CNN's selective problem with who did what

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/369963

According toCNN International, while Israelis shoot and kill Palestinians, Israeli cars “receive” bullets and the occupants die in a “crash.” That is how, at least, two separate incidents were described during a single segment on Isa Soares Tonight on April 10.

Greene defends accused Ukraine documents leaker

 https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3949488-greene-defends-accused-ukraine-documents-leaker/

“Jake Teixeira is white, male, christian, and antiwar. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime,” Greene said on Twitter.

Greek crowds attack Israeli fans, players in Athens Basketball game

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1ytctvg2#autoplay

Israeli basketball players and their fans came under attack from Greek crowds in Athens during the FIBA Champions League quarterfinal series in Athens on Wednesday, burning the Israeli flag and throwing firecrackers onto the court, and hurling rocks at the Israeli fans in the stands. 

Tennessee Democrats see a ‘once in a lifetime’ shot at relevance

 https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/12/tennessee-democrats-justin-jones-pearson-00091631

While Republicans intended their ouster of two progressive lawmakers last week to be a punishment, the move has turned into one of the Democratic Party’s best chances in years to boost their organization in the South. Democrats are dreaming up ways to claw back some power from the GOP, fueled by an influx of out-of-state dollars and new commitments from Tennesseans to get involved with politics.

Gun deaths among children are soaring

 https://www.axios.com/2023/04/10/gun-deaths-among-children-are-soaring

While the majority of adult gun deaths are by suicide, children and teens killed by gunfire are more likely to die by homicide (60%).

Resurrection with clothing

 Sanhedrin (90b)  Queen Cleopatra asked R. Meir, ‘I know that the dead will revive, for it is written, And the righteous] shall in the distant future blossom forth out of Jerusalem like the grass of the earth. But when they arise, shall they arise nude or in their garments?’ He replied, ‘Thou mayest deduce by an a fortiori argument the answer from a wheat grain: if a grain of wheat, which is buried naked, sprouteth forth in many robes, how much more so the righteous, who are buried in their raiment!’

Justin Jones, one of the two expelled Tennessee lawmakers, reinstated by Nashville council

 https://nypost.com/2023/04/10/justin-jones-one-of-the-two-expelled-tennessee-lawmakers-reinstated-by-nashville-council/

The Nashville Metro Council on Monday unanimously voted in favor of reinstating Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones back into office just days after he was ousted for calling for gun reform on the chamber floor. 

Jones, 27, was one of the two black Democratic lawmakers expelled by the Republican-controlled Tennessee General Assembly after a gun control protest on the House floor after a deadly school shooting. 

Fox News Pundit Admits ‘We Have to Talk About Guns’ After Louisville Massacre

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-pundit-admits-we-have-to-talk-about-guns-after-louisville-shooting?ref=home

After yet another mass shooting featuring an assault-style weapon, Fox News contributor Ted Williams told the conservative channel’s audience that “we have to talk about guns” because AR-15s “are killing our babies.”

He continued: “Just two weeks ago, I stood in front of a camera—when you had some kids, some babies, shot in Nashville, Tennessee—where a person that had an AR-15! And from what we have been told here, Neil, this individual had that same kind of a weapon.”

Resurrection - Why not explicit in Torah?

 Rabbeinu Bachya (Devarim 32:43)  There are many people who are wondering why such an important concept as that of the resurrection has not been spelled out in the written Torah in detail. Seeing that the Torah has spelled out in detail many less important concepts, sometimes repeating them several times, the failure to spell out the concept of resurrection of the dead is considered especially puzzling. The fact is that Torah addresses first and foremost terrestrial matters of concern to us. 

Rabbeinu Bachya (Devarim 32:43) The life of disembodied souls in the celestial regions while awaiting the resurrection, has similarly been alluded to only in the vaguest manner. The average reader may not even notice these allusions whereas the elite may notice their significance. The truth is that the written Torah was given to and for the multitude who do not concern themselves overly with abstract matters, matters of interest primarily to the intellect rather than to the senses.

