Feb 6, 2008
Iranians think Israel is all-powerful
Yeshiva bachurim in court
The Mir Yeshiva, located in the Beis Yisroel neighborhood of Meah Shearim in Yerushalayim has thousands of students. Many of these students are from abroad and they come to learn in the Mir. For housing, they often get together in groups of 4 or 5 (sometimes more sometimes less) and rent a local apartment, splitting the monthly rent.
A group of 5 students rented an apartment together. One of them in the group was more of a stickler to his schedule and when they would get back to "the dira" at 11pm, he wanted to go right to sleep.
Unfortunately he was disturbed by his roommates who would spend the next hour or two calling their family and friends on their cellphones. This made a lot of noise and kept the tired roommate awake until very late.
He could take it no longer and decided to pack his bags. he found himself another group with an apartment that had an open spot. He moved in with them.
Sounds simple enough, but the end of the month came and they needed to pay the rent. They came to him and said that he owed them his portion of the rent as he had agreed to pay and they did not want to now split it four ways. he had not found them a replacement roomie, so, they claimed, he was still obligated to pay his portiong.
he counter-claimed that when he agreed to pay 1/5 of the rent, it was on condition that he was renting the apartment with the intent that he would get home at night from a long day of studies, and he would go right to sleep. because the condition has not been fulfilled, as he is being kept awake for an additional hour or two at night, he feels it is breech of contract and he should not have to pay.
They claimed that it is completely normal to make phone calls at night for a period of time. That is the only time available to call family abroad and friends in other yeshivas, as they are learning all day. It is normal among all the apartments in the area that only an hour or two after they get back at night does it finally settle down and can they go to sleep. Therefore, they claim he owes his portion of the rent.
They took the argument to the Beis Din of the Eidah HaChareidit led by Rav Moshe Bransdorfer (Rav Meier Bransdorfer's son). Rav Bransdorfer told each side in the dispute to bring informal survey results to see what is commonly accepted as reasonable in other apartments.
the one guy brought testimony from 5 landlords who all testified that at 11pm their apartments that are rented to yeshiva students are all quiet [as the rules state I guess].
The group of 4 brought testimony from 32 apartments where it is considered acceptable to give leeway of about an hour or so from the time of arrival in the apartment at 11pm until sleep time.
Rav Bransdorfer paskened that the guy has to pay his portion of the rent because it is clearly considered reasonable in most other places. Rav Bransdorfer added that the group of bachurim also have to be fully responsible to adhere to the sleep and waking schedules and any student, or any Jew, who is careful to go to sleep early, so as to be able to awaken early to start the day, will have great reward.
Feb 5, 2008
local RBS Tzedaka: clarification from the Kupa
NOTE before we begin: this is not for the purpose of being able to attack them for certain policy. If you do not like one of, any of, or all of the answers and explanations below, feel free to not support them. If they generate more questions, or if you feel certain questions about the Kupa's policies and methods have not been answered, feel free to ask or criticize respectfully in the comments. We will try to get answers to all the questions... at least, as much as possible. There might be a situation in which we cannot get to the bottom of certain issues. Feel free to call Rav Eidensohn yourself if you have an issue that bothers you - he is listed in the phone book.
The fact that there are two tzedakah organizations in Ramat Beit Shemesh, the Kupah Shel Tzedakah and Lemaan Achai, does not have to mean that there is a fundamental disagreement between them, just that there are different methods of operating. This is the case in many cities where there are more than one kupos shel tzedakah and there is not necessarily hostility between them. Therefore there is no reason to assume that if the Kupah says something positive about itself and its methods that it is automatically intended to denigrate Lemaan Achai. Conversely when Lemaan Achai say they do "smart chesed" the implication is not that the Kupah does "stupid chesed" or that they are "Ahavas Chinam" that the Kupa is Sinas Chinam! Rather each organization is just stressing its perceived maalos. Regarding some of the points that were discussed on the blog around Chanukah time concerning the Kupah Shel Tzedakah I took the time to verify some of the issues with Shmuel Zalman Eidenson, the chairman of the Kupah Shel Tzedkah. Rabbi Perlstein and Rabbi Eidenson did not say or intimate anything against Lemaan Achai at the dinner last year, and it is on video for anyone who wants to check it out.
Regarding the issue with the electricity about to be cut off, the truth is that Chevrat Chashmal did make known that although they had pushed off doing this, on a certain day electricity would definitely be cut off to a number of people who had not yet paid their electricity bills
It is a disgrace to the community that people who dedicatedly volunteer their time and resources for the benefit of the community are the subjects of loshon ho'ro and motzi shem ra. It is possible to make discreet enquiries, and indeed a person is obligated to do so to an extent to make sure he is giving tzedakah to a worthy and reliable cause, but a public forum is not the place to post allegations and hearsay. We should all be deeply grateful to the Kupah and Lmaan Achai and their volunteers who devote themselves to helping others.
updates since the anti-violence meeting last week in bet Shemesh
A few things have taken place in the last 36 hours which I want to share with you.
1)E-mails in Hebrew about all of our activities over the last 2 weeks have been sent to a few local Hebrew lists and they have generated a very positive response from native Israelis who are generally unresponsive and passive to the types of threats we have been facing. There is a group of native Israelis slowly developing to mirror some of our committees and ideas with the goal of ultimately joining forces and working together.
2)Meeting with Avi Dichter - last night a few of us had the chance to present our concerns about the police and the threat from the extreme chareidim to Avi Dichter, the Interior Security Minister in the cabinet, as part of a broader event for him in Bet Shemesh. After our initial presentation, many others in attendance including Russian immigrants and native Israelis joined in and echoed our concerns regarding the police. Mr. Dichter took notes and was also presented with a letter with 15 testimonials regarding the failings of the police with regarding to providing all of us with a sense of security. We will have to wait to see if there are any tangible results from the meeting but the message of the anxieties which all of us feel were certainly conveyed to him.
3)Meeting with Aharon Franco - there was a meeting this afternoon with Aharon Franco who is in charge of allocations for the police in the Yerushalyim region. This meeting did not go as well as we had hoped in terms of immediate results and any acknowledgement from him regarding our needs, but the message was once again conveyed and significant pressure is being felt.
4)The first meeting with the mayor as a follow up to last Monday night's onslaught has been scheduled for late next week. I will inform you regarding its successes/failures as soon as I receive the report from our representatives at that meeting.
5)Gift from chareidim across Herzog - tonight, the extreme chareidim from across Rechov Herzog delivered a gift with a letter of apology to the family they had threatened on Rechov Gad. This is in addition to the personal apology which I witnessed and related in the last update. I have been in almost daily contact with the group across the street and this act of theirs is certainly cause for further cautious optimism on the dialogue front. [I find this the most amazing of all the progress mentioned - my comment]
6)Melave Malka planning - we have begun discussions with the chareidim across the street regarding organizing a Melave Malka which will enable our community to connect with theirs on the level in which all Jews should be connected - Torah, singing, and, of course, food. I will keep everyone updated as those plans take shape and develop.
7)A big thank you to Shmuel Katz who has already chaired his second meeting of the Community Protection committee and has really organized a well oiled machine to deal with scenarios we hope will never arise in a variety of ways.
8)We need you!!! - We are still looking for volunteers to help with:
a)the petition committee (gilad73@gmail.com)
b)the community protection committee (shmukatz@bigfoot.com)
c)the mishloach manot project (hadassa_field@yahoo.com)
d)Women in Dialogue (jyelenik@gmail.com)
e)the men's dialogue committee (ddlipman@aol.com)
f)trained citizens patrol through the police (ddlipman@aol.com)
Please e-mail the addresses above if you want to be involved in any of these.
terrorist attack in Dimona, 2nd terrorist gets shot (video)
The first terrorist blew himself up. the second terrorist was injured and tried to blow himself up, when a policeman shot him. It was caught on video:
Feb 4, 2008
the violence in bet Shemesh was a figment of your imagination
You must think I am on drugs or something. Maybe I have a short memory - actually I do.
Remember all those nights when the roads through RBS B were shut down and blocked off because the Haredi violence put people driving by in danger? Remember the bricks being thrown at cars? Garbage cans being overturned in the streets? The nails bent into V's being strewn in the street, sure to pop tires? The guy who was recently threatened because he was watching TV in his living room and someone across the street was looking into his window and could see the TV? the pizza shop guy who was told to leave or he would be killed? The guy who was recently beaten and sent to the hospital while his car windows were smashed and his tires slashed? Feh, you call that violence? It was all in your imagination!!
What am I talking about?? I must be nuts!
Last week there was a meeting between a group of residents concerned about the increasing level of violence and the lack of control displayed by the city and Police in protecting the rest of the areas residents.
I could not be present at the meeting. Aside from that I consider these meetings a waste of time. It is generally a chance for residents to blow off steam and for the mayor and police to make promises they have no intention of keeping.
I was sent two reviews by 2 other residents who were present at the meeting.. This is how they described it...
resident #1:"The citizens yelled hysterically and said nothing constructive. The mayor spoke like a politician and said nothing constructive."
resident #2 (a bit more detailed):"Sharon Ra'anan began at 5:20, two minutes after the mayor got there. (The police chief had been on time, and IMHO, since we only had the room until 6, we should have started at 5 with HIS questions...) Her most important point, perhaps, was saying that Brenda Ganot of Partnership 2000 in Washington told here that the group will pull out its half million dollars worth of programs from BS unless this violence ends. Everyone - including Vaknin and Eliasi, got copies of the questions they would be asked - an excellent idea, because though few questions were actually publicly answered, they see from the list what's most important to us.
The first question was about the plot of land ostensibly planned to be given to the extremists which is on the edge of Bet instead of being way inside. Vaknin started with stories, and Catriel kept asking him to just answer the question. Other people shouted too, and Vaknin basically said no decision had yet been made on the plot (correct me if I'm wrong!). But Vaknin wasn't talking "la'inyan" and after several minutes the police chief got up instead. He was better - at least he answered several questions - but his answers were not what we wanted to hear. He flat out denied that police were afraid to go into Bet, and that the wife of the guy who got beaten up was told that the answer was to move out. Then a woman interrupted him, terribly upset, telling how she and her kids were in her car in Bet when they got stoned, and how when she called the police they told her to try to get out to Rehov Rashi (!!) instead of coming to her aid. Chief said the procedure during riots is to get 100 officers to the scene before going in, because if he just sent in a couple of cars, they'd get damaged and the men inside hurt. That outraged the crowd, because isn't the police's job to protect civilians first?? When chief was asked how police will protect the family that got threatened on Gad, he talked about needing proof against people before arresting them for such letters - i.e. he didn't answer the question. (B"H, I read what Dov wrote tonight about the meeting Rabbi David had with some of the haredim who live on Herzog, which will hopefully do what the police didn't - protect the family.) Vaknin came back on, and the only other question he answered was to deny that he'd had a secret meeting with any haredim. Several people called out comments, one woman up front spoke for at least 3-4 minutes, mentioning the need for opening Route 10 (we all clapped), and one man in the back shouted out that he was very afraid that until someone got killed, chas veshalom, things wouldn't get better. Vaknin said at that point that he wanted to meet with reps of the community (another man got up and asked him to name time and date right then and there, and he'd be there...), and would like this fellow to join in - and he agreed immediately. So the outcome was that supposedly our mayor will meet with people like Sharon, Catriel, etc, and that he saw how angry that packed room was. Sharon wrapped it up by reminding us all that elelctions are in November, and unless we see improvement, we'll know how to vote. BTW, Shalom Lerner and Jacky Edri were there from the moetza- Ichud HaLeumi and Mafdal - but I didn't see Moshe Montag or other haredi anglo reps. Too bad. There were, I guess, about 300 people there, and probably 90% were from the Givah, Nofei Aviv, the other 10 % from the Rama. A couple of native Israelis. A photographer or two, David Stern of Connections and Temura, and I think Jeremy Wimpfheimer who writes for the J.Post sometimes. Hope THEY get the rest of the answers we didn't!"
The local Haredi leadership has been called on numerous times to reject the violence and the perpetrators of these acts. They remain silent. The general excuse by those who support them is that not every time some bored people do something wrong do we need to respond to it. They are not part of us, we have no sway over them and we have nothing to do with it. Ergo, we do nto need to issue statements when they do those things.
One would think, assuming the above is true, that this would be a perfect opportunity, because of the recent meeting with the mayor, for the Haredi leadership (specifically in RBS B, but really in RBS A, the Kirya Haredit, the national Haredi leadership, etc.) to remind everyone that "We, the Haredim, are against violence. Those people who perpetrate such acts of violence against other residents are rejected by us and do not represent the general Haredi public." A simple statement like that would be the minimum, if they refuse to actually try to deal with the problem and get rid of the violence.
One would think.
But one would be wrong, if he so thought.
In an article printed in this week's edition of the local rag "Chadash" entitled "The community that grows from time to time", they miss the opportunity. Instead of rejecting the violence and saying they are not part of us, the article describes how "everyone is afraid of "us". The Haredim. The name "Haredim" seems to strike fear in the minds of someone."
"That someone", the article says, "arranged a meeting to discuss the"community that grows from time to time" who allow themselves to act with violence, physical and verbal, in order to achieve its goals."
The meeting was open to the public, so I have no idea why this magazine did not bother sending a "journalist" to take notes and write about what transpired, but they say they were not there. Not very professional for a magazine that claims to be the voice of the Haredi community of Bet Shemesh, but that is the way it is.
They seem to think that the meeting was against haredim in general, and that "the community that grows from time to time" is the general Haredi community, when the truth is that it is referring to the smaller, more violent group of Haredim. They increase in numbers from time to time, and the meeting was not against haredim in general, but only these kannoim who use violent methods to take control.
But the author writes that he is part of the community that grows from time to time, and we are growing in multitudes with much higher birthrates than the other communities. So such meetings will have no affect on anything (possibly the only thing in the article he got right).
But, he says, we must evaluate whether the meeting was really just against those who are afraid of violence from "the community that grows from time to time" or are they afraid of the fact that Bet Shemesh has such a community in it.
He goes on pontificating about that point for a bit, making it clear that he does not differentiate between those kannoim who have used violence to get their means and the rest of the Haredi public.
The real kicker though is one paragraph in which he says, and I translate this directly form the magazine instead of just paraphrasing or summarizing (because it is so amazing), "Of course, every person has the right to express his opinion, and if a person thinks there is violence, it is his right to express his opinion and respond to it. But before we check who and what, we have tried to recall when there was last a violent act that affected others from other communities, and we really could not recall any." (bold, italics and color for emphasis added by me).
He goes on and on about those who organized the meeting not recognizing "our legitimate rights to stand up for what we deserve", and we will surpass them because of our birthrate and all that.
But it seems that not only have they missed the opportunity to say "we are not them, they are not us, we are not violent and do not approve of their behavior and methods". Rather they claim to be one with them and they even deny any violence has ever occurred. If need be, I can give him the phone number of the latest victim of the violence. I spoke to him on the phone, and I am sure he would be willing to tell the people over at Chadash what happened to him. For journalists, they sure are in the dark! For Haredim, they negate all the claims made in defense of the non-violent majority.
Take a tour of Har Ha'Bayit in your own living room (videos)
He just released a video he made touring the site explaining what is what. It is available for download in three parts at the Universal Torah Network, and is also now available on Google Video. Watch each of the three parts below for an amazing tour, without ever leaving your living room!
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
UTJ gives up local Haredim in Bet Shemesh to support the kannoim
Aside from those regular voting dilemmas, there was another dilemma, a bit more unusual.
The community of those rejecting participation had grown by then. They were living Jerusalem because of lack of affrodable apartments available and they were starting to settle in Bet Shemesh. They were a community made up of members of Satmar, the Eidah Chareidis, and the more extreme Neturei Karta.
They put out these booklets in the form of a children s book. The book was about a father and son talking. The father was telling the son all the evils the Zionists had ever done and why it is prohibited to vote in elections, and to take part in any form of Zionist government in Israel.
They spread the book all over the city along with their regular posting of signs and pashkevilim calling anybody who votes to be a rasha and the like. I do not know how many people did not vote because of those signs and booklets, but that is not the point.
Yesterday there was a full meeting in the BS Municipality. Under discussion was a proposal for granting land requests to various communities for them to build shuls upon. Most of the shuls under discussion were reportedly shuls within the Haredi community. The list included a request for land for the kannoim to build a shul upon for their community.
The requests were originally supposed to be dealt with each separately and voted upon separately. The representative of UTJ - specifically the Degel HaTorah division, felt that the plot for the kannoim had no chance of passing the vote, so he decided to bundle all the plots into one request. he figured that by doing that, the general vote would pass and the kannoim would get their plot as well by piggybacking on the others.
The Moatza refused to accept the bundle of plots for voting. They insisted that as long as the plot for the kannoim was included in the bundle, no vote would be held. The Degell/Gimmel representative refused to remove the plot from the bundle and the vote was held up, as the request was forced to be withdrawn.
The result of this is that the representative of the Haredi communities refused to submit requests on behalf of many shuls that are counting on him to work on their behalf. These are people who voted for UTJ and elected him (as part of the party) to represent them in City Hall. Yet he is not helping them - he is passing them up in order to help the kannoim. While many shuls continue to suffer renting small apartments or storefronts and are waiting for their representative to fight for them to get plots, their representative has turned his back on them on behalf of the kannoim who do not vote for him or for anyone else.
I am told that a representative from Likud, a frum fellow living in RBS who is Dati Leumi, has said that he is considering putting forth the request on behalf of some of the shuls because he feels bad for them and he knows they need the allotments.
Now, some people will say that once a person is elected either to national government or to local government, he should not limit himself to helping only those within his constituency, but he should try to help everybody. I would even agree with that. That is why in general I am against all these small, one issue parties participating in elections and government. I am a fan of the big party, two party system.
However, first of all, the small parties that make it into government, should help others, but never to the detriment of their own people. They have to be concerned first and foremost with their constituents - partly because if they are not they have no power base and will not get voted in again, but also because that is who put them in government and they should be looking out for their needs.
Second, if he along with UTJ is so concerned about helping other communities that do not vote for him/them, I do not remember when he last helped Dati Leumi people get what they need. I do not remember him fighting valiantly for the needs of the secular community. How concerned is he really with helping others and not just his own constituents? Or is it only the kannoim that he is willing to help, even to the detriment of his own supporters???
The only thing I do not understand is why he does this... What is it about the kannoim that makes him feel he has to help them even when it means hurting his own community.. They will not provide him with votes in future elections or power. So what motivates him?
Feb 3, 2008
local RBS Tzedaka: be respectful in the comments
I normally do not touch comments that are posted - I have never deleted a comment by a reader (except for once due to profanity), but if this gets out of hand I will reserve the right to delete any offensive comments about either organization.
Local RBS Tzedaka: defending the honor of Lemaan Achai
There has been some tension between the organizations in the past, and of not specifically between the organizations, then between their supporters. Whenever the topic of local tzedaka is broached, tones get raised, mud gets slung, people give over their impressions of the other organization and why they do not support them, etc. Other times, when the topic is not even broached, people make broad assumptions about what the "other" organization is doing and is truly involved in.
The result can be disastrous, because if you choose to not give tzedaka to one or the other organization because of a policy of theirs you do not like, that is your business. When you take unclear information, often subjective based on something you experienced (that may very well have been an exception to the general way or working), and publicize it often in an unclear way, leaving a very bad impression of the organization, it is no longer you not giving them your tzedaka (which is your right to decide) - it then has become other people not giving because of you, and even worse it causes people who are in need to refrain from approaching the organization because they think their is something not kosher about it. So it hurts the needy twice - once by people not donating because of your personal experience, and twice because the needy do not get the help they need.
In an attempt to get clarity among the different organizations and work out some of the issues, I have planned a series of posts on the topic. I am beginning with the following - this was written up by a person who was present last week when Rav Chaim Soloveitchik spoke about the tension and attitude that people have against Lemaan Achai. This post does not explain how Lemaan Achai works, but is a call for supporting Lemaan Achai and a defense of Lemaan Achai against calls for rejecting Lemaan Achai because of their "unkosher" practices and methods.
Future posts will include; a post explaining Kupa's responses to some of the allegations recently made against them, a post explaining how Lemaan Achai works, a post explaining how Kupa Tzedaka works, and maybe more explaining various other aspects of local RBS tzedaka (if I can think of more topics, and find people who are willing to write on them and answer them).
The following was written up from a drasha given by Rav Chaim Soloveitchik in shul last Shabbat, Parshas Yisro. The write-up was not written by Rav Soloveitchik, but by a member of his shul whow as present at the drasha. He wrote it for me from memory, and Rav Soloveitchik read it and approved it...
On Shabbat Parashat Yitro the Mara D’Atra of Beit Knesset Ohr Shalom -Mosdot HaRav Aharon Soloveichik, and founder & possek of Lema'an Achai, HaRav Chayim HaLevi Soloveichik delivered a ground-breaking drasha.
The Rav went on to describe how there are those in our community who are only willing to fulfill “vayichan” but not “vayachanu”. Apparently some would prefer there be a monochromatic community composed of one hashkafa and oppose the very existence of other haskafot. These segments, who apparently never internalized the concept of “shivim panim latorah” and the true meaning of Ahavat Yisrael are determined to maliciously defame Lema'an Achai.
The objectionable approach of those who can not tolerate that such a wonderful chessed organization exists in Ramat Beit Shemesh, has driven them to invent folktales and lies, one of the particularly malicious ones being that Lema'an Achai “does not follow daas Torah”. Another absurd rumor being circulated is that Lema'an Achai is associated with groups responsible for the abduction of children from good, frum homes.(You need a talented conspiracy theorist to make that one up) Under ordinary circumstances such rumors would provoke a good laugh, but the sad reality is that there are actually those who come to believe such wild rumors. The effect is that some people do not give tzedaka to Lema'an Achai, and even some individuals who are in desperate need of Lema'an Achai's services do not approach the organization for help, because they take the 'motzei shem rah' at face value.
Lema'an Achai has an open-door policy, welcoming everyone who is in need, and everyone who wants to assist. Furthermore, Lema'an Achai has open, routine and positive cooperative relationships with over thirty other charitable organizations, both throughout
HaRav Soloveichik told his followers that if anyone has the gall to ask “what right does your Rav have to bring up such an issue?”, then he who asks should be reminded that the Rav is the talmid muvhak of HaGaon HaGadol HaRav Aharon Soloveichik, who regularly held discussions with such great Rabbanim as HaRav Yaakov Kaminetzky, HaRav Moshe Feinstein, HaRav Yitzchak Hutner, and who from a very young age had tremendous exposure to such gedolim as HaRav Elya Pruzhaner. The Rav has received a mesorah as to when one is obligated to speak out - the vicious attacks on Lema'an Achai certainly raise that obligation.
The Rav has urged all Torah Jews to stand up and defend Lema'an Achai from those who besmirch it, from those who spread sinat chinam.
The illustrious ancestor of HaRav Soloveichik, the Netziv in his introduction to his commentary on the chumash writes that the sinat chinam which led the
"The real answer to the those who might seek to damage the avodas kodesh of Lema'an Achai," the Rav explained, "is for everyone to express their support – by donating their tzedaka, by giving of their time to volunteer and by telling their friends, relatives and colleagues about the wonderful work of the world's best community chesed organization – right here in Ramat Beit Shemesh."
crazies in the night
They think that if they go in quietly, in the middle of the night, without permission but without making a big fuss, they will be safe.
They are putting their own lives in danger, and worse, they are putting the lives of the soldiers in danger. The soldiers often have to go in and extract them from dangerous places and situations. They get lost on the way in, or on the way out. The locals hear them, see them, find out about them.
Shchem is a dangerous place. To go in there on your own without IDF security is very dangerous and foolhardy.
I will add, I think the government should change its policy. They should give us free access, all the time, whenever we want, to go to Shchem and Joseph's Tomb safely, as is stipulated in the Oslo Accords that were agreed upon by none other than Yasser Arafat himself. We should not be only allowed to go to Joseph's Tomb in the middle of the night 3 times a year and only with IDF accompaniment. It should be open to us all the time.
but until that happens, until our government stands up for what is ours, and for what is dear to us, until the government insists the PA keep its side of agreements they signed, these people who sneak in in the middle of the night on their own are crazy and they are risking too much of other people's lives.
Rav Aviner and Rav Ariel on Har Habayit
So here you have Rav Aviner on the topic of Har Habayit (I will repost Rav Ariel's response after Rav Aviner's article)
"Be Careful not to Climb the Mountain, or Even to Touch its Edge" (Shemot 19:12)
The Temple Mount constitutes an unsolvable halachic problem. One is not allowed to enter the site of the Temple, and whoever enters there incurs "Karet" [divine "excommunication"], even today when the Temple stands in ruins. We do not know where the Temple is located on the Temple Mount. Much research has been written, many sketches have been drawn, with numerous measurements taken. That itself is the source of the problem: If everything was so certain, it would be enough to make one measurement. Occasionally a new researcher emerges and nullifies all the previous calculations. The situation has not changed in a hundred years, when the great rabbis of Israel and of Jerusalem ruled that one must not go beyond the wall. Everything is still veiled in doubt.
Already in the past when the Jews returned to build the Second Temple, a prophet was needed to determine the location of the altar. The truth has to be stated, that all this measuring was displeasing to Rav Tzvi Yehudah Kook, and when they would bring him a brochure with such measurements, he would shunt it aside, hiding it under a pile of books. He classified making such calculations as "spitting on the Temple Mount" (Sichot Rabbenu 21, se'if 9). He also mentioned that the mitzvah of Temple reverence does not just apply at the site of the Temple itself but on the entire Temple Mount (Sichot Rabbenu, ibid.). After the Six Day War the great rabbis of Israel announced that it was forbidden to ascend onto the Temple Mount. Our master Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook and his son Rav Tzvi Yehudah forbade ascent. The great rabbis before that forbade ascent. The Chief Rabbis of Israel forbade ascent (including Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Shlomo Goren in practical terms – see "Ma'alin BaKodesh", Av 5763, page 149); and including Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Mordechai Eliyahu and Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Avraham Shapira – and we are not greater sages than they, nor greater saints nor greater Zionists.
After the Six Day War, the Chief Rabbinate deliberated on the matter, and a proposal was raised that they would not decide but would leave it up to each rabbi vis-à-vis his own community. Yet that proposal was rejected. The Temple Mount is not the private mountain of any particular community but a mountain belonging to the entire Jewish People, and those in charge of deciding are the Chief Rabbinate.
In conclusion, not only is there no mitzvah amongst the 613 mitzvot of the Torah commanding us to ascend the Temple Mount, but there is a prohibition, and you cannot turn a prohibition into a mitzvah.
As far as the Arabs who go up there, that is not our responsibility. If they wish to be living fulfillment of "Any non-Levite who comes near shall die." (Bamidbar 9:51), that is their affair. Moreover, if halachically it is impossible to go there we understand that such is G-d's will. We have no prophets who can inform us of G-d's will. Yet also delay can attest to G-d's will, whether what delays us is a practical constraint or derives from halachah, what is known as "a constraint with an inner motive".
It is yet a long way to the Temple Mount. We have a lot of mitzvoth to do, a lot of kind deeds, a lot of Torah to learn, a lot of the Land to build, a lot of honor to show Torah scholars, a lot of love to show our fellow Jew, a lot teaching to do, a lot of solutions to find for the unemployed and for a lot of poor people, and for a lot of hungry people…
One might say: We are not ascending the Temple Mount as a mitzvah nor in search of holiness, but as part of conquering the Land of Israel." My response to this is that there are all sorts of ways to conquer something. This is not the way to conquer the Temple Mount. The rest of the Land of Israel is to be conquered by the pioneer with his self-sacrifice and by the soldier with his weapon and by the settler with his faith – but the Temple Mount has to be conquered differently – by causing the Divine Presence to come to rest. Sometimes not everything can be approached the same way. Sometimes there are differences. See what our great master Rambam wrote in Hilchot Beit Ha-Bechirah (6:6), that the holiness of the Land of Israel is established through conquest, whereas the holiness of the site of the Temple by way of the Divine Presence. And how do we cause the Divine Presence to come to rest? Through Torah and mitzvoth, through kindness and love. We say in our prayers, "G-d builds Jerusalem" (Shemoneh Esreh), and "Jerusalem" is referring to the Temple. Yet how does G-d "build" it? We don't see anything happening right now. Surely we should instead say, "He WILL build it"? Rather, we do not see because we have the eyes of mortal man. The commentaries explained that every mitzvah of every Jew throughout the world and throughout the generations builds Jerusalem, and when a particular quantity is achieved, then the Temple will actually be constructed. Particularly important is groundless love, as in Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook's famous words that the Third Temple will be built through groundless love (Orot HaKodesh III:324).
Even King David, when he wished to build the Temple, was told by G-d that the time had not arrived. G-d told him: Now is the time of wars. Now is the time of building up the kingdom. The time for building the Temple will come later – by way of your son Solomon.
The halachic delay tells us that the time has not yet arrived. We have a lot of work ahead of us. When the Six Day War ended and Rav Tzvi Yehudah's class for his greatest students and scholars recommenced, he humbly asked, "What should we learn now?" One student suggested, "Perhaps the laws of the Temple?..." Our master warmly grasped that student's hand and said to him, "Before we learn that we have a lot more to learn about the laws of kings and their wars."
Yet a longing for the Temple and the Temple Mount has existed throughout history, and every prayer ends: "May it be G-d's will that the Temple should be rebuilt speedily in our day." From this fierce longing we derive strength and valor to add yet one more mitzvah, more Torah learning, more kindness and more holiness. Through all of them the Temple will be rebuilt.
And, again, here is Rav Ariel's response...
Rav Shlomo Aviner titles his article from Sunday in Makor Rishon "Do not touch the Mount or its edge". The Rav comes out prohibiting ascending Temple Mount and he adds, "There is no mitzva among the 613 Mitzvos of the Torah to ascend Temple Mount".
The Rav uses the verse in this past week's parsha that says "Guard yourself from ascending the mount (Mt. Sinai in the verse) or from touching it for whomever touches it shall surely die" - that is a timely warning.
The Rav recounts the various gedolei yisrael and gedolei Yerushalayim, among them Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook zt"l and Rav Goren zt"l who prohibited ascending Temple Mount.
It is amazing that a halachic article by a Rav, coming to annul the obligation to build the Temple in our day, is written without sources from Chaza"l. Because Temple Mount and the Temple consist of a third of all the mitzvos in the Torah, that is about 200 mitzvos, one should wonder how, with the stroke of a pen, one can just wipe away 200 mitzvos, and that is without even bringing a serious source.
First we will deal with the facts mentioned in his article: The Rav claims that Rav Goren zt"l prohibited ascending the Mount. The facts are different. Rav Goren publicized a complete sefer called "Har Habayit" that completely deals with the appropriate method of entering Temple Mount in our days. In the introduction to the book, Rav Goren dedicates 10 pages to describing the military seminary that he set up on the Mount. he further describes the prayers he led on Temple Mount including the reading of the Torah. In the book it describes the battle he had with the Defense Minister and the whole government about having prayers and a permanent place on the Temple Mount. Rav Goren established a permanent synagogue int eh Temple Mount complex, that exists even today. Rav Goren held minyanim regularly on 9 Av and Yom Kippur and prayed there regularly until the last day of his life. the synagogue continues to function today in the same format using the special prayers to be said upon Temple Mount, as brought in the gemara and Rambam, and as established by Rav Goren zt"l. The Rav (Goren) held conferences of Rabbonim and caused made much ruckus about Temple Mount and what happens there. Whoever knew Rav Goren knows that one of the things that shortened his life was the deteriorating situation on Temple Mount. And now Rav Aviner tells us something new that Rav Goren prohibited (!!!) ascending the Mount...
Rav Aviner further writes that "Maybe you will say: we do not go up because of holiness, rather in order to "conquer" - that is not how we conquer the Mount! We conquer it with effecting the Divine Presence in the place."
Since Rav Aviner quotes many times "Our Rabbi Rav Zvi yehuda Kook zt"l" who prohibited ascending, we should get down to the facts: Rav Kook and Rav David Cohen the Nazir both went up to Temple Mount together on the day it was recaptured on 28 Iyar in 1967. The both spoke and decided they are going in as a function of "conquering"!
While they were walking on the Mount they met the Chief Rabbis of Israel;Rav Unterman and Rav Nissim. When Rav Kook arrived home, he decalred "I went up to Temple Mount from the halachik point of "conquering"!. The Nazir made the same declaration (in an interview with the newspaper HaTzofeh 26 av 1967. I also have testimony from Rav Menachem Cohen who witnesses the Rabbonim entering Temple Mount. The author of this article [Rav Ariel himself] is also a first-hand witness to some of the above events.)
Now is the place to wonder: Rav Kook went in himself with his own feet onto Temple Mount as a "conquerer", yet Rav Aviner argues with "Our Rabbi" and says "This is not how we conquer Temple Mount.. rather we conquer the Mount with effecting Divine Presence!". Whose opinion should we accept - the opinion of "Our Rabbi" Rav Kook, or the opinion of his student [Rav Aviner]??
Maybe you will say Rav Aviner brings a proof from the Great Rabbi the Rambam who said that Temple Mount we do not conquer with weapons, as we do Eretz Yisrael, rather Temple Mount we conquer by effecting the Divine Presence (Rambam in Hil' beis HaBechira 6:17). We will turn to one of the only sources Rav Aviner uses in his article and read what he writes - this is the actual text of the Rambam there "the holiness of the Temple and Jerusalem because of the Divine Presence never fades". Where does it say that we do not conquer Temple Mount with weapons? See how he drafts the great Rabbi the Rambam for his fight against conquering Temple Mount, using a source that does not contain anything relevant to the topic!
I should point out that the Rambam describes in a very detailed fashion how he ascended Temple Mount - "the Great and Holy House" on 6 Cheshvan, and how he made the day of his ascension to a day of celebration for the rest of his life. It seems from his words that he did not wait for the Divine Presence to return, but went on a special trip to Temple Mount in order to daven there and to do what he could minimally do during its state of destruction.
There is place to expand on this further, but it seems to me that due to the responsibility of "fear and honor of the Temple" we are obligated to not dig it in for the sake of digging it in.
It should be asked: If we do not conquer the Temple Mount with weapons, but with Divine Presence, why did Judah Maccabee fight a very bloody war , with few against many, in order to reconquer Temple Mount and the Temple? How did he not think of the concept that seems so simple that we should conquer it with "kindness and love ", in the words of Rav Aviner? Why do we sing for over two thousand years on Hannukah about "the might and the battles" and why do we point out the "holy priests"? We have a Rav who claims that is a lll a mistake, as we do not conquer and build the Temple with weapons, but "with undemanding love the Temple will be rebuilt". Who here is mistaken?
