According to CNN, the Pope, Pope Francis, has decided to return three pieces form the Parthenon that have been in the papal collections for over a century. These pieces are dated to be 2500 years old. The Pope said he is giving these pieces to Greece, specifically to the head of the Greek Orthodox Church as a gesture of ecumenical dialogue. 

A number of people sent a video clip to me that at first I was just going to ignore, but have now decided to comment, considering how much I am seeing it shared on social media.

The video is of the Pope talking about people keeping Shabbos, how it is good for our health, spiritual side, and for our families.

And no, I am not posting it here.

People got very excited to see the Pope promoting Shabbos observance, even though really he is promoting it being kept on Shabbos, according to his rules.

When I first opened the clip out of curiosity, I admit that I could not watch the entire clip, as short as it was. To be honest, I was disgusted. Disgusted, not by what he was saying, but by who was saying it.

I dont want to hear anything from the Pope. Even though this pope seems to be decent, the Popes have been behind the murder and harassment of Jews for generations. The pope telling me to keep shabbos is not something I need to listen to. He is not my moral authority. I was disgusted watching the pope and seeing frum Jews so excited about what the pope has to say about shabbos. I dont care if he thinks it is a good idea, nor am I interested. Let him tell his Catholic followers what to do, and let the listening be left to his Catholic followers. We do not need the Pope to be our guidance, and we don't need to look to the Pope for validation.

I have mixed feelings about this...



Background: this Rabbi Gluck has met with the Pope before, and this meeting was in continuation of the previous meeting to discuss prevention of destruction of Jewish cemeteries in Europe. His so, director of Amudim - an organization that deals with abuse victims - went along and relevant issues were discussed.

I have mostly avoided commenting on the US elections, while watching the entertaining process from the side. This one is too good to pass up though.

The Pope got involved and attacked Donald Trump the other day.

The Pope criticized Trump for his stance on illegal immigration and saying he is going to build a wall between the USA and Mexico.

The Pope said, "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges, is not Christian."

Trump's response was a bit underwhelming, in my opinion, so I'll leave that aside. Breitbart and Sean Hannity had a far better response, and that will lead to why this deserves to get mention here..

Breitbart and Sean Hannity have pointed out that while the Pope criticizes Tump for his stance in building a wall, the Vatican is protected by its own wall and they are very strict about who is allowed in and who is not.


Some of Trump's opponents in the GOP race have also made similar comments mentioning the Vatican's wall and saying the USA also has the right to decide who to let in and whom to refuse entry to...

And this leads me to the relevance to Israel. This entire discussion reminded me of an image from the Pope's last visit to the Holy Land, in 2014.



The Pope surprised everyone when he had his "Pope-Mobile" stop near the wall built by Israel and he got out and approached the wall, offering some sort of a prayer and had also criticized somewhat this wall - the Israeli separation barrier that has been pretty successful in putting an end to the wave of terror that sent suicide bombers into Israel. So the Pope has a history of being anti-wall, while not doing anything about removing the Vatican's wall or changing its entrance and immigration policy.

I wonder if the Pope was ever a fan of Pink Floyd, and specifically the album "The Wall".. considering Roger Waters as part of the band, I would suspect he was...

and I wonder if he has a position on the Women of the Wall

this is just too strange.. an Orthodox rabbi from New York was just knighted by the Pope and was made a Knight of the Catholic Church.

Kol Hakavod to him for the work he has done that made him deserving of this recognition, but this honor is strange and perhaps even inappropriate.

I basically avoided writing about the Pope's visit. While the current Pope seems like a bit more decent, nicer, warmer, than previous Popes, the Pope really holds little of my interest.

There are a few comments I want to make though, from side issues rather than regarding the Pope himself.....

1.  PM Netanyahu and the Pope argue about what language Jesus spoke
the "argument" comes at about 1 minute in... Bibi says Jesus spoke Hebrew, while the Pope says Aramaic, and then Netanyahu goes on to explain...


in the entire video, except the moment of argument, the Pope looks very bored. Netanyahu looks like he is giving a history lesson to someone who does not need it or want it. Strange.

2. The Palestinians have taken to claiming Jesus was not Jewish, but Palestinian. If we could rewrite history I would be happy for them to take him. Not only that, but they can also take all the blame for killing Jesus that has been thrown on the Jews throughout history.

3. USA Today has an article about the Pope's visit... in the article, a Rabbi Rosen comments about the issue of the Pope wanting access to the Kever Dovid Hamelech complex..

In the article they write:

Rabbi David Rosen, director of inter-religious affairs at the American Jewish Committee, says this "historical resentment" toward the church is still held by some Jews, including some extremists who have protested against the church's use of the Cenacle, or the Room of the Last Supper, because it is located on top of David's Tomb, a Jewish shrine.

