https://time.com/6313452/impeachment-experts-biden-inquiry-weakest-us-history/
“This is supposed to be the most extreme sanction in American politics, and if you reach for it every time you think it'll help you in the polls, I fear it will become degraded,” Bobbitt says. “It just becomes one more very divisive, poisonous event in a Congress that is already deeply divided and alienated."
https://www.factcheck.org/2023/09/factchecking-mccarthys-impeachment-inquiry-claims/
“The time for impeachment is the time when there’s evidence linking President Biden, if there’s evidence linking President Biden, to a high crime or misdemeanor,” Republican Rep. Ken Buck said on MSNBC on Sept. 10. “That doesn’t exist right now.”
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s100zdfjkp
In just over a year, Israel's population is expected to reach 10 million residents. On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, Israel's population is estimated at 9,795,000 people and, according to the report from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), published on Tuesday, the population is projected to reach 10 million residents by the end of 2024.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHL5PN6Q?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
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Introduction 18
Dedication 19
The impact of the Daas Torah Blog 20
A person should always strive to be like others - Me'urav im habrios? 21
Abuse: If your child reports being abused - What would you do? 22
Abuse:Children are valid witnesses I 23
Abuse:Does a victim have to forgive abuser if he asks three times? 24
Abuse:Emotional abuse - Embarrassing with strong praise? 26
Abuse:Emotional abuse in Jewish sources: Reish Lakish 27
Abuse:Emotional abuse produces overly fragile children? 28
Abuse:Frum halachic concerns about abuse 29
Abuse:Verbal abuse is prohibited only if the person is helpless 30
Abuse:Verbal abusers mistakenly feel superior to Jewish victim - Alshech 32
Agada & Kabbala - learning things beyond comprehension 34
Agada must be accepted as true? 35
Age of the Universe 37
Aguna - What happens to celebrity media star liars when the truth comes out? 38
Altering Torah laws when they become a problem 39
Angels: Belief in Angels is required 40
Angels:Conscious beings with free will 41
Angels:Fallen 42
Angels:Free will and punishment 43
Angels:judge and kill 44
Angels:Natural forces 45
Angels:Not always intermediaries 46
Angels:Rav Tzadok 47
Angels:Worshipping angels is prohibited 48
Angels:Praying to Angels? 49
Ascertaining Ratzon HaShem: How do we know what G-d wants us to do? 50
Assisted martyrdom:Desirable or is it murder? 51
Astrology: Stars are intelligent beings 52
Astrology:Effort is worthless against mazel ! 53
Astrology:Jews - Meiri 54
Astrology:Jews not absolutely determined by Mazel 55
Astrology:Mazel is changed by G-d 56
Astrology:Stars are conscious beings? 57
Authority:Accepting G-d's authority is difficult for Jews 58
Authority:An Amora had the potential right to disagree with a Tanna 59
Authority:Chazal because of their superior knowledge of truth. 60
Authority:Gedolim Because they are accepted - not because of their knowledge 61
Authority:Making up sources 62
Authority:Midgets standing on giants 63
Authority:Obeying Rabbinic authority even when they are wrong? 64
Authority:Obligation to accept everything said by the tzadik of the generation 65
Authority:Psak is different for post-Talmudic authorites who lack ruach hakodesh 66
Authority:Rabbinic authority today? 67
Authority:Scientific statements of our Sages 68
Authority:Shmuel in his generation is like Yiftach in his generation 69
Authority:Shulchan Aruch is the default view only when Achronim are deadlocked 71
Authority:Words of our Sages are from G-d 72
Avraham and his descendants were punished 73
Avraham as source of magic 74
Banning a posek who errs and tells a married woman she can marry another man - Does it matter if the facts presented to the posek are not true? 75
Bar Kochbar - most doubted that he was Messiah 76
Bein adam l'chavero sins - only if done to hurt & vanquish the other 77
Belief that a Rebbe is like an angel and Emunas Chochomim 78
Believability 79
Beracha "Didn't make me a woman" - Magen Avraham 80
Best not to study Hashkofah but to have simple faith 81
Between a rock and a hard place 82
Bitachon 83
Blessing of Tzadikim 84
Brain Death - Rav Shabtsai Rappaport reports his discussion with his grandfather Rav Moshe Feinstein 85
Breslover Joke from Rav Yaakov Meir Schechter 86
Brothers and Sisters in Silver Spring - Wake up! It is deal time for Tamar and you are messing it up big time 87
Calling police for Jewish owned house of prostitution 88
Capital punishment:Rav Moshe Feinstein & Maharam Shick 89
Challenges are good or to be avoided? 91
Chanifa:Acting differently than what you feel is viewed by Chazal as a serious sin - So why do they require being me'urav im habrios (acting like everyone else) even while your true thoughts and feelings are never revealed? 92
Chanifa:Why flattering the rich is not only permitted but required 93
Chareidim and the reality of propaganda 94
Charity given with wife's assistance - still considered giving secretly/ Heter of Chazon Ish to speak lashon harah to wife 95
Chasam Sofer:Ruach Hakodesh of poslkim - is not binding authority 96
Chasam Sofer:Seek truth - don't be concerned to please others and win their approval 97
Chasam Sofer: Women superior to men? 98
Chasam Sofer:Explanations need to agree with scientific reality 99
Chazal believed in existence of demons and evil eye 100
Chazal have disputes only on correct viewpoint - all they say is true 101
Chazon Ish: Ruach Hakodesh is intellect joined with the Divine 102
Chazon Ish: True moderation can only be achieved as failure to achieve perfection 103
Child abuse:Bringing out the crazies 104
Child's education vs honoring father? 105
Chofetz Chaim:Chazon Ish & Rav Kook 106
Chofetz Chaim:Disagrees with Rabbeinu Yona about lashon harah said in public 107
Chofetz Chaim:Disapproved of the Netziv's criticism of the delegitimzing of religious maskilim and religious Zionists 108
Chofetz Chaim:Speaking lashon harah when angry at assailant? 109
Christianity:Avoiding 111
Commonsense is subordinate to Tradition 112
Commonsense morality and empathy can be corrupted by religion and theology 113
Consequences of religious anti-intellectualism 115
Contradiction between new 9th vol of Igros Moshe & older volumes regarding Magen Avraham & Shema 116
Conversion - Why Minor Mitzvos dissuade conversion 117
Conversion can be declared invalid 118
Conversion of intermarried couples is very problematic 120
Corporal Punishment & Gedolim 121
Corporality: Rambam's inconsistent views 122
Daas Torah A layman can never ever criticize a Rabbi. Even it causes some to sin 124
Daas Torah first failure 125
Daas Torah means not only total obedience but an inability to judge gedolim 126
Daas Torah: Divrei Chaim claimed heretic mislead gedolim to write that they agreed with him 127
Daas Torah:Ramchal - knowledge obtained through ruach hakodesh is infallible 128
Daas Torah:Wife disagreed with Daas Torah 129
Dan l'chaf zechus - What is the obligation to judge favorably? 130
