החרדית שבחרה ללדת בבית חולים פלסטיני

kikar

בתופעה שהולכת ומתפתחת בבית החולים, ניתן לראות גם אשה חרדית, שבחרה ללדת את בנה דווקא בבית החולים הפלסטיני, אחרי שלדבריה נפגעה מיחס פוגעני בבתי החולים בירושלים. 

על פי הדיווח של יוסי אלי בחדשות 10, בית החולים הקטן, שבבעלות הכנסיה הצרפתית, מקבל בזרועות פתוחות גם את הפציינטים היהודים וגם את הפלסטינים שחלקם בכלל נפצעו במהלך הלחימה ברצועת עזה.

Can Bad Men Change? What It’s Like Inside Sex Offender Therapy

time

Someone has shoved a workout bike into the corner to make room for a circle of overstuffed chairs dug up at the local Goodwill. The men jockey for a coveted recliner and settle in. They are complaining about co-workers and debating the relative merits of various trucks when a faint beeping interrupts the conversation. One man picks up a throw pillow and tries to muffle the sound of the battery running low on his ankle bracelet, a reminder of why they are all there.

Every one of the eight men in the room has been convicted of a sex crime and mandated by a court to see a therapist. Depending on the offense, their treatment can last several months or several years. (TIME has given both the men and the therapists pseudonyms in this story.)

They sit in the circle, the man who exposed himself to at least 100 women, next to the man who molested his stepdaughter, across from the man who sexually assaulted his neighbor. The group includes Matt, whose online chats led to prison; Rob, who was arrested for statutory rape; and Kevin, who spent decades masturbating next to women in movie theaters.

Some of the men’s crimes aren’t all that different from the allegations against public figures such as Kevin Spacey, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein and Roy Moore. Unlike the famous men, they cannot afford lawyers to draft nondisclosure agreements, or arrange hush-money payments, or appeal guilty verdicts, as Cosby’s attorneys are planning to do following his conviction on sexual assault in April. (Cosby could also be ordered to seek therapy.) Nor can they attempt to stage professional comebacks or publish mea culpa memoirs.

Instead, these men were all found guilty and had their names added to a state sex-offender registry. They will remain on that list for decades and, in some cases, the rest of their lives. Anyone can search online for the ugly details of their crimes, including employers, partners and their own children. A judge has limited where most of the men in this room can live, work and socialize–and whether they can access the Internet. Some are unemployed, and many live paycheck to paycheck, dependent on the few employers who are willing to tolerate their criminal history.

The more than 800,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S. may feel that their parole restrictions are onerous, but the mere presence of a known offender in almost any community precipitates clashes of competing interests and legal battles that have only intensified in the wake of the #MeToo movement. In at least 10 recent lawsuits filed in states from Pennsylvania to Colorado, civil rights proponents argue that sex offenders face unconstitutional punishments that other criminals do not, and they note that there are no government registries for murderers or other violent felons in most states. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case challenging the limits of the registry in its October term.

In October, the Supreme Court will consider a complicated case challenging the federal laws that govern some sex offenders. The decision could allow hundreds of thousands of convicted offenders to move more easily across state lines and eventually remove their names from the sex-offender registry.

Even if that suit fails, civil rights proponents and victim advocates will likely confront each other again in the nation’s highest court. A Colorado federal judge recently ruled that the state’s sex-offender registry is unconstitutional. He said the list constitutes cruel and unusual punishment because it can subject these men to ostracism and violence at the hands of the public and that it fails to properly distinguish between different types of offenses.

The Colorado judge’s decision ignited outrage. In response, attorneys general from six states wrote a joint amicus brief to overturn the ruling on appeal. In their brief, the attorneys general quote a judge from a separate case regarding sex offenders in Wisconsin: “Parents of young children should ask themselves whether they should worry that there are people in their community who have ‘only’ a 16% or an 8% probability of molesting young children.”

