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May 19, 2015

Interesting Psak: don't live in Tiberias

Rav Dov Kook, a rav and mekubal in Tiberias, has issued a psak to his followers. Rav Kook announced that religious people should not live in Tiberias.

The background to this psak is a conflict between the ancient cemetery located in Tiberias, and the beach and  water park across the street. The Haredi commuity has been requesting from the administration of Guy Beach and its water park to install something that would block the visibility from the cemetery into the beach and water park. Currently, people praying by the graves of the tzaddikim buried in the cemetery are able to see the immodest images in the beach and water park.

The administration of the beach has so far refused.

Rav Kook said that a terrible tragedy will happen in Tiberias as a result of this, if it is not rectified. And, until it is, religious people cannot live in Tiberias.

In their defense, the beach administration says they are no different than any of the other beaches along the strip, and they are being singled out for no reason known to them (other than for being directly across the street). He also said that they get along just fine with the neighbors - their noise doesnt disturb the neighboring residents of the cemetery and the neighbors don't make noise disturbing them.
source: NRG

One thing I don't get is why they don't put up a barrier outside the cemetery, if it bothers them so much. Why wait for the beach people to do it on their property - do it by the cemetery. And then, they will have achieved the same results - those visiting and praying by graves of the righteous won't be able to see the depravity happening in the beach across the street.

As an aside, I wonder if there will now be a mass exodus of religious people from Tiberias. I have not heard of one yet, but I would think that at least he and his followers would leave the city he says they are not allowed to live in.








בקרב התושבים עצמם הדעות חלוקות: שמעון כהן, תושב העיר, סיפר למשל כי "אני חושב שטבריה, כעיר תיירות דתית ומסורתית, שמבקרים בה מדי שנה מאות אלפי דתיים, צריכה להתחשב ברגשותיהם. מה כבר התבקשו בעלי החוף לעשות? להקים מחיצה מברזנט יפה, כדי שאנשים מבחוץ לא יראו מה מתרחש בפנים? אם בכביש החוף בנו קירות נגד רעשים בהשקעה של מיליוני שקלים כדי לא להפריע לתושבים, מדוע שפה לא יקימו מחיצה כדי לא לפגוע ברגשות הדתיים?" הוא הוסיף ותהה: "למה להביא את המראות האלה עד לקבר של רבי מאיר בעל הנס?" 


הרבנית לאה קוק, רעייתו של הרב, הסבירה ל'מקור ראשון' כי החשש הגדול של הקהילה הוא ש"הצדיקים בשמיים מתרעמים על המצב, וחס ושלום עומד להתרחש משהו רע. צריך להתחנן בפניהם בדברי נועם ובאהבה. אנשים נוסעים להתפלל, ורואים אנשים על המגלשות בלי בגדים. זה עושה סכין בלב". קוק סיפרה כי בני הזוג שקלו לעזוב את הקהילה שלהם בעיר בשל המציאות בחוף הים: "הרב אמר לי, 'אשתי, בואי נברח מכאן, אין לי כוח לאסונות או לצרות. בואי נברח מכאן'


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4 comments:

  1. I was just in Tiveria yesterday and noticed this exact issue. The problem in the water park is primarily from the very tall slides. There is no easy way for the cemetery to block something that high (and the cemetery being built on somewhat of a slope doesn't help) but the water park already has the infrastructure - the slides themselves - from which some sort of privacy screen could be placed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's on the downslope of a hill (the holy sites being higher), making it very hard to prevent view. The water park already has a fence (after all, it's pay to enter), and it's not adequate. The beach is significantly below the parking area, but then you can see people in the water from the up-slope site.

    Basically there's no reasonable solution beyond closing the beach - - - which is not going to happen, or build a 30 foot wall.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Actually, if the cemetery is on higher ground, it's easier, not harder, to solve the issue by building a fence around the cemetery. All you need is a fence around 8 feet (2.5 meters) tall.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry. Didn't think it through. If the cemetery is on a slope, the upper area would still be able to see the water park. Dunno. Really tall fence. Ultimately, it's the people going to the cemetery who have an issue. Could they not just face the other way when davening?

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