Dangerous times - G-d's anger 132
Dangers of losing grasp of G-d's personality is worse than dangers of corporality 133
Dating:Don't play house: Rav Moshe's advice for shidduchim 134
Dating:Social Dating 135
Daughters inheriting: Forcing the involvement of secular courts instead of beis din 136
Dedication Hebrew Yad Yisroel 137
Dedication of Child Abuse Book to Mrs. Judy Young A”H 138
Demons 139
Demons:Abaye banished demons 140
Demons:Beis Mamikdash and demons 141
Demons:Going out alone at night is prohibited today because of demons? 143
Demons:Kotzer Rambam's psak eliminated demons 144
Demons:Nonsense 145
Demons:Rav Tzadok 146
Demons:Three weeks are period of danger from demons 147
Destroying Television to Stop Sin? 148
Disagreements are bad in Torah study? 149
Divine Providence 150
Divorce Tragedies - Letter to Jewish Press 151
Divorce:Who gets custody of Kids? 152
Divorcee covering head 153
Doctors:Are only a minhag 154
Doctors:Obligation to use 155
Does effort in observing tznius guarantee parnasa? 156
Does sending girls to collect charity violate "the honor of the princess is to stay inside" 157
Don't ask a rebbe for secular advise 159
Drinking water at night? 160
Dybuk is mental illness 161
Education interferes with faith 162
Education not to be a fool - "A fool is one who believes everything" Mishlei 14:15) 163
Eilu v' Eilu: No disputes in the Talmud, Agada or Kabbala - 166
Eliyahu - who was he? 167
Empathy deficit and Torah 168
Eve was the mother of life because she brought death into the world 169
Evil Eye 170
Evil Eye - concern? 171
Evil Eye endangers Windfalls 172
Evil Eye: Rabbis can damage with evil eye 173
Evil has power -Ramchal 174
Exile from Spain;Abarbanel caused exile from Spain? 175
Expert's evaluation is like a beis din & witnesses 176
Failed Messiah blinded by his hatred for Chareidim - becomes incoherent when contradicted by facts 177
Failure of rabbinical leadership to see the consequences of their actions 178
Faith and philosophy 179
Falsely claiming to have ruach hakodesh is capital offence of being a false prophet 180
Father's sins atoned by son's suffering? 181
For the times they are a-changin' 182
Forced to sin? 183
Forgiveness of sins against G-d depend on being forgiven for sins against man? 184
Free Will- even against Providence 185
Free Will:G-d's knowledge and free-will 186
Frum or Normal:Which is better? 187
Frum:Jews died in plague of Darkness because they were being frum 188
Gam zu ltova - comforting mourners 189
Gam zu l'tova? 190
G-d color of hair? 193
Gedolim:A British madrich asks: What are gedolim? 194
Gedolim:A gadol explains what a secret psak is and why it isn't taken seriously 195
Gedolim:Are fallible but woe to the person who points out teir errors 196
Gedolim:Are not infallible - and this should be obvious but unfortunately is not 198
Gedolim:Blemished Gedolim 199
Gedolim:Can a godol be evil? 200
Gedolim:Disagreeing with Gedolim 201
Gedolim:Even gedolim are required to keep the Torah 202
Gedolim:Mesorah versus gadol --- the authority of Chazon ish 203
Gedolim:Produce gedolim even if most students are destroyed. 204
Gedolim:Rabbi Akiva Eiger - like all gedolim - needed to make a mistake to show he was human 205
Gedolim:The sins of Gedolim - have their roots in Korach and his associates 206
Gedolim:When a Gadol is afraid to correct his mistaken Psak 207
Gedolim:Yiftach who was the godol hador - was an am haaretz 208
Geirim - Shidduchim Issues - Relationship with parents 209
Genetic disease: Checking for genetic disease 210
Get Forced: An apparent contradiction between Igros Moshe and Tendler's Mesoras Moshe 211
Get Forcing divorce on a mentally ill wife 213
Get: Forced Get –is it kosher bedieved? 214
Get:If a husband doesn't give a Get does he transgress Lifnei Ivair if his wife commits adultery? 215
Get:The sick reality of gittin today 216
Get:Withholding a Get is unjewish and evil "?! 217
Golden Calf reason for having children 223
Golden calf was an assistant G-d?! 224
Golden calf:There were 12 Golden Calves not one 225
Good Chanifa (chanufa) - the basis of personal mental health and a healthy society 226
Gra & Chassidus:Reason for dispute 228
Gra criticized Rambam regarding the supernatural 229
Gra: Scientific reality sometimes is used to decide between halachic views 230
Greater the person the greater his lust 231
Greatest Principle of the Torah - What is it? 234
Guma Aguiar lawyer's warning letter 235
Halacha: What is the halachic basis of EJF? 236
Halacha:Authority requires being committed to the Torah system 237
Halacha:By committee - Mishna Berura 238
Halacha:Innovation in halacha 239
Halacha:Majority rule in halacha 240
Halacha:Majority rule of halacha is not relevant in most cases 242
Halacha:Majority rules even if view is not factually true 243
Halacha:Problems are inherent when using mussar or agada as halacha 244
Halacha:Supercedes ethical principles /Chazon Ish 245
Halacha:The importance of accurately reporting the halacha 246
Halacha:Understanding Eliezer's process of identifying Yitzhok's wife 247
Harchakas of Rabbeinu Tam don’t make get me’usa 248
Harm of Talking a lot with one's Wife 252
Heretic:Denies the Mishna Berura and other major seforim were written with ruach hakodesh 253
Heretics:Answering heretics 254
Heretics:Learning from a heretic is prohibited - even though R' Meir did it 256
Heretics:Rambam - how could he learn from heretics? 257
His'orrus (stimulation) vs. Transformation - Kelm Mussar 258
Hitting kids is wrong because it causes emotional damage?! 259
Holiness is not asceticism 260
Halacha that a woman should stay in house? 261
Holy people transcend and can change Nature 262
Homosexuality - view of Rav Moshe Feinstein 263
Homosexuality:Caring for the Sinner 264
Honoring parents when a parent acts like a child 265
How Debbie Gross "saved" me from being abused physically and emotionally at her Convention dealing with abuse and violence in the religious community 266
How to have enemies suffer Divine punishment instead of you. 268
Idolatry: Principal purpose of Torah is destruction of idolatry 269
Idolatry: Support for Rambam's view of sacrifices? 270
Idolatry: The Temple and its mitvos mirrored idolatry 271
Idolatry:An attempt to concretise abstact religious belief 272
Idolatry:Changing 273
Idolatry:Mitzvos deal with people as they are to erase idolatry 274
Idolatry:Sacrifices were commanded to wean the Jews from idolatry 276
Idolatry:Shituf 278
Ignorance of pious people about sexual issues is problematic Rav Yitzchok Scher 279
Secular knowledge:Ignorance is Chillul haShem 280
Image of elokim - creation of man Chizkuni 281
Importance of having a Rebbe 282
Incest: Yichud of brothers & sisters 283
Independent opinion in the matter of Kabbalah is folly and the cause of great harm. 284
Informing on tax cheats 285
Internet Filtering: The false sense of security 286
Internet:Fighting the Internet - no holds barred & any twisting of truth is permitted! 287
Introduction to my new book on the Jewish understanding of marriage and gender issues 288
Is a person tested with a task beyond his ability? Two opposing views 289
Issues that people have a lust for leniences such as birth control are not to be presented to the masses 291