Jerusalem Welcomes New Embassy

Putting Haredi Men on the Path to Financial Stability

Thought this might resonate with your readers. Vote to give $70K to one of 4 projects, one of which is "Putting Haredi Men on the Path to Financial Stability" - https://www.ujafedny.org/israel70-shape-whats-next/
uja

The Issue: Basic math, English, and science skills are critical to forging a successful career path and achieving financial independence. While Haredi women are exposed to secular studies in high school with the expectation that they’ll be their family’s primary breadwinner, Haredi boys only learn religious subjects. It’s no surprise then that only 50.9% of Haredi men participate in the workforce and more than 50% of Haredi men drop out of college. As the population grows, the poor state of education for Haredi men is an issue that is impacting the national economy.

The Solution: Cutting edge schools that combine secular and Torah learning.

A small group of brave educators are challenging the status quo — and two schools are gaining traction. The first, Hachmey Lev, just graduated its inaugural class. The other, Torah Academy, is one of the first of its kind in the Hassidic community. These start-up schools are creating a new model of education that is empowering the next generation of Haredi citizens to become agents of change in Israeli society.

Most Inspirational Ninja Warrior Ever - Zach Gowen"

youtube

Report: Some haredi travelers duped into smuggling drugs

arutz7

קריאת ה'מועצות': "חללים רבים; להתחזק בתפילה"

kikar hashabbat

מועצות גדולי וחכמי התורה פרסמו היום קריאה מיוחדת לקראת ראש חודש סיוון, וביקשו מהציבור להתחזק מתפילה להצלת ילדי ישראל. "חללים רבים כבר נפלו בגלל הטכנולוגיה" (חרדים)

קוראים לציבור לקראת זמן קבלת התורה "להוסיף ברוחניות ובקבלות טובות לרפואת הגוף והנפש".

בקריאה נאמר: "נקודת הלב של כשרי ישראל, דאגתם וחרדת עולמם - לראות את בניהם ובנותיהם אחריהם, ממשיכים בדרכי אבות וצועדים בנתיבותיהם מדור לדור; לעשות רצון הבורא יתברך באמונה שלימה, באהבה וביראה, מבלי שיהא חלילה, כל פרץ וכל יוצאת וכל צווחה".

"לדאבת כל לב, גבר בדורנו נסיון פגעי הטכנולוגיה, והיצר הרע השקט לא יוכל, ומתחדש בכל יום באופנים שונים, להוריד נפשות אלי שחת על ידי האינטרנט והמכשירים האסורים. ואמנם, חלה התעוררות גדולה בציבור החרדים לדבר השי"ת להתרחק ולהישמר מכל אלו, אך עדיין יש מי שנלכדים ברשת האיו

ERIC SCHNEIDERMAN RESIGNS HOURS AFTER FOUR WOMEN ACCUSE HIM OF VIOLENCE

nytimes.l



Newsweek

In a statement to the New Yorker, Schneiderman called his behavior consensual role-playing. “In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity. I have not assaulted anyone," he said. "I have never engaged in non-consensual sex, which is a line I would not cross.”

But the women who spoke to the New Yorker did not see it that way. Another woman, Michelle Manning Barish, also said that Schneiderman habitually hit her after drinking, in bed and without her consent. The article quoted two other women who were not named, describing the same pattern of behavior.

The story was published less than a week after reports that Schneiderman, at the urging of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, will appoint a special deputy to investigate Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr.’s handling of allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

Also last week, Schneiderman was named a “Champion of Choice” by the New York-based National Institute for Reproductive Health. "We are appalled and horrified to learn about the violent behavior ascribed to Eric Schneiderman. This is especially disappointing given his long history of advocacy and action in support of women’s rights," the NIRH said in a statement Monday night. "We believe it is our collective duty to trust women. It takes extraordinary courage to come forward with allegations of this magnitude — we hope they are taken seriously and that justice is served."

Schneiderman has also been a vocal and active anti-Trump attorney general, and his office has repeatedly filed legal challeges to Trump administration activities, from the travel ban to the Environmental Protection Agency. He has also often been regarded as a legal backup to Special Counsel Robert Mueller in case Trump pardons campaign staff, friends or possibly family for federal charges. The president cannot pardon state charges.

After the story was published, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand called for him to resign.

