------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel

------------------------------------------------------

  -- Former Chief Rabbi Rav Shlomo Amar, regarding the idea of opening the Rabbanut tests to women

There are many people out there who think this would be a great idea and improvement....

------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel

------------------------------------------------------

The rabbonim say that the gedolei yisrael consider it a breach in the guidelines of tzniyus for a woman to drive a car. They never even imagined that the women would go down so many levels backwards and be drivers for public transportation.

The truth is, they say, that even for gentile women it is inappropriate to be such drivers, and the best of them would not lower themselves to take such lowly work, and for sure, how much more so, Haredi women shouldn't. 

They then put out a call for those Haredi women who have already been susceptible and been seduced to take this lowly work to resign immediately and look for jobs more in line with the guidelines of tzniyus and halacha..

source: Behadrei

I can udnerstand them being against Haredi women drivers. They, the rabbis of the more extreme Haredi groups, always were, and driving a bus is much more out there than driving your own car, so it makes sense they would oppose it strongly.

But why is driving a bus such a lowly position? Talk aboutt zniyus and what is or isnt appropriate for a Haredi woman, but why put down all bus drivers and call it such degrading work?

As the expression goes,  .כל עבודה מכבדת את בעליה  - all work dignifies the person doing it. No matter the job, no matter the work, if the person does it with dignity and responsiblity and honesty, it is a dignified work to be done. No need to put down all bus drivers.

Mayor Weiss told JNS she grew up Conservadox and after going to NCSY she became Orthodox.

She was already midway through her third term on City Council so is not new to the local politics. She says she wants to be nonpartisan and deal with the issues in a unifying way, unlike the previous mayor who was mroe divisive as is common in today's political climate.

When asked if she is going to ask her rabbi everything that coems up, she said she was involved in many laws and issues on city council for nearly 15 years and did not call her rabbi every time they discussed an issue. People need to calm down, I guess. Though she is getting rabbinical guidance in how to deal with situations that will arise on Shabbos and holidays, and is meeting with the emergency services to understand when they need to be in touch with her so she can be prepared for those eventualities.

It seems Michele Weiss is the first ever Jewish Orthodox Woman Mayor in the USA!

Good luck to the new Mayor!

The revelation was actually that Elaitzur has decided to perform without his glasses so he wont have to see the female dancers in the performance. He is careful about "shmirat Einayim" - I would add as is common in Breslav as it is but many people not Breslav also are. Some people turned this into a scandal of sorts that he is disrespecting the ceremony or the event and the other performers, and how dare he.

I think it is a good thing. I am happy he found a way he could honor the event with his performance that was requested and still hold to his ideals. We get upset when people walk out of such events with female performers, we can't also get upset when they find a way to stay in and participate. So he wont be wearing glasses - big deal. People can think maybe he is wearing contact lenses or maybe people dont even notice - I wouldn't have as I did not know he needs t wear spectacles to see. Had I seen him singing and jumping around the stage without glasses I would not have even thought about it.

Good for Elaitzur for finding a solution. I saw a report that Rav Arush, his rav, was uncomfortable with him participating at all alongside female dancers and want it cancelled. I guess we'll see on Yom Haatzmaut what happens (I think it is being pre-recorded again like last year but not sure) and what was or will be decided, but good on Elaitzur for finding a way acceptable to him to make it happen. It makes me like him more, not less.

------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel

------------------------------------------------------

Why is it that most shiurim for women cost money with an entrance fee of some sort, while most shiurim for me are free.

Obviously there are some shiurim for women that are free and some shiurim for men that cost money to attend, but for the most part, the overwhelming majority of shiurim for men are free and most shiurim for women seem to cost money.

Any idea why that is?

And no, I am not saying people who give these shiurim dont deserve to be paid or that people must teach for free or that people must be able to go to classes for free or that everyone has to pay. I am not saying anything of the sort. Just wondering why usually women have to pay and usually men do not have to pay.

the real winner of the USA Presidential Elections is once again the Haredi newspapers and magazines who dont have to figure out how to write about the President without showing a picture

:-)

------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel

------------------------------------------------------

four female combat navigators were members of the Israeli Air Force team that attacked Iran on Friday night 

This image is not PotD just to show women are highly capable but due to the irony of these women taking part in the attack on Iran where women are so suppressed...

------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel

------------------------------------------------------

The women of Ashdod, at least the Haredi women of Ashdod, have some new rules to follow, as of this morning.

