An Unsuccessful Defense of the Beit Din of Rabbi Emanuel Rackman: The Tears of The Oppressed by Aviad Hacohen

 https://www.torahmusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2005/08/4_2_Broyde.pdf

The Tears of the Oppressed was introduced at a press conference on October 22, 2004 as a solution to the agunah problem. It proposes that the doctrine of kiddushei ta`ut* (error in the creation of marriage) be expanded to include blemishes that arose after the marriage was entered into and that this doctrine then be used by rabbinical courts to solve the modern agunah problems related to recalcitrance. This review essay demonstrates that such an expansion is supported neither by Jewish law sources nor by the responsa cited in the book itself. This review essay also addresses the procedural pitfalls of the book as well as its impact on marriage theory, and explores other solutions to the agunah problems.

In 1997, Rabbi Emanuel Rackman and a small group of rabbis who were not widely recognized as rabbinic decisors (poseqim)1 formed a beit din (rabbinical court) that claimed to be freeing agunot2 without requiring that a get be given by the husband to the wife; this beit din is now called “The Rabbi Emanuel Rackman—Agunah International Beit Din L’Inyanei Agunot.”3 A great many rabbis denounced this beit din, which was defended in a text advertisement placed in the New York Jewish Week by Agunah International.4 Nearly no Orthodox rabbis accept the pronouncements of this beit din as valid; one of the consistent criticisms of this court over the last seven years has been the absence of a serious scholarly work to demonstrate that the theoretical legal underpinnings of the mechanisms employed by the bet din are consistent with generally accepted halakhic

Grappling With the Problem of Agunot, Flaws in the Proposal of Rabbi Emanuel Rackman

https://www.sefaria.org/Gray_Matter_I%2C_Grappling_With_the_Problem_of_Agunot%2C_Flaws_in_the_Proposal_of_Rabbi_Emanuel_Rackman.1?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

Even if Rabbi Rackman's idea were acceptable in theory, its implementation contains a significant practical problem. It is often very difficult to formally produce incontrovertible evidence that someone physically abused his spouse (see Rama, E.H. 154:3). Proving that someone had an abuser personality is even more difficult, if not impossible. Similarly, it is exceedingly difficult to prove that one who denies his wife a get had a sadistic personality at the time of marriage. At the very least, the dayanim must see psychological records documenting these tendencies from before the marriage. In Rav Moshe's responsa regarding impotent and institutionalized husbands, official medical records proved the women's claims. On the other hand, The Jerusalem Report (August 3, 1998) disclosed that Rabbi Moses Morgenstern issues his rulings merely based on the woman's word, undoubtedly an unacceptable practice.3See, for example, Teshuvot Noda Biy'hudah (vol. 1, E.H. 54), cited in Pitchei Teshuvah (E.H. 157:9). Rabbis can rarely obtain private medical files in today's litigious society, for doctors do not generally release these records to clergy with the same ease that they may have done in Rav Moshe's time.

Why Not Give New Ideas a Fair Chance?

https://www.rabbirackman.com/why-not-give-new-ideas-a-fair-chance/

I repeat I do not know which is the better way. However, to give sanction to only one way, and to prohibit the other, is to add another divisive factor to Jewish life. And will there be no end to the issues that divide us? Or do the rabbis creating the issurim really crave divisiveness so that there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind as to who are the real guardians of the tradition? I prefer my father’s way to give a new idea that is clearly not prohibited a chance to prove itself before it is rejected.

The One Time Trump Couldn’t Lie His Way Out of a Crisis

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/07/22/donald-trump-covid-panic-february-2020-00047177 

Trump had known for a while that COVID-19 was poised to spark a pandemic unlike the globe had seen in a hundred years. After he and other top aides, among them Mike Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, initially downplayed warnings coming from elsewhere in the administration — including from national security aide Matt Pottinger and trade adviser Peter Navarro — the president had grown convinced of the danger posed by what he often dubbed “the plague.” He confided in the journalist Bob Woodward as far back as February 7 that he knew the virus was deadly.

But publicly, Trump lied.

Trump looked surprised when his supporters loudly booed him at an Arizona rally over his Congress endorsement

 https://news.yahoo.com/trump-looked-surprised-supporters-loudly-091108526.html

• Trump was booed by supporters at an Arizona rally after mentioning his endorsement of Congressional candidate Eli Crane.

• Trump appeared bewildered by the booing and asked: "But you like me, right?"