“In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me,” Schneiderman said in a statement tonight. “While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time. I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8, 2018.”

understanding the sins of Gedolim - Rav Tzadok

ר' צדוק הכהן מלובלין - מחשבות חרוץ אות א
המחשבה היא עיקר האדם כידוע, אבל כמה מחשבות אינון כמו שמובא בתיקוני זוהר (סוף תיקון י"ט מ"א ב) עיין שם חשיב ארבע, ובתיקון ס"ט (קט"ו א) איתא בין שלוש לארבע וכמה מחשבין אינון דא לעילא מן דא וכו' ולעילא מכולהו מחשבה סתימא וכו' וכמה מחשבין אינון לבושא דא לדא עיין שם, וידוע דכל מה שלמעלה כן הוא למטה בנפש האדם שהוא כצלמינו כדמותינו, וכל השגות בני אדם הוא בדמות אדם כי מבשרי אחזה אלוה כנודע, וגם במחשבת האדם יש כמה מדריגות ויש עומק ראשית דמחשבה שממנו המשכת כל המחשבות הסתום ונעלם מהאדם וזהו המחשבה סתימא, והלבוש התחתון שהוא התגלות המחשבה בפועל כפי מה שהם ההרהורים והמחשבות העוברים במוח האדם גם זה אינו עיקר המחשבה שהוא החכמה בכל מקום שזהו עיקר האדם כח מה כמו שמובא בתיקון כ"ב (ס"ז א) בגימטריא אדם כנודע והיא המחשבה העושית רושם במוח להתפשט מיד ללב וממנה לכל הגוף, כי אבא ואימא תרין רעין דלא מתפרשין כי מחשבה הנוגעת עד שורש אבא הרומז לחכמה שבמוח כנודע היא מחוברת עם הבינה שבלב שהם כח הרגשת אדם, ומיד הוא מרגישה בלב וגורמין הולדה לכוחות המעשה כענין עין רואה ולב חומד וכלי המעשה גומרים (עיין רש"י במדבר ט"ו, ל"ט) דמצינו ראייה בחכמה כמו שנאמר (קהלת א', ט"ז) ולבי ראה הרבה חכמה:
וגם בזה יש כמה מדריגות והיינו דגם בהרגשה שבלב יש גם כן הרבה מדריגות וגם בה יש הרגשה חיצונית שאינה במעמקי הלב ופנימיותו כלל כי הלב ממנו תוצאות חיים, והרגשה גמורה הוא מה שנוגע לעומק חיותו זהו שורש הבינה שבלב הנמשך מעומק החכמה שבמוח. ומחשבה כזו שעיקר נקודת החיות שבלב נתלה בה זהו עיקר האדם לא שאר מחשבות חיצוניות שהם לבושי המחשבה הפנימיית והעיקריית, וכמעט אין אדם שיהיה נקי לגמרי גם בלבוש החיצוני מהמחשבה שיהיה בלתי לה' לבדו ולא יעלה כל ימיו על מחשבתו רגע אחד הרהור אחר:
וחטא אדם הראשון היה במחשבה כמו שמובא בתיקוני זוהר שם ושם, וזהו הדמיון שהכניס בו הנחש במה שאמר (בראשית ג', ה') והייתם כאלקים וגו' כי זהו שורש של כל המחשבות של תוהו והבלים ודמיונות שבאדם לדמות עצמו שיהיה באיזה מעלה וענין שהוא למעלה ממנו ושאין ראוי לה כל אחד כפי השגתו, ואדם הראשון שהיה בתכלית השלימות על דרך (תהלים פ"ב, ו') אני אמרתי אלקים אתם וגו' הכניס בו דמיון שיהיה ממש כן:
ועל זה הוצרכה תורה להזהיר קדושים תהיו יכול כמוני תלמוד לומר וכו' (ויקרא רבה סוף פרשה כ"ד, ט') כי כשהוא בתכלית המדריגה מקדושה עד שידמה למלאכי השרת הוא בכח הבחירה שבו אין היצר הרע מניחו לעולם כלל ומסיתו שיוכל להתקדש כביכול כמוהו ממש, ומזה יוכל להפילו מאגרא רמה לבירא עמיקתא חס ושלום כמו שקרה להאיש ולשבתי צבי שם רשעים ירקב על ידי ריבוי פרישותם גבר כח הדמיון שבהם לחשוב שיוכלו לדמות לעליון ובא להם על ידי שחשבו עצמם תחילה קדושים, וזהו שורש הסתת הנחש שמתחיל במועט עד וכו' ותחילתו במחשבה ודמיון ובלבוש החיצוני של מחשבה אלא שנוגע לכל מדריגות שבמחשבה כדאיתא שם:
וכל זמן שלא נתקן חטא אדם הראשון לגמרי שיהיה על ידי משיח המקווה במהרה בימינו אין המחשבה נקיה לגמרי עדיין מדמיונות כל אחד כפי מדריגתו, והקדוש בקדושתו יוכל לטעות גם כן בדמיונות שונות שנחשבות למחשבת הבל ותוהו אשר מזה נגרם גם למעשה דאין אדם צדיק בארץ אשר יעשה טוב ולא יחטא, דהצדיק הוא העושה רק טוב אך היצר מתלבש גם בו לדמות לו שהוא טוב והוא חוטא בהטוב כי אינו טוב אלא כפי הדמיון של היצר המתעהו, וזה מצד הדמיונות שבמחשבה אבל כל זה אינו ענין למחשבה שהוא עיקר האדם דזהו החכמה שבמוח שהוא נשמה שנתת בי טהורה כידוע דנפש רוח נשמה הנשמה היא במוח והיא מה' יתברך כמו שנאמר (בראשית ב', ז') ויפח באפיו וגו' מאן דנפח וכו' חלק אלוה על כן היא טהורה: 

