Rav Soloveitchik's lectures III - Commensurability

Rav Meir Triebitz writes:

We have already hinted that the Rav views halacha as the central basis for a philosophy of Judaism. This theme appears over and over again in the Rav’s writings, and in particular in lecture XII where he declares:

Whether an idea is typically Jewish can best be judged by the halacha – not the Aggadah – to understand any work as the authority meant to convey and you must have lived in the same social environment and cultural forces as the author. Mankind is changeable in its cognitive adventures, and to say that I understand Aristotle means in the tradition of Aristotle, which, of course, has been subject to change. In halacha there is a masoret, a tradition as to method, but if I give an interpretation to Maimonides, it does not necessarily mean that Maimonides meant just that. If measured by halachic standards it is correct. That suffices. But as to Aggadah, there is no tradition, nor in philosophy do we have a tradition. In halacha there is a certain kabballah without any missing links, while in Aggada and certainly philosophy there are many such missing links.

It appears to me that the Rav’s remarks concerning evolution are an attempt to achieve what I would call ‘halachic commensurability’ and not, merely, ‘scientific commensurability’. While Judaism views man as the “bearer of a divine image” and therefore endowed with the capacity for transcendence, this transcendence, in the Rav’s words, “was always seen against the background of naturalness. The canvas was man’s immanence; transcendence was just projected on it as a display of colors” (Emergence of Ethical Man p. 9). The Rav is clearly speaking from the standpoint of the halachah. In contradistinction, “Christianity succeeded in isolating them and reducing the element of naturalness to a state of corruption” (ibid.). This has to be seen as a consequence of Christianity’s rejection of the halacha.

Bernard Madoff II - Impact on Jews

JPost reports: ---- [See previous post]

At least $600 million in Jewish charitable funds have been wiped out by the collapse of Bernard Madoff's Wall Street investment firm, a partial review by The Jerusalem Post revealed Monday.

Yet much is still hidden about what may amount to the most spectacular financial disaster to hit Jewish life since the Great Depression, with unconfirmed losses totaling up to $1.5 billion.

Furthermore, the Post's figures do not include billions of dollars lost to individual and family investors, many of whom were the primary donors to Jewish schools, synagogues and communal charities.[...]

For the worldwide Jewish community, the fact that the man at the heart of what may be Wall Street's worst-ever fraud was an active member of the community could be the worst news yet in a bad recession period.

Not only could Madoff's alleged dishonesty increase anti-Semitic feeling in a time of worldwide economic downturn, said many Jewish leaders, but his close involvement with the Jewish community has exposed vast amounts of Jewish communal assets to his scheme.[...]

"This is a tidal wave, a tsunami," said a veteran advisor to Jewish nonprofits, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "You can live with a downturn in the economy, because there will be an upturn. But now we're talking about foundations that have been wiped out completely, money that's not recoverable."[...]

T.V. & the Israeli "soul"

YNET reports:

A school in central Israel decided to postpone an educational trip scheduled for Tuesday evening because the date clashes with the final episode of the hugely popular reality show "Big Brother."

The show provides viewers with 24/7 access to the lives of a group of participants locked up in a house monitored by multiple TV cameras and completely isolated from the outside world.

In the three months it has been broadcast, "Big Brother" has swept large audiences in Israel, with a substantial proportion being glued to the screen most hours of the day. The show has also been the focus of much controversy lately, due to its blatant content and its allegedly negative influence on teenagers and TV culture in Israel. [...]

Reality - Israeli-American gap of perception

JPost - R' Jonathan Rosenblum writes:

No subject so divides the Jews of Israel and America as that which once bound them most closely: Israel itself. To appreciate the gap, try telling an American Jew that George W. Bush was the president who best understood Israel's predicament and watch his jaw drop.

American Jewry is lining up behind a return to the hyperactive American peacemaking of the Clinton years. The Jewish Alliance for Peace and Justice, according to an article in New York's Jewish Week, recently obtained the signatures of 800 rabbis on a petition to President-elect Barack Obama urging him to make the Israeli-Palestinian peace process an early priority, beginning with the appointment of a high-level envoy to the region. And the new left-wing group, J Street, contacted the Obama transition team to argue that American Jews want a more active peace process and that large Democratic majorities in Congress provide the incoming administration with the power to push an aggressive peacemaking agenda.

J Street is likely right. For many American Jews, Israel has become a drag. If they were to wake up tomorrow and find that Israel had bloodlessly disappeared and its Jews had found safe haven elsewhere, they would be relieved. That includes the 50 percent of American Jews under 35 who told sociologists Steven Cohen and Ari Kelman that they would not view the destruction of Israel as a personal tragedy.

Others, such the Jewish Alliance for Peace and Justice and Americans for Peace Now, are intensely concerned with events in Israel. But it is their cherished image of the Jew as the bearer of universal justice, not concern with the lives of Jews of Israel, that primarily drives their Middle East agenda. So long as Israel does not have peace with its neighbors and is the subject of widespread obloquy, that image is tarnished.

Even among the 3% of Reform Jews and 6% of Conservative Jews for whom Israel is the crucial issue driving their voting choices (according to a May study conducted by the American Jewish Committee), there are many who would not protest intense American pressure on Israel, as long as known "pro-Israel" figures like incoming secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and prominent American Jews such as Dan Kurtzer, Martin Indyk and Rahm Emmanuel, are the ones turning the screws.