Jew: Can a Jew lose his status as Jew? 293
Jewish Calculus of Suffering:Stop sin or suffering? 294
Jews Were a primitive and uncultured people 295
Jews:In Egypt did not keep Torah & Mitzvos 296
Jews:Less likely to change from moral chastisement than goyim 297
Jews:Protected from assimilation by being despised and uncivilized 298
Kabbala is not for everyone - Rivash 299
Kabbala can increase sexual lust even amongst talmidei chochomim - Rav Tzadok 300
Kanoi a path in Avodas HaShem 301
Key to learning Torah is challenging Sages who are presumed to be correct 302
Kiddush HaShem:Mesiras nefesh which ignores consequences? 303
Kiruv for non-Jews with Jewish Identity II 304
Kiruv - Lying to make someone religious?! 305
Kollel:Leaving Kollel is dangerous 306
Kosher equivalents - why? 307
Kuzari principle and commonsense 308
Lashon harah: Not speaking lashon harah might be sinful 309
Lashon harah:About yourself? 310
Lashon harah:Chofetz Chaim permits for to'eles only when not motivated by hatred. 311
Lashon harah:Circumstantial evidence & lashon harah 312
Lashon harah:Defining Rechilus - Rambam vs Chofetz Chaim 313
Lashon harah:Informing his students or children of bad deeds of others 314
Lashon harah:Only prohibited when there is no benefit or to'eles 315
Lashon harah:Public knowledge is not lashon harah 317
Lashon harah:Sin of not saying lashon harah /Rav Ovadiah Yosef 318
Lashon harah:The nature of the prohibition of not accepting lashon harah 319
Leaders:Avoid justifying views with logical proofs or reasons 320
Leaders:Problematic leaders 321
Learning from a teacher who is not fit 322
Lesson of Pinchas: Leaders must protest evil! 323
Love neighbor as yourself 324
Loving another - only means their welfare 325
Lust and the nature of children 326
Magic is real - Ramban 327
Magic:Jews used to have magic beds 329
Malbim disappointed Rav Yisroel Salanter by neglecting halacha for Tanach in order to fight Haskala 330
Mamzer 331
Marriage:A man is more of a slave to his wife than she to him 332
Marriage:A man should love his wife just as he does his tefilin 333
Marriage:A woman's do it yourself guide to annulling marriage. 334
Marriage:Avoid Marriage if it results in Adultery 335
Marriage:Bad wife is desirable 336
Marriage:Chasan steps on Kallah's foot to be boss? 337
Marriage:Divorce 338
Marriage:Eishes chayil - the ideal wife? 340
Marriage:Every wife is to be ruled by her husband - Ben Yehoyada (Men 43b) 342
Marriage:Free will Rambam 343
Marriage:Good wife views her husband as her master - Menoras HaMe'or 344
Marriage:How Rav Aharon picked his son-in-law Rav Dov 345
Marriage:Incompatible with greatness 346
Marriage:Jealousy can only be removed by G-d 347
Marriage:Kiruv can be dangerous to marriage 348
Marriage:Love for wife is qualitatively no different than that of fellow man 349
Marriage:Maharal - BM (84a) discussing marital relations 350
Marriage:Man takes - Wife doesn't give herself 351
Marriage:Midos are the most important factor in choosing a wife? 352
Marriage:Misconceptions about marriage - a wife is not a shtender 354
Marriage:Misconceptions about marriage - asceticism is prime value 355
Marriage:Moshe why did he married Yisro daughter? 357
Marriage:Must husband be informed of wife's adultery Rav O. Yosef 358
Marriage:Must husband be informed of wife's adultery Tosfos Yom Tov 359
Marriage:Nullifying marriage with homosexual husband 360
Marriage:Pele Yo'etz 361
Marriage:Predestined? 363
Marriage:Rav Wolbe's advice to chasanim 364
Marriage:Rav Yaakov Kaminetsy's haskoma to R Travis's marriage manual 365
Marriage:Ropshitzer:Explaining shelo asani isha - to his wife 366
Marriage:Shalom bayis - wife's first obligation is respect of her husband - not her parents or children 367
Marriage:Subservience of wife was a punishment 368
Marriage:Taking care of senile ex- wife? 369
Marriage:Telling husband it is a mitzva to give Get/Sin not to 370
Marriage:Understanding Marriage through Divorce 371
Marriage:What is pritzus for wife - Different views 373
Marriage:What qualities to look for in a wife?" 374
Marriage:Wife is subordinate to her husband to the degree he is subordinate to G-d - Netziv 375
Marriage:Yibam (levirate marriage): A wife is considered as one of her husband's limbs like Eve was of Adam 376
Mazikim Erev Shabbos 377
Mechitza 378
Mechitza for how many women? 379
Meir Pogrow (founder of Master Torah program) has been determined to be a rasha by beis din and that it is prohibited for women to have any contact with him 380
Meir Pogrow: Learning Torah from morally disgusting individuals: The gag reflex 381
Meir Pogrow: Rav Chaim Malinowitz' response to the question of whether Pogrow's Torah shiurim should be removed 382
Meir Pogrow: Why wasn't he stopped by people who clearly knew he was a danger years ago? 383
Mendel Epstein - Gittin by torture trial: An urgent request for as many people as possible to attend the trial 384
Moderation is normally required but extremism is required in times of spiritual danger BK (60b) 385
Mordechai Tendler's "Mesores Moshe" - What is it? 386
Mother is main disciplinarian & should not show mercy when hitting kids 387
Mussar Movement as frum Haskalah 388
Mussar Movement did it fight Haskala by being a frum Haskala or by focusing on developing greater yiras shamayaim and character perfection? 389
Mussar Movement was haskala - a man-based vision to revive religion 390
Natural Childbirth 391
Need to apologize to maskilim who fought against hypocrisy 392
Netziv:Why Rikva couldn't communicate with Yitzchok 393
Not speaking to women 394
Obligation of loving gerim and not tormenting them 395
Occupation you like - only? 396
One who says This teaching is pleasant but this is not pleasant loses the fortune of Torah. 397
Order of protection in divorce cases 398
Original sin was to think woman equal to man - Chasam Sofer 399
Philosophy originated with the Jews - not the Greeks 401
Piety is primarily in motivation - not unique deeds 402
Pikuach Nefesh & mental health II 403
Pilpul without understanding text - stupifies 404
Pinchas was an angel 405
Powers of gemstones 406
Prayer -serving G-d 407
Proof of G-d's existence 408
Prophet can misunderstand his prophetic vision 409
Proselytizing is problematic - Aruch HaShulchan 410
Psychological Abuse - Identity & expectations/ Maharal 411
Psychologist's role in religious change - is there one? 412
Psychology:A Jewish therapist or a therapist who is Jewish 413
Psychology:Has it created an oversensitivity to torment or discovered it? 414
Psychology:How to explain Torah & Psychology to kiruv rabbis? 415
Psychology:Saving a suicidal gay man - by reconcilling him with his estranged lover? 416
Psychology:Torah Psychotherapy is learned from Torah or doesn't violate Torah? 417
Public challenge to any of Rav Shmuel Kaminetsky's supporters to defend his actions in a guest post! 419
Punishment of family is mida keneged mida 420
Purim and the Kaminetsky-Greenblatt Heter 421
R' Herzfeld's "heter" to publicly embarrass Aaron Friedman 422
Rabbeinu Tam's Shunning: Tzitz Eliezar & Rav Yosef 423
Rabbi Shmuel Goldin - president of the RCA - clarifies the RCA-Rav Belsky joint statement on child abuse. 424
Rabbinic divorce decisions need greater involvement of mental health professionals 425