"including some extremists"? anybody who opposes something is automatically called an extremist? just because they don't want a complex to be given over to control by a foreign entity turns them into extremists?

4. In the same article, comments are made about the road closures due to the visit:

Jimmy Ben-Sadon, owner of a Jerusalem variety store, said some of his customers came in complaining about the city's extensive pope-related road closures, and questions like "Why Israel had to make such a big deal about the pope?"
"I was embarrassed by their reaction," Sadon confessed. "I told them, 'When our rabbis go to the Vatican they are treated with a lot of respect and dignity. Doesn't he deserve the same?' "

a foreign head of state certainly deserves to be hosted with respect and dignity. I wonder though, when the CHief Rabbis visit the Vatican, while they are surely treated with great respect, is the city shut down for them? Are large sections of city roads closed down? Is the public banned from various locations, including holy sites, around town?

Sure, the Pope deserves to be treated with respect and dignity on his visit. That does not mean the city must be shut down.

from my friend Naftali Copperman's FB page:
(translation below)


One perspective:
Young religious soldiers in the holy army want to leave the hall in order not to hear women singing, get pushed out and then slandered (in the press), even though they are excellent soldiers in special units.
Haredim remove women from advertisements and ad publications - and every news program opens with that story, with all sorts of people explaining why it is good or not good, using terms like 'primitive', 'excluding women', etc.
Second perspective:
The Pope visits, not a single woman is included in the visit, they work to remove any and every woman from the main area around the nice Francisco. When he visits Mt. Herzl, unscheduled and as a response to the prayer next to the Separation Wall, Netanyahu asks the visitor to pray by the memorial to terror victims. In the videos one can see a woman who immediately disappeared from the access path to the memorial. The writer quickly apologized and explained that it was the coordinator of the visit from the Foreign Ministry and not just any woman.
In the studio "professors" sit there [discussing it] and not a single one of them opens her mouth. It seems natural to all of them.
Two perspectives, one kippa, different responses.
Since the days of Bet Shemesh I have not seen 'hadarat nashim', the exclusion of women, on television as much as there was during the Pope's visit.
Clarification: I am not saying this is right or this is right. Just pay attention how with one of them they respect, understand, dont want to harm his faith... and for the other - an entire community is judged by a kangaroo court.
It seems everything depends on the color of the kippa.

The Jewish nation is an ancient one. It negated foreign gods and negated idol worship. It has suffered many hardships, but has continued to believe in one God, our Father in Heaven..

  -- President Shimon Peres, greeting the Pope in Ben Gurion Airport

Rav Addes gave a shiur in which he dealt with the coming of the Pope (to Israel).. in his shiur (click below), he says that people should not go to see the Pope, and anybody who does see him should immerse in a mikva. As well, people should not watch him on the television or other media either. It is all prohibited under the passuk of not turning to their gods (אל תפנו אל אלילים).. listen to the shiur. he has some interesting things to say about the whole thing, the visit, christianity in general, etc.

I don't think Rav Addes is a posek, but he is considered a mekubal and a man seriously connected to kedusha...

A rabbi, a priest, and and an Imam walk into a bar...

A Jew, a Christian and an Arab walk into a bar...

sounds like the start of a good joke..

not too often do the three go together, on any specific issue, besides for fighting over control of Jerusalem..

but it happened.

Kikar reports about a sick Christian Arab who contacted Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau, asking for his assistance in arranging a meeting with the pope when he comes to visit Israel. Rabbi Lau invited the young man to join him at the official reception ceremony. Rabbi Lau said the purpose of the Pope's visit to to strengthen the ties between religions, and there is no better way of showing this than by helping this child in his request.

So, it is no joke, but it is  nice gesture..

This is Rabbi Leonard Matanky of Chicago who tweeted this picture and wrote "Met the Pope today. Suggested he might want to try an ICJA kippah! :) "

ICJA is the Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Chicago

The Pope has indicated that he may open the Vatican archives... no, he will not be returning the Menorah or telling us where it is (the myth that won't go away, and one I particularly enjoy)... these are archives from the Holocaust-era.

Basically, the Pope is willing to look at the activity of Pope Pius XXII and address the accusations that the Pope neglected the Jews during the Holocaust (or worse).

A rabbi friend of the Pope from Argentina believes the Pope will carry through with what he has intimated. Rabbi Skorka says that the Pope has said the same when he was a cardinal and will surely carry through with it.

It sounds like a good thing. I am just not sure what then. Will it be a shock to learn that the Catholic Church was behind, or at ;east supported , Anti-Semitism and the murder of Jews? The Catholic Church was behind nearly two thousand years of anti-semitism and murder of Jews. I am not sure what benefit can come of this. Maybe it will reveal the names of many of the young children who were taken in by the Church from Jewish families and have thought of themselves as Christians until today.. besides for that? just for historical perspective? I do not think there is much that can be revealed from this.