Nashville council to vote on restoring expelled Tennessee lawmaker Rep. Justin Jones

 https://nypost.com/2023/04/10/nashville-council-to-vote-on-restoring-expelled-tennessee-lawmaker-rep-justin-jones/

Many council members have publicly commented that they want to send Jones back to the statehouse. The vote will happen as state lawmakers hold their first floor sessions since last week’s expulsion votes.

Expelled Memphis Rep. Justin Pearson, meanwhile, could be reappointed at a Wednesday meeting of the Shelby County Commission.

“Thank G‑d I have no need for knowledge about child abuse!” – the mitzva to use seichal

I was recently asked by a young talmid chachom what I had published recently. He told me that he regularly utilizes my seforim -  Yad Moshe and Yad Yisroel and has thoroughly studied the sources in Daas Torah and had found them useful sources of necessary information. When I said that I had just published three volumes on the issue of child abuse  he responded, “Thank G‑d I have no need for knowledge about child abuse for my children!”

This was a disturbing assertion but one which is fairly common in our community. He was saying that child abuse is something that happens to others and that since his children weren’t molested and not likely to be – he didn’t want to hear about the topic. He was also implying that child abuse was not common and therefore he didn’t have to worry about guarding against it or being concerned that someone he knew – was a victim of chid abuse or was an abuser.

The Chofetz Chaim made a similar observation about the common attitude towards misfortune and death. He said people viewed tragedies as something which only happened to those who belong to an exclusive group – the sufferers/mourners. It wasn’t of concern or relevance to the average person since he obviously didn’t belong to the group. Therefore there was no need to prepare or even think about such things. 

The issue boils down to the following claim, “What is the problem with acting with great faith (bitachon) and not worrying about unpleasant events? Don’t we have a principle – ‘Don’t open your mouth to Satan?’ If we don’t talk about negative things – aren’t they less likely to happen?

In reply to this claim we might point out that in reality abuse is not a rare event in our community. Furthermore awareness is needed to protect one’s children against abuse or rescue them from a molester. But in addition to these issues of reality, there is also a major religious principle being violated here. Avoiding and not seeking out necessary information is itself a sin and the nullification of the G‑d given qualities which distinguishes man from animals. Our Sages tell us that it is a sin not to use one’s seichal and that one ends up with needless suffering as a result.

When Bilam was criticized by the angel after beating his donkey for not obeying him  - he stated, “I have sinned because I didn’t know (Bamidbar 22:34). The Sefer Chasidim, Shaloh, Netziv and others note that Bilam had not intentionally ignored the angel. He simply had other things on his mind and hadn’t thought about why his donkey was refusing to move forward. As the Shaloh asks, we have a principle that one is not accountable for events that are beyond our control – or done without intention – so why was this a sin?

The Shaloh (Parshas Balak Derech Chaim #21 and elsewhere) answers that a person is held accountable for events that he could have anticipated and didn’t. His reaction to his donkey should have been, “My donkey never betrayed me – what is the reason for his resistance?” The Shaloh states that a person has an absolute obligation to seek out information and analyze events to prevent harm and sin (Adam Mo'ad L'Olam Bava Kamma 26a). He is liable for that which he could have known and didn't try to find out or understand.. The commentaries to Berachos (33a) and Sanhedrin (92a) state that the essence of man is his intelligence and ability to anticipate the future. Failure to do so, not only is harmful but actually nullifies the G‑d given qualities of the essence of being man – his mind. Consequently the gemora (Sanhedrin 92) notes that it is prohibited to show mercy to one who doesn’t use his seichal, it is prohibited even to give him food and finally that the Jews were sent into exile because they didn’t use their seichal.

Being a Jew demands the full use of seichal!