Rabbinic infallibility: Examples of Rabbis apologizing for harmful mistakes 426
Rabbi's prime responsiblity is protecting people from harm 428
Rachel showed modesty by betraying Yaakov? 429
Raising children - curse or joy? 430
Rambam - does he agree with Ramban about sexual lust? 431
Rambam rejects Chazal because he was a rationalist 433
Ramban disagreeing with Chazal because of Zohar 434
Ramban's view of nature? 435
Rape - does G-d want someone to be raped? 437
Rashi indicates one's children are punished for not fighting molesters 438
Rationalstic and philosophical rabbis more negative to women than kabbalists or mystics 439
Rav Chaim Malinowitz: Rav Feldman is mistakenly transforming this outrage against the Torah into a mere dispute of poskim 440
Rav Chaim Malinowitz: Understanding suffering and revenge 441
Rav Dessler: Free-will & creation of Adam 442
Rav Dessler: Yeshiva should deny self-esteem to those not fully involved in Torah study 443
Rav Dessler:Failure of parents and teachers to hit children is producing Nazis and brazen people 444
Rav Eliashiv:Ma'os Alei - Get not required (1 174) 445
Rav Elya Ber Wachtfogel, shlita 446
Rav Ephraim Greenblatt:Interview from 1990 447
Rav Gestetner's letter regarding Tamar Epstein's heter to remarry without a Get 449
Rav Menashe Klein: How does calling an abuser a rodef - permit calling the police? 450
Rav Moshe Feinstein :A man is more of a slave to his wife than she to him 451
Rav Moshe Feinstein:Approches to psak 452
Rav Moshe Feinstein:Blessing the sun - and a child 453
Rav Moshe Feinstein:Honoring Conservative & Reform "Rabbis" with an aliyah? 454
Rav Moshe Feinstein:Medical screening and Bitachon 455
Rav Moshe Feinstein:The Obligation to Speak and to Act 457
Rav Moshe Feinstein:The statement found in Rashi (Menachos 43b) that a wife is a slave to her husband is nonsense 459
Rav Moshe Feinstein:Untrue story being circulated 460
Rav Moshe Feinstein:Validating conversion for non-observant gerim 461
Rav Moshe Shapiro: Meeting with Rav Moshe Shapiro 463
Rav Moshe Shapiro’s approach to kiruv and the month of Shevat by Rav Chaim Malinowitz 466
Rav Moshe Sternbuch - Authorized Translation 467
Rav Sternbuch's parsha sheet 468
Rav Moshe Sternbuch: Concerning the dreadful draft decree 469
Rav Moshe Tendler 470
Rav Noach Weinberg’s advice about my sefer Daas Torah 471
Rav Nosson Kaminetsky: Those who questioned the validity of the Chofetz Chaim's dibbuq 472
Rav Nota Greenblatt denounces those who claim they have secret poskim with secret reasoning 473
Rav Ovadiya Yosef: Forcing husband to divorce moredes 474
Rav S. R. Hirsch & his contemporary incarnation - Rabbi Slifkin 475
Rav S. R.Hirsch - we can't emulate great men who are portrayed as flawless 476
Rav Schachter joining with Rav Kaminetsky in disregarding the Baltimore Beis din and saying that Aharon should be forced to give a Get 477
Rav Shimon Shkop stayed at YU in order to emulate Rav Yisroel Salanter 478
Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach:Your spiritual (& physical life) comes before that of others 479
Rav Sternbuch: Get for civil & Reform marriages? 481
Rav Sternbuch: Tradition is not to teach Tanach - why? 482
Rav Sternbuch:Forcing Husband to divorce Wife 483
Rav Sternbuch:Husband should not be spiteful and should give a Get if there is no chance of reconcilliation and all issues are resolved 484
Rav Sternbuch's protest against heter for Tamar Epstein to remarry without a Get 486
Rav Triebetz: Does Rav Yisroel Salanter have a legacy? 487
Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky: Bean counting - Non-Jewish woman vs niddah? 489
Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky: Why he erred in thinking the Maharsham was senile 490
Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky:Zealotry is necessary - but only if guided by a clear understanding of Torah 491
Rav Yisroel Reisman: It is redifus to publish information about this particular sex offender - he is not a danger to the community 492
Rav Yisroel Salanter poskened: "It is prohibited to desecrate Shabbos to save my life." 493
Rav Yisroel Salanter tried being a chassid 494
Rav Ovadiah Yosef (3:20) - Forcing only sometimes 495
Reality Check: A frum Jew is supposed to be a nice person 497
Redemption from Egypt by G-d or angel? 499
Religion has replaced sex as taboo 500
Religious Bullying - "You are a shaigetz, I am a tzadik" 501
Religious criticism:Responding - Maharal in Be'er HaGolah 502
Remarrying after only secular divorce 503
Removing Mention of Michael Hersh/Hirsch 504
Righteous people can also change 505
Rivkah was afraid of Yitzchok and felt inferior to him - Netziv 506
Ruach hakodesh & Ruach hakodesh of the intellect are not the same 507
Ruach hakodesh is reason Biblical verses are omnisignificant - Netziv 508
Ruach rah - does it exist today? 509
Sanhedrin is not protected against error 510
Satanic abuse rings:Is there a ring of such pedophiles operating in Sanhedria Murchevet? 511
Satanic abuse hysteria: Dr. Joy Silberg - what is her role? 512
Satanic abuse rings A disturbing postscript 513
Satanic abuse rings: Dr Joy Silberg a believer in Satanic cults (and repressed memories) and Rabbi Yitzchok Berkowitz 514
Satanic abuse rings:Therapists say go back to America or switch to Mizrachi schools! 516
Satanic abuse rings:The problematic paranoid thinking needed to accept the allegations of Satanic Abuse Rings 517
Satmar Rav says Six Day War victory was natural - without Divine Providence 518
Satmar Rebbe:Criticism of his views 520
Scheslinger Twins:A personal Elul message for Dr. Schlesinger - "Have you no shame?" 521
Schlesinger Twins: Rebbitzen Rosenberg comes to Vienna community to help Beth and her children 522
Schlesinger Twins: Why does the court prefer a Filipino stranger as primary caretaker? 524
Schlesinger Twins:A day in the life of the custodial parent - Dr. Michael Schlesinger 525
Science vs.Torah 526
Scientific facts are not final even for Chazal 527
Science:Use of DNA to free an Aguna 528
Science:Validity of views R’ Sherira Gaon & Rambam’s son 529
Scientific statements of Chazal might only be according to the science of their day 530
Secular education and Rav Shach 531
Secular knowledge is from ruach hakodesh 532
Secular knowledge:The importance of secular studies 533
Seminary Scandal: "They call him Tatte" - How should male teachers relate to female students? 534
Seridei Aish:Need to apologize to maskilim who fought against hypocrisy 535
Sex and kiruv: Problem of the charismatic rabbi 536
Sex as a metaphor for love of Torah & G-d 537
Sex change by surgery - halachically valid? 538
Sexual relations: Prohibition of thinking of another person 539
Sexuality 541
Sexuality:Reading medical texts regarding sex 542
Sexuality:Importance of sexual satisfaction - and not just focusing on doing a mitzva 543
Sheitel and maris aiyen 544
Should I avoid presenting the Torah viewpoint because of threats of violence? 545
Shulem Deen: Truthseeker who had too many unanswered questions or an apikorus skillful in deceptively leaving out most of the important details needed to understand who he is 546
Simonim 547
Sitting next to women on buses 548
Slander for the sake of Peace 549
Snakes as servants 550