ABBAS SAYS EUROPEAN JEWS WERE MASSACRED BECAUSE OF ‘THEIR BEHAVIOR’

jpost


Jews in Europe were massacred for centuries because of their “social behavior related to interest and banks,” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday.

Abbas made the statement in a speech at the beginning of a meeting of the Palestinian National Council, a top PLO body that is convening in Ramallah this week to elect members to two other PLO institutions.



The comments marked the second time in several months that the 83-year-old Palestinian leader spoke about his take on Jewish and Zionist history. In a speech in January at a meeting of the PLO Central Council, Abbas discussed his perspective on Jewish and Zionist history, arguing Israel is a “colonial project with no relationship to Judaism.”

His comments in January were met with a highly critical response and accusations of antisemitism by Israeli government officials and Jewish organizations and overshadowed other remarks he made about coexistence and nonviolence.

Abbas’s remarks on Monday appear to reflect that the PA president has become less concerned with the ramifications of making comments that Israel and much of the international community likely reject.

“From the 11th century until the Holocaust that took place in Germany, the Jews – who moved to Western and Eastern Europe – were subjected to a massacre every 10 to 15 years. But why did this happen?” Abbas said on Monday, before interjecting, “The Jewish issue that was widespread in all European countries... was not because of their religion, but rather their social behavior related to interest and banks.”

He said his comments were based on the writings of Karl Marx and two other Jewish authors.

Esther Webman, an expert on Arab perspectives of the Holocaust, said Abbas’s remarks on the persecution of Jews are inaccurate.

“[His statement] certainly is not accurate, because Nazism wanted to annihilate Jewish people wherever it is,” she said in a phone call. “An ideology, such as Nazism, that wants to erase all Jews is against Jews. The argument that Jews were killed for their social behavior is nothing more than an excuse that was used to justify the annihilation of Jews.”

During the Holocaust, the Nazis and their collaborators murdered some six million Jews.

Abbas also cited a theory that Ashkenazi Jews do not hail from what is modern-day Israel, but rather Khazaria, an empire that was located between Eastern Europe and the Middle East hundreds of years ago.

“Arthur Koestler, an American-Jewish Zionist, wrote a book about the 13th tribe... Where did you get the 13th from? They invented them. Where? In the Khazar Kingdom. When? In the ninth century,” Abbas said. “This kingdom was not religious and then it became Jewish... It later broke up, and all of its residents moved to Europe. These people are the Ashkenazi Jews. They have no relationship to Semitic culture, Abraham, Jacob and others.”

מזעזע: העובד פגע בעשרות בנות חרדיות וההנהלה שתקה

bhol

vosizneias

פרשייה חדשה מסעירה את הקהילה החרדית בבורו פארק: מנהל בית ספר לבנות חרדיות בבורו פארק, ידע על גוי עובד המקום שפגע בתלמידות במשך כמה שנים, ולא עשה כלום כדי לעצור את המעשים. כך מדווח האתר האמריקאי VosIsNeias. 