A letter signed by a group of rabbonim of the Haredi community of Ashdod has been published and spread around town setting new rules for the women. 

The letter touches on three main issues:

1. Recently women have been riding [electric] scooters and karts (like the golf carts we see around town, usually driven by elderly people? I am not sure what type of vehicle this is). This is in opposition to all rules of Tzniyut and any female over the age of 9 is prohibited from using these devices, and for sure not to ride bicycles.

2. Stores that employ women as cashiers and they dress inappropriately not following the laws of tzniyut, the employer should make their employment conditional on a dress code and behavior appropriate for the Haredi style.

3. avreichim have been complaining that on buses running from the wedding halls at night, even though the women are sitting int he back of the bus they talk between them and can be heard all the way to the front of the bus. This is in opposition to the ways of tzniyut. The women should remember they share a space with men and should be careful about tzniyut and only speak quietly.

A shanda! the men can hear the women! Not only do you have to go sit int he back of the bus, you have to go sit quietly int he back of the bus! Follow the rules, woman! Shame on you for making us men tell you to be quiet!

------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel

------------------------------------------------------

This is a picture of a female soldier, Elya Azoulay, in the Caracel brigade arresting several Hamas terrorists in Gaza and leading them to detention. (photo by Shay Yadel ElPorat)

This picture made the rounds a few days ago and I debated posting it and decided not to. Posting it made it feel to me like this is or should be unusual and unique, and I dont think it should be or is.

So why post it now?

Because now it has made an even bigger splash. Initially it went viral as everyone shared it proud of the female soldiers taking part in the war. Since then it has been published by some Haredi publications, including Yated Neeman, while cutting her out of the image. And that makes it more interesting.

While some find it upsetting and disturbing, personally it is not surprising. the Haredi media now have this policy and dont sway from it, even for the most bizarre situations (pictures of hostages, pictures of world leaders, pictures of Rabbaniyot, etc), so it is not surprising they cut this warrior out of the picture. If one does not have unreasonable expectations, they wont be frustrated by such stupidities. 

(I wonder if the photographer in these situations, if he cared to, would have a valid case for a lawsuit for doctoring his picture)

Ynet spoke to her mother about this situation and while unpleasant they dont let it bother them. The interesting part of what Proud Mama said is that the world is not just a world of men. It is also a world of women. Women are fighters and I think it is pride to post the picture of a woman as a combat soldier, that she was in the biggest war in the history of Israel. She is fighting for the women who experienced what they experienced on October 7 that were raped and abused. I think she serves with pride to show that women can also fight in battle.

------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel

------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel

------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel

------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel

------------------------------------------------------

source: Twitter/X

This is a massive change, not just a big change. This is evolution. 

Of course, if this isnt being exaggerated.

I did see last week in some of the Whatsapp groups I am in a notice about women registering to be drafted with a form to be filled out (I think, IIRC, it was for Haredi women aged 20-38, with exceptions (ie older than 38) to be decided individually). So it is happening. The question is in what type of numbers.

Women drafting was always a sensitive issue. The Chazon Ish led the battle against the drafting of women to the IDF back in the early 1950s. It has become standard policy in the Haredi community, and in some of the Dati Leumi community, that it is prohibited for women to join the IDF, in any capacity. The drafting of women was deemed "yaahrog v'al Yaavor" - serious enough that one should give her life before allowing herself to be drafted to the army. The Haredim applied this to the IDF and to National Service, while the Dati Leumi generally applied it only to IDF service but not National Service, and even IDF service was allowed in some capacities (such as teachers). Over the years in the Dati Leumi community more and more have drafted, even to combat roles in recent years, while in the Haredi community it was adhered to must stronger with women avoiding the IDF until recently as Haredi women have studied computers for good futures as the breadwinner, many have joined the IDF, mostly (but not all) in civilian capacities to work in computers for the IDF.

At first this will be ignored, with Haredim saying "they arent Haredi". Eventually it will be fought. And more eventually, we will see a steady stream of some Haredi women joining the IDF. Some women will see it as a way to be a part of, and away to give back to, society. And for some it will be a way to advance their careers. And for some it will just be something to do for some less tangible benefit. 

Good or not can be debated, but this is a massive change in the Haredi society. This is, or can be, much bigger and much more significant than the recent influx of Haredi men into the army.