Social pressure to sin? 551
Sorcery 552
Sotah an explanation 553
Source of the berachos of a tzadik - heard from the Bostoner Rebbe 554
Spilling soup on someone to stop bitul Torah: Rav Zilberstein 555
Stealing in order to help others - is it permitted? 556
Stefan Colmer - convicted molester has moved to Passaic - Rav Eisenman requested that this be publicized 557
Steipler: There is no rebbe muvhak today since we learn from seforim - and not orally 558
Stereotypic thinking:Intelligent opening-minded chareidim is not an oxymoron 559
Strange tale concerning a man of simple but flawed belief & the Arizal 560
Suicide & Teshuva 561
SUMMARY HALOCHOT ON MO'US OLAY AND SHAMING A HUSBAND BY RABBI GESTETNER" 564
Superiority of Israel 568
Supernatural:Magic Demons and Astrology real? 569
Supernatural:Nature vs supernatural 570
Talmid chachom needs an attractive wife 571
Talmid chachom/tzadik is beyond criticism because he is presumed that he doesn't sin or because he certainly repented immediately? 572
Talmid chachom: A real talmid chachom needs to be insensitive to his family? 574
Talmid chachom:A seeker of truth must be rude (“navel") 576
Talmid chachom:A talmid chachom needs to be insensitive to his family? 577
Talmid chachom:Do talmidei chachomim really insult and belittle each other? 579
Talmid chachom:Is a worker superior to a talmid chochom? 580
Talmid chachom:Should be a nice person? 581
Talmid chochom is not necessarily kind and merciful 582
Talmud vs esoteric wisdom 583
Tamar Epstein Heter: R' Greenblatt said he simply accepted whatever R Shalom Kaminetsky told him 584
Tamar Epstein: Protest by Rav Shlomo Miller, R E B Wachtfogel, R Moshe Green and R Yechiel Tauber 585
Tamar Epstein: Protest from Rav Pinchus Rabinowitz' Beis Din 586
Tamar Epstein: Rav Sariel Rosenberg protests against heter 587
Tamar Epstein: What role did Rav Shmuel and Rav Sholom Kaminetsky play in the giving of the heter to remarry without a Get? 588
Tamar Epstein:A well known frum psychologist's two cents 589
Tamar Epstein:Rav Aharon Feldman's letter regarding Tamar Epstein's heter 590
Tamar Epstein:Therapists that saw Tamar and Aharon deny discussing Aharon with anyone 592
Tamuz letter of Baltimore Beis Din - removed at the request of the Baltimore Beis Din 593
Teacher beats student from anger at his inattention - must he pay damages? 594
Teaching child a trade 595
Telescope invented in his time to validate G-d's supervision 596
Text and verbal teachings are not the Mesorah 597
The dangers of being on a high spiritual level 598
The dangers of universal education and access of the masses to clear texts 599
The Emperor has no clothes - Eternal Jewish Family & Daas Torah 600
The honor of a Jewish women is staying in the house - moral value or halacha? 601
The insensitive condescension of the secular towards the Orthodox community 603
The necessity for Adam to sin - Netziv (Bereishis 2:4) 604
The need for WOW!! as an indication of the deterioriation of the system 605
The only defense for the Kaminetsky-Greenblatt heter is to attack me personally 607
The problem of a convicted sex offender using threats of lawsuits to prevent publicizing his activities 608
The relationship between G-d and the Jews is like a husband to his wife 609
The severe sin of going to a non-Jewish court 612
The Sin of Adam - inaccurate self-assessment 613
The Tiger Woods of the Chareidi world 614
Thoughts of sin are worse than the sin itself 615
Three Belzers & a Blogger trying to understand Daas Torah 616
Torah is medicine for soul not body 617
Torah is the word of G-d - no need to apologize 618
Torah law is used as long as society functions properly/Igros Moshe 619
Torah laws must be observed even if observance causes degradation or shame 620
Translation of seforim including Igros Moshe & making halacha seforim with psakim without sources & reasons 621
Torah Study & Working: Payment for Torah - Rav Moshe Feinstein 622
Torah Study & Working: Shulchan Aruch (156) vs Mishneh Berura 623
Tropper - Smear Campaign 624
Tropper doesn't know when to give up 625
Tropper says he is not taking me to court 626
Tropper scandal Is this what Lakewood is producing? 627
Tropper:Advice & appeal for Tropper and his opponent 628
Tropper:Former defender has regrets 629
Tuma is it real?Rambam vs Ramban 630
Two attitudes towards mitzvos 633
Tzadik described as being G-d 634
Tzadik is born because of a clothes line - and other false stories 636
Tzadik overruling G-d 638
Unity of G-d vs belief in His physicality - Rav Tzadok 639
Use of deception to get mitzvos & spiritual perfection 641
Varieties of hashgocha protis 642
Views which grate on modern sensibilities:Sexual abuse is less serious than using an inaccurate commerical scale 643
Vilna Gaon's Letter to his wife: Mussar, beatings & sensitivity 644
Walking with G-d 645
Weiss Dodelson: Divorce settlement required the Weiss's to ask me to take down blog posts 646
Weiss Dodelson: Rav Shlomo Miller's letter to Rav Malkiel Kotler retracting his support for Dodelson 647
What is a tzadik? 648
What was Adam's sin? Decision whether to live as man or angel 649
Why didn't Ezra convert intermarried couples? 651
Why Moshiach is descended from the convert Ruth 652
Why is EJF refusing to have open for-the-record dialogue? 653
Why does G-d repent? 654
Why is Earth spherical? 655
Why were religious Jews attracted to Haskala? 656
Wife & mother-in-law fight - who has to leave? 657
Wife refuses Get /Husband remarry without heter 100 Rabbis? 658
Women:Death 659
Women:Inherently materialistic 660
Women:Mature intellectually earlier than men because they don't study Torah 661
Women:Men are equally holy 662
Women:Misbehaving woman is ugly-Beauty only to serve G-d 663
Women:Prohibition of looking at women 664
Women:Reach perfection only through men 665
Women:Should not drive because of modesty and temperament which results in many accidents 666
Women:Walking behind a woman - prohibited today? 668
Women:Weak minded but have greater Binah (understanding) 669
Women:What do women want sexually? sources in Torah literature 670
Women:Why exempt from mitzva of Torah study Rav Feinstein 671
Women:Witchcraft 672
Women:Woman lacks the image of G-d and intellect 673
Yakov called g-d 674
Yakov was he referring to G-d or an angel? 675
Yakov was punished for calling himsel Israel (Dinah was raped) 676
Yashar (upright) vs Tzadik (righteous) 677
Yeshiva as hospital - women aren't sick 678
Yeshiva is an artificial institution - Rav Hutner 679
Yetzer 681
Yoel Weiss and Rivky Stein: Update 682
You should know that Rav Dovid Feinstein and Rav Nota Greenblatt are good friends" 683
Your disgusting blog 684
Zohar was not originally in the form we have today 685
Guest post by Rebbetzin Miriam Rosenberg. 2014
The Rebbetzin is the wife of Rav Sariel Rosenberg from Bnei Brak - a major talmid chachom and posek who is a member of the beis din of Rav Karelitz. She is very actively involved in helping woman who have lost the custody of their children. She has visited Vienna a number of times and spent much time investigating Beth's case and she was appalled at the lack of support for Beth as well as how the twins have suffered. I asked her to write a guest post of what she has found.