And who can blame them, when Israel's prime minister himself says Israel's future depends on the speedy achievement of a peace agreement with the Palestinians? For all Ehud Olmert's venality, nothing so reveals his soul-deep corruption as having deliberately handed any future American president the club to pressure Israel without doffing the mantle of "a true friend."

THOSE AMERICAN Jews who still fret about the safety of their brethren in Israel should at least ask themselves: Why do the majority of Israel's Jews view matters so differently? Why are they poised to elect as their next prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the bete-noire of the Clinton administration in the heady days of Oslo? Is it that Israelis are an anomaly in Jewish history - fanatic warriors craving permanent warfare? Or is it rather that they learned something over the
past 15 years?[...]

$50 Billion rip off - Bernard Madoff

NYTimes reports: [See Time Magazine link]

The zoning lawyer in Miami trusted him because his father had dealt profitably with him for decades. The officers of a little charity in Massachusetts respected him and relied on his advice.

Wealthy men like J. Ezra Merkin, the chairman of GMAC; Fred Wilpon, the principal owner of the New York Mets; and Norman Braman, who owned the Philadelphia Eagles, simply appreciated the steady returns he produced, regardless of market conditions.

But these clients of Bernard L. Madoff had this in common: They chose him to oversee much of their personal wealth.

And now, they fear, they have lost it.

While Mr. Madoff is facing federal criminal charges, accused by federal prosecutors of operating a vast $50 billion Ponzi scheme, many of his clients are facing an abrupt reversal of fortune that is the stuff of nightmares.

“There are people who were very, very well off a few days ago who are now virtually destitute,” said Brad Friedman, a lawyer with the Milberg firm in Manhattan. “They have nothing left but their apartments or homes — which they are going to have to sell to get money to live on.”

From New York to Palm Beach, business associates of Mr. Madoff spent Friday assessing the damage, the extent of which will not be known for some time. Many invested with Mr. Madoff through other funds and may not know that their money is at risk.[...]

Mr. Madoff has resigned from his positions at Yeshiva University, where he was treasurer for the university’s board and deeply involved in the business school.

“Our lawyers and accountants are investigating all aspects of his relationship to Yeshiva University,” said Hedy Shulman, a spokeswoman for the university.

The most recent tax filings for the university show that its endowment fund, a separate charity, was heavily invested in hedge funds and other nontraditional alternatives at the end of its fiscal year in 2006.

The school paper, the Yeshiva Commentator, recently reported that its endowment’s value had dropped to $1.4 billion from $1.8 billion — before the scandal broke.

Kastner - unresolved controversy

Haaretz reports:

More than 50 years after the murder of Israel (Rudolf) Kastner, the de facto head of the Jewish Aid and Rescue Committee in Budapest, the controversy surrounding him is being rekindled.

Kastner, who made a deal with Adolph Eichmann in 1944 to allow between 1,600 and 1,700 Hungarian Jews to leave for Switzerland in exchange for money, gold and diamonds, was convicted in Israel in 1955 for collaboration with the Nazis. The court ruled that Kastner had indeed "sold his soul to the devil."

Two years later he was murdered outside his home in Tel Aviv.

The affair has spawned more than 10 books, a theater play and a television film. Now a storm has been raised again after the documentary "Killing Kastner" by the American director Gaylen Ross was screened at the Haifa International Film Festival two months ago.

Gideon Levy wrote in Haaretz about the movie that it was time to beg for Kastner's forgiveness. Ten letters to the newspaper in response helped rekindle the 50-year-old controversy. Even today, five decades later, Baruch Tzahor refuses to forget the injustice that was caused to Kastner, who, as Levy wrote, saved more Jews by negotiations than the partisans, Warsaw ghetto rebels or other heroes. At the age of 83, Tzahor, who lives with his wife in moshav Zofit, is still troubled by the affair that shook the young Israeli state.

"All the accusations against Kastner were lies," he says. "I know because he tried to save me." [...]

EJF - The issue is lack of transparency

Roni has left a new comment on your post "EJF - Proselytizing Advertisement":

DT: "I don't think you have the context quite right. Nobody is saying that these or other involved rabbis are doing thing which they think violate their principles for the sake of money".

So why that don't you challenge the publicitities publicity where he actually insinuates an at times states so explicitly?

DT: No one is going to a rosh yeshiva and saying - if you do will violate halacha I will give you big bucks. The issue is much more subtle. I would suggest you search through this blog for the Achiezer 26 and Achiezer 28 - twenty years separated these two statements".

Exactly! look for those responsa and you will see why there was and is a need to create an organization like EJF for there were/are numerous charlatans (some of them hailed in this blogs as good conversion rabbis) who made hundreds and maybe thousands (collectively) of fake conversions where there was no kabbalat hamitzvot.

Look, even the critics of EJF, or even good rabbis who do not presently associate with the EJf (like HaRav H. Shechter) felt the need and importance for such an organization and part of his alignment with that idea was the chaotic state of conversions where they converted without any serious intention to keep Torah an mitzvot and did not show one iota that they would want change their lifestyle.
==========================

Roni you have raised some solid issues 1) there is a need for improvement in the geirus issue - perhaps even stopping it as the Achiezer stated. Rav Moshe Feinstein stated that he himself is not involved because the success rate is so low. 2) How could all these important rabbis be involved in an organization if it weren't 100% kosher 3) There are some major rabbinical figures who were associated with EJF and have dropped out - such as Rav H. Shechter, Rav Dovid Feinstein and Rav Eisenstein and perhaps Rav Eliashiv himself. 4) The Bedatz issued a condemnation of the EJF after failing to receive any explanation from Rabbi Tropper for his proselytizing activities.