We've come a long way - It is now commonplace to criticize rabbis for failure to deal with abuse

Not too long ago - only about three years - when I was contemplating publishing my books on child abuse, I was advised by rabbis, friends and family that it was suicidal. There were two major reasons given. 1) "We don't talk about abuse." Stores told me they would not sell any book that had the word abuse in its title or used the word "sex" in it. Someone who had initially offered support for the book, withdrew it when he saw that I actually explicitly discussed sexual abuse in the book. 2) "You can't criticize rabbis for failure to deal with the issue." Or rather I was told I can't make the claim that rabbis were not following halacha - it was viewed as an oxymoron. Obviously rabbis follow halacha because that is what rabbis do - at least Chareidi rabbis.

In fact I was told that I was going to be put into cherem and that nobody would sell the book or buy it. Rav Sternbuch, however, was insistent that the issue of child abuse needed to be dealt with and he urged the publication of the book.

Fast forward to the present. In the past week I have had the following encounters. 1) After kayaking on the Jordan River - someone gave me a seat on the overcrowded bus returning us to the parking lot. In the ensuring conversation, I discovered that he had a kollel for Choshen Mishpat. I mentioned that I was dealing with child abuse and C.M. 388. He responded that the rabbis either didn't know halacha or were grossly misapplying it in regards to abusers. Furthermore he had quit a good teaching job at a yeshiva because of his disgust with the school's failure to deal properly with child abuse. Thus after a few minutes of first meeting another Chareidi Jew we were openly discussing the problem of abuse and the failure of rabbis to follow the halacha. 2) I had a long talk with a relative who is a solid talmid chachom learning in Kollel. He is a very strict about lashon harah, respecting rabbinical authority and is strongly against Internet, smart phones and believes in Daas Torah and only reads the Yated. Yet he readily acknowledged that he personally knew cases of abuse that were mishandled by rabbonim and is fully aware of the cowardice of poskim in  dealing with the issue of mesira and calling the police. He also expressed surprise that I thought that any rabbi would apologize for making a serious mistake. 3) Today I met a very well known Yerushalmi posek and rav that I haven't seen for years. He remembered who I was and asked me what I was working on. When I responded, "Child abuse" - he readily expressed strong approval. When I told him my biggest problem was that the rabbonim don't follow the halacha - this well known exemplar of the rabbinic establishment's immediate response was , "I can tell you some really good stories about that." There was no hesitation, no defensiveness. It was simply an obvious fact - such as the sun rises in the morning or objects fall when dropped.

Theology and therapy

 I was once consulted by a young lady who had been molested by some frum boys when she was ten. She concealed the event from her parents and became increasingly withdrawn and depressed. As a teenager she tried committing suicide. Had a mental breakdown. Was hospitalized in a mental hospital for several years. Now at the age of 20, she seemed fully recovered, cheerful and productive.

My question to her was, now that it is over why are you coming to me? She replied that she has learned to deal with the horrible memories, the pain and degradation. She has learned to let go of feelings of revenge. She has a single problem left. She had asked a single question to all the rabbis she has consulted, “Why did G-d do this to me?” They all replied with some version of, “G-d always does what is best and for reasons beyond our comprehension felt that you had to be raped.” She said simply, “I can’t accept that G-d is so cruel!” My response was that these rabbis were wrong. That they were providing her with one legitimate view of theology i.e., that all that happens is caused by G-d. But there is an alternative view – that of all the Rishonim.

This view says that one man can harm another man – even though G-d doesn’t want it to happen. This is the view not only of Rishonim but is that expressed in Michtav M’Eliyahu, the Netziv citing the Zohar, it is also the view of the Maharal. Thus I told her, G-d did not want it to happen but He gives free-will to man, He does not stop man from acting. You have suffered greatly but will be compensated in the World to Come. She replied that she could live with such an understanding of G-d, while the other view was totally unacceptable. However other victims receive greater consolation from the original answer. One needs to be sensitive to individual differences.

