Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, who opposed the dismissal of Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman and the appointment of Rabbi Goren, wrote the ruling in this open letter: "The subject of the Jewish rabbinate all over the world, is a matter of authority which according to Torah law is irrevocable all his life
The employer, in this case, was the State of Israel. It still is. it is not the same as a person eg a Rosh Yeshiva who expels a rabbi (other famous letter by Rav Moshe).
ReplyDeleteRav Herzog ztl was niftar in 1959, and there was no replacement for him. In 1960, Lubavitcher Rebbe said it is a Chillul Hashem that there is no new Chief Rabbi for the Ashkenzaim, and in fact he made a prediction that Rav Shlomo Goren would be elected. There was a lot of political wrangling, , I don't know why they kept delaying it, and in 1964, it was an election betwen Rav Unterman and Rav Goren. So R Goren was no newcomer to the field, he was backed initially by the Rebbe.
Although some accused R Goren of taking "bribes", I think his real interest in freeing the mamzerim was that the Gemara says somewhere that anyone who finds a way to free mamzerim, is as though he built the Beit Hamikdash.
Rav Moshe's rationale in this letter, apparently, is that we have the tradition of not replacing an incumbent rabbi.
Having read through Rambam's Hilchot sanhedrin recently, it seems to me that the process of the Chief Rabbi elections must be changed. They should not be presdential style elections . Rambam says people should not put themselves forward to be head of the sanhedrin, they must shy away from it, and only when others demand , should they accept. Even the purest of motives of running in an election opens itself up to suggestions of wanting to further one's career. i am not accusing anyone of this, certainly not in 1972. Even Rav Zevin ztl, who was a great tzaddik and gaon in the Mizrachi and Chabad worlds, was one of the candidates, who was by then the choice of the Rebbe and also Rav Warhaftig of Mizrachi.
Although some accused R Goren of taking "bribes", I think his real interest in freeing the mamzerim was that the Gemara says somewhere that anyone who finds a way to free mamzerim, is as though he built the Beit Hamikdash.
ReplyDeleteWow you are a mind reader!
So you think he was merely rebuilding the beis hamikdash by his secret beis din.
Wow,
ReplyDeleteChareidim so disappointed they could only defame one person and not 9.
you are so disappointed with such a ridiculous attempt at defamation
ReplyDeletedon't understand your sentence, whehter the pshat or the psarcastic
ReplyDeleteIn my shul in Bnei Brak we have many Rabbi Goren books in open shelves. Bravo. Let’s go into details on Rabbi Goren declaring the Langer children not bastards. Why? Maybe we should throw out his books? No. Maybe we should fight against Rabbi Goren’s teachings? No.
ReplyDelete“Shlomo Goren (Hebrew: שלמה גורן; February 3, 1917 – October 29, 1994), was a Polish-born Israeli Orthodox Religious Zionist rabbi and Talmudic scholar who was considered a foremost authority on Jewish law (Halakha). Goren founded and served as the first head of the Military Rabbinate of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Subsequently, he was the third Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, after which he established a yeshiva in Jerusalem, which he headed until his death. Goren served in the IDF during three wars, wrote several award-winning books on Jewish law,[1] and was appointed Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv in 1968.”
“The Langer children had been designated as bastards because their mother had married their father, who is now dead, without having been divorced from Abraham Brokowsky, whom she had married in Poland.”
I agree with KA here. I agree with Beth Alexander. KA, lately you’re not up-ticking me, why?