Below is her 5 page letter translated in full from the Hebrew she sent me for posting here. In the first part she describes the tragic story of Yael which led her to Vienna to raise money for lawyers and where she found out about Beth. She describes in great detail the great miscarriage of justice and the reasons the community - which is known for it kindness and generosity - has failed to intervene.
Fifteen years ago my righteous daughters were cruelly taken from Bnei Brak to Italy , where they were systematically turned against their religion. My eldest daughter was thirteen years old and her sister was nine years old. They received an excellent Jewish education in the wonderful schools of Beis Yaacov. But they were pushed to the ultimate heresy.My story was serialized in AMI MAGAZINE and then published as a book titled:TO MY DAUGHTERS WITH LOVE / GITTY GOLD
For the past fifteen years I have been providing physical and emotional support to women abused by their former husbands, powerful and wealthy men , who try and sometimes succeed in gaining custody of their children for various reasons; mainly manipulating the courts in the worst possible way; claiming their wives are insane or lack parenting skills.Time after time I flew places to try and prove women innocent, in most cases there have never been mental health problems and their great distress stems from the fact that their parental rights have been undermined. They want to keep their most precious possession: their children.This is almost always the same woman, just in different circumstances. I meet an intelligent and warm woman without any economic support to back her in her struggle, her entire world destroyed. Hanging on any shred of hope that might overturn this evil decree; maybe G-d will help and this will not happen, she prays. Maybe there will be messengers that will redeem her and her children from their suffering; from the pain of separation, the bias against her and the destruction that plagues her....I decided to fly to Vienna to try to fundraise from the women of the community for Yael (one such case in Golders Green).I organized a number of lectures during which I told my life story of tragedy, of kidnapping my girls.After I told the story of Yael, religious women contributed generously to help pay her lawyers. At the end of one lecture a young woman came up to me and told me the story of Beth Schlesinger , a story that the whole community of Vienna knows very well but no one is able to intervene. She asked me to try to help Beth regain custody of her twins who were cruelly taken from her husband, a psychiatrist who fabricated a report claiming she was insane and was unable to raise her children.’Everybody in Vienna knows that's not true but the husband was assisted by a number of Rabbis and a close acquaintance of the judge.Since then I have returned to Vienna several times to try to connect the puzzle of the Schlesinger family. Hearing evidence of community members I met personally and from conversations with friends of Beth, as well as meetings with Beth and the children, I uncovered a few facts Beth, a young, intelligent, pretty, thirty year old, has suffered a humiliating and trying ordeal. All the while the people around her are fully aware of the injustices done to her and are unable to help her uncover the truth . They are afraid!!! Everyone who spoke to me painfully told me how much they sympathized with Beth , know that she is 100% innocent and her children were impeccably well cared for by her, but they implored me in every way possible not to get involved in the story and not to ask them to testify because they were afraid , because their husbands did not allow them to intervene, or they had already been threatened more than once; if they help Beth, their lives are in danger. Religious men and women and even Rabbonim shared with me their distress and a sense of powerlessness knowing that nothing could be done . They received threatening phone calls and emails that if they helped Beth, their reputations would be ruined in the community and they would be forced to remove their children from the Jewish schools. Had I not heard this for myself from serious people, I would have suspected they had made it up. It sounded so absurd.A whole community know and are aware of a grave injustice and all stay silent???I met Beth and the children. I brought them a kindergarten level book about Shabbat as a present, with coloured pictures of the Shabbat table with bright script. I sat with the children while they lay in Beth’s arms and tried to read them the story, to interest them in the nice pictures and try to elicit some kind of reaction from them. I spoke to them in Hebrew, Yiddish and English, words recognisable to any Jewish child that goes to kindergarten; Shabbat candles, challot, kippa. They both stared at the pictures but it was clear that the words were alien to them. They held on to their mother, clinging to her sweater. The only words I heard from them were sounds when I managed to really make them laugh or tickled them. They did a nice activity together but the interaction was mainly just between the two of them. We were together for a few hours, both inside and outside the apartment. The children ate meatballs cooked in tomato sauce with rice that Beth had made for them with love and care. We played together and went to the park on bikes. The children interact naturally with their mother but it is difficult to recognize any speech. They are not developed for their age.They only mumble a few syllables in baby talk.The separation from their mother is evidently difficult for them. In order not to make it even more difficult for them, Beth takes them to the park and the visiting centre on their bikes; a meeting place with the father which involves traveling an hour away from where she lives, even though the father lives nearby. What a waste of 4 year old children’s energy, to be dragged by bus to a distant place .This story is delusional . I saw a devoted mother who treats her children with love, warmth , who showers them with the love of a mother. I cried together with her. Together we tried to hold back the tears when it was time to return them. I was there. I saw with my own eyes . I cried with her. The world calls out when a cat is taken away or a chicken from its pen but Vienna, an enlightened community of 5774 remains silent while Beth was wickedly separated from her children. I met Beth and the kids again. The heartbreaking picture repeated itself. I took another member of the community with me as a witness. I wanted someone else to see what I saw. This injustice cries to heaven.I asked to interview Beth's friends from the past, those who were her friends when she was married to Dr. Schlesinger and betrayed her. These religious women admitted that they played a role in taking the children away. Either through naivety or stupidity, they were manipulated by the Schlesinger family and spread around that Beth had post natal depression and couldn’t function. They wanted to help him get custody the children. They were young and naive and didn’t understand how brutal this game is. The community have known him since childhood, Beth is the outsider. Are these grounds enough to separate a devoted mother from her children ?It was explained to me how this reality came about .The judge who decided the fate of the Schlesinger children is a friend of the father ! ! !A High court judge who is a convert to Judaism and doesn’t keep Torah and Mitzvot. At the Bar mitzvah of her son nobody from the religious community was present except for one Rabbi. I met him and talked with him for a long time. The Rabbi assured me that he is not involved in the matter concerning family Schlesinger but lo and behold, he is the only member of the community that is in contact with the judge on the case! This judge 's husband is a psychiatrist who works with Dr. Schlesinger in the same hospital ! ! !I also found out that every lawyer that has hired to represent her custody case has quit without any explanation. I have been told that it doesn’t matter what the reality is, it’s irrelevant what the facts are, it doesn’t matter how much the children are suffering, everyone in Vienna knows that nothing can be done. They will continue to support the father, despite believing the mother. Since then I have returned to Vienna often. On Chanukah the mother was told that there was no Chanukah party in the kindergarten even though there was. Nobody came to be with the children there; not the father, not the grandmother, and not the aunt. But the mother was denied entry. An entire community, living, breathing and silent. Religious mothers tell their children a bedtime story , tuck their children into their blankets and give them a goodnight kiss. Beth 's kids are not as lucky. They are looked after by 2 Filipinos On Simchat Torah, they were not with the father in the synagogue, but the rabbis backing him claim he cares for them wonderfully, that the children speak 3 languages and they are thriving! They have even submitted a written statement with these claims to court! I saw with my own eyes ... that's not true. In the Vienna community religious women know the truth and are afraid to speak out. At one of my talks, I gave Beth the opportunity to speak. She is a wonderful , warm and sensitive. She is going through an unbearable test.I hope that soon we will celebrate her redemptionAnd her children will be returned .