על פי הדיווח, מדובר בבית ספר חרדי מפורסם לבנות בבורו פארק. 

המחוקק החרדי של מדינת ניו יורק דב הייקינד סיפר לאתר, כי קיבל עשרות שיחות טלפון מהורים שהתלוננו באוזניו על כך שבנותיהם נפגעו לכאורה על ידי העובד הגוי. 

הייקינד ציין, כי אותם הורים תינו בפניו כי התלוננו והתריעו באוזני מנהל בית הספר, אך זה התעלם מהם ולא נקף אצבע בכדי לעצור את הפגיעה. 

עקב כך פנה המחוקק באמצעות חשבון הטוויטר שלו להורים הבנות הנפגעות, להתקשר אליו ולספר לו על כך. לדברי הייקינד, מנהל בית הספר אמר לו כי מעל 100 הורים התקשרו אליו בתוך זמן קצר. 

לדברי המנהל, העובד סיים את עבודתו בבית הספר מיד לאחר שהמקרים פורסמו בתקשורת המקומית. 

הייקינד הוסיף כי הוא קיבל שיחת טלפון ממחלקת הפשיעה של המשטרה, שביקשה לדעת פרטים ופתחה בחקירה. 

"אין ספק שהמעשים החמורים קרו, והעובדה שהנהלת בית הספר שתקה ונתנה לעובד הגוי ללכת בלי להתלונן עליו מדברת בעד עצמה". אמר הייקינד. 

הייקינד הוסיף כי "בית הספר מתהדר בקעמפ קיץ שהוא מקיים כל שנה, ושם נשמרים גדרי הצניעות בצורה חמורה ביותר", ופה לא ראינו את זה. 

לדברי הייקינד הוא קיבל תלונות מבנות על דברים שנעשה להם, 'בחדרי חרדים' חוסך מהגולשים את התיאורים. המקרים התרחשו בבית הספר וגם בקעמפים בהרים. 

הייקינד זעם ואמר "עד יום שישי האחרון המנהל פשוט לא עשה דבר, זה חמור מאד, רק כשהדברים יצאו החוצה הוא נזכר לפטר את העובד". 

"קיבלתי הודעות שהמנהל לא עונה לאף אחד מההורים, וזו חוצפה שאין כדוגמתה, במיוחד שבית הספר הזה נחשב כמי שמקפיד מאד מאד על נושא הצניעות". 

PEDOPHILES ON THE RUN ARRESTED AFTER BEING COVERED IN CEMENT AND TIED TO A BENCH

.newsweek


PSNI Detective Chief Inspector Jill Duffed said they were "kicked and beaten with iron bars before being taken to Mullah village, where they were further assaulted by a number of individuals and covered in paint.

“Both men were taken to hospital by police, one of the males has been arrested and the other remains in hospital being treated for his injuries.

“Unfortunately, now, due to the violent actions of a small number of people, we have had to redirect resources and efforts towards investigating a serious assault. There is no excuse for individuals taking the law into their own hands nor for the violent scenes that we witnessed last night,” she added, according to a statement by the PSNI.

Police had information that the pair had been approaching children. They became friends after Lydiard, from County Down, left jail earlier this year following a seven-month sentence for ignoring a court order banning him from online dating sites. He has nine convictions for sexual assault, assaults causing harm and threats to kill.

White, from South Armagh, has been convicted of five sexual assault charges and 62 previous convictions in all, including sexual assault, assault causing bodily harm and threats to kill.

