Igros Moshe (Y. D. V #38) Question Teaching Torah to the daughter of a Conservative Rabbi and other children of Conservative Jews in a class. You feel It is necessary to explain to them the great damage done by Conservative rabbis even though this will cause them embarrassment by saying their fathers are evil people and cause them to cry and possibly leave the school. But you feel if you don’t tell them they will think that the Conservative approach is a valid Jewish one. So your question is how to deal properly with this. Answer I think you need to deal with this intelligently and explain that there is one Torah that was given to all Jews at Sinai through Moshe in written form while the details were transmitted orally and that this is attested to in the Talmud and commentaries. Furthermore you need to convey the idea that the Conservative and Reform religious faith is false and is heresy, however not to use words like evil or wicked. She already is aware that the Orthodox claim that the faith of the Reform and Conservative is heresy but she will surely object to the terms evil or heretic and thus saying such is not beneficial or productive Furthermore these terms have acquired a new meaning. They used to simply indicate a person who has transgressed a mitzva but now they are understood to mean a bad or cruel person. Therefore it is not appropriate to call her father or other Conservative or Reform by these terms In fact you should first explain what a rasha connotes in the Torah. Nonetheless you need to explain that the faith of the Reform and Conservative is not true without using the terms such as rasha.
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
New York is 'sublime spiritual experience': Haredi politician urges Netanyahu to allow draft dodgers to leave country
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sj4d11l9fll
Following a ynet report that the government will allocate millions of shekels to fund flights for worshipers traveling to the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Uman, Ukraine, and with police and the IDF preparing to intercept thousands of draft evaders who may attempt to fly to the annual pilgrimage, United Torah Judaism lawmaker Yitzhak Goldknopf appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to broaden the travel framework.
Monday, August 25, 2025
The UnHoly Mile - creating Homogeneity in the Community
New Square established a committee of Skverer Chassidim to buy houses within a one mile radius of New Square
They have purchased over 350 houses, which they refuse to rent to Jewish families
To finance this project, single family homes are illegally rented out by the room to multiple families.
Living Death
I'm reading "Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole: A Renowned Neurologist Explains the Mystery and Drama of Brain Disease" by Allan H. Ropper, Brian David Burrell and wanted to share this quote with you.
Horrifying testimonies seek to lift shroud of silence around ritual sex abuse claims
Police have opened an investigation into multiple allegations of organized ritual sexual abuse after accusers relayed harrowing testimony of torture, rape and other horrors to lawmakers late last month.
The July 27 hearing included testimony from alleged victims, now adults, regarding abuse they had experienced as children, primarily in the ultra-Orthodox and national-religious communities in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Haifa, Safed and elsewhere.
Double Sinks
Shemos (34:26) You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.
Igros Moshe (YD I #42) Question Washing dishes in the sink. Is a single sink permitted? Answer: Even if you want to claim that a Bal Nefesh should be strict and not wash dishes in a single sink this is not the normative halacha to a person who only wants to do the minimum because most sinks can not actually be prohibited and thus it is not prohibited even to a Bal Nefesh. Also most times the dishes are not actually touching the sink but rest on a racks which are separate for meat and milk. Even if occasionally that the sink water rises to touch the dishes. This is only a concern lechatchilah but bedieved it is not a problem even for a Bal Nefesh. Thus even though the custom is to have separate sinks it is not prohibited to have a single sink.
Rivka was afraid of her Husband Yitzchok
Bereishis (24:64) And Rivka lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Yitzchok, she fell off the camel.
Netziv (Bereishis 24:64): And Rivkah lifted her eyes – and she saw Yitzchok while he was still praying and he was at that moment like an angel of G d – extremely awesome. and she fell off her camel – Because of her great fear and awe. However she did not know who she was afraid of. If she had been sitting with Eliezer the servant on the same camel and she had been sitting behind him then she would have relaxed when she would have seen the man go and greet the servant and seen them talking together like all men. Then eventually when she would have been informed who it was – her fear would already have dissipated. But since she was sitting together with Eliezer she didn’t wait – but asked immediately who it was out of great fear. Who is that man - that makes me agitated and frightened? We see in Bereishis Rabbah that the term “that” implies someone fearsome and frightening. Therefore when she heard that it was her husband she took out her veil and covered her face out of her great fear and embarrassment because she realized she wasn’t fit to be his wife. From that moment on that fear was permanently planted in her heart and she was not able to have the relationship with Yitzchok that Sarah had with Avraham and Rachel had with Yaakov. In particular when the others objected to something their husbands had done they were not embarrassed to speak firmly with them. Rivkah was different. All of this served as a necessary preliminary to the events that would follow in Parshas Toldos when Yitzchok and Rivkah had strongly different views. Nonetheless Rivkah could not find the courage to stand up to Yitzchok and defend her views – even though it was true that Esav was a fraud. The same thing happened at the time of giving the berachos. In fact all of this was the means by which G d caused the berachos to be given to Yaakov in this manner as we will explain later. All was done with Divine Providence from the beginning - that Rivkah should arrive when Yitzchok was praying and thus she should see him as an awesome and frightening spectacle – it all happened according to G d’s Will.
Texas Senate approves new map, sending it to Abbott’s desk
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5464117-texas-senate-approves-gop-redistricting-map
The new district lines are likely to add up to five additional U.S. House seats for Republicans in next year’s midterms.
Abbott vowed Saturday to “swiftly” sign the map into effect, though court challenges are also likely to come soon after to try to stop it.
“The One Big Beautiful Map has passed the Senate. Despite Democrats’ petty stunts, we delivered on our promise,” the governor wrote Saturday on social platform X. “This map reflects Texans’ actual voting preferences, and I look forward to signing it into law.”
Suspect in plot to kill AG identified as British man residing in Jerusalem
At a hearing in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, Ezagui’s lawyer forcefully argued his client’s case, claiming he had no intent to murder Baharav-Miara since he never received Yosef’s permission to do so.
“Even if this is an act that is loathsome on a moral and ethical level, we are still within the realm of criminal law,” said attorney Idan Butbul. “He contacted the rabbi via a sealed envelope and not with direct intent, and asked him a question. Under these circumstances, the act does not amount to a criminal threat.”