R' Zwiebel & history of inaction against child abuse

I recently responded here and here to Rabbi Zwiebel's statement in the May 2012 interview that the bloggers made the issue of child abuse be taken seriously. Rabbi Zwiebel is an intelligent lawyer who is well aware of the significance of words. The interview was in a magazine where the interview was obviously reviewed and edited. So it was not a slip of the tongue that he made this comment. He also noted that he wasn't sure whether the price being paid for having these blogs (i.e., lashon harah and bitul zman) was worth the benefit of having abuse being taken seriously. As can be seen from the numerous citation that follow - the issue has been documented that gedolim have know there was problem for at least 28 years dealing with Kolko and Mondrowitz - so why was it necessary for the bloggers to make child abuse to be taken seriously? Bloggers have only dealt with the issue for about 7  years - starting in 2005 with UOJ and the Kolko case. I started blogging about abuse in 2007

Mondrowitz was 28 years ago. In 2003 there was a clear declaration from Torah U'Mesorah. In 2006 Meir Frischman - the director of Orthodox Camps provided guidelines for the camps . In 2007 Declaration of Baltimore Rabbis against abuse and acknowledging that Rabbis can't handle it properly. (In 2010 I interviewed one of the Baltimore rabbis responsible for the declaration and asked him why the declaration had produced no changes in dealing with abuse? He responded simply that the rabbis regretted having published the declaration - because every case needs to be decided by a gadol) However not until 2010 does Novominsker Rebbe publicly acknowledge problem at Aguda Convention

And even then no concrete changes proposed or instituted

As I document in my Child & Domestic Abuse books (also confirmed in recent law article by  Prof Resnicoff) the issue is not primarily a halachic issue but is a social one involving lack of resolve to deal with the problem or being more concerned with public image then the welfare of the victims. Public pressure is critical for rabbinic leaders to deal with the issue.

The following are from Child & Domestic Abuse vol I

2003 - Acknowledgement of Torah u'Mesora that there is a problem

At recent meetings of the Rabbinical Board of Torah U’Mesorah, attended by Rav Dovid Feinstein, Rav Yitzchok Feigelstock, Rav Aharon Feldman, Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky, Rav Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, Rav Avrohom Chaim Levin, Rav Yaakov Perlow and Rav Aaron Schechter, shlita, the following statement concerning a painful issue was issued:

We address ourselves to the problem of child molestation in our community. A small number of individuals have caused untold pain to many children, primarily varying in age from three to fourteen. In addition to the sins which they have committed, they have created painful memories in the minds of their victims, memories which can have a devastating lifetime impact.

It is incumbent upon everyone to use every means to stop these violations of children, including, at times, exposing the identities of the abusers and even their incarceration. At times, our primary intent may not be to punish the perpetrators, but rather to help them. Therefore it is preferable, wherever appropriate, to force them to undergo appropriate professional therapy.

Torah U’Mesorah is issuing a set of behavioral and reporting standards for principals to implement in their yeshivos and day schools, which, it is hoped, will strengthen the protection of students. It is well documented that molesters are rarely strangers to the child; they are usually relatives or neighbors – and in rare occasions, even teachers. They are able to act because they have the child’s confidence, and then, after the act, they usually threaten him or her with punishment if he or she reveals what has occurred or they shame their victims into keeping a secret.

It is important that parents advise children in an appropriate manner to beware of potential molesters. Children must be told to advise their parents of any abusive behavior, and assured that they will suffer no consequences if they do so. We encourage rabbanim throughout our communities to address this issue, which, in itself, will serve as a deterrent to potential abusers. Rabbanim must also help and support anyone who has fallen victim to abuse, as well as refer them to seek professional help from frum private practitioners and/or organizations in their community. It goes without saying that rabbanim should take precautions that accusations are not made maliciously or without basis.

2008 Claims ignorance of severity and magnitude of problem until recently. Acknowledges problems in correctly handling abuse cases.