Ran - concerning witchcraft

https://www.sefaria.org/Darashos_HaRan.3.8

The answer: There being nothing of greater moment for mankind than the Torah and the receiving of it, it befits the nation that receives it to be given the strongest possible indications that the Torah is true and for all elements to be removed from those indications and from the experience in general that might engender any doubts as to its Divine origin. This is the entire import of the exodus from Egypt. The Blessed One willed the origination of the wonders which marked that redemption (beyond a doubt the prelude to the Torah) to demonstrate to all of Israel that what is withheld from nature is not withheld from the Blessed One. For this is the very cornerstone of our religion, and one who denies it denies his faith in general and completely dismisses the concept of reward and punishment. And since this is the pole upon which the Torah revolves, He desired that this become manifest in the land of Egypt, the land of diviners and necromancers. For what is there demonstrated as outside the realm of nature — necromancy, a branch of the natural arts, being impotent to perform it — what is there demonstrated as outside the realm of nature certainly lays claim to our belief as an act of G d and as an incontrovertible demonstration that what is beyond the scope of nature is not beyond the powers of G d. If these signs and wonders had been originated in a land devoid of the magic arts, the "cornerstone" would still be subject to an undermining doubt, the possibility remaining that people would ascribe all the signs to magic, regarding them all as possible within the scope of nature.

https://www.sefaria.org/Darashos_HaRan.3.9

This is the idea intimated by our sages of blessed memory (Menachoth 85a): "Yochni and Mamre said to Moses: 'Are you bringing straw to Ophriim [a city rich in straw?' He answered: 'People say: "Take your greens to a place of greens."'" That is, Yochni and Mamre, Egyptian magicians, assumed that the signs performed by the true prophet were the products of magic, and in the baseness of their thoughts censured him for attempting to deceive the people in a land full of these magic arts. And Moses responded: "People say: 'Take your greens to a place of greens.'" That is, if one is expert in something his true eminence will be recognized only in a land containing men who are highly proficient in that thing itself. For there the greatness of his art can be tested against theirs, just as really excellent greens are more likely to be sold in a city rich in greens, their superiority being more readily discriminated in such a place. In the same way it is fitting that Moses' signs be tested in this land, where they will be more highly valued than in any other land. For in such a land they will be readily discriminated as products of Divine power, as beyond the scope of human ingenuity. The entire exodus was arranged, then, in such a way as to obviate any doubt of its having been the outcome of absolute Divine power.

https://www.sefaria.org/Darashos_HaRan.4.21

The answer: That sin which is cause for apprehension on the Blessed One's part as potentially resulting in the destruction of the Jews is idol worship, to which the sin of the golden calf was similar in character. For the other transgressions do not arouse the Blessed One's wrath to such a great extent; idol worship is to be much more feared in this regard. And there is more reason for apprehension of this sin in the desert than in the land of Israel. For the Jews knew that the other lands were under the ordinance of stars and constellations, as our sages state (Kethuboth 110b): "All who live in the land of Israel, it is as if they have a G-d; all who live outside the land of Israel, it is as if they do not have a G-d." This is because the other, gentile lands are under the ordinance of heavenly plenipotentiaries, an ordinance which cannot be changed except through miraculous, Heavenly intervention (this being the intent of "for he will not forgive your sins"). Therefore, if one lives outside the land of Israel, because he is under the ordinance of a star or of a constellation, his prayer is not so readily accepted as it would be if he lived in the land of Israel, which is not under the dominion of a chief, an officer, or a ruler, but of the Blessed One Himself, as it is written (Deuteronomy 31:16): "and they go astray after the strange gods of the land" — indicating that all gods, except the Blessed One Himself, are strangers in that land. And because the Jews knew this, they would be more apt to stray into idol worship outside the land of Israel, the province of other powers (as they, indeed, said [Exodus 32:1]: "Arise and make us a god which will go before us") than they would in the land of Israel itself. Add to this the fact that they would more likely cleave to the Holy One in the holy land than outside it and that there is more reason for apprehension that rebellion against the word of G-d would result in destruction in the desert than in the land of Israel in that the desert is a place fraught with the danger of "snakes, serpents, scorpions, and drought, no water being there" (Deuteronomy 8:15), so that destruction is more of a possibility there than in other places. This is not as the pseudo-pious would have it, that the power of G-d is constant in all places, for good or for evil. This is not so, but the Blessed One has stamped it into the nature of things that loss is more likely to result in dangerous places than in others, so that if He is not constantly providential of one in such places but abandons him to the vicissitudes of time, then evil will certainly befall him, unlike the case in other places, where there is not cause for such apprehension. Therefore, the Blessed One said to Moses: This does not require My apprising you of My ways, for I have no intention of separating Myself from you, but My presence will go in your midst when I grant rest to you — and them (what is stated of Moses applying to all of Israel, as in "to heed you on the way," where the meaning is obviously not to heed Moses alone). But this did not suffice for Moses, who answered (Exodus 33:15): "If Your presence does not go, do not take us up from here." That is, if Your presence does not go, we should not move from this spot at all. For how will it be known that we have been singled out from the other nations if not by Your going with us now? For when we are in the land of Israel, they will attribute our fortune not to us but to the land, seeing that when we were not in the land You did not walk in the midst of our camp. And the Blessed One acknowledged this, saying (Ibid 17): "This thing, too, that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in My eyes and I have known you by name." He elaborated here, saying "for you have found favor in My eyes" in response to Moses' first having said (Ibid 12): "and You said: 'I have known you by name and you have also found favor in My eyes'" — indicating thereby that He was doing so by virtue of Moses' having found favor in His eyes. And He added "and I will know you by name," in response to "and You said: "I have known you by name,'" not as Moses said (Ibid 16) "so that I and Your people be singled out from all the peoples," but "because you have found favor in My eyes." And this is also by way of intimating that His acquiescing in walking in their midst and not governing them through an angel would be limited to the days of Moses alone; but afterwards, in the days of Joshua, the aforementioned angel would lead the Jews until they came "to the rest and to the inheritance," as we shall explain.