I commend the Pope for doing the right thing, but I don't expect to be surprised by the results.

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Where's Waldo? Where are the keilim of the Beis Hamikdash?

A Jerusalem-based rabbi recently sent a letter to the Pope and to the Vatican Ambassador to Israel asking them to consider returning the vessels, that are supposedly stored in the archives of the Vatican, to Israel during the Pope's upcoming visit.

Surprisingly enough, there has been a response!

According to Ladaat, the Vatican Ambassdor to Israel has responded to Rabbi Shtencel saying that the vessels of the Beit Hamikdash are NOT located in the Vatican.

The Ambassador goes on to say that the idea that the Vatican is holding the vessels goes against the past 50 years of friendly dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Jewish Nation. If the vessels would be in the Vatican, the Popes until now would have definitely returned them to the rightful owners. The Ambassador adds a personal offer - he says if you can prove to me that the Vatican is holding the vessels, I will personally pass the information on to Pope Francis.

So, where are the vessels of the Holy Temple?

Some fellow from Jerusalem, Rav Yonasan Shtencel, has taken the liberty to draft and send letters to both the Pope in the Vatican and another to the Vatican's ambassador to Israel asking/demanding that the Vatican return the vessels of the Beit Hamikdash to Jerusalem.

Shtencel is an educator, businessman, author and the grandson of someone famous, according to the page about him on WikiText. This page also includes these letters, which were just sent out this past week, making me wonder if it is just a stunt to boost his online profile.

Let's start with the letter to the ambassador, as it is shorter:


Loose translation:
Topic: the Pope's visit to the Holy Land and the return of the holy vessels

I am honored to turn to you about this issue:
1. The Pope Francisco is expected to soon visit Israel
2. As the representative of the Vatican and of the Pope in Israel, I place this letter in your handsso that you can be an honest messenger and partner in this historic goal... It is in your hands to bring this letter to his knowledge before his arrival so that the Pope will be able to weigh the issues and respond properly to the letter.
3. I am aware that it is almost definite that the Pope's mailbox is full of letters from believers, community members and many others. It is not for nothing that I turn to you personally so that this letter will not be received among the many letters as just another normal letter.
4. The content of this letter and its goal is far more important that many of the other letters he receives, without insulting anyone else.
5.  Relating to this letter properly will affect the future of the nations, the religions, peace and love based on the action requested, and it contains the ability of the Pope to leave his stamp on the future.
6. For all this I turn to you to direct my message to the Pope...


Letter to the Pope:



Loose translation:

Topic: Returning the holy vessels from the Jewish Temple to Israel on your upcoming visit to Israel

In the year 70 to the Christian count, Roman soldiers entered the Jewish Temple on Har Habayit in Jerusalem, part of the Judean kingdom in those days, and brought about the destruction of the Temple and took the vessels that served the Jewish people and the priests in their service of the one God in the Temple. As the one who has recently entered into this position and brings with him a new spirit and creativity, I turn to you with the following:
1. I am of the Jewish nation. I do not come as a messenger of anyone, but by the power of my faith with the desire and recognition to bring about through you an historic change  after many years of frozen relations and closed eyes from the historic truths.
2. I have learned about you in the short time.. you have been graced with, among your other qualities, a listening ear to other nationalities, and to people with their weaknesses and limitations.
3. As one who is familiar with the commandments of Christianity specifically and the history of the Jewish nation generally, including your knowledge of the Jewish religion, I believe the time is ripe on the even of your coming visit to Israel - the Holy Land - a visit that will be of historic proportions, should be taken advantage of by you to return the holy vessels, as everyone knows that they are found in the archives of the Vatican under your control.
4. Returning the holy vessels will give your role a special standing among the nations of the world and will give true meaning to the prayer "my house should be a place of prayer for all the people".
5. The purpose of my letter is not to lay blame or initiate legal proceedings... many experts over the years have dealt with all these issues.. this is not my goal.
6. I turn from the depths of my heart first to you and to your conscience, and only after that to your intellect and straight logic.. to do the right thing, from the perspective of "Nachshon's jump"..
7. "Nachshon's jump" is known as a unique act of a son of the tribe of Benjamin - when the Jews left Egypt and stood by the edge of the sea, Nachshon ben Aminadav jumped in. When he did so, the sea then split and the Jewish people passed through on dry land.... 
8. The historic brazenness and strength of that act also has an equivalent  in the Christian tradition when Jesus jumped, as is described in the theological books ...
9. What is the challenge, the request, the idea, the jump, that I, the little one, am asking for?
10. The time has come that the vessels that were stolen at the time of historic and difficult events and they were taken to Rome and are there until this day under the rule of the Vatican under your leadership should have their status changed.
11. If until now these items could be seen as stolen items and those holding them as the long hands  of those who destroyed the Temple, it is in your hands to change the status and see their holding on to these vessels today as being faithful to caring for them.
12. This faithfulness is one of respect and honor, and as all it stands by the main beneficiary of this faithfulness - the Jewish people.
13. It is therefore in your hands to take this leap, return the respect to those holding the vessels at the same time as those who  would benefit from the vessels being returned when you step on the Holy Land.