This latter question is the crux of our problem. I contacted EJF with the simple question - you claim to base yourself on the views of Rav Moshe Feinstein - what did he say because it is clearly not in the Igros Moshe. Rabbi Tropper himself responded and we went round and round - and he did not answer the question.

He refused to answer a rather elementary question - what is your justification from Rav Moshe Feinstein or Rav Eliashiv to spend millions of dollars on conventions to convince intermarried couples to convert? He said - what is the issur? The basic rule is who ever changes has the burden of proof. We have a very long history of rejecting proselytization.

In addition he felt it necessary to slander me in a correspondence with someone I referred to him regarding a geirus problem.

He insulted Rav Sternbuch in a letter he sent him regarding the geirus issue - and despite R' Tropper's promise to me that he would send an apology - he never did.

Theoretically my question could have been answered in 25 words or less. Theoretically there should be a kuntres describing the goals, techniques and halachic justification - so that EJF can be openly discussed by poskim. Rabbi Tropper told me there had been a manual in the beginning but it was discontinued because it wasn't clear. Why hasn't a new manual be issued?

Bottom line when someone acts suspiciously and dodges elementary questions, throws big bucks around in problemtaic activities as well as hands out big bucks to big rabbis for attending his program - and feels the necessity of insulting others such as Rav Sternbuch and the Modern Orthodox - that person loses his chezkas kashrus.

If R' Tropper is what you think he is - he could have cleared this issue up in five minutes - a year ago. I myself have repeatedly asked him to do just that. Maybe if he is your good friend you will give him this post - since he claims not to be involved with the internet - and maybe you can convince him to be more transparent and less "omnipotent fearless leader".

Chabad - The Rebbe runs the world?

The following link was forwarded to me

see the first video

http://www.thecooljew.net/2008/11/rabbi-cunin-and-lubavitchers-in-la-say.html

An alternative link

Rav Solveitchik & Commensurability II

Taken from Daas Torah page 53

Rav Yosef Ber Soloveitchik (The Halakhic Mind): the problem of evidence in religion will never be solved. The believer does not miss philosophic legitimation; the skeptic will never be satisfied with any cognitive demonstration. This ticklish problem became the Gordian knot of many theological endeavors. Philosophers of religion would have achieved more had they dedicated themselves to the task of interpreting concrete reality in terms and concepts that fit into the framework of a religious world perspective.

Rav Yosef Ber Soloveitchik (Lonely Man of Faith): I have never been seriously troubled by the problem of the Biblical doctrine of creation vis‑à‑vis the scientific story of evolution at both the cosmic and the organic levels, nor have I been perturbed by the confrontation of the mechanistic interpretation of the human mind with the Biblical spiritual concept of man. I have not been perplexed by the impossibility of fitting the mystery of revelation into the framework of historical empiricism. Moreover, I have not even been troubled by the theories of Biblical criticism which contradict the very foundations upon which the sanctity and integrity of Scriptures
====================================
Rav Yosef Ber Soloveitchik (Unpublished 7th Lecture on Bereishis): Indeed, one of the most annoying scientific facts which the religious man encounters is the problem of evolution and creation. However, this is not the real problem. What actually is irreconcilable is the concept of man as the bearer of a divine image and the idea of man as an intelligent animal in science. Evolution and creation can be reconciled merely by saying that six days is not absolutely so, but is indefinite and may be longer. Maimonides spoke of Creation in terms of phases and the Kabbalah in terms of sefiros, the time of which may be indefinite. However, our conflict is man as a unique being and man as a friend of the animal. Science can never explain how being came into being, for it is out of the realm of science, while the Bible is concerned with the problem of ex nihilo. Aristotle could not accept evolution because he believed in the eternity of forms. (Lecture XII).

The Emergence of Ethical Man, pp. 4-5:[from R' Gil Student]

Indeed, one of the most annoying scientific facts which the modern homo religiosus encounters and tries vainly to harmonize with his belief is the so-called theory of evolution. In our daily jargon, we call this antinomy "evolution versus creation." The phrase does not exactly reflect the crux of the controversy, for the question does not revolve around divine creation and mechanistic evolution as such. We could find a solution of some kind to this controversy. What in fact is theoretically irreconcilable is the concept of man as the bearer of the divine image with the equalling of man and animal-plant existences. In other words, the ontic autonomy or heteronomy of man is the problem.

Father can ruin daughter's life

שו"ת משנה הלכות חלק יד סימן קצה

רק הערה קטנה בדבר מה שאמרו חז"ל דביד האב למסור את בתו הקטנה למנוול ומוכה שחין וכמ"ש ז"ל דאי בעי מסר לה למנוול ומוכה שחין, ולכאורה פלא אמאי לא תקנו חז"ל קנס ועונש להעושה כן שאם יבא אב וימסור את בתו למנוול יענשו אותו הב"ד וימתחו אותו על העמוד, אבל לא מצינו כן אלא מצינו ההיפוך שכיון שחששו ז"ל שאפשר שיעשה לה כן וימסרנה למנוול אם יכעוס עליה באופן שתמצא מציאה וכיוצא בו ויחייבו אותו לזונה והיא תקבל המציאה והמעשה ידיה ולכן תקנו לו לאב מציאתה ומעשה ידיה עיין תוס' כתובות (דף מ"ז) זכאי במציאתה משום איבה ופי' בקונט' וכו' ולר"י נראה איבה דמציאתה היינו שלא יקדשנה למנוול ומוכה שחין ובקטנה אפילו אינה סמוכה על שלחנו ואינו מפרנסה ואפ"ה תקנו מציאתה לאביה משום איבה שלא יקדשנה למנוול ומוכה שחין