In sorrow
Miriam Rosenberg
Advocates for Jewish women who say their estranged husbands are abusing them by refusing to assent to a religious divorce are cheering after a New Jersey appellate court overturned a ruling against a woman in that state who used social media to advocate for her divorce.
A lower court ruled in 2021 that the woman’s social media posts constituted harassment and incitement. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey got involved in the case, joining several Orthodox women’s rights groups who had already been working on her behalf.
So the secular court says it is not harassment - but the resulting Get is problematic!
I just received the following comment to a recent post that included:
I remember going to visit Rav Bulman at Ohr Someach where he served as Mashgiach. He quickly grasped what I was doing even before I did. He said, ”You are showing that there is a range of legitimate Jewish views. But since the official view is that there is only one correct view, you will never get away with it. I want to buy the first copy. Do you understand I don’t want a copy as a gift, I want to buy it."
The above is very important but I would like to get your thoughts (especially as a psychologist) on whether this could also shake a person's sense of stability. Seeing that basing everything is open to question and different opinions sort of pulls out the rug from under the person's feet (at least for some people). Basically, the answer to most questions of basic hashkafa is "we don't know." That's the truth, but it can be unsettling.
I replied
true. But that applies to most things in life
Even getting married or child rearing or politics has no simplistic answers
JEWISH THOUGHT AS A SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITY
Just want to add - I went to speak with Rav Eliyahiv concerning this exact issue.
He first asked whether my sources were all acceptable main stream ones. Which I assured him that was all I used. He said simply, do not censor material just because they seem to contradict each other. If a person is confused that is why he has a rebbe. Let him go to discuss this with his rebbe.
There is a bizarre phenomenon in Religious circles where taking something which belongs to others is justified because it is needed.
There was a sign in the shul where I daven on Shabbos that a number of Kollels were using the building during the week without paying rent or even paying for the electricity they used or even for cleaning the mess they leave or even asking permission. Additionally we find schools or congregations taking over buildings that belong to others - because they need the building. This also applies to building on land that belongs to others. We also find individuals taking seforim from shuls and yeshivas because they need them.
In apartments, storage areas are used even when it prevents others from their property. In one case one person blocked access to a public stair case because he wanted to expand his own apartment. People illegally extend storage areas and endanger the structure of the entire building - because they need the income from the illegal rooms that they have created
The excuse is well it wasn't being used and I need it. Much like the supreme court justice who said he merely sat in what would have been an empty seat on a private jet. Thus it is being claimed that the victim was being nasty by not sharing that which he didn't really need or use.
After I published the Yad Moshe – which facilitated accurate reporting of Halachic issues, I realized the next frontier was Jewish thought or hashkofa. The internet provided me a large audience through the free blogging platform available from Google. While it is unquestionable that there are many opposed to the internet there is also the problem that too much of reality was being censored by the print media. The internet was the only way to by pass the self serving censorship
I first started blogging about 15 years ago. I was living in Har Nof. Working during the day in the beis hamedrash of the Bostoner Rebbe on various seforim and where I also had ready access to the head of the Kollel – Rabbi Ashkenasi and many who enjoyed discussing Jewish issues. In addition I was providing psychotherapy to a diverse population. I also was davening on Friday night Shabbos with Rav Sternbuch. I spent many hours consulting with Rav Sternbuch on various issues. I also met Rabbi MeirTriebitz from Machon Shlomo who was close with Rav Sternburg and with whom I developed a close relationship.
After I started blogging I found Rav Sternbuch was interested in what I was doing. I typically printed out a copy of my blog and news items that I thought might interest him which I gave him every Friday night. He read it in shul during Kabbolas Shabbos. When I got to the issue of EJF, there were some who were convinced I was brain washing him and the Bedatz, when in fact he was the one directing. At one point he told me I was so hated that I should have the Bedatz perform a ceremony to protect me from curses.
When Dr. Shulem and I got involved in the issue of child abuse Rav Sternbuch not only answered questions but encouraged publication of the then radical notion of going to the police. When I asked him for a haskoma, he said I should write a summary and he would make comments – which he did. When I was asked to speak at the White Institute, I presented his views – which one participant exclaimed he had never heard such views from a widely respected Jewish halachic source. In the early days it was simply accepted that reporting abuse violated the laws of Lashon harah and Mesirah. When I first published my volumes on child abuse it was widely assumed that I would be ostracized as Dr. Twersky had been when he revealed the problem of wife abuse. Fortunately the tide had turned. Primarily because of the flood of revelations not only on the Internet but in the mainstream press
Rav Sternbuch also played a critical role in the Tamar Epstein –“aguna” case. At one time he told me I was serving as his Yisro. More of this is in the posting of the 3 Belzer chasidim. I also became friends with Rabbi Yaakov Ber who helped me to meet Rabbi Eiyashiv and Rav Moshe Shapiro. I met Rabbi Chaim Malinowitz when visiting my son in Beis Shemesh and he became an important resource as well as a regular reader of the Blog and eventual a contributor of posts.
Additional issues of divorce were brought to my attention such as the Schlesinger twins, the Tranquility bay scandal the Mendel Epstein scandal, the Feinstein grandson case which had a boycott of Artscroll and the phony aguna who made claims of rape and made ridiculous legal suits and ultimately reconciled and returned to her husband
I got involved in the Tamar Epstein “aguna”case because my brother Dovid was advising her husband as well as the fact that Rav Sternbuch had seen the heter and thought it was nonsense. I was shown the documents to get my view as a psychologist
The awareness of the corruption in “aguna” cases led to an outpouring of Rabbinic denunciations of the “heter”. During this time I also realized the widespread ignorance of the diversity of Jewish sources and that led to publishing Daas Torah. I remember going to visit Rav Bulman at Ohr Someach where he served as Mashgiach. He quickly grasped what I was doing even before I did. He said, ”You are showing that there is a range of legitimate Jewish views. But since the official view is that there is only one correct view, you will never get away with it. I want to buy the first copy. Do you understand I don’t want a copy as a gift, I want to buy it."
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-756357
It is unclear why the country didn’t take the Leifer case – and other similar cases – seriously, and instead opened its gates for people who are accused of being predators abroad.