Rabbi David Zweibel executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America The Jewish Daily, October 10, 2008

“Until not terribly long ago, the issue was very much in the shadows,” said David Zwiebel, director of government affairs and general counsel of Agudath Israel of America. “The fact that there were isolated reports here and there of cases arising in yeshiva settings, it was known, but they were very isolated.”

“Sometimes they were dealt with correctly and sometimes incorrectly,” Zwiebel added, “but the severity of the problem and the possible magnitude were really things that most people, including myself, just didn’t understand.”

Bloggers legitimately target the Aguda over child abuse

 Rabbi David Zweibel executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America (Jewish Star November 12, 2008):

“[Sexual abuse] is an issue which has come out of the closet in a certain sense and is engaging the attention of our community and its leadership and that’s ultimately a good thing. That’s why it’s hard for me to be totally annoyed with some of the excesses of the blog world. Their outrage, anger, and sometimes excessive advocacy and negativity towards the establishment, it’s a terrible thing, but at the same time, I know that their hearts are in the right place and it is stuff to be very upset about. Is Agudah a fair target? I think we could always use a healthy dose of introspection and honest assessment of how well we as a society have performed in this area and lots of other areas.”

Community can't handle abuse - but D.A. should not be viewed as taking power from rabbis

New York Times (October 14, 2009 Orthodox Jews Rely More on Sex Abuse Prosecution By Paul Vitello):

David Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America, a group representing many chareidi factions, offered the moderate view. “A broad consensus has emerged in the last few years,” he said, “that many of these issues are beyond the ability of the community to handle internally.”

But he added that prosecutors should recognize “religious sensitivities” by seeking alternatives to prison, to avoid depriving a family of its breadwinner, or by finding appropriate Orthodox homes for children removed from abusive families.

“The district attorney should be careful not to be seen as making a power grab from rabbinic authority,” Mr. Zwiebel said.

 Financial well being of yeshivos take precedent over victims

New York (April 2009) - Agudath Israel of America and Torah U’Mesorah –

 The National Society for Hebrew Day Schools, upon consultation with their respective rabbinic leaderships, respectfully submit this statement regarding legislative proposals to amend existing statutes of limitations for civil claims, including claims against schools and other communal institutions, based on allegations of child sexual abuse. We do so only after much serious thought, after weighing all relevant arguments and for the sole purpose of protecting the most fundamental interests of our community.

Agudath Israel and Torah U’Mesorah fully acknowledge the horror of child sexual abuse and the devastating long-term scars it all too often creates. Our rabbinic and lay leaderships are acutely aware of the emotional trauma and damage caused by the perpetrators of such abuse. Our hearts go out to their victims, and we share in their pain. We realize that for too long many victims have suffered alone. We are committed as a community to do whatever we can to root out perpetrators of child abuse from our schools and other communal institutions, and to help victims on the road to healing and recovery.

Indeed, in recent years, as awareness has increased and sensitivity has been heightened regarding the incidence of sexual abuse and its severity, both in the broader society around us and in our community specifically, Agudath Israel and Torah U’Mesorah have taken a number of concrete steps to help ensure that Jewish schools, extra-curricular youth programs and summer camps implement policies and procedures designed to protect children against such abuse. Our organizations have also supported legislative efforts to furnish such protection, including the recently enacted legislation in New York authorizing nonpublic schools to screen all prospective employees through the state’s fingerprint checking system. [...]

Stated simply, legislation that would do away with the statute of limitations completely, even if only for a one-year period, could subject schools and other vital institutions to ancient claims and capricious litigation, and place their very existence in severe jeopardy. Agudath Israel and Torah U’Mesorah most vigorously oppose any such legislation.

We must continue to seek out ways to protect our precious children and help eradicate molestation and other forms of abuse. We must also redouble our efforts to help those who have suffered the horrors of child abuse obtain the healing they so desperately need. However, we dare not bring down our most vital communal institutions in the process.