ובזה ישבתי קושית הב"י והב"ח על הרמב"ם בפ"ג מהל' אישות הי"א האב מקדש את בתו שלא לדעתה כל זמן שהיא קטנה וכו' וקידושיה לאביה וכן הוא זכאי במציאתה ובמעשה ידיה וכו' והב"י א"ע סי' ל"ז והב"ח תמהו דמאי שיטא דמציאה לכאן ולא הי' לו להזכיר כאן מדיני מציאה ע"ש ולפמ"ש נראה לישב דהא בהא תליא דכיון דזכתה התורה לאב לקדשה ולקבל כסף קידושיה ואכתי א"כ באב שירצה בכסף קידושין ימסרנה למנוול ומוכה שחין בשביל להוסיף כסף קידושין לו וע"ז הוסיף דחז"ל תקנו לו שזוכה במציאתה ולא יהיה לה איבה ולא ימסור אותה למנוול ומוכה שחין.

ומבואר דיש חשש איבה בין אביה לבתה אפי' במציאה ומעשה ידיה אם לא יתנו לאביה וחיישינן שלא ימסרנה למנוול ומוכה שחין כ"ש שאם יגרמו לו איבה לשנאת את בתו בפועל ע"י שיקחו אותה בע"כ ממנו בערכאות וכיוצא בו שאז יקחו מציאתה ומעשה ידיה ממנו ח"ו שיש לחוש שימסרנה למנוול ומוכה שחין, שזה בכלל גזילה ממנו שגזלה הבת מה ששייך לו ואח"כ עוד יתבענו להחזיקה ולזונה בע"כ של הערכאות וגם יקחו את המעשה ידיה והמציאה שתמצא שבודאי יהי' לו איבה ואם עוד האם שמחזיקה הבת ילמדה לדבר נגד האב בודאי ובודאי שיהי' לו איבה ואיבה, וילך וימסרנה למנוול ומוכה שחין ויקבל כסף קידושין הרבה ממנו ויוכל עם כסף זה לשלם החוב מה שהוטל עליו השופט בע"כ שלא כהלכה.

והנה מה נאמר ראה ראינו מה קרא בעונ"ה אם המעשה אמת מהאב שקידש את בתו קטנה ולא ידוע לי אם אמת הדבר או לא כי לא שמעתי מהבעל כלום רק מה ששמעתי מבחוץ ועכ"פ הרי האב נאמן לומר קדשתי את בתי והוא הלכה מפורשת בלי חולק, אבל בין כך ובין כך הדבר מכאיב מאד וכנראה שכל גדולי ישראל דואגים על הדבר וחוששין ח"ו על קלקול הדור, אבל האמת שצריך לירד למקור המחלה הזו, כי אין אני רוצה פה לאשם או לנקות את הבעל או את האשה כי לזה יש דין בישראל ושמוע בין אחיכם כתיב, ואם הם רוצים להיות ככל הגוים וללכת במשפטי עכו"ם האחריות עלינו למונעם אם יכולים, אמנם לעצם הענין פשוט שמחמת האיבה שנעשה בין האב לבתו עשה מה שעשה וגם אנחנו כנראה לא יצאנו ידי חובתינו שעד עכשיו לא רבני קאנאדא ולא רבני מפה לא עשינו שום פעולה ולא דאגנו לא על מעשה אשה זו ולא על נשים אחרות או אנשים אשר הולכים בערכאות ולא הוציאו חרם ונדוי על האשה שהלכה לערכאות או על הבעל ועדיין לא חזרה בה, ולא הוציאה המסירה מהבית משפט שלהם לבא לב"ד או לזבל"א ולהבטיח להבעל שלא ילכו ולא יביאו עוד לידי עכו"ם.

וידוע מה שאמרו חז"ל (גיטין נ"ז) במעשה דקמצא ובר קמצא ומדשתקי להו רבנן ש"מ מינח קניחא להו והלך ומסר את כלל ישראל והחריב את בית מקדשינו וגלה את ישראל ופלא שחז"ל לא האשימו כלל אותו מוסר בחורבן הבית אלא אמרו ענותנותו של זכרי' בן אבקילוס חרבה את מקדשינו וכו' וצ"ב ח"ו לשום אשמה גדולה כזו על הצדיק וענו ר' זכרי' וליקחה מהאשם והמסור באמת, אבל כנראה ששתיקת החכמים גרמה לזה וגם כשבאו כבר חכמי ישראל ושאלו את ר' זכרי' שהי' ראש ב"ד כדת מה לעשות עם המסור והוא השיב יאמרו בעלי מומין קרבין א"כ נהרוג אותו והשיב יאמרו המטיל מום בקדשים ולכאורה הצדק אתו ומה הי' לו לפסוק ואטו הי' לו לפסוק שלא כהלכה ואמרתי בס"ד שהחסרון הי' כשבאו לר"ז ואמרו לו יש כאן מסור הי"ל לר"ז מיד לומר מסור מצוה להרגו כדיני מסור ובפרט לכלל ישראל ולא ליכנס יאמרו מטיל מום בקדשים ואטו משום מטיל מום הורגים אותו והלא מסור אבל הקילו בדין מסור ולכן הטילו כל האשמה עליו.