Bubby didn't eat bugs

 https://ohr.edu/this_week/insights_into_halacha/5032

Rav Moshe Feinstein[7] zt"l was asked near the end of his life about prohibiting a certain type of fruit due to a possible insect issue. Rav Moshe responded that it may not be publicized that this fruit is prohibited; as aside for the fact that there were lenient opinions to rely upon (in that specific situation), "it is prohibited to spread rumors about earlier generations, who could not have possibly been stringent on these issues, as they were unaware of them".

“Jill Biden makes stunning admission after” President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19. - fake news

 https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/jul/22/facebook-posts/jill-biden-did-not-make-stunning-admission-said-pr/

The supposed admission comes up about two and a half minutes into the video. Spoiler alert: She didn't say anything unusual, unexpected, shocking or, in the post’s parlance, stunning.

Republican Jews call on GOP candidate for PA governor to stop using Gab

 https://www.jpost.com/bds-threat/article-712842

Doug Mastriano has 38,000 followers on Gab, a self-proclaimed “free speech” platform that hosts content prohibited on more mainstream sites.

“Here are the facts: Doug Mastriano is recruiting extremists on Gab, the same social media platform that empowered the Tree of Life killer to murder 11 Jewish people in a Pittsburgh synagogue,” Shapiro posted to social media Friday, a day after an array of politicians and community leaders held a press conference in Pittsburgh to denounce Mastriano’s Gab usage. “This is far from normal, and cannot be accepted as such. He is dangerous.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls D.C. Jail Section Holding Jan. 6 Rioters 'Patriot Wing'

 https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-calls-dc-jail-section-holding-jan-6-rioters-patriot-wing-1646323

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene dubbed the section of the Washington, D.C., jail holding dozens of individuals arrested in connection with the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol the "Patriot Wing" after a visit this week.

Greene, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, has become an outspoken defender of the rioters who violently assaulted the Capitol in an effort to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory. The Georgia Republican has claimed that those involved in the attack who remain jailed are being abused. She has also suggested that the violent attack was in line with the Declaration of Independence.

Tucker Carlson: Why are Jan. 6 protesters still in jail while murderers walk free? - nonsense from Carlson

 https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-jan-6-protesters-jailed-murderers-walk-free

A mob of older people from unfashionable zip codes somehow made it all the way to Washington, D.C., probably by bus. They wandered freely through the Capitol, like it was their building or something. They didn’t have guns, but a lot of them had extremely dangerous ideas. They talked about the Constitution, and something called "their rights." Some of them made openly seditious claims. They insisted, for example, that the last election was not entirely fair. The whole thing was terrifying. And then, as you’ve been told so often, they committed unspeakable violence. By the time thousands of soldiers arrived to restore order, an unarmed woman, an Air Force veteran, lay dead. To this day, that woman is the one completely verified casualty of the insurrection, the only person whose death we can say definitively was caused by specific events on January 6th. We know how she died.

Bannon found guilty

"Justice For J6" Says They're Rallying For Nonviolent Offenders. Most Alleged Capitol Rioters In Jail Are Charged With Violent Crimes.

 https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetillman/insurrection-defendants-jail-rally-political-prisoners

Organizers of this weekend’s “Justice for J6” rally say the event is meant to support “nonviolent offenders,” but the majority of defendants held in jail in connection with insurrection are charged with assaulting police or other violent crimes.

Of the more than 600 alleged Capitol rioters arrested to date, 71 were in jail as of Sept. 17. The narrative that defendants ordered to stay behind bars while their cases are pending are “political prisoners” has become a rallying cry among conservatives who backed former president Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” movement. On Saturday, Trump supporters are expected to participate in a demonstration pitched as showing support for those charged with storming the Capitol and temporarily stopping Congress from certifying the results of the election.

Trump ‘100% Committed Crimes’: Evidence Moves From Speech ‘Incitement’ To Wider MAGA Conspiracy

Jan. 6 hearing dominates top TV networks — except one

 https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-sean-hannity-television-donald-trump-609dcc5bc158308d7bc633ad52462f3d

America’s top television networks on Thursday turned prime time over to a gripping account of former President Donald Trump’s actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol — with one prominent exception.

The top-rated news network, Fox News Channel, stuck with its own lineup of commentators. Sean Hannity denounced the “show trial” elsewhere on TV just as he was featured in it, with the House’s Jan. 6 committee examining his tweets to Trump administration figures.