Yeshiva World News
It was by all accounts an unprecedented gathering of leading kiruv rabbonim from around the world, as well as rabbonim in cities and towns throughout Israel. The event took place from June 15 -17 at Jerusalem’s Inbal Hotel. The sponsor was the Eternal Jewish Family International, which is in the midst of a major global expansion of its activities to support rabbanim and batei din involved with intermarried couples who genuinely strive for a halachic conversion. It also assists kiruv organizations that are on the front lines in the fight against assimilation, such as the co-sponsors of the event: Arachim, Ohr Somayach, Hidabroot, Lev L’achim, Shuvu, and Nefesh Yehudi. In the U.S., it also includes the Gateways organization. [...]
Article says: "A strong letter supporting EJF by Rav Aaron Leib Shteinman, which was also signed by Rav Yosef Sholem Eliyashiv, was read at the conference. It strongly supported the anti-assimilation theme of the conference and warned of the dangers of assimilation to the future of klal yisroel."
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Has anyone seen this letter besides what are presumably Tropper's claims?
Note also VERY carefully that the letter, if it exdists, is NOT a "heter" for EJF itself, nor is it in any way a heter for the dark side of EJF that they promote on the Internet but somehow never mention at their concerts, of "reaching out to" by proselytizing to the millions of gentiles hitched to Jews as well as to the (what they state in their own advertising) are the esteimated two BILLION gentiles who may have a bit of "Jewish" ancestry in them.
Nice too that uncle Tom Kaplan finally gets to have a Yiddishe name in this YW infomercial, and why not, his name is about to be tied in with yet a new Tropper braincild, "Tochnit Kaplan" --presumably a Haredi counter-effort to the secular "Birth-Right Israel" program, but they have lost before they have begun because Aish HaTorah has been running the successful Aish Fellowships and similar successful kiruv programs bringing thousands to Israel and they have long cornered this market niche in kiruv.
Otherwise nothing new from this latest EJF concert, with yet again lots of rabbis given free rides by uncle Tom to have a good time in a hotel while they enunciate the obvious, that assimilation is bad, higher standards are needed in kiruv and geirus, something any good Orthodox Jews can agree on.
The whole effort is yet again meant to marginalize the Modern Orthodox, RCA, Religious Zionist establishment and only keeps Tropper's megalomanical ambitions burning, continuously enabled by uncle Tom kaplan now with a nice Hebrew name, as if that makes any difference to the craftily-hidden EJF mass-proselytization agenda that none of the attending rabbonim would agree to if Tropper would opnely display the many ads and infomercials to attract gentiles that EJF has been running for years.
Oh yeah, in light of Kaplan's loss of his legal case to control his family foundation to his nephew who supports his own programs and agenda, Kaplan is now obviously going all-out to outflank him on the Haredi side. This should be an interesting match to follow as everyone now competes for the same blurry batch of intermarried masses. This is not your father's form of kiruv!
Someone asked how come all those rabbis cannot see how dangerous Tropper's approach is.[...]
ReplyDeleteThey cannot see the dangerousness of the approach because EJF's literature in Hebrew is totally different than the literature in English.
ReplyDeleteThis was covered in earlier discussions on this website.
Funny how this YW infomercial doesn't report on Rav Sherman's controversial speech at this very EJF concert and the massive uproar it caused in Israel leading to Sefardi Chief Rabbi ouright banning Rav Sherman from being involved in further conversion cases, since anything Rav Sherman rules upon automatically ignites a Conversion Wars controversy with threats from Israeli government and politicians, the Israeli Supreme Court and the Knesset to fight back against the Haredi power-drive for supreme control over all conversions, and anything Rav Shreman always manages to say bluntly in forums given to him at EJF concerts by Tropper and Rav Eisenstein ends up in causing huge machlokes with the RCA and Religious Zionist establishments and achillul Hashem berabim with the rest of the bewildered Israeli masses looking for rabbinic leadership but instead watching rabbis go at each other, which is not the way to go if one wants a peaceful resolution and unanimity in the Orthodox world as a starting point, but then again, what Tropper and Rav Eisenstein seek is hegemony by force and not consensus through peaceful means, and they are the last people who know anything about diplomacy and how to win over the hearts and minds of the very people they need to convince. Noone is ever going to succeed in frightening millions of gentiles hitched to Jews, or those who are not halachic Jews such as those who have only a Jewish father, with scare tactics in order to convince them to convert ultra-haredi EJF style, yet Tropper and Rav Eisenstein fail, or do not care, to see this point.
ReplyDeleteStay tuned for more conflict and chillul Hashem unfortunately as Tropper and Rav Eisenstein battle to fit the square EJF peg into the round hole of reality where real people live.
"Funny how this YW infomercial doesn't report on Rav Sherman's controversial speech at this very EJF concert..."
ReplyDeleteWell, that is the classical approach of chareidi newspapers: good old censorship, the way we had it in communist eastern europe
Mira, how come they do not have the primary outreach rabbi in Israel, someone who can bring tens thousands of people to his gatherings, rabbi Amnon Yitzhak. Maybe it is cecause he is Sefardi/Yemenite [...](They do have there r’ Dovid (!) Yosef the estranged son of Rav Ovadia Yosef)
ReplyDeleteOk here are the oddities that I noticed in the line up:
ReplyDeleteFirst who was there
Rabbi David Yosef: One of the things that is keeping him at odds with his father and brothers is his view of conversion. In that he takes the Syrian position of not doing and not recognizing.
Rabbi Yona Metzger: While he is the chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel, he is not a Dayyan. A small detail that lead to the Knesset passing an Addendum to the Chief Rabbinate law that essentially banned him from taking over the position of president of the Rabbinical courts when he and R' Amar were supposed to change after five years. He is still fighting lawsuits over this, by the way.
Rav Nosson Kopshitz(Dayyan Eda HaChareidis): Considering that they there is a posted letters here and herewith translation here it is incredibly interesting that this name made the list. I wonder if the other Dayyanim of BADATZ know?
Then there is who is not there:
Rav Shlomo Amar: as mentioned earlier the one in charge of the conversion courts in Israel and the recognition of converts anywhere. Could he not be bothered to attend? Or is that the views expressed would be rather contrary to his own?
Rav Ovadiah Yosef: Actually I would be happy with anyone from the Shas faction. Aside from his estranged son who is against conversion, there are no Sephardi Roshei Yeshovot or Gedolim listed at all.
Anyone Da'ati Leumi: Despite the falling out over R' Druckhman you would have expected someone, at least from the Sephardi side of the aisle, R' Eliyahu or R' Doron. There are none.
Then there are these letters of support. Presumably they would act as haskamot. However, as with all haskamot their wording is of vital importance. What exactly is R' Eliashiv in strong support of? Is it this conference of Ashkenazi Hareidi Gedolim(granted there is a token Sephard, but since he doesn't believe in conversion... he is really not worth mentioning) that have gotten together so decide the importance of several issues? Is it EJF's work at bringing these people together? Or has he reversed his position on proselytizing non-Jews? The letter needs to be seen and made public.
In total considering the radically divergent views of those listed as attendees on the issue of conversion in general, it would seem that the greater majority were there just to keep an eye on everyone else, and to make sure their own position was represented. I doubt there was much agreement on anything other than that Klal Yisrael is in serious trouble and that assimilation is a bad thing and must be stopped.