ולכן נלפענ"ד דגם ידינו אינם נקיים אם נוסיף להטיל איבה בין אב לבתו ולא נעקר ונשרוש את הרע להחרים על כל ההולכים במסירות לערכאות הן איש והן אשה שדינם נפסק בש"ע ח"מ שם ולא להניח כן שיקחו הילדים מאבותיהן ע"י כח השופט וערכאות שנותנין הילדים להנשים וכיוצא בו ועוד יותר בלי להתחשב עם תורתינו הקדושה כלל, שחייבים לחנך הבנים וזה שייך להבעל ומצוה שלו הוא וחיוב על האב ואין להם להאבות רק להחזיקם בממונם וגם לא לראותם כרצונם ואינם סומכים על שלחנם כלל ואפילו לראותם בלבד רק מתי שיתרצה השופט או הגרושה שהביאתו לבית המשפט והאיבה גדולה ולא די לו להבעל שקנסוהו השופט ואשתו המרשעת שהביאתו לבית המשפט שבאופן שהולכת לערכאות ולוקחת הבנים מבעלה אינו מחויב ע"פ התורה לשלם אפי' פרוטה ואדרבה הרי גזלה הכל מבעלה הבנים והמשפחה והרכוש שלו בבית המשפט ועכשיו גם אנחנו נוסף עליו חרמות וקנסות על אשר בצערו עשה מה שהתירה לו התורה וחששה לו
שו"ת משנה הלכות חלק יד סימן קצה

בקיצור עכ"פ לא מצינו שיקנסו את הבעל אם קדש את בתו למנוול ומוכה שחין אלא תקנו חז"ל דרכים שלא יבא לידי זה, ולכן לפענ"ד הגם שודאי צריך לגנות הדבר וכן לא יעשה לנקום בבתו מחמת איבה אבל החוב קדוש מוטל עלינו ועל כל מי שיש בידו להסיר הרע הזה מלילך לערכאות וליקח הבנים וילדים אשר חנן ה' את האב וליתנם בידי אכזרים אשר על זה נאמרב בניך נתונים לעם אחר ואין לאל ידיך ואפילו לראותם בלבד רק להחזיקם וליתן הרבה כסף כמו שיפסוק השופט העכו"ם הרשע לפי רשעתו השם ירחם.
[..].

Rav Soloveitchik's lectures I - Commensurability

Rav Meir Triebitz writes:

The Rav’s position on commensurability can be gleaned from two statements of his, one from these lectures and one from the aforementioned essay u-Bikashtem Misham. The Rav opens his second lecture by stating:

“The Torah is not interested in disclosing any scientific data to man. Revelation was only the revealing of the will of God… Therefore if the Bible employed the Ptolemaic description of the cosmos, it was only to present to the people of its time and not to present the true scientific view…” (Lecture II).

The essence of revelation for the Rav is therefore not ontological but ethical. Ontology demands commensurability with scientific facts. Not only is ethics not in need of such commensurability, ethics is often more safely anchored in previous ontologies which science has long discarded. We discussed above that Kant’s revolution in Western thought was to restore a ‘Copernican’ like view of the world. While not claiming a Ptolemaic description of scientific reality, the Rav’s whole philosophy of ethics rests upon an anti-Copernican conception. The halachic process, he writes, “cannot free itself from its subjugation to the initial a priori assumptions. It begins with those and concludes with them.” (u-Bikashtem Misham p. 206) This is in contradistinction to science which can free itself of previous assumptions and create new paradigms. On the other hand, “Halachic thought which is rooted in revelation cannot command absolute authority over its axioms.” (ibid.)

The halacha must combine both revelation and reason in a dialectic process in order to remain bound to both tradition and continuity. The dialectic of revelation and reason, which is rejected by the scientific method, is the basis of the incommensurability of the two systems of thought. [...]

Rav Soloveitchik's Lectures on Bereishis

I would like to share with you a problem that has bothered me for a while. Most of you are aware that Rav Soloveitchik gave public lectures on many topics through the years. In the 1940's he gave lectures on Bereishis which involved his views on science and evolution as well as halacha, kabbala and philosophy. One of the students who took notes of some of these lectures, requested that they be edited and given a proper introduction and critical notes be provided to expand and place the lecture in context.

This has been done concerning the lectures on Bereishis by a good friend - Rav Meir Treibitz - who is not only a master of the Torah literature but is also intimately acquainted with kabbalah and philosophy - as well as having a Ph.D. in physics etc etc. He also wrote an introduction to my sefer Daas Torah.

The sponsor of the original process - due to his many difficulties has not been able to pay for the work nor is he prepared to publish it as originally intended. The person who produced the notes - has no money to pay for anything - but insists on his ownership of the notes he took. A major Orthodox organization as well as various members of the family have expressed great appreciation for the tremendous work which has been done - and they look forward to more such efforts. But they seem preoccupied and after 6 months despite promises - nothing is happening.

In sum, the brilliant exposition of Rav Solveitchik's notes on Bereishis is finished. But there is no obvious path for the work to be published. Lawyers who have been consulted have said the issue could stay in courts for many years - assuming that one can afford the legal expenses.

I will publish excerpts on this blog. Anyone who has a solution for this painful problem - should please contact me.