https://www.sefaria.org/Darashos_HaRan.4.28

There is also another reason for its being stated here "Do not bow down to their gods." It is my view that the root of idol worship was the notion that angels or the heavenly host could exert a beneficent or maleficent influence upon one in accordance with their will. This error originated in the following manner: Though these agencies do not have the power to do good or evil in themselves, they cannot be barred from exerting an influence more or less in accordance with the predisposition of the recipients. So that, for example, the moon will increase moisture in terrestrial bodies as they are predisposed to receive moisture, and the sun will heat them as they are predisposed to receive heat, and so, in relation to the other stars and to the angels that are above them. However, the predisposition of terrestrial bodies to receive the influence and effects of the celestial ones can be secured either by conditioning through recognized natural procedures, such as heating with hot or by cooling with cold or by conditioning through things whose nature is hidden and which operate by virtue of certain phenomenological properties. Now those objects which acquire a predisposition through the recognized, natural qualities of things generating this predisposition provide no ground for doubt and do not serve as the basis for the error of idolatry. But the type of things which predispose bodies to acquire the effluence of celestial entities by virtue of certain phenomenological properties, their hidden natures, as it were — these things caused ignorant men to stray into idol worship. For in their ignorance of the natures of these properties it did not occur to them at all that these things could produce a change in the nature of the body of the recipient, and they could attribute their efficacy to no other cause than the favor these operations found in the eyes of the celestial emanators, the angels or stars, as it were, who, witnessing these activities, increased their effluence to the bodies of these recipients. And this was the root and foundation upon which idolatry was built and which led its practitioners to sacrifice and bring offerings to an angel or a star to gain its favor. And this contravenes the truth in two ways. First, because there is nothing in our deeds which can cause any kind of satisfaction or distress whatsoever to any of the celestial entities, there being nothing whatsoever in common between our deeds and their natures. Second, because the energy or effluence emanated by them is limited. They cannot increase or diminish it in and of themselves but only in relation to the predisposition of the recipients, contrary to the view of the idolators, who see these changes as stemming from the emanators. And this is the reason for its being written here "Do not bow down to their gods" after the statement "Take heed of him and hearken to his word…" That is, after I have permitted you to hearken to the voice of this angel and to bow down to him in view of his distinctive exaltation over the other angels — the fact that my Name is within him — notwithstanding all this, I have told you that he will not forgive your sins, being only a deputy in My embassy — then what should be the case with the other angels, who are not on his level, and, certainly, with the hosts of heaven! Can you not understand from this that they have no power to do good or evil in themselves? That being the case, do not bow down to their gods and do not serve them, for no benefit will accrue to you from this as you might imagine.

