (to say the least) students, and the charedim.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen anything other than cordiality from people of one group to the other.
Oy vey ;-)
ReplyDeleteHope all is well with you, long time no visiting, sorry.
Rafi i am curious,
ReplyDeleteyou are printing this story in a very unbiased manner.
But as interesting as it is, i can also read ynet.
I want to know why you are printing it. What do you think about it? Do you agree with them?
Do you know what is up with the nachal lachish mikve and the sign posted signed by REK and RSZP restricting its use to only friday nights, only upstairs, and only one mikve lady?
ReplyDeletewhats - I have written about it enough times.. people know my thoughts on this. My one comment at the end was enough
ReplyDeleteanon - about the mikvah - it is well known that the chareidi rabbonim dont approve of the choice of mikvah ladies provided in the lachish mikvah for during the week.
ReplyDeletefor friday night, they were able to secure one mikvah lady slot for a woman they approve of, so all the chareidi women use that area.
of course there is a longer line at that lady since there is only one. but thats the way things go in RBS A. its a politcal hotbed and therefore the needs of the chareidim come last.
of course there are those that say there is no need to be machmir against the mikvah ladies in the other room, and the mikvah ladies from the whole week - but from what i understand all of the chareidi rabbonim have come out in unison against those women being the mikvah ladies. so all the chareidi women are forced to use the mikvah in rbs b.
I love it- viral marketing! Who said the rabbonim are against all thing modern!
ReplyDeletewhat is the "problem" with the other mikva ladies?
ReplyDeletepolitics and control
ReplyDelete"what is the "problem" with the other mikva ladies?"
ReplyDeleteThey probably volunteer for Lema'an Achai and ride non mehadrin buses on their way to shop at Shefa Shuk to buy Rav Auerbach chickens.
Shlomo - lol. I think that wins this week's comment of the week award.
ReplyDeleteI really have to remember to start such a segment...