Sex offenders III - Treatment in Chareidi society

Time magazine reports:

Among Israel's ultra-orthodox Jews, the Haredim, social workers are often called "child-snatchers" and the police "Cossacks," harking back to the 19th century pogroms against Jews in Russia. These cloistered communities, in which women are expected to raise and financially support their large families while their husbands spend their days stooped over the Torah, make up 10% of Israel's population and a third of Jerusalem's, and consider themselves defenders of a core morality in Jewish society. But that moral authority has come under scrutiny since evidence began to emerge in March of incest, rape and child abuse in four different ultra-orthodox enclaves around the country.

Over the last few weeks the Cossacks have arrived wearing the uniform of the Israeli national police force. In a series of raids following tip-offs from victims' relatives, neighbors and hospital workers, the police have arrested ultra-orthodox wives, husbands and yeshiva students.

Community elders were at first appalled. Now they are grateful for the intervention. "The Haredim are shocked by these cases," says Noach Korman, a Haredi attorney in the rabbinical court that adjudicates family and religious law, and the director of a shelter for battered wives. "At first they said, 'These people are crazy, they don't belong to us.' But now I hear Haredi voices saying: 'We should examine ourselves and not close our eyes to why these things are happening.' "Says Naomi Ragen, an orthodox woman who is an author and advocate for gender equality: "These shocking things had to come out. There was no more room left under the carpet."

Sex predators operate with ease among the ultra-orthodox communities because female victims often keep quiet, knowing that to speak out will damage their prospects of finding a husband. "The families all want their girls to have a AAA marriage to a religious scholar from a good family, and nobody's going to marry a girl who gets raped," says Ragen. In Bnei Brak, a predominately Haredi city near Tel Aviv, social worker Doron Agasi says one young Haredi man told him that he had molested more than a hundred girls. Agasi, director of the Shlom Banaich Fellowship, the only organization in Israel that treats pedophiles and their victims, convinced the young man to confess to the police. But, says Agasi, the authorities refused to bring charges because none of the parents of the alleged victims had filed complaints. Agasi says the rapist is now roaming free.

Convincing the Haredi to work with police and social workers has been a struggle, says Miki Miller, a social worker in the newly built Haredi town of Kiryat Sefer near Jerusalem. "The Haredi believe that a closed society is a pure society," she says. But a closed society can hide a multitude of sins. A senior police officer in Jerusalem acknowledges that the instincts of the Haredi community to cover up such crimes undermines the authorities' ability to investigate and prosecute offenders: "We're aware of this phenomenon of sex abuse among Haredis, but an extremely low number of these cases are ever reported."

The first port of call for Haredi families faced with violence or sex crimes is often their rabbi. But religious leaders themselves have not been immune from accusations of abuse. On April 6, a Jerusalem court indicted a Haredi mother of eight for child abuse in light of evidence that she broke her two toddlers' bones with hammers, forced the children to eat feces, and locked them inside a suitcase for hours. The alleged abuses came to light only after her three-year-old son was taken to hospital in a coma with brain damage. The woman claimed she was driving "devils" from her children following instructions from her religious counselor Elior Chen, who has since fled to Canada. Israeli police are seeking his extradition.[...]

EJF - RaP's recapitulation

RaP responds to Roni's questions from a previous "EJF - Proselytizing Advertisement":
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To Roni who said... "It is overwhelming clear that you on a rampage campaign against R. Tropper"

RaP: Nope, I am not on a "rampage" and you are mistaking and confusing a serious interest in this subject and thorough analysis and misnaming it a "rampage" simply because you don't like the concluions. Stop calling names and acting "frum" and holier-than-thou and debate the points in detail, if you can.

Furthermore, if you had even bothered to read some of my other posts you will see that I have defended Rabbi Tropper many times right here on this very blog, and in depth, trying to fathom and explain where he is coming from on kiruv and geirus issues and I even took Rabbi Tropper's hashkafic point of view against the owner of this blog and some of his serious supporters in the complex and sad Rabbi Slifkin saga (but I do not support Rabbi Tropper's alleged methods in slandering Rabbi Slifkin against other gedolim.)

If you don't believe me, please see the following five posts on this blog for yourself:

1) My post at "Rabbi Tropper & Prague - what happened?" at where I tried to explain Rabbi Tropper's complex position that became a new post at:

2) "R' Tropper - Kiruv vs Geirus/ RaP's analysis" at See my comments there that which shows my deepest sympathies with Rabbi Tropper's present struggles:

"Rabbi Tropper is from those kiruv workers (his main stock in trade) who works using the hard-sell method and he is very good at what he does in kiruv and is famous for his heady, strong-willed, blusterry speeches meant to bowl over his listeners, and yes he can be very intimidating and insulting to his listeners who may not share his moods. (Guess what: This is actually good kiruv believe it or not, because it is prone to induce a mind-shift as a form of "shock therapy" in his listeners opening them up to new Torah ideas they had never heard before), although he can also take it slow and gentle when he works with very diverse audiences who he knows will not go for his shock tactics. And yes, he generally holds that those who become his disci[les must adhere to quick adherence to his utterances and rules. Rabbi Tropper's kiruv methods as such are not an issue in this dialogue, nor do I think that his role in getting Rabbi Slifkin's books off the frum radar screen has anything to do with the current set of "Kiruv vs Geirus" issues that are riling Rabbi Tropper and confusing those who come face to face with him today because right now the man is a walking dichotomy. A sort of split personality, not fully conscious of the depth of his inner turmoil and extent of the self-contradiction he is spilling wherever he goes nowadays, as his kiruv side battles and tries to reconcile itself with the issues of geirus he has now immersed himself in for better or worse, and he is in over his head this time. While Rabbi tropper is agadol in the kiruv world, he is a zero in the world of dayanim and batei din. And yes, he is a big talmid chochme, but most rosh yeshivas (which he also claims to be of Kol Yaakov Yeshiva) are not involved in shimush lema'aseh and they are not dayanim. You do not go to a rosh yeshiva if you want to get divorced or are looking for a geirus. Rosh yeshivas are generally never poskim except for what goes on inside their yeshivas, and unlike a kiruv worker who can and MUST walk all over the range looking for people to mekarev, a dayan on the other hand, MUST contain himself and restrict himself to a very narrow venue, the Bais Din and its confines where he sits in judgment of cases and of others. In short, how to reconcile Kiruv ("drawing people close") and Richuk ("distancing" people)? How to reconcile the need to be a sweet Kiruv Worker (who must always be winning JEWISH friends and influencing people to eventually become/morph into being Haredi/Yeshivish) and on the other hand with a conflicting task, the enforcing the rules and dictates of Batei Din in regard to conversions that requires, per force, the distancing and pushing away of people, certianly gentiles and if need be even the Jews attached to those gentiles."

3) "R' Slifkin - context of ban /Ra" at where I even say:

"You know, this is where you have to admire Rabbi Tropper's kiruv derech that at least he does not lose himself or his students on all this fake double-talk about having some sort of allegiance to science and secular knowledge when as he rightly holds, Torah is not a substance that can be mixed or diluted with anything else to prove its powers and validity" and defending him "It's now le'acaher hama'aseh, and to get back to the point, Rabbi Tropper, at the end of the day is just a cog in what turned out to be pretty hefty Haredi machine. What can you do, that is just the way it goes sometimes."

4) "Kiruv I - The end of kiruv as we know it!" at l where I state that

"Rabbi Leib Tropper went in the other direction, feeling that both Ohr Somaych and Aish HaTorah had lost sight of their main mandate of basing everying ONLY on intense Gemora learning and rapid paced transformation to being a Ben Torah (not a bad goal but not as attractive to the nasses as Aish HaTorah's appeal, as is evident.)...Rabbi Tropper's Kol Yaakov yeshiva also in Monsey that stresses only the learning element, even though it does have an outrecah "Horizons" program...Rabbi Tropper is a venturer because with his EJF program to welcome in by doing outreach the non-Jewish spouses of interfaith couples under "strict" Beth Din auspices (actually fueling the flames of the process, as it were) he is doing a classical juggling act, that on the one hand he is trying to preempt and ward off attacks from the Haredi world he admires and respects and needs but at the the same time he is caving in to the interfaith flood at the gate and in this he is no different to ALL other Kiruv workers out there today trying to cope with the flood tide of interfaith students (meaning students from mixed marriages or intermarrieds themseleves, or those with non-Halachic conversions), and instead of calling a spade a spade and seeing the writing on the wall, that THE AGE OF KIRUV AS WE KNOW IT IS OVER..."And much of the above became the new post at:

5) "Kiruv II - Paradigm change for outreach workers" at

So at this time, unless you can acknowledge otherwise, it is obvious that you have not been reading those posts but just come here and make a few belly-aching comments simply because you don't like a few things you hear here.

"and the more you attack every single person associated with him an even attack Rav REuven Feinstein shows your even more your irrational campaign."

RaP: Can you point to the alleged "irrationality" you IMAGINE? Is the owner of this blog Rabbi Dr. Eidensohn "irrational", who posted I, II and and many other posts like this and who posts his and others' comments after serious review of each comment and who opposes the EJF effort and Rabbi Tropper's methods? Is Rav Moshe Shternbuch "irrational" for opposing efforts, see "Rav Moshe Sternbuch - Authorized Translation" and "Rav Moshe Sternbuch - Kiruv for non-Jews and "Bedatz Letter regarding EJF signed by Gaavad" like those of Rabbi Tropper and the EJF? Is the entire BADATZ of the powerful Eidah HaChareidis "irrational" (are Horav Meir Brandsorfer, Horav Moshe Sternbuch, Horav Naftoli Frenkal, Horav Avrohom Yitzchok Ulman, Horav Yakov Mendel Yorovitch, Horav Yehoushua Rosenberg ALL "irrational" too for signing it?) see "Bedatz letter regarding conversion" and of taking the extreme measure of openly, see "Bedatz letter regarding conversion" and rebuking and warning dayanim and batei din all over the world who were Recipients of its official warning letters and giving Publicicty to it, authorising its dissemination online through this very blog by Rabbi Dr. Eidensohn. It has been Rabbi Dr. Eidensohn who has asked for written Halachik clarifications from Rabbi Tropper and EJF and none has been forthcoming, so take it up with him if you think he and others being "irrational" for asking for a written reason al pi din and for his efforts EJF tried to smear him, see "EJF smear campaign"

"While I unerstan the reservations against R. Tropper an his plans,"

RaP: You do? Like what? This may be the seed of some fruitful discussions perhaps, don't you think? instead of hiding behind smokescreens and blaming others of being "irrational" when you have no good RATIONAL and LOGICAL and FACTUAL arguments or proofs of your own to produce, so far.

"your voice of opposition shows that there is more at stake for his critics that are far from "leshem shamayim."

RaP: You are wrong and Rabbi Tropper has yet to prove that everything he does is "leshem shamayim" and not coming from his notorious over-sized ego that brooks no opposition and who yells at anyone who dares oppose him.