------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel

------------------------------------------------------

The recent advent of Artificial Intelligence seems to have some worried about their future parnasa capabilities. Parents of a Haredi seminary student asked Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein, rav of Ramat Elchonon neighborhood of Bnei Braq, if their daughter should change fields and study something else as programming very well might become obsolete as AI itself will do do a lot of the programming at a higher level than trained programmers. While programmers will still be needed, the concern is that specifically the Haredi women will be the first to lose their jobs and be replaced by AI because of being late tot he game and being less trained and less experienced overall (individuals might be different, but as a whole this is the concern). The cost of the studies is high and if their field will go away, perhaps they should train in other studies?

According to Kikar, Rav Zilbershtein responded that proof of God is that we still have workers in every type of work in the world at all different levels, and everyone loves his (or her) work and goes to work happily.

Before continuing I would just personally point out that plenty of people do not love their work and plenty of people go to work less than happy. But they do still go to work and perform as they must because they need to pay the mortgage and bring home the facon.

Back to the response of Rav Zilbershtein... 

Rav Zilbershtein says the reason for this is that for the sustenance of the world this is necessary to have all this work done and for all the people to have their parnassa - there are people who have to collect the garbage and others who fix the sewage systems, etc. so during creation God gave out the different attributes to different people for the tasks they would later accomplish, along with the pull to those fields.

If everybody wanted to work in only a specific field because it earns more or is more respectable, or is easy or whatnot, the world would not last as many other jobs would just not get done as nobody would want to do them.

Therefore, Rav Zilbershtein said, there is nothing to worry about. It is possible AI might make many positions redundant but God will not abandon the world and nobody will be left without parnassa. If the student has a pull to the field of programming and sees that as her calling, that means God has given her those attributes and direction and He wont leave her without parnassa.

Even though it is true that sometimes some fields become obsolete, but God provides for those workers by sending other jobs and opportunities, so even if AI makes some fields obsolete, there will be others ceated, and everyone will have parnassa.

God controls the world and makes sure everything runs well. We just have to worry about sustaining the world through our Torah and mitzvos. Leave the rest to God running the world better than anyone else can.

To introduce this I will say that I had heard RBS D was a super Haredi neighborhood, relatively extreme (with some more extreme elements), and that has been my preconceived impression of RBS D, until I actually went there several times and even more so until more recently as I started to hear about some of the communities out there. Sure enough, there are definitely some more mainstream Haredi communities and some extremists elements, but there are also some (and I dont know how many or how much of a percentage they are) of Haredim who call themselves "Modern Haredim" or "Young Haredim" - these are Haredim who seem to not feel bound by the old Haredi style and are somewhat forging their own paths and styles within the Haredi community.

That being said...

An incident recently happened at a shul in RBS D that extended what would likely have been the normal reach of that shul. They had to have known it would.

Briefly, what happened is that a sefer torah was donated to the shul. When they first used it, I think it was at the hachnasat sefer torah near the end of the ceremony, they allowed a woman, someone seemingly connected to the donation of the Torah (I dont know if she was the donor herself or some sort of representative of the donor), to do the glila of the torah - the rolling and tying it closed.

They claimed to have support of one of the local rabbonim, Rav Elimelech Kornfeld, who is also the rav of the shul in some capacity. I have heard that when the criticism started coming in he denied it he had given permission.

So the reason I have not posted about this until now is because until the other day I had not found the actual video of the incident. I had only seen people reference it. I didnt know what actually happened. It was weird, it was unusual and I didnt know what people were exaggerating or being accurate about or whatnot. But I found the original clip the other day and it was posted by the leadership of the shul it happened in on the X (formerly known as Twitter) platform. Here it is:

now, I am totally not familiar with this. To me it seemed strange. After I first heard about I tried to find out what happened and I found bits of commentary about it and it seems that halachically there is actually basis for it with some old sources permitting it. That being said I have never seen this happen (in an Orthodox shul) and I would put money down that until now almost none of you reading this will have ever seen this happen until now. So even knowing it is theoretically possible and maybe was occasionally allowed hundreds of years ago, though I have not heard of records of it actually being a regular thing, it still seems strange. That being said, I am all for change that is acceptable within the halachic parameters.

I should note that Rav Moshe Shternbuch, one of the heads of the Eida Hachareidis and a rosh yeshiva in Bet Shemesh and also rav of a community in RBS D, came out, I guess unsurprisingly, against this incident and criticized them strongly, calling them a community that had roots in the Haredi community (ie they are no longer Haredi).

I don't know exactly what is what but I am think my original impression was way off base and RBS D isnt quite as mainstream or extreme as I thought...