Rivash(#157): You should know that my teacher and master R’ Peretz HaCohen never talked about Sefiros or concerned himself with them. I also heard from his mouth that R’ Shimshon of Keinon - who was the greatest scholar of his time and I also recall him even though I never saw him in person –said that “I pray with the thoughts of a child.” In other words he rejected the approach of the kabbalists who pray sometimes to one Sefira and on other occassions pray to a different Sefira – depending on what they want to accomplish with their prayers. The kabbalists in their own defense say that they are simply following the path of our Sages (Bava Basra 25b) who said, “One who wishes to become wise should turn to the south while wealth is obtained by turning to the north.” In other words the kabbalists say that one should direct one’s attention to the attribute of the right or the attribute of the left. Also when saying the Amida prayer they have particular concentration on a particular Sefira for each one of the berachos. However I - as a non-kabbalist - find all of this very strange and it seems like the heretical belief of secondary deities. I once heard a philosophically oriented person speaking in disparagement of the kabbalists, He said,” the Christians have their belief in the trinity and the kabbalists have their belief in the ten Sefiros.”… [However I also heard the kabbalistic view about Sefiros from] the elderly scholar Don Yosef Ibn Shushan… He was a great talmudic scholar and was familiar with philosophy and he was also a kabbalist. In addition he was very pious and careful in performing the mitzvos. Between us there was great love and affection. Once I asked him how he and the other kabbalists concentrated on one Sefira for a particular beracha and a different Sefira for another beracha? In addition I asked him whether the Sefiros were divinities that a person should pray to them? He replied, “G‑d forbid! Prayer should only be directed to G‑d.” He explained that it is comparable to a person who has a legal dispute and he asks the king to provide justice by asking the judge to hear his case. The person would not ask that the head of the treasury should be involved since that would obviously be a mistake. Similarly if the person was pleading that the king give him a present he would not request the involvement of the judge but one of the king’s attendants. If he was requesting wine from the king he would ask the involvement of the chief of the wine cellar. If he wanted bread he would ask for the involvement of the chief baker. Obviously he would only ask for the involvement of the minister or servant directly involved in what he needed. Prayer is exactly the same. It is obviously always directed to G‑d but there is also a direction of thought to obtain the required bounty from the Sefira which is connected with his needs. For the beracha of “Ahl hatzadikim” there is a direction of thought toward the Sefira which is called chesed (kindness) which is the attribute of mercy. On the other hand for the beracha of “Minim” (heretics) there is a concentration on the Sefira which is called gevura (strength) which is the attribute of strict justice. All of this was explained to me by this pious person concerning the intent of the kabbalists and it is a very good explanation. Nevertheless who should be involved in this approach? Isn’t it better to prayer with full concentration just to G‑d and He knows how to fulfill the requests? This is stated in Tehilim(37:5), “Commit your way to G‑d and trust in Him and He will do.” This is the view of the great master R’ Shimshon of Keinon whom I mentioned before. I also want to tell you in particular what said to me by my teacher and master Rabbeinu Nissim, “The Ramban was too much involved in the kabbalistic beliefs while I was not involved in that wisdom since I had not received knowledge of it from a kabbalistic teacher. Even if I see explanations based on the kabbalistic secrets of the Ramban but they don’t reveal the foundation principles of this wisdom. Thus they reveal a little but conceal even more. It is therefore highly likely that one would err in understanding these matters. Therefore I chose not to be involved in hidden matters”…
ריב"ש (סימן קנז): ...וגם הודעתיך, כי מורי הרב רבי פרץ הכהן ז"ל, לא היה כלל מדבר ולא מחשיב באותן הספירות. גם שמעתי מפיו, שהרב רבי שמשון מקינון ז"ל, שהיה רב גדול מכל בני דורו, וגם אני זכור ממנו ואם לא ראיתיו בעיני, והוא היה אומר: אני מתפלל לדעת זה התינוק; כלומר, להוציא מלב המקובלים, שהם מתפללים פעם לספירה אחת ופעם לספירה אחת, כפי ענין התפלה. והם אומרים, כי זה פי' מה שאז"ל (בבא בתרא כה:): הרוצה להתחכם, ידרים, להתעשר, יצפין; ר"ל, יכוין למדת ימין או למדת שמאל. גם בתפלת שמנה עשרה יש להם בכל אחת ואחת כונה לספירה ידועה. וכל זה הוא דבר זר מאד בעיני מי שאינו מקובל כמו הם; וחושבים, שזה אמונת שניות. וכבר שמעתי אחד מן המתפלספים מספר בגנות המקובלים, והיה אומר: הע"ג מאמיני השלוש, והמקובלים מאמיני העשיריות. וכבר קרה לי בהיותי בסרקסט"ה, שבא לשם החכם הישיש דון יוסף ן' שושאן ז"ל, אשר כבר ראיתי אותו בבלנסיא"ה, והוא היה חכם בתלמוד, וראה בפילוסופיא, והיה מקובל וחסיד גדול ומדקדק במצות, וביני ובינו היתה אהבה וחשק גדול. ופעם אחת שאלתי לו: איך אתם המקובלים, בברכה אחת מכוונים לספירה ידועה, ובברכה אחרת לספירה אחרת? ועוד, הכי יש אלהות לספירות, שיתפלל אדם להן? וענה לי: חלילה שתהיה התפלה כי אם לשם יתברך עלת העלות. אבל הדבר הזה כמו מי שיש לו ריב, ושואל מן המלך שיעשה לו דין, יבקש ממנו שיצוה אל היושב על המשפט שידין לו, לא שיצוה זה אל הסוכן הממונה על האוצרות, כי תהיה שאלתו בטעות. וכן אם ישאל מן המלך שיתן לו מתן, לא יאמר לו שיצוה אל השופט, אבל שיצוה אל הסוכן. וכן אם ישאל ממנו יין, יבקש שיצוה זה לשר המשקים; ואם ישאל לחם, יאמר לשר האופים; לא בהפך זה. כך הוא בענין התפלה, שהיא לעולם לעלת העלות, אלא שמכוין המחשבה להמשיך השפע לאותה ספירה המתיחסת לאותו דבר שהוא מבקש עליו. כמו שתאמר, שבברכת על הצדיקים יכוין לספירה הנקראת חסד, שהיא מדת רחמים, ובברכת המינין יכוין לספירה הנקראת גבורה, שהיא מדת הדין; והקש על זה. זה באר לי החסיד הנז' מכונת המקובלים, והנה טוב מאד. אמנם, מי מכניס אותנו בכל זה? הלא טוב להתפלל סתם לשם יתברך בכונה, והוא ידע באיזה דרך ישלים המבוקש; כמאמר הכתוב (תהילים לז:ה): גול על ה' דרכך, ובטח עליו והוא יעשה. וזה מה שאמר הרב הגדול רבי שמשון דקינון ז"ל, שהזכרתי למעלה. וכן הודעתיך מה שאמר אלי ביחוד מורי הרב רבינו נסים ז"ל, כי הרבה יותר מדאי תקע עצמו הרמב"ן ז"ל להאמין בענין הקבלה ההיא; ולזה איני תוקע עצמי באותה חכמה, אחר שלא קבלתיה מפי מקובל חכם. ואם ראיתי באורים על סודות הרמב"ן ז"ל, וגם הם אינם מגלי' שרשי החכמה ההיא, ומגלים טפח ומכסים כמה טפחים, וקרוב לטעות בדבר מהם; ולכן בחרתי לבל יהיה לי עסק בנסתרות...
Shapiro correctly acknowledged that such defamation lawsuits have very little chance of success—thanks to First Amendment protections allowing for robust criticism of public figures—but insisted Musk was right about pretty much everything else.
“A lot of these progressive interest groups are very much interested in removing advertising revenue from sources where they can't control the speech,” Shapiro said on his show. He also said the ADL defends antisemites in Congress, as long as they’re Democrats, and claimed the group is essentially threatening, “Abide by left-wing standards of speech or watch your advertising dollars disappear.”