https://www.sefaria.org/Darashos_HaRan.4.28

There is also another reason for its being stated here "Do not bow down to their gods." It is my view that the root of idol worship was the notion that angels or the heavenly host could exert a beneficent or maleficent influence upon one in accordance with their will. This error originated in the following manner: Though these agencies do not have the power to do good or evil in themselves, they cannot be barred from exerting an influence more or less in accordance with the predisposition of the recipients. So that, for example, the moon will increase moisture in terrestrial bodies as they are predisposed to receive moisture, and the sun will heat them as they are predisposed to receive heat, and so, in relation to the other stars and to the angels that are above them. However, the predisposition of terrestrial bodies to receive the influence and effects of the celestial ones can be secured either by conditioning through recognized natural procedures, such as heating with hot or by cooling with cold or by conditioning through things whose nature is hidden and which operate by virtue of certain phenomenological properties. Now those objects which acquire a predisposition through the recognized, natural qualities of things generating this predisposition provide no ground for doubt and do not serve as the basis for the error of idolatry. But the type of things which predispose bodies to acquire the effluence of celestial entities by virtue of certain phenomenological properties, their hidden natures, as it were — these things caused ignorant men to stray into idol worship. For in their ignorance of the natures of these properties it did not occur to them at all that these things could produce a change in the nature of the body of the recipient, and they could attribute their efficacy to no other cause than the favor these operations found in the eyes of the celestial emanators, the angels or stars, as it were, who, witnessing these activities, increased their effluence to the bodies of these recipients. And this was the root and foundation upon which idolatry was built and which led its practitioners to sacrifice and bring offerings to an angel or a star to gain its favor. And this contravenes the truth in two ways. First, because there is nothing in our deeds which can cause any kind of satisfaction or distress whatsoever to any of the celestial entities, there being nothing whatsoever in common between our deeds and their natures. Second, because the energy or effluence emanated by them is limited. They cannot increase or diminish it in and of themselves but only in relation to the predisposition of the recipients, contrary to the view of the idolators, who see these changes as stemming from the emanators. And this is the reason for its being written here "Do not bow down to their gods" after the statement "Take heed of him and hearken to his word…" That is, after I have permitted you to hearken to the voice of this angel and to bow down to him in view of his distinctive exaltation over the other angels — the fact that my Name is within him — notwithstanding all this, I have told you that he will not forgive your sins, being only a deputy in My embassy — then what should be the case with the other angels, who are not on his level, and, certainly, with the hosts of heaven! Can you not understand from this that they have no power to do good or evil in themselves? That being the case, do not bow down to their gods and do not serve them, for no benefit will accrue to you from this as you might imagine.

https://www.sefaria.org/Darashos_HaRan.4.31

What does cause me wonder, however, is the Torah's explicit prohibition of witchcraft, a prohibition included in this parshah, viz. (Exodus 23:23): "and do not practice their deeds." There is no doubt that witchcraft is founded in truth, though the Rambam writes in the aforementioned chapter that it is a vain matter, containing no truth. This is contrary to the view expressed by our sages of blessed memory in many places. To cite one instance (Chullin 7b): "A certain woman tried to get some soil from beneath the feet of R. Chanina [in order to kill him through an incantation pronounced over the soil]. He said to her: 'Go and take it; it is written (Deuteronomy 4:35): "There is none else beside Him."'" The Gemara goes on to ask: "But did R. Yochanan not say: 'Why are they [practices of witchcraft] called keshafim? Because they deny the heavenly retinue…'!" And the answer is given: "R. Chanina is different, for he possessed great merit." It is quite clear from this that the sages regarded witchcraft and its effects as real and not as just imagined. According to what we have written, then, witchcraft should be permitted in respect to the predisposition of the recipient (it being obviously a vain thing in respect to the activation of an agent in the heavenly host). Why, then, did the Torah forbid it?

anulling mariages

a number of years ago I had a brief conversation with one of the sons in law of the leading opponent to the Kaminetsky Greenblatt heter and asked why the protests stopped when Rav Kaminetsky agrreed with Rav Dovif Feinstein that the Heter was garbage? He replied that the backlash was so severe that no one would dare do such an irresponsible thing again


I was recently informed that Rav Greenblatt is currently working on a number of new cases which are equally shaky   - but there are still no protests.

he obviously thinks that he wont be criticized again !     -