Rav Nossan Kaminetsky describing what Making of a Gadol is

Kame Netsky 2 by on Scribd

kamenetsky4 (1) by yadmoshe on Scribd

Until the phony seruv of Rav Kaminetsky's beis din is removed - he and his beis din are in cherem

update: The correct term is nidoi - but I used the term cherem in the title as the general non-halachic term for ostracizing and thus the term is explained as being a form of cherem in the post below.

I confirmed with Aharon's law school classmate who spoke to R' Herschel Schachter and R' Sholom Kaminetsky in December 2010 (which I believe is before the Seruv was issued) that the two Rabbis were aware of the Baltimore Beis Din's involvement and they intentionally ignored the Beis Din's involvement". He said he is willing to discuss this with Rov who needs to know the information.


 Guest Post

Rabbis Aryeh Ralbag, Yisrael Belsky, Mordechai Wolmark, Shmuel Kamenetsky, Gavriel Stern and Hershel Schachter are in [nidui] [cherem] 

The issuance of a purported "seruv"[contempt] against Aharon Friedman was outrageous from the very beginning.  The Union of Orthodox Rabbis did not bother to issue even a single hazmana [summons} before purporting to issue the "seruv."  In addition, the parties had previously signed a shtar beirurin [binding arbitration agreement] with the Baltimore Beis Din.  Furthermore, as ,the Baltimore Beis Din recently noted even putting aside those two points, the Union of Orthodox Rabbis had no right to issue a "seruv" against Aharon because he lives in a different State than the location of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis.

It is hard to imagine that the signatories of the "seruv" were not very well aware of these points and deliberately signed the "seruv" knowing that the "seruv" was baseless.  If the signatories were not knowledgable about the rules for issuing a "seruv", they should have not been involved in issuing seruvim.

In any case, even if the signatories were not previously aware of these rules and had some excuse for nonetheless involving themselves in a matter concerning which they had woefully inadequate knowledge, it has been several days since the Baltimore BD issued its letter clarifying matters, so there can no longer be any confusion or the least bit of doubt about this matter. One who wrongfully issues a seruv, or signs in support of such seruv, himself has the status of being in [nidui][cherem] as pointed our by Rav Reuvain Feinstein's recent letter, and has been previously noted by others concerning this case.

 The refusal of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis, Rabbi Ralbag and the other signatories to retract the "seruv" is well beyond outrageous and makes a mockery of halacha, beis din and the Jewish community.  They must immediately retract the "seruv" - or they have the status under halacha [Jewish Law] of being in [nidui] [cherem].

Kaminetsky-Greenblatt Heter: A beis din/rav that allows a married woman to remarry - are they placed in nidoi?

שו"ת הרשב"א חלק ד סימן רד

שאלת על ענין האשה שנתקדשה לאחד באנקוזא ואחר כך נתקדשה ונתייחדה לאחר במקום אחר. והוציאה מתחת השני וגירש הראשון. ואח"כ התירוה ב"ד לשני זה אחר גירושי הראשון. אם אותו ב"ד בר נדוי הוא או לא,

תשובה הדין נותן שהוא בר נידוי. דכיון שהיא אסורה לו וב"ד זה מתירין אותה לו שמותי משמתינן ליה. וכההיא דסוף יבמות (דף קכא) בההוא דטבע באגמא דסמקי ושריא רב שילא לדביתהו. וא"ל רב לשמואל תא נשמתיה. וכההיא נמי דאמרינן בס"פ ואלו מותרים (דף כ). השתא דאמרו רבנן לא מזדקקין ליה, בי דינא דמזדקק ליה שמותי משמתינן ליה. ומיהו אם טעו בהוראת ולא עשו במזיד אלא בטועת לא משמתינן ליה. וכדמסקינן בההוא דסוף יבמות. דרב שילא שהבאנו דשלא להו רב שילא בעצמו מטעה טעאי ולא שמתוה. אבל אם עשו שלא מחמת טעות הוראה הרי אלו בני נדוי.

Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein and the editors of Cross-Currents are in Cherem

Guest post   Cross-Currents

Update: Objections were raised regarding the term Cherem. The more correct term is Nidoi - which is a form of cherem . It was also objected that the author presented no source that someone who is not a dayan should be punished for writing a letter supporting a phony seruv. Rav Reuven Feinstin only proposed that there should be such a takana. However the author of the guest post responded that Rav Gestetner clearly says that those who publicize the false seruv also deserves nidoi. He cites the Responsa of Chaim BeYad (88) as his source.Rav Gestetner (2nd to last paragraph). I just corrected the text to note that Rav Feinstein is proposing that at takana be made to punish with nidoi those who write letters supporting a phony seruv but that Rav Gestetner based on Chaim BeYad (88) says that one who publicizes a phony heter is to be placed in Nidoi.

שו"ת חיים ביד סימן פח

לאיסטאנקייו אייר התרכ"ה ליצירה.

שאלה מעשה שהיה כך היה בעיר אחת שאמר ראובן לשמעון מתוך מחלוקת ושינאה שהיה ביניהם שרב הגדול אשר בעיר ואם בישראל החרים אותך על ככה ושמעון הנז' כשומעו את הדבר הזה התעצב עד מאד ויחר לו כי איך יתכן שרב גדול בתורה יחרים אותו בלי דרישה וחקירה אם ראוי להחרים ותכף כתב אגרת להרב הנז' אם אמת הדבר והיתה תגובת הרב כי לא היו דברים מעולם ושקר ענה באחיו העל אלה דינא קבעי שמעון על ראובן שיחרימו אותו על אשר דיבר סרה להוציא עליו ש"ר =שם רע= יודיענו מה דינו.

תשובה איתא בגמ' פ"ק דקדושין כ"ח ע"א הקורא לחבירו עבד חייב נידוי ממזר סופג את ארבעים וכתבו התוס' שם שהוא מידה כנגד מידה הוא קרא לחבירו עבד דהוא ארור מקללין אותו בארור דהיינו נידוי וכ"כ הריטב"א ז"ל שם בחי' מידה כנ"מ =כנגד מידה= דאיהו מוקים ליה בארור כדכתיב ארור כנען ולפיכך מנדין אותו בנידוי בו אלה בו חרם ע"כ והרי אם בקורא לחבירו עבד דלא משמע להו לאינשי שהוא ארור עכ"ז מנדין אותו שעבד כנעני נאמר בו ארור כנען כ"ש אם קורא אותו ארור בהדייא דודאי דחייב נידוי ואם גם בקורא לחבירו ארור בהדייא מצי להפטר בהתנצלות כי שוגג כי לא ידע שחרור בו חרם ויהיה נאמן כמ"ש הרב כנה"ג בח"מ סימן ת"ך הגה"ט אות ע' והרב בני חיי שם הגב"י אות ל"א כמו שיע"ש ועיין עוד שם בכנה"ג ובספר בני חיי ובס' דבר משה ח"ב סימן צ"ג ד"ק ע"א ובס' חשק שלמה חח"מ רס"י ז"ך בהגה"ט אות א'. דהקורא לחבירו ארור בהדייא מנדין אותו זולת כשמתרץ בדיבוריה כי לא ידע כי בשם ארור בו חרם משא"כ בנ"ד שאמר בפירוש שהרב החרימו שהטיל עליו שם חרם והרי כתב הרב מוהראנ"ח ז"ל בתשו' ח"א סימן צ"ג והביאו הרב כנה"ג שם בח"מ סי' ת"ך הגה"ט אות נ"ב והרב בני חיי שם הגב"י אות ט"ו הקורא לחבירו מוחרם מנודה חייב נידוי יע"ש וכ"כ מוהרש"ל ביש"ש בב"ק פ' החובל סי' מ"ד דפ"ו ע"ג וז"ל וה"נ מי שקראו לחבירו מנודה או אמ"ל אתה עברת על החרם חייב בנידