The FreshView

Rated G

2005-12-28T10:43:00.000-05:00

for: G -ive me a break.

As you probably heard by now Steven Speilberg’s movie, “Munich”, depicts the Mossad as trigger happy militants.

The facts remain that 11 Israeli Olympians were murdered. Their murderers were snuffed out by the mossad. Justice, albeit fractionally, prevailed. This is rudimentary humanism. What, pray tell, could have contorted Spielberg’s imagination to produce this drivel?

Sorry Steve, the concept of good and evil exists. People killing people is evil. Arabs killing Jews is evil. Evil is bad. Do you subscribe to relativism? Would relativism suit you if one of these lowlives were to violently malign you or your family? Is relativism your opium for appeasement?

Or are you petrified like the rest of us?

I Was looking fo some dessert on ebay and...

2005-11-21T12:26:00.000-05:00

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This very intriguing book is an anthology of documents and historical information required for the creation of the Jewish Sanhedrin of King Napoleon. It also contains tefillos and songs dedicated for King Napoleon and his kingship, his army and his success in ruling by Rabbi Abraham de Cologna, who served as Rabbi of Triste & Mantova, and was the vice-president of the Grand Sanhedrin and president of the Central Consistory.

In France the revolutionaries’ National Assembly debated whether the principle of “Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood” should apply to the Jews. After two years, in September 1791, Jews were granted civic freedom, and Napoleon then saw it as his task to make good Frenchmen of the Jews.

Incensed by complaints from Alsace about Jewish usury, Napoleon called for an Assembly of Jewish Notables, holding sessions from July 1806 to April 1807. The Assembly was made up of 111 rabbis and community leaders, who had to respond to twelve questions about Jewish habits namely: polygamy, divorce, marrying out, French patriotism, relationship towards the Gentiles, obedience to French law, rabbis’ appointment and authority, forbidden professions, and usury. During the last months of the sessions, 71 Jews, mostly rabbis, were appointed to translate the answers of the Assembly into religious binding laws. This was called the Napoleon Sanhedri. Its duty to consider the relationship between Jews and the state.

Never Again? Again and Again

2005-08-30T17:05:00.000-04:00

One of the two victims assaulted brutally in Kiev Sunday is in a coma after undergoing brain surgery yesterday. His doctors report that he is hovering "between life and death." Eduard Dolinsky, executive vice-president of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine, said that no suspects have been apprehended, despite the fact that the skinheads were seen committing the crime and they "hang out in a public square everyday and the police know them."Israelinsider.com

Rabbi Meir Kahane (May God avenge his blood) explained "never again" as meaning never will 1 Jew on 1 side of the world remain silent while his brother suffers. This adage has has always been deemed blasphemous.Well, last week 10,000 Jews were expelled out of a land which they paid for with blood sweat and tears. This week the honorable Ukranians reminded us what my Grandpa told me.

Both events did not warrant so much as a peep from United States Jewry.
Jews cry to God - Ad Mosei - Until when God? He cries also - Until when Jews? I don't think Never Again is blasphemy as much as it is fictitious

God Does not abandon His People

2005-08-19T10:19:00.000-04:00

-Last evening at the barber shop we, the Jewish Bucharian barbers and myself, were tearfully watching CNN. The reporter reported how the IDF was to meet with the furthest extremists they have met (I think it was kfar darom). They showed footage of these wild savages whose last stronghold was the synagogue.

What we actually saw were the holiest souls crying and praying like I have never witnessed. Seldom have I ever seen poignant images as I saw last night. These souls broke out into the 1970’s version of Ki lo yotosh which means G-d does not abandon His people. A scene that is reminiscent of the holy souls singing Ani Maamin 60 years ago.

G-d does not abandon His people. These holy people have given their lives for G-d, His land and His people. They are the scorn of the world and much of their own brethren. They are being expelled from the very same land that is a part of what they sacrificed so much for. Their thoughts? G-d does not abandon His people.

After some further thought, I realized something. These souls are the quintessential Gods people. G-d does not abandon His people.

Why we need Moshiach more than ever and why he doesn't want to come down

2005-06-16T13:01:00.000-04:00

It doesn't need any comment. Ready to serve.

Click Here:

They make strange bedfellows from opposite fringes – ultra-rightists and ultra-Orthodox Jews, joined in an alliance for diverging ends.

Brooklyn-born Moishe Arye Friedman says he's chief rabbi for hundreds of anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews in Vienna. He wants formal state recognition of his religious community, and thinks the rightists can help. Gudenus and his cohorts say they have no hidden agenda in supporting Friedman's cause – but they may have something to gain from it.

"For people like this, being seen with an Orthodox Jew is an attempt to gain some legitimacy," says Wolfgang Neugebauer, the recently retired head of the publicly funded office that tracks neo-Nazi trends in Austria. "They try to create an 'alibi Jew' to escape accusations of anti-Semitism."

The rightists sorely need positive publicity.

Their Freedom Party, which shocked Europe in 1999 by winning enough election votes to merit a place in the government, is on the ropes after its less extreme wing bolted to form its own party this year.

Even as official Austria struggles to come to grips with the country's part in the Holocaust during the time it was annexed to Hitler's Third Reich, the hard-liners continue to provoke uproar by sounding like apologists for the Nazis.

Just last month, Gudenus declared anew that whether the gas chambers existed should be "seriously debated." Last week he amended that view to "there were gas chambers, though not in the Third Reich but in Poland." He neglected to mention Mauthausen, 240 kilometers west of Vienna, whose gas chamber killed thousands.

Gudenus is under intense political pressure to give up his seat in Austria's upper legislative chamber.

Meanwhile, Ewald Stadler, former top aide to Joerg Haider (who led the Freedom Party to its 1999 triumph), also continues to stir the pot. He has equated Nazi rule of Austria to the post-World War II occupation by the Allies.

Stadler, who sports a dueling scar on his cheek and revels in the nickname "Doberman," was also at the bar mitzva, beaming as he was dragged into a line of dancing rabbis.
What the rightists and the rabbi share is a campaign against the "Israelite Religious Community," the body formally recognized by the government as representing all Jews in the city, and therefore the channel through which the government doles out support to Jewish schools, synagogues and other establishments.

The set-up, a relic from Austria's imperial past, was ruled unconstitutional in 1982. But the government has yet to rule on Friedman's bid to have his group recognized as a Jewish community independent of and fully equal to the 7,000-member Israelite Religious Community.
While the rightists sometimes cross swords with the group over such issues as compensation for Holocaust victims, Friedman's feud with the recognized Jewish community has grown so bitter that the latter has unsuccessfully sought to have him declared mentally incompetent.
So the rabbi has turned to Stadler, who is one of the country's three "People's Attorneys," or ombudsmen. Stadler says he could not hesitate, and besides, he says he and Friedman see eye-to-eye on important things.

"He has no Nazis in the family and I have no Nazis in my family!" says Stadler, with a grin.
The diminutive Friedman also courts controversy by uttering views that are repudiated by most Jews and in some cases embraced by far-rightists.

Friedman denies Israel's right to exist, saying it is up to God to lead Jews out of the Diaspora. He says Zionist Jews share the blame for the Holocaust, which he sees as punishment for straying from God's path.

Jewish anti-Zionism, on both religious or political grounds, is as old as Zionism itself. But it tends to be a minority view. Friedman is shunned by representatives of the Israelite Religious Community, who accuse him of being on the rightists' payroll – something he does not deny .
"He's a one-man show," says the community's secretary general, Avshalom Hodik. "And Stadler is an extremist. We have extremists attracting each other."

On Thursday the rabbi got censored...again!!!

2005-06-09T15:18:00.000-04:00

On Cross-Currents Ms Toby Katz wrote a response letter to me as follows:

Seeing Is Believing:

I Wrote:You distorted the private letter. The writer implies that teachers and rabbis must be careful with what they say in the capacity of tolerance. The actions commited by those charedim are not necesarily the teachings of their teachers. However, you nor anyone else cannot deny the negative teachings that are being taught in right wing yeshivos.That you bring those stories from the irrational abortion clinic people and the Gore story is just a way to discredit and invalidate the writer. the facts and data remain - there is a problem in our world and its not getting resolved. Any amount of hate monging by our Rabbis, teachers or congregants cannot be tolerated.Maybe I am right some teachers and rebbeim have to learn how to respect others .

Who needs Nazis and Arabs? We Have our own.

2005-06-09T11:34:00.000-04:00

I read Marvin Schick on cross Currents.

Seeing is Believing:

He described an incident in Bet Shemesh where Charedim pelted Yom Haatzmeut participators with eggs. This story begs for more publicity. This is not just merely a bad anecdote; this signifies a problem within our people that must be uprooted immediately. It is no secret that vicious hate breeds among some of us right wingers. We right wingers who try to be scrupulous with every nuance within Halacha cannot let this calamity slip by. You have to ask yourself where do these ideas and resulting behavior fester? Too many of our teachers and rabbis are occupied with the ills of all other circles. Our leaders and teachers must focus in on respect not rhetoric. Teachers, Rabbis and any other spokesman that spews hate must be censured or removed. As Mr. Schick ends his blog ..When will we ever learn, when will we ever learn?

Bchukosei and Shabbos

2005-05-27T11:42:00.000-04:00

To sum up the first Pri Zadok of Bechukosei look at the first and last paragraphs. To get something out of it - look how he gets there. Getting there is half the fun.

Directly preceding Parshas Bechukosei is the posuk that discusses shabbos. Why? The Michilta in Beshalech tells us that Shabbos is chok. It says by Marah Shum sum lo (There He gave them) chok umishpat – Chok is Shabbos and mishpat is honoring one’s parents.

Why is Mishpat Kivud av Vem and Shabbos chok?

Honoring one’s parents is a logical deduction. Chazal tell us in Kedushin and in the Midrash about the wonderful display of honor bestowed upon the parents of certain Akum. Why asks Reb Zadok did Chazal do this? We see that the gemara in Erchun tells us its user to to say kamuh nueh akum zeh? Therefore, Chazal weren’t telling us their masim rather it was a result of their reckoning. The whole world recognizes the mitzvah of Kivud av vem – it epitomizes logic.

Why is Shabbos a chok? First let’s understand what a chok is. The midrash in this weeks parsha tells us that while all kings set forth rules and policies and have their subjects carry them through Hashem performs His rules first. Bchukosei teleichu – the chukim – through these I was chukka – fashioned- the heavens and the earth. Hashem is conveying to us that to go in His path – His Midos - which is the very same medium by which He created the world.

Which mitzvah is to be fulfilled because Hashem wants us to emulate Him? Shabbos. He rested – we rest. What about the mitzvos like tefilin and davening which have Him doing it also? Unlike shabbos those ideas are learned through derashes and not stated outright – keep shabbos because I He created the woeld in six days and He rested on the seventh.

Reb Zadok gives some insight to the whole Marah episode when the Torah says shum sum lo chok umishpat.

Right before the Torah says shum sum lo chok umishpat the Bnei Yisroel were wandering in the desert for three days and could not find water. Chazal tell us in Baba Kama Ein mayim eleh Torah – Water means Torah. The Zohar tells us that Torah is Hashem. Thus, the water that the Jews were searching for was Hashem. They had just witnessed awesome revelation at Yam Suf and were thirsty to see it again. They came to Marah and their desire was quenched with chok and mishpat. The Jews were able to recapture the revelation they had experienced at yam Suf through the adherence to chok and mishpat. It was not just the adherence it was the adherence for the sake of the mitzvah, for the sake of fulfilling Hashem’s desire– the lshem shimayim aspect. Their thirst for water – Torah – Hashem could only be quenched by revelation and His will.

When performing Kivud av vem, one can do it because it makes sense and one can do it because it’s a way to fulfill Hashem’s wishes. The latter begets kedusha This concept of doing a mitzvah for Hashem is kedusha into ones being. When we make a bracha we say asher kideshanu bmitzvosav- we are infused with kedusha through mitzvos.

. We see in Meseches kedushin that when Reb Yosef heard his mother coming he heard the shechinah coming. He heard the commandment of Hashem coming and not the logical precept to honor ones parents. The posuk says Magid divarav lyaakov chukav umishpatuv lyisroel lo useh chen lchul goy umishpatim lo yaduem. A jew has the ability to reach kedusha through fulfilling the wishes of Hashem. An akum can perform a mishpat and can understand it. However he hasn’t the Daas – the revelation and recognition.

This is the connection between Shabbos and bechukosei. Shabbos is Chok – doing a mitzvah because Hashem desires so. If we incorporate this idea into everything we do – Im Bchukosei Telechu even our logical deductions - the idea expressed through Shabbos and the thirst quenching episode by Marah.

Perhaps Reb Zadok is alluding to Naaseh vnishmah – the idea of existing and operating to fulfill Hashem’s desire.

Perhaps we can better understand Shabbos being meain olem habuh when the whole world will realize that He is one.

Final Thoughts

2005-05-19T14:15:00.000-04:00

I want to end this Toby Katz thing. However, a few of my friends and acquaintances whose parents went through the gehenom gave me a poignant shekoach for my attempt to point Ms. Katz in the right direction. We all share in many of the aforementioned sentiments. If you think I was strong you should listen to what they say and their fears of some teacher imparting their views of the Holocaust and Yom Hashoah to their kids.

I think the problems are:

a)Her direct insensitivity (and not her lack of participation) to Yom Hashoah and participators and indirect insensitivity towards the survivors.
b)The frustration in there being no channel by which the observant right wingers can reflect upon the Holocaust.
c)The author is a teacher who is guilty of a) and is part of the machine that festers b) who can very well be a conduit between Judaism and your child

Keeping silent and not participating is one thing. Showing contempt and disrespect is another. I really believe that any Rebbe, Rabbi or teacher that displays contempt for any other Yid or group of Yidden must be censured. It is beyond belief that the staff at Cross-Curents would remove comments that argue with their authors but would agree to post strong antipathy for fellow Jews. I’ll even take it one step further and hold the enchanted PC wand- ask any competent Rav if they feel Ms. Toby Katz was inappropriate.

____________________________________________________________________

Below is a private e-mail I sent to Ms. Katz.

Ms. Katz,

I thank you for your response, certainly something you didn’t have to do. Naturally, I find it more hospitable than the censorship on cross-currents.

On the one hand, I do agree that religion and politics are 2 different spheres. The distinction however is not always so clear. What I mean is often – too often- our religion and practices get distorted by chaos that comes in the forms of our egos, politics etc. The heated debates found in every corner of every Jewish address about every nuance do not always have the search for truth as the goal. The greatest value musar has to offer is its ability to question our motives for everything. Contemplate on how much better the world would be if everyone asked themselves is my next step or utterance lshem shimayim or is it lshem my ego or personal enhancement.

On the other hand, you would have to agree that everything should and does involve religion directly or indirectly. Every decision we make throughout a day, week, month and year is a decision that is right or wrong. I think it’s a Seforno that says in the beginning of Rueh that every step can be used lbracha or lklala every step is within the capacity of bechira.

You are not religiously bound to celebrate any secular holiday. While I agree that Yom Hashoa is not strictly a religious holiday there are many experiences involving that day that can be very religious. I grew up in a chasidesheh shtiebel where the old men with the tattooed arms observed it. These guys told the world that their tormentors could not stop them from starting all over again to produce Torah living families. Is it the proper day? Is it the proper month? Were the originators the proper people? All valid questions. However, Yom Hashoah is not a secular holiday either. I’ll even say something dramatic – I would never tell any kodesh that Yom Hashoah is a secular holiday and I hope you wouldn’t either.

While no one is bound to observe Yom Hashoah (I do not observe it either) you are bound to respect it. It is a sacred experience for many survivors, their children and grand children and even for Yidden that just feel connected to the Holocaust. No one who didn’t experience it directly has the right in any fashion to question it, certainly not to belittle it. Many of the Zionists that you criticize in your prior post were survivors themselves. Furthermore, Yom Hashoah, as you assert, does celebrate the Warsaw uprising as well. Yom Hashoah has a lot more to do with the humiliation. The Holocaust was humiliation. The uprising is probably to express some pride to accompany the humiliation.

I would like to reiterate, from my comment to your post, that you are a mechaneches and your post was also geared for young neshamos. Yom Hashoah should not be a political battle ground. Furthermore, some of the ideas you expressed were mere conjecture and not so accurate. Finally and of great importance, anything of such magnitude and sensitivity as the Holocaust requires at the very least the input of a Gadol. You have to ask what would Reb Moshe have said or Reb Dovid Feinstein say.

I have volumes to write on this issue. I wouldn’t know where to start. I certainly don’t know where to end. My gut reaction to your original post had me post a comment (Number 49) where I delineate some of my issues. I think you may agree with some of them.

Holocaust study is desperately needed. The Holocaust was not just one more bad incident that befell the Jewish people. It is needed to get answers from authentic Jewish sources. It is also needed for inspiration so that our kids will know who their grandparents and great grandparents were. I am talking about the very names that they have and the responsibilities that they now carry. In a sense, every day is Yom Hashoah. Too much is at stake to ignore it. As of 5765, the right wing Torah observant world has not organized a program or a day to do this not even on Tisha B’av. The faults with Yom Hashoah certainly won’t reflect the lessons of the holocaust.

May we all be nice to each other, patient with each other, respect each other, remember the lessons of our parents and grandparents and bring the goel zedek bmheira.

On Monday the Rabbi got censored

2005-05-16T12:35:00.000-04:00

I commented on cross-currents in response to Toby Katz's tongue in cheek post that implies that it was really the Republicans that rendered the dinosaurs extinct.

Take a look

It was deleted. Why? When I was a young lad in school and had a question the teacher would say something like the Achronim speak about it - not rip out my larynx. Is this the teacher that plans to teach our children the ways of the creator? All I wanted to know is why she feels she has more in common with a Christian Republican and needs to be defensive for their cause and cannot display the same affection for a fellow Jew.

Ms. Katz,

As a mechaneches you must be on you toes for inconsistencies. In a previous submission you not only won’t recognize but actually teach contempt for Yom Hashoah because of its Zionistic origins. Ostensibly, you feel that any benefit to be derived from it would be negated by your religious differences. However, you will come to the defense of Republicans, of whom are a large majority non Jews, as if you are of a more similar cloth.

Those who can do, those who can't......

2005-05-12T09:29:00.000-04:00

In a recent anti Yom Hashoah article posted on the blogspot cross-currents Toby Katz writes a long argument on how and why we can’t observe it. If she weren’t a mechaneches (teacher of Jewish studies) it would be at best impractical. She, however, is a mechaneches- it is downright scary.

This magnificent display of brilliance and sensitivity can be your own child’s teacher. I took out some of the highlights and my letter to her which of course went unanswered; not necessarily because she doesn’t want to but Baruch Hashem I was #49 in the comments. It is imperative that we as responsible parents stop all indignation inflicted on our kids. Any teacher that spews poisons to our pristine link to the future must be curbed. My respectful comments to Ms. Katz:

In a nutshell you claim that Yom Hashoah can’t be distinguished as a day of remembrance because it was a Zionist proposal. You also lay claim that it was the shame of the Holocaust victim that the Zionist is trying to avoid. I don’t know how factual this all is. I also don’t know if this is sufficient of a reason not to be able to use Yom Hashoah as a remembrance. With all due respect it sounds political.

Furthermore, the holocaust is a terribly sensitive issue for the survivors, children, grandchildren and anyone who considers himself a member of the children of Israel. It is also true that it has not been addressed on a large scale by the charedi school of thought. Although Tisha Bav is the most proper time to remember the Holocaust as you point out, it is rarely addressed even on Tisha Bav. If someone wants to read up on it he is welcome to do so but there is no structured source for it in the charedi world. The only avenue is the not charedi avenues. Your suggestion would only have children looking at questionable sources for answers.

You say that you are an educator, presumably to disseminate the Torah and its truths. I am not an educator in any capacity, other than being the father of my kids. Any question that deals with large issues such as the Shoah requires at the very least, the input of Gadol. In your lengthy article you neglect to mention any Gadol’s opinion, just yours. As an educator of any capacity the truth must be the goal for the children to attain. Difficult issues require guidance not rhetoric.

Here is the link and some blurbs: http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2005/05/06/yom-hashoah/

…this date marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and it was chosen by the Israeli government. The secular Zionists who founded the modern State of Israel thought that the Holocaust was shameful and embarrassing—to the Jews. Why had weak and pale Jews gone like sheep to the slaughter? The feeling of shame and humiliation was so strong that for decades after the war, survivors in Israel would not talk about the Holocaust. I’ve heard the same about survivors in America and Canada. The only thing that redeemed Jewish honor, the Zionists thought, was the courage and strength of the Jews who battled German soldiers in the streets of the Warsaw Ghetto. Were all the other Jews cowards and weaklings? Were the young men and women of the Warsaw Ghetto the only Jewish heroes? ….. …. They were ashamed of the shtetl Jews, the yeshiva bochorim who pored over ancient tomes. They thought it was no wonder there was so much anti-Semitism in the world, given how weak and pathetic and cowardly the Jews were. They would fix all that. They would create a New Jew. The New Jew would be brave and self-reliant. There would be a Jewish army and Jewish policemen. Jews would get their hands dirty and work the soil and be productive. They wouldn’t be parasites anymore, living off of other people’s labor in a foreign land. Everyone in the world would admire and respect the New Jew…..

It really Happened...Remember

2005-05-04T14:03:00.000-04:00

Thursday is Yom Hashoah. Now, if you ask any well behaved anti-Semite he will tell you it never really happened. Needless to say this is ludicrous. It is also chilling to think that it could be forgotten. So much lost - countless lives destroyed both during and after and so much Judaism annihilated. It also, to an extent, defines who we are today. Denying the Holocaust is denying not only our heritage, it denies our present existence.

I am therefore baffled as to why there is almost no Holocaust Education in our (Right wingers) Yeshivas and Shuls etc. The 2 kinos that were finally put into the kinos books are insufficient to relay the Holocaust as being more than an occurrence. Yes, there are 1001 reasons why we can’t. FDR also had 1001 reasons why he couldn’t help. (Any reason can be dealt with – Yidden gebbn an Atzuh).

Studying the Holocaust should offer great lesson learning opportunities. The Holocaust was not just the anguish of being broken. It was also the strength that rebuilt. It also provides us with how our people prioritize and what is important.

I probably did not need the formal education myself. As a kid I remember seeing the infamous tattoos on the arms of the old guys while putting on tefillin. I also remember telling my aunt that it is against Halacha to have a tattoo (She told me that she had a bad memory and it was her phone number). My very own grandfather once slipped and told me one “small” story and what they did to him. This provided the impetus to self taught Holocaust study. I am still fixated with holocaust stories and history because it explains so many of the people and events that shaped me. Studying this era is understanding me.

Without formal Holocaust study my kids will only know what the Holocaust was from myself and what they read. Their American (for the most part) grandparents were too young, I can’t really relay to them much and the media will not do it justice. Not only will they be denied the learning opportunities they will also miss out on who and why they are.

If Holocaust denial is so putrid then ignoring it should be right behind. We are cheating ourselves and our children out of one the most poignant epochs off Jewish history. The holocaust which was only 60 years ago remains as a resource of light to what and why we are as well as inspiration to what we should be. We can’t forget the history, the stories and the evil. We must never forget lessons, the inspiration and who we are and who are kids should be.

May Hashem avenge the pain and blood anybody afflicted on any Jew. May He also grant us the wisdom to learn and grow and bring the Goel Zedek.

Pope Goes the Weasels

2005-04-20T13:38:00.000-04:00

The church has selected a new Pope. He has a dubious nazi past. While it is true that Israel has sent forth positive vibes and that it is very possible as he asserts that he was forced into the nazi youth group, there is something else that rubs me the wrong way.

Had his past been checkered by any other despised group (i.e. KKK) I am fully confident that he would never been considered at all. This is even if he were exonerated because of the ugly image it may project. The issue at hand therefore should not be the popes actions rather it should be the ability of the world to swallow a man with a nazi past.

Today's news is an old story

2005-02-15T13:57:00.000-05:00

In any given article about Israel written for the masses you can be assured the presence of inconsistencies and yellow journalism. I picked one that caught my eye. It is not al-jazeers, the guardian or the New York Times. It is ABC based on an AP report. Remember, this is not an editorial, this is plain vanilla news. It always seems that the media are consistent with the goal to minimize Palestinian terror and Israeli dissension, exaggerate the love of the failed peace plans and fabricate the viciousness of the Israeli “settler.” You can do this to any article.

I took some excerpts and commented on them.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=498592

Israel Delivers Bodies of Militants
Israeli Military Delivers Bodies of 15 Militants to Palestinians for Burial
By IBRAHIM BARZAK
The Associated Press

Feb. 14, 2005 - "The Israeli military delivered the bodies of 15 militants to the Palestinians for burial Monday, a handover celebrated in Gaza as the first real achievement of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who is trying to prevent fickle militants from straying from a fragile truce. "

Examine the use of the word militant. It is an old grievance but it’s still noteworthy. Why not use the word Palestinian? Militant denotes an air of an anomaly. It implies that while most Palestinians thirst for peace there are still some rogues. It doesn’t stop there, these anomalies are not murderers mind you; they are militants. Why not call them rebels or insurgents? Militant implies that they are combating an imperfect enemy, not a pregnant woman with four children on the way home. This is further compounded by the adjective fickle which implies that there is nothing inherently decadent with the anomaly group, they are just fickle.

"The planned pullout has created a politically charged atmosphere in Israel, and prominent Israeli politicians on Monday called for detaining Jewish extremists without trial or charges in response to a wave of threats against government ministers who support the withdrawal. "

Let’s get this straight. Israelis who disagree with being displaced are extremists whose actions warrant being detained without due process. I am also to infer that it is really just a small minority of people who oppose the coveted and often revised peace map plan road etc. (which ignores the recent 130,000 plus attended demonstration.) This is in contrast to the Arabs who in unison are yearning for a peaceful coexistence.

"Tens of thousands of Gazans poured into the streets as 15 ambulances carrying the bodies of the militants rolled into Gaza City's main square, escorted by Palestinian security. Each ambulance had the name of the dead man inside on the windshield.

Dozens of armed men stood in the square, raising the banners of their factions and saluting the bodies. The Palestinian police band played the national anthem in the background. "

If it is indeed so that the majority of Palestinians are yearning for a peaceful coexistence with Israel and that militants are but an anomaly why exactly were there “Tens of thousands of Gazans” pouring into the streets carrying the bodies of the militants? These militants are an anomaly to the mainstream Palestinian – why the precession of raised banners and the national anthem? These militants were not in the midst of intense battle, they were most likely hunting for some weak unarmed victims as has been the case repeatedly. Read on…..

"The militants were killed in attacks on Israeli army outposts in Gaza and other Israeli targets in the past two years. It was not clear why Israel had kept their remains. "

The militants were killed because…….? Look how they threw in the words army outpost and other Israeli targets. Why not say killed in attacks on schools, playgrounds, shopping malls and other targets? They need to mitigate the terror, after all these aren’t insurgents or terrorists these are militants. Attacking army outposts is a process of war and struggle not aggression and therefore mitigates any ugly realties of death.

"The bodies were released a day after Israel's Cabinet approved the names of 500 Palestinian prisoners to be freed, and security commanders discussed the handover of the West Bank town of Jericho to Palestinian control. All three measures are part of a package of overtures agreed on last week at a summit where Sharon and Abbas declared a cessation of 4 1/2 years of hostilities. "

Four and a half years of hostilities? Hostilities? New York and New Jersey have hostilities over the Statue of liberty. Countless attacks and over 1 thousand Israelis murdered in a one way war is not hostilities.

"Some settlers and other members of Israel's extreme right have threatened to use violence to try to block the withdrawal threats that aren't taken lightly after an extremist opponent of peace concessions assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.

Some lawmakers who support the pullout have recently received abusive mail from extremists. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz received a meat hook in the mail; a letter to a female member of Sharon's Likud party threatened "gang rape." Sharon told the party meeting that one leaflet in circulation threatened to dig up his late wife, Lily. The family has hired guards for the grave, he said. "

Where to begin? Some settlers and other members of Israel’s extreme right:

A) I thought liberals were not allowed to stereotype. Why do they assume that settlers are part of Israel’s extreme right?

B ) What is Israel’s extreme right? Who are they? What do they do? What have they done? Where does their terror stand relative to the Arabs?

The one act of violence the writer can think of is not the one committed against Mrs. Hatuel or the Bus to Emmanuel he chooses one perpetrated by a deranged man. Why didn’t the writer use the one committed by an Israeli against the family of Arabs or the “settlers” that attacked a bus full of children and pregnant mothers? Any guesses? I’ll give you a hint. There were none.

"Opposition leader Joseph Lapid said Israel has "reached the point where the security establishment is more afraid of Jews than of Palestinian terrorists."

This is just gorgeous. They are more afraid of the Jews than Palestinians. Maybe this is the gemorreh that says expressing compassion to the cruel will result in the cruelty to the compassionate.

How much is Jewish Blood Worth?

2005-02-08T15:35:00.000-05:00

OK Israeli Jewish blood is almost worthless. After all, its all part of the pieces process. Good its not anti Semitism its anti Zionism. I am sold. It's the other side of the world. Fine.

Update: A Jew, 48-year-old father of six, was attacked as he waited for a tow truck with his son was killed in Toronto 2 years ago. The murderer pleaded guilty after flying into a fit of rage against a group of Jewish teenagers.

Will this be a big deal? Should it be a big deal?

I would bet my next 2 paychecks that it will not be a big deal. A Jew gets stabbed to death because he was a Jew. Mind you, not the only case in the last few years (Los Angeles - twice and Antwerp are examples I can think of off hand). It also happened not too far away. I hate to ask this: if he were of any other ethnicity and was killed as a result in Toronto wouldn't it be a big deal. Shouldn't it be a big deal. I hope I'm wrong.

http://toronto.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=to-murder20050208

The Blame Game - The Anti Drug

2005-02-08T11:57:00.000-05:00

He has yet to redeem himself from his Baruch Goldstein fiasco; however he makes some good points in his latest blog. When you're right you're right - when you're not I'll get you.

I took some excerpts from:
CLICK HERE
…..It is said that our schools bear much of the responsibility for what goes wrong among our youth. There is room for improvement, but schools are not to blame. Nor are shuls to blame, this despite the offensive and foolish practice known as kiddush clubs. We need to get away from the great American blame game, the indulgence in pop psychology by the media and charlatans. There are parents who do everything right and whose children do not turn out right. There are schools that do nearly everything right and yet some students disappoint greatly. There are mysteries to life - to every aspect of human behavior - and not everything that goes wrong has a ready explanation. ….. …..Self-esteem or its absence is the root cause of much - but certainly not all - that is untoward in the young. When a problem child is shipped off, the process is likely to further erode whatever tenuous fibers of esteem are still operational. To the greatest extent possible, a problem child should be nurtured by and among those who deeply care because they are family and have demonstrated their love. Self-esteem is the great unappreciated issue in education. We are increasingly caught up in a complicated web of standards, tests and marks. Students can overcome what they lose when they receive an inferior education. Few can overcome assaults against their self-esteem. With their dual curriculum, our schools have in an important sense two entry points to challenge how students feel about themselves. There is, I am certain, a correlation among Orthodox teens between low self-esteem and wrongful behavior. Our school officials contribute to the difficulties facing our youth by being too hasty in ridding themselves of students who don't meet standards. When a student's behavior adversely affects other students, there usually are grounds for expulsion. Not doing well academically is not an adequate ground, a position that I have expressed for many years, but few school officials agree with me. It is intolerable that one person, usually the principal, has the sole say on who stays and who does not. When the prospect of expulsion arises, there must be a process involving several persons who are competent to decide. I cannot understand why the Orthodox community tolerates the sinful practice of allowing one person to make so vital a decision regarding the life of a youngster. There is no halachic justification for the practice. Expulsion and other severe punishment obviously attacks self-esteem. The sins of those who act hastily toward our young directly beget the sins committed by those who engage in wrongful behavior.

Better late than Never? Never Again

2005-02-02T19:31:00.000-05:00

I know it’s a bit late. But that’s my point – 60 years- come on guys. The UN has declared a day to recognize Auschwitz. I have such ambiguity as well as suspicion towards all this. I am real confused with this one. What gives? You gotta wonder. What exactly inspired the moral compass of the world to dedicate effort towards commemorating the Holocaust? What exactly was the objective in the commemoration? Let’s study the options:

Was it:
a) To educate the world about the horrors that man is capable of committing and to further push the need for humanitariianism
b) To educate the world about anti –Semitism
c) To acknowledge and give the few remaining survivors a minutia of their due respect
d) To provide the UN as well as the rest of the world with some more leverage in railroading Israel into the ruse referred to as Palestinian Statehood.

To be frank, the world doesn’t give a hoot about a) and b). The UN certainly has reservations of halting atrocities. If the UN indiscriminately pursues global injustices why are they oblivious to the African continent and the 22 Arab states?

The UN’s general response to choice b) has proven itself to be despicable. Aren't these the same folks that screamed themselves into a frenzy when it came to the Jenin hoax but remain pindrop quiet when a Jewish family gets decimated while the perpetrator's family gets rewarded? Furthermore, by the Arab representatives ignoring the event without any rebuke, they not only proved that anti Zionism is anti Judaism they also suggested who has been manipulating the UN.

It’s ironic that there were 2 things to have been created from the ashes of Auschwitz the UN and the state of Israel. Ironic – because the latter seems to be trying to turn the former into ashes. Since its inception, Israel has been the recipient of unrelenting terror from its Arab neighbors and global indifference. Not only has the UN shirked its responsibilities, they have turned into the very instrument to incessantly censure Israel at every turn.

Pushing for the creation of Palestine is not quite consistent with humanitarianism morality and justice. The palestinians (Of course I refer not to pre - Israel days when even Jews were Palestinians) cannot lay claim for being an upstanding group. Their track record with terrorism has been a bit dismal. This group not only aligns with terrorism but they even murder those who collaborate with anti terrorism.

To be even more frank, most Jews don’t even care about anti-Semitism. Barring a handful of events and columnists the Jewish response to anti-Semitism in the form of anti Israeli terrorism is far from deafening. Furthermore, anti-Semitism around the world has been thriving. Putin himself had to excuse his country for the recent anti –Semitic surge during his speech at the Auschwitz. The US and England is also experiencing recent escalations in anti Semitism. These events affect every Jew. Forget about speeches, rallies and letters. Forget about brotherly responsibilities, what about your own neck?

The drive for the Palestinian terror state is greatly being fueled by not only anti –Semites who are repelled by the thought that a Jew has anything more than a tattoo branded on his arm, but by Jews. Not only the well acclimated academic global Jew who pontificates for the New York Times while sitting comfortably from his American house away from arabs and other Jews. The drive for the 22nd arab state of terror is being fueled by the Jew who cries from his unsafe Israeli home. Is 60 years too long of a time for you to forget? Do you really think it can’t happen again? Do you not realize that a significant portion of the world equates you with Nazism?

What suddenly woke the UN up from their slumber? I can't say for sure. However, superior to the Anti-Semitism or the humanitarianism reason is the age old rationale. The green reason. The US needs the Arab to be content. Bending Israel’s arm in the form of non responses to Arab terror, freeing Arab terrorists, uprooting the shtachim (known as the territories), and creating a country (the 22nd one) must be wonderful for the oil sheiks who are heavily invested in the US stock markets. It not only displays a little Jewish humility it also strokes the Arab ego. Israel would be hard-pressed to cry that the world is anti-Semitic with their dangerous demands if there was a global Auschwitz commemoration.

The only consolation I receive from this charade is acknowledgment. The acknowledgement that the survivors told Hitler that there truly is a superior race. The race that despite their abhorrence whose root is their distinctiveness holds on dearly to their heritage with the inspiration of the survivors. The race that was humiliated 60 years ago while the world at best stood by and at worst volunteered towards the cause – managed to retain its dignity and shout I made it where is Hitler?

Perhaps 60 years went by and the Jew’s memory is starting to fade. Jews can indeed be hurt or even worse. Anti –Semitism exists and continues to fester. Never Again doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t happen again. It means never will a Jew again need to remain silent in his part of the world while another is being maligned. The Jew who feels that we are all part of one great big global community and that humanism will protect him is guilty of a few things. He is guilty of disregarding ever increasing anti - Semitism, forgetting history and is losing touch with his distinctiveness. To sum it up he is ignoring the survivor. As far as the UN goes and the rest of the global family. A part of me laughs at their petty theatrics. A part of me wishes that they all burn in Gehonim. No, that’s too good. How about Auschwitz?

O.U.The Anti -Drug - O.Vey.

2005-01-24T14:56:00.002-05:00

In response to an urgent request from rabbis and educators, the Orthodox Union has designated Saturday, February 5 for OU synagogues across the United States and Canada to call for the elimination of so-called "Kiddush Clubs" during their Sabbath services. To participate in the Kiddush Club, a group of congregants leaves the service to make Kiddush -- often on hard liquor -- during the haftarah reading. (Arutz Sheva)

"The Kiddush is a religious act to sanctify the day," explained Rabbi Krupka. "Kiddush clubs have the opposite effect and are simply unjustifiable," he said. "The action of the OU Board reflects how inappropriate these clubs are during the davening. Moreover, we are concerned over the general glorification of hard liquor during Kiddush” “Any behavior that detracts from the kedushat beit haknesset (the holiness of the House of Prayer) is insulting to the entire congregation," declared OU President Stephen J. Savitsky.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=76018

Yet another proclamation disseminated by the institution. Agudah, move over. Now it’s the OUs turn to slay the big monsters that have been plaguing Jewish life. Where have they been all my life? My kedushas beis hamikdash me'at will once again be restored to its former glory. Please triple my membership dues. Alright, alright is anyone keeping tabs on what’s been holding us as a nation back? Television, Internet, Radio (In Erez Yisroel), Whispering Bein Gavra l’Gavra, now its kiddush clubs. At least my rav will have a drasha for next week.

While I in no way endorse alcohol abuse or disrespecting the sanctity of shuls I do take issues with empty proclamations. Kiddush clubs are no good- granted. They do a disservice for the shul, parishioners and their families – granted. If my sons were to participate in them it would kill me and I would return the favor. However, is it a problem? Although I have seen the spectacle of the “boys” leaving laining gloomy and returning happy, it is far from rampant. In fact, I could count on my zaftig fingers the amount of Kiddush clubs that I know about. The OU admittedly, and I quote Rabbi Weinreb, "Kiddush clubs are in a minority of Orthodox synagogues and the people who attend them are a minority within that minority,".

Wait, there’s another reason for our war against Kiddush clubs. Ostensibly, the OU is concerned is the growing problem of substance abuse and not so much the sanctity of our shuls. "It became clear at the meeting that the rabbis considered elimination of the Kiddush Clubs to be an important step - one of many - which will be required to create the desired change in our communal mindset," declared Rabbi Moshe D. Krupka, OU Executive Director of Programming, who is coordinating the OU response.

Which one is it is it? Is it our concern for the mikdash meat or is it alcoholism? I am in no way belittling drug abuse or family trouble. Masquerading these issues with religious ones and proclaiming Kiddush club free zones is belittling drug abuse. These means are not only useless they are insulting. Tell a parent or a spouse who has to deal with substance abuse that their troubles will be whisked away once they understand shul sanctity and the evils of Kiddush clubs. Furthermore, do you really think doing away with the few Kiddush clubs will combat alcoholism and teenage problems? This is reminiscent of Israel blasting empty terrorist houses – a lot of show, but come on.

The Torah Observant community continues to turn out exalted citizens. As we grow in numbers so do our problems. These problems need to be addressed and mended. Institutions such as the OU who lay claim of representing us have been undertaking the responsibility of dealing with them. For the most part they have consistently been offering services and solutions to fit our many needs. However, too often the institutions delineate our obstacles and come up with solutions that are ….indescribable. Vilifying a group of people such as Kiddush clubs probably won’t do the trick. I have no statistics but religious–izing a problem doesn’t always do the trick. If there is no solution, that in itself is a decent response. In his call to action, Rabbi Weinreb states: "Since the influences of the world around us inevitably invade our dalet amot (environment) - we as a community can sweep this behavior under the rug or we can isolate it and respond to it. We have chosen to respond." I don’t know how to respond but at least I am in good company.

Ain Hachi Nami

2005-01-24T14:56:00.001-05:00

In the Ain Hachi Tsunami shtikel, I casted my doubts upon the self proclaimed prophets who used the opportunity of over 200,000 deaths to broadcast their divine powers. The following are excerpts from rabbi B. Bleich's article. This is the link

http://www.ou.org/other/5765/tsunami5.htm

.….Are there any words to describe the anguish of the mother holding onto her two children -- who had to choose between them -- so that she might have a free hand in order to cling to the floating raft that promised her deliverance?
Is there any language that can adequately convey the terror of the Israeli tourists who discovered that the killer waves had swept their 11-month-old baby right out of the hotel room?
The mind reels. The tears flow. This is not supposed to be the way the world works. And yet this is our reality. Just as the biblical Noah, we witnessed the devastation of a torrential flood -- but this time we received no advance warning. In Noah's time a greater percentage of world population was stricken -- as only Noah and his family were spared -- but in raw numbers the contemporary tragedy probably ranks on a higher scale. Survivors are already called modern-day Noahs. The boy who clung for two days to a coconut tree is today's version of the biblical ark.

But it is precisely in this equation that I perceive an extremely troubling element. And it has already begun to raise its despicable head in some ostensibly "religious" publications. How could this have happened? It seems there are those who do not hesitate to assume the mantle of the prophet, to publicly assert their knowledge of divine intent as clearly as if God spoke to them "face-to-face" as He did with Moses. In the aftermath of tragedy, the false prophets of our times don't waver even for a moment as they pronounce judgment upon all of the victims.
Never mind that in the Bible it was God Himself who explained what He did. These defenders of the faith think it's necessary to always defame those who suffer in order to preserve the idea of divine righteousness. But bad theology is even worse than bad behavior. We can generally get over the hurt that comes from other people's actions. It's much harder, though, to recover from the kind of misrepresentations some people spout, ostensibly in the name of religion, that distort our proper understanding of God and His ways…….

…… The truth, as any serious student of the Bible can tell you, is that catastrophes don't always necessarily imply divine retribution. Sometimes yes, but sometimes not. The paradigm of suffering in the Bible is Job, a man blessed to have a book named after him. But when Job's friends witnessed the terrible things that befell him, they could only come to one conclusion: The man they thought was pious obviously had to be a fraud. Their "words of comfort" were nothing less than condemnation…..

…… How easy is to judge someone else. How simple to assume that "the punishment fits the crime," even if we have no cause to believe that the victim is guilty.
But of course the "friends" of Job were wrong. They lacked a key piece of information. What Job endured had nothing to do with sin. In fact he was a saint -- so saintly that God wanted to test him, because "God trieth the righteous." He was to demonstrate to Satan the strength of the pious, the conviction of the holy, and the fortitude of those who may question but still never abandon their faith. Far from proving Job's guilt, the suffering was a sign of his unique stature in the eyes of God.

The misguided theologians were clearly condemned. "My wrath burns against you," God said to them, "for you did not speak properly about Me, as my servant Job has" (Job 42:7).
In an ironic twist at the end of the book, God continues his reproach of the "friends" by telling them: "And my servant Job shall pray for you. It is only for his sake that I will show consideration, not to do terrible things to you; for you did not speak properly about Me" (Job 42:8)….

Tu Bshvat ....What a Halftime Show

2005-01-24T14:56:00.000-05:00

Tu Bshvat is bit of an evasive holiday. It has some elements of a Yom Tov but it is not quite there (for most of us anyway). Its Halachic ramifications pertain primarily to agricultural laws. Yet, the Magen Avraham (OC 573) indicates that while a chosson does indeed fast during the month of Nissan, he does not fast on Tu Bshvat because while the former is only a custom the latter has ties to the Gemara. Furthermore, we don’t say Tachanun or Tzidkusche Tzedek. There are also a few interesting widely accepted customs that include fruit, the sheva minim fruit and esrogim. What is Tu Bshvat? Is it a holiday or not? What is its significance?

We know that it is the New Year for trees. According to Bais Shammai the New Year occurs on Rosh Chodesh Shevat. Tosfos (Rosh Hashana 14a D”H Bechud) says that although they argue when it is celebrated, they both agree to its’ raison d'être. All fruits that blossom prior to Tu Bshvat (or Rosh Chodesh Shevat) are associated with the rainfall prior to that year and the fruits that blossom on or subsequent to Tu Bshvat (or Rosh Chodesh Shevat) are associated with the rainfall of that year. Hence, it is the New Year for trees.

The Meiri points out that Tu Bshvat marks the midpoint of winter. There are three months to winter; Teves, Shvat and Adar. Shvat is the middle month and Tu Bshvat is the midpoint of the month and consequently winter. After Tu Bshvat the cold weather starts to lose its strength thus allowing for the trees to blossom.

In effect, Tu Bshvat seems to be the midnight of winter. Midnight has a significant status in Jewish history. Look at the piyut in the hagadah: Vyhi Bachzi Haleiluh. There the paitan mentions many victories over our adversaries. When did they occur? - Vyhi Bachzi Haleiluh!

What is it about midnight that makes it so unique? Although midnight is in the midst of darkness, it is also the beginning of its end. It is the nexus between complete despair and the heartstring of hope.

Midnight is a dichotomy. It contains elements of both despair and hope. If you stop for a moment to contemplate, the night is quite essential for the light. Without darkness there is no light. Night serves as the contrast to light as deceit serves as the contrast to truth. The Midrash says that Truth was thrown to earth. Reb Zadok Hacohen in Rasisei leilah understands this to mean that truth can only function against the contrast of deceit. Humans are therefore the perfect vessels for truth. Angels do not have the capacity for truth because they do not have the capacity of deceit.

The paitan of Vyhi bachtzi halaila asks for Hashem to accelerate the process of reaching the time when there is no day or night. Kariev yom asher hu lo yom vlo leileh. This is referring to the days to come when everything is light and true. Without darkness there is no light.

Are midnight and midwinter analogous? Reb Zadok Hacohen in Kometz Haminchah says that before every Aliyah there lays a Yeridah. He quotes the Besh”t who learns the posuk in Mishle 24:16 “Seven [times] will the righteous fall and rise” to mean that nature was intended to share the same schedule; before day arrives, night appears and before the summer arrives, winter appears. Winter serves as the darkness for summer’s light as the night does for that of the day.

In the midpoint of the dark winter we see the light at the end of the tunnel. We ask Hashem to please speed up the process. Let’s see the geulah of Nissan. It is a quasi-Holiday in that we start to see the light of Geulah. However, we are stuck in the dark; the very medium that allows us to see the light. It is clear why we eat the fruit of the enlightened land in our golus. Why the esrog? The esrog is the flawless Tzadik. The esrog is also the fruit that is hadar; it has no yeridah it remains on the tree as the gemara says. It is what we aspire for during midnight. May Hashem bring upon us the light that makes us forget all darkness.

Ain Huchi Tsu- Nami

2005-01-17T14:45:00.000-05:00

You will have to forgive my crudeness and insensitivity for the pun but I'm making a dangerous point. A friend came over and asked me when do the Tsunami jokes start? I asked him what he is talking about. He pointed out that there are always people who start the crude insensitive jokes to for there demented benefit. I told him in a way they have indeed started.

I have heard people or prophets (profits) pontificate the origins of arguably the most terrible tragedy of recent times. They lash out at the public citing the various deeds that have contributed towards the tragedies. I haven't walked into to too many churches recently so I asked some of my Catholic co-workers if their priest blamed them for the Tsunami and sure enough it was their fault too. It is almost as if these pundits overlook the obvious suffering of those who live in the region and the global depression and get straight to the business of bending the events towards their profit. This is in no way unique for the Tsunami tragedy; I heard this after 9/11 and after every publicized killing in Erez Yisroel. The focus is not so much the suffering of those who live there and the national pain; it will inevitably be a way for the prophets to scold the masses without any reflection or meaning.

We are constantly being made privy to the trade off between short term and long term gratification. In this capacity, short term gratification is to use tragedies for one's personal use by conveniently employing it to lash out or to attract attention. Long term gratification would be to attempt to absorb the tragedy and its impacts and to let it affect the masses. Of course, ain peroniyos bu l'olem eleh bshvil Yisroel and Teshuva has to be the consequence of every tragedy. However, Teshuva will not happen via these short termed conduits. It will only be achieved if the messenger is perceived as sensitive towards the sufferings of those experiencing the pain and those who live in the global community and not simply a means of a soapbox.

Nonetheless, I have learned much from these prophets/profits . As a parent I am constantly giving lectures and lessons to my dear children (G-d save them). If, after every crisis, I yell at them and point out their every fault, I will be perceived as an opportunistic callous lunatic. In turn, I will be shirking my most precious responsibility. However, if I consider what harm has occurred, what needs to be done to correct the problem and how to avoid similar for their sake, there will be chance my kids will see my sensitivity towards them. In a way I have learned much from the prophets, Ain Huchi Nami.

Lerning Torah is der bester zach

2005-01-14T13:59:00.000-05:00

Torah study not only differentiates us it defines us. I think it’s a given. The more and deeper one learns the more and deeper of a Jew that individual becomes. In turn, he is a new being after every plane which affects himself, his family and society. Furthermore, Torah has the ability to create a certain indescribable ecstasy for the learner. Taamu ureu ki tov if you don’t taste you’ll never know just how sweet it is.

Let’s be candid for a moment. What is the percentage of Orthodox males who have a daily set seder? Among that group how many have a fulfilling experience that accomplishes the aforementioned goals? Can the public participation or lack thereof at night and morning in shuls and batei midrashim serve as an indicator? Compare the crowded shabbos morning davening crowd to that of the learning crowd. Where are all the masses? Many Rabbonim have raised these issues but have not come up with any viable solution.

Despite all its criticism, Daf Yomi has been a lone proven success. Throughout the past few decades how many other systems have persisted? People are creatures of habit. We all need schedules to function. This is particularly true among family people whose time is at a dearth. Daf Yomi fits the bill, it goes on rain or shine and is easily accessible. Furthermore, people are social creatures, there are people, food and lots of hock at most Daf Yomis. (Going is half the fun – the schar halichah). It also transcends our silly destructive barriers and allows people from different camps to have a higher level of commonality.

However, Daf Yomi has its setbacks. It is a lot of material in a short amount of time and therefore does not provide the promised depths or satisfaction that Torah has to offer. Anyone who has sat in on a Daf Yomi has seen the blank expressions around the room. The ones who derive depth and satisfaction are the ones who say it and the ones who can spend many more hours on it. The masses, however, are left frustrated.

If a system can be implemented whereby the benefits of Daf Yomi can be applied, a major revolution can be effected. I propose that there be a national system that has the shiurim set at a pace that aims for the center of each congegration; a blat, an umid or even a half an umid a day. At this pace everyone can advance at his level and attain greater degrees of depth and satisfaction. More people will be involved and will discuss the issues set forth by the seder. Let there be a national push that will encourage Rabbonim to teach and people to attend.

What about time that is necessary to learn with the kids? Well, why can’t yeshivos get together (Might need more effort than splitting the Yam Suf) and agree to learn the same masechta and have it coordinated with the mesechta that is being learned by Tattys across the United States. This added incentive would have the whole family pushing Ta out to shul to prepare for Moishele’s sake as well. Moishele will then have another common goal to share with his father as well as a source to ask his questions.

I don’t know if my proposed system is the best or even if is practical. However, something – anything- needs to be done. Rabonim’s speeches of the importance of Torah study will not suffice; a revolution in how to do it is required. People do have the desire to be more knowledgeable in Torah and to experience its beauty. The public should not be cheated of its inheritance. A coordinated effort is crucial and if attained can also mean a closer knit Orthodox community and more Olem Habuh which is a gutter zach, lernin Torah is…….

Marvin Schick & Baruch Goldstein

2005-01-13T17:07:00.000-05:00

I recently had the pleasure of maintaining a correspondence with Marvin Schick regarding his blog article, tilted UnJewish Action. Mr. Schick took issue with Ms. Toby Klein Greenwald’s implication (and the Jewish Action for printing it) that Baruch Goldstein acted out of defense through a pre emptive strike and in turn referred to him as a murderer who committed an evil act.

What exactly happened on Purim 1994? No one is sure – its all conjecture. Ms. Greenwald presents a possible scenario as to how a family man can sharply alter not only the lives of all 29 arabs but that of his children’s and wife as well. I think you would agree that there are 4 viable options a)Ms. Greenwald is correct b) Baruch was attacked by a violent arab mob and killed 29 arabs out of self defense c) Baruch Goldstein suffered an emotional breakdown d)As you assert, Baruch was truly evil.

I’ll go out on a limb here. I knew Baruch Golstein as intimately as you did – I never met him. To decipher what actually transpired one must use the answer that best conforms to the rules of logic and Halacha (Not necessarily in that order). Granted, option A is difficult to swallow (although she has some proof) and option C may sound like the pleading insanity excuse. Nonetheless, Option D lacks empirical evidence, does not account for how Baruch Goldstein can destroy his family and of course is ostensibly infringing on the rules of halacha. It actually violates the rules of halacha. If you are wrong, your bold statement that he did something evil is motze shem ra against someone who can’t be mochel you. If you are correct, who said you can make that declaration? This is in light of the fact that there is no proof of anything - just speculation. If you need to know why Baruch Goldstein, the Torah observant Jew, created a widow out of Mrs. Goldstein and orphans out of his children I implore that you consider alternative answers.

Furthermore, I have never heard anyone glorify Baruch Goldstein the murderer. What you see and hear, at worst/best is a man who sacrificed his life for the sake of others. This is not akin to Netanya or suicide bombers where the goal is destruction. If Goldstein was to have killed 29 arabs from afar without endangering himself for the apparent sake of killing arabs and would be commended, you would have an argument. This is not the case. Whether or not you accept their logic and proofs, Greenwald and others assert that Goldstein’s goal was preservation and should therefore be hailed as a hero.

In conclusion, I generally find your articles insightful even when I disagree. More importantly they abide by the rules of logic and halacha. Unfortunately, this week’s article is an anomaly. What happened that Purim? I don’t know and that’s the most logical and acceptable answer.

Mareh Mekomos
http://mschick.blogspot.com/2004/12/unjewish-action.html http://www.hebron.com/1929/Hebron-Tarpat.pdf