For all this I request that you dedicate some of your time to consider in your heart and soul that which has brought you to this great position, and use this to prepare, to gather, to pack and to take with you when you come to Israel the holy vessels, to give them over for safekeeping forever to the Jewish nation. 

With all respect,
Rav Yonasan Shtencel


and I just found this related video..



I cant wait to see their response....

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Donate to the Schneider Hospital so I can run the Schneider benefit marathon..

With the Pope having surprisingly just announced his resignation a short while ago, I have decided that in his honor we will also be removing a Christian symbol from the public eye.

Nazareth is a town in the Lower Galilee of Israel, with a large [Arab] Christian population. While it used to be much higher, today it is estimated at 30%-40%, with the remaining 60%-70% being Muslim Arabs. The history of Nazareth is very Chistian, and is a center of Christian pilgrimage, due to it being the recognized childhood residence of Jesus.

Nazareth Ilit is a city very close to Nazareth, also on the slopes of the Nazareth Mountains, but with mostly a Jewish population, and with just a small minority of Christians and Muslims. In Nazareth Ilit resides a significant Haredi and religious community. The Har Yona neighborhood of Nazareth Ilit, named for the prophet Yona who was born and buried, according to tradition, in a nearby village (named today Mishad, but biblically known as Gat Hefer), in particular is the home to the haredi community.

3 years ago, Rav Chaim Kanievsky decided he wanted the name of Nazareth Ilit, or Upper Nazareth, to be changed. Rav Kanievsky said that the name "Nazareth" as part of the city name does not sound good to Jewish ears.

Rav Kanievsky sent a message, through R' Avraham Rubinstein, today the recently appointed mayor of Bnei Braq replacing Yaakov Asher who was just elected to the Knesset, to the mayor of Nazareth Ilit requesting that he work to change the name of the city. 3 years ago, the city council of Nazareth Ilit approved the changing of the city name, removing the word Nazareth from the name. However, changing the name of a city is not quite that easy. The Ministry of Interior has yet to approve the name change.

In the meantime, the mayor has been asking residents to make recommendations as to what the new name of the city should be. After many suggestions over the past 3 years, the decision has been made to change the name to "Hod HaGalil".
(source: Bechadrei)

Obviously the name change has nothing to do with the Pope or his resignation. The name change has been in the workings for 3 years already. But with the resignation announced today, I felt it worthy to also point out this process.

Benetton has been running an ad campaign around the world called "Unhate" in which they depict world leaders kissing. Not just the formal cheek to cheek air kiss, but mouth to mouth kisses. One of the images displayed is that of the Pope kissing an Imam of Cairo.

And Rome is upset. They consider it demeaning and disrespectful. They demanded that Benetton pull the advertisements. The Vatican says they are going to sue Benetton for the damage caused to the believers by this photo.

Here are a few of the images, for you to get an idea:



Another one of the images that went up was of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu smooching with PA president Mahmoud Abbas:


This led to an interesting question. Someone sent a question to Rav Baruch Efrati on Moreshet asking what he thinks about the campaign and specifically if it is allowed to look at the pictures and laugh at "Anshe Dat" - clergy.

Rav Efrati answered that it is not the way of the Torah to look at men kissing each other on the lips. As well, one should protest the demeaning depiction of the prime minister, which is also deprecation of the nation and of malchut yisrael.

Regarding laughing at clergy, it is not appropriate to laugh at the Muslim cleric, and one must honor him as a public leader. Even though the Rambam called Mohammed a crazy person, meshugga, it was not as a joke being humorous, rather it was meant seriously. Those were the desert cave hallucinations prophesied to say the angel Gabriel had showed him prophecy.

However, at the Pope there is no problem to laugh or to make jokes and scoff about. The gemara says leitzanus is prohibited, except for leitzanus of avoda zara. The gemara brings a passuk to support this position, suggesting that not only is it allowed to scoff at avoda zara, but it is even encouraged and is a value. Nowadays, where we must be concerned about arousing anger against the Jews, one should not do this publicly, but to laugh when one of their people put up demeaning pictures of the avoda zara, that is definitely allowed.