The title of the article is a concentration of his whole methodology: how to disconnect from the Temple. I should point out about the title that in the past the same verse was used against people who made aliya to the Land of Israel. See the book of Rav Yisrael TaShma "knesset Chachmei Ashkenaz" where he brings a drasha that was commonly accepted in the days of the Baalei Tosafos among groups who disconnected themselves from eretz Yisrael, and they would say "Guard yourself from going up to the Mount [of the Land of Israel] and from touching its edge {an admonition to not force the end of times] -for whomever shall touch the Mount shall die [from too much holiness of the land], for he shall be stoned [whoever goes to Israel] or shall be smitten [because one cannot keep the difficult commandments that are dependent upon the Land], at the time of Yovel [only upon the blast of the shofar of the Messiah] will they go up to the Mount [then we will go to the Land of Israel].
So we have a rehashing of the same misuse of the verse, this time for the Temple Mount - and that is being done within the Holy Jerusalem!
The phrase of Rav Aviner is already common by us " Regarding Temple matters - we are Satmar!" Therefore he troubled himself to mention the phrase from the ay after the giving of the Torah, lest we forget God forbid, a third of the 613 commandments and we might go build the Temple.
According to rav Aviner's opinion, how will the Temple be rebuilt? he has the winning formula of "Undemanding love, longing, and Divine Presence" for rebuilding the Temple.
And we simply thought that the Torah writes otherwise (Shmos 25:8) "Make for Me a Temple and I will dwell within". Meaning, first fulfill one of the 613 commandments that are relevant to the Temple Mount and Temple and build it, and only then will the Divine Presence rest there.
Int eh words of Chazal it is described that the Divine presence did not rest on the Temple immediately after it was built.. only after Moshe and Aharon made a special supplication did the jews merit to have the Shechina rest in their handiwork (of the mishkan).
This is how Rashi describes it (Vayikra 9:23): the entire 7 days (of training) they constructed and deconstructed the structure daily, yet the Presence did not come. the people were complaining to Moshe that all the work they did the Shechina should come!. Meaning even after all teh donations of gold and silver from the jews and the great work invested in the mishkan and the vessels, even then it was still not promised to Israel that the shechina would rest there, and Moshe had to daven that the shechina should come down on their work.
And now Rav Aviner teaches us something new "Hashem builds jerusalem" - when the mitzvos reach a certain number and quantity, suddenly the temple will be built! Meaning, there is no more mitzva to build the Temple in our days, there is no need to donate gold and silver, there is no need to build the Temple! Just with undemanding love, with performing mitzvos, with longing, the Divine Presence will come on its own and the mikdash will be built and the Shechina will rest on it!
We will also say to Rav Shlomo Aviner HaKohen While you admonish us and recommend to us that we should be satisfied with simply longing for the Temple, we will also fulfill the commandment of rebuke and we will say "retract what you said!"
HH #152 is up and I hope the Patriots win
If you are a blogger reading this, I urge you to consider volunteering to be a host of HH.. If you are so willing, go over and let Jack know...
Feb 1, 2008
1 to 12000
He seems to have no answer to this question.
Allow me to suggest a possible answer..
It could be we are so concerned about him because while we we allow full access to Palestinians jailed in Israel - Red Cross visits, family visits, press, etc., Hamas has allowed no access to Gilad Shalit. We basically have to take Hamas' word for it that he is alive and well. So we have reason to be concerned and not compare the situations..
A further point I will make, is look at the difference - Meshaal is amazed that we are so concerned with one captured soldier, while he has 12000 Palestinians in jail and he says he does not care about them nearly as much..!
motivating your players
They started off this season with a new, young, coach; Oded Katash. Katash was part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv family, as he had played as a star on the team for a number of years. I think his playing career ended a few years ago after he suffered a foot injury.
I do not follow Israeli basketball too much, and I do not understand how the leagues here are designed. It seems the various teams each play in a few leagues - local, national, European, some others, and I cannot seem to figure it all out. So, I follow it as much as I understand from reading a headline that says Maccabi Tel Aviv won, or lost, last nights game. I do not know their record, I do not know stats, and I do not know details of the team and leagues.
The season started off pretty dismally. After paying a lot of money to field a good team on the court, including some top European players and a former NBA player (Marcus Fizer), Maccabi seemed to fizzle out of the starting block. They could not get the season in gear and did not play well. They lost a lot of games.
Oded Katash was fired. A former, older, coach was re-hired to coach the team through the rest of the season. Since hiring Tzvika Sharf as coach, Maccabi has played with an amazing record of 9 wins and 0 losses (I do not know if that is all in one league or if it is between a couple different leagues). The only reason I know they are 9-0 under Sharf is because they won some big game last night and the headline I read said they are 9-0 under Sharf.
Nothing has really changed since Katash was fired and Sharf hired. They did not change the players. Sharf has more experience than Katash did, so maybe he knew how to better utilize the players, but I have not read that he has made dramatic changes to playing style or to player makeup.
Sharf simply knows better how to motivate the players. He knows how to get them to perform. he knows how to make them play to their potential.
Having a coach isn't enough. To really succeed, you have to find the right person - the one who knows how to push your buttons, the guy who knows what to say and how to motivate you. That is the "make or break" of coaching. And it does not matter whether it is your basketball coach, your Rabbi, your counselor, your teacher, your wife, your husband, etc..
If you can motivate somebody properly, you can help bring out the best in them. If you can find someone who can motivate you, he can help bring out the best in you.
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