Rabbi Tropper does not need "defenders" that make him look like he is the "poor little victim" of something when he is not.

Rabbi Tropper and Dr. Tom Kaplan sat down and decided on their own on a new scheme, that went far beyond in a quantum leap from Rabbi Tropper's world of kiruv and his Baal teshuva Kol Yaakov Yeshiva (which he ran very well) and would now branch into the world of batei din and geirus (based on many reasons that I have discussed in my other posts) that they called "EJF" and how to sell it to rabbonim and to the frum world and of course to the world of gentiles who were married or hitched to Jews and who would now be targeted for being inspired to get "real" conversions at Batei Din, and how to implement all this as if this was a "product" like Coca Cola that was being launched based on a business plan with lots of financing and professionalism behind it. So let's get real please and not talk like babies.

"With regards to Rabbi Bomzer (which i can clearly see that what bothers you is that R. Tropper an many Rabbonim that participate in EJF attack the fake an phony conversions of people like R. H Bomzer),"

RaP: Quite honestly, nobody on this blog could give a hoot about Rabbi Bomzer because if you had read all the posts seriously you will see that most posters here are against ANY kind of easy conversions no matter from who, be it Rabbi Bomzer, Chabad, kiruv organizations and workers, the RCA, the Israeli Rabbanut and now including Rabbi Tropper and his EJF. So cut out the nonsense because noone on this blog cares about or has anything to do with Rabbi Bomzer.

"he is known in many circles for his false conversions where he converts people 1) knowing ahead of time that they are not interested to keep torah and mitzvot (not only that they have lapses in the future); do not keep shabbat, kashrut, taharat ha mishpacha from the very outset. 3) Actually the rabbanut over ten years ago has written that his conversion needs bedikah! for his reputation is actually very well known, an most importantly his fees are also known!"

RaP: All this is interesting, but not to the point and only proves that YOU want to now smear Rabbi Bomzer. If you want to get into these kind of discussions, then you will discover that most situations involving geirus involve matters of self-interest somewhere along the line. It was Rabbi Tropper's connection with Tom Kaplan whose sister married to a man of Hispanic ancestry (Otto Aguiar) and who needed a conversion for himself and son ("Guma Kaplan Aguiar is the son of Ellen Kaplan.") that was a huge factor dragging Rabbi Tropper into this whole EJF adventure, see "Who is behind Eternal Jewish Family?" and "Is Eternal Jewish Family the center of the universe?" It may be rabbis who need money and charge fees, or interfaith couples who lie about their true intentions just to fool the dayanim, entire rabbinates and batei din that are not respected and are negated by other batei din, like happeened to Rabbi Drukman at the hands of Rav sherman and the High Court of the Rabbanut and Rabbi Tropper at the hands of the Bais Din of the Eidah Hachareidis for attempts at working to facilitate mass conversions. So while talking about RabbI bomezer may be true and interesting it is not much different to all the other problems that will arise for rabbis in the geirus business. So again, quit harping about Rabbi Bomzer, because he is already history, noone here really cares about him, and the focus is now on Rabbi Troppe and EJF and it would be apprecaited if you can expa=lain to us what Rabbi Tropper and EJF are doing that is so great that in the meantime so many people are having genuine Halachic issues with it.

"Continue to defend him and other similar rabbis"

RaP: Noone is defedning anyone here if you haven't noticed. This is a forum for discussion and you are welcome to join it instead of standing on the sidelines making silly comments.

"an attack vehemently Rav Reuven Feinstein and others with such disparagment and everyone will see clearly publicity's agenda!"

RaP: Again you fail to understand that this is a serious matter that is under discussion and just by saying that Rabbi Reuven feinstein like Rabbi tropper and wishes him well, while on this blog Rabbi Tropper has been asked dozens of times to produce WRITTEN haskomas from Rav Reuven or Rav Dovid Feinstein and he still does not, must mean that RabbI tropper does not have a written haskoma to do outreach to gentiles in order to get them to convert and marry Jewish spouses. This is no different to learning any sugya where the subject is open and we must look for answers and if no official answers are given it is possible to speculate for motives that require greater clarity. Can you answer this question please: Does or has Rav Reuven shlit"a or Rav Dovid Feinstein shlit"a or any institutions they head ever received financial backing and donations from Dr. Tom Kaplan and one his family or any businesses and foundations they head? Let's get real with some real questions instead of your bobba-maises.

"Rabbi Bomzer is not unique and he can't be blamed for every conversion that went off the rails."

RaP: Right, and Rabbi Tropper is not unique and he cannot be blamed for every person he once mekareved and then went off the rails. And just like I would not blame Rabbi Tropper for his kiruv failures noone can blame any serious Orthodox rabbi who is a dayan for conversions when converts go off the rails because just like SOME Baalei teshuva fail in the end to stay frum, many geirim in the end fail in the end to stick to their commitments to be truly Halachically Jewish. And guess what, every religious Bar Mitzva boy starts out good but by the time his life is over many Jews are off the derech, and it is not always the fathers' and mothers' who must be blamed. But while all that is intersting, this is not what this discussion is about, which is the determination of Rabbi Tropper and RJF to pursue mass conversions for goyim, which even for the best and frummest of reasons, MUST result in a huge catatsrophe for Klal Yisroel, and per force mass Chillul hashem in its wake, and he should be convinced to stop now at all costs, before his "solutions" and "cures" become worse than the diseases and plagues of assimilation and intermarriage.