Is anyone interested in purchasing a genuine new copy of 2 volume set - Making of a Godol for a reasonable price? Only restriction is it can only be obtained in Jerusalem - there is at present no shipping and supplies are limited. contact me by email
At present it is being sold on Amazon for $1200!
https://www.ebay.com/p/219895639 $3500 on ebay
Why not resell it on eBay? That's what I would do, even if I purchased from you. 馃榾
ReplyDeleteSome people would like to own a copy and are not primarily interested in making a profit
ReplyDeleteIs it the original or the 2nd, adjusted edition?
ReplyDeleteA few thoughts and questions on this book, and its implications -
ReplyDeleteThe Book was banned by major hareidi gedolim, but was also accepted by MO at one end of the spectrum and Rav Shternbuch at the other end of the Orthodox spectrum. So when such a ban does exist, is it just liek Kashrus hechsher, but it is about which authorities forbid it? Isn't the Badatz the most stringent , and yet it is a kosher book, and OU effectively also permit it?
What happens when there is a Niddui by some , but not by others?
And what is Rav Nosson Kamenetzky's standing now? In the MO world he is seen as a hero. In the ITRI/Shappell's world , he is one their Gedolim. My understanding is that Itri is the most Modern hareidi end of the spectrum, it is essentially OH - Open hareidism, where they are open to MO ideas.
I came across a report about a Knessia Gedolah in the defunct J. Observer magazine. It was around 1980, and had reports of speeches by Rav Shach, Rav Shneur Kotler, Rav Yaakov and a few more, although Rav Moshe was not there.
Rav Shach points out that there is no secular Jewish identity, not in a State, not in an army but only in Torah. That was because secular jews were identifying with these modern institutions. He also points out that Shimon and Levy are accused by rashi of having the sword of Eisav, i.e. not truly Jewish behaviour, and this is extrapolated to the Tzahal army - if it is a secular army.
These arguments have some validity, but I wil show that they are wrong in the bigger picture, and why both Satmar and rav Shach erred about Zionism - whether religious or secular.
The theology of Satmar goes much further than that of rav Shach in its absolute rejection of Zionism. For satmar, Zionism is avodah zarah but the victories in military and political terms are ahistorical, have not Divine sanction, and are actually coordinated by a 2nd power, other than Hashem, chas v'shalom! Teitelbaum does not accept that Hashem is the Master of history, and introduces instead a dualism, where a competing "deity" known as
"sam@-el" is the controller of all positive Zionist events - the ingathering of exiles, the foundation of the State, the military victories , the liberation of Jerusalem and Biblical Israel etc are all governed by his ghoulis deity, s@m@-e-l. In plain language , Mr teitelbaum is Kotzetz b'netiot, peforming a dualistic heresy of reshiot, in the same manner as acher.
Rav Shach, who was a wise and very learned Rosh yeshiva , was clearly opposed to such nonsense. he knew that such a statemnt would be total kefirah - and he stated many times that victories , liberation of land , miracles - are only from Hashem. His oppostion was to the secular view , namely that it was "in the power of our right hand". However, he is with regard to the RZ view, bifurcating his position. On the one hand he is saying any victory must be attributed to Hashem, whcih is exactly what the RZ world say. But on the other hand, in pactical terms, he is taking the position of satmar, ie no recognition to be given to the Zionists , religious or secular. This leaves him in a contradiction, which he is unable to solve. The Torah teaches that we are to give Hodaot - honor and recognition to Hashem's miracles. He has described Zionist victories as being Hashem's miracles, but then makes the error of Hezekiah by not singing any kind of shirah. So he is effectively becoming his own worst enemy - to spite his face, he is biting off hsi own nose. he is ignoring Hashem, and concealing Hashem's miracles, in order not to give honor to his political enemies. sadly, this is also close to heresy.
Indeed, Rav Goren once criticised the Hareidi position towards "Land for peace" with the Palestinians. He said that Rav Shach was a great Torah scholar who did not understand Eretz Yisrael.
I once mentioned Hershel Ostropolier to a Lubavitcher and he asked "Who's that?" And I asked "How can you know so much about Torah and so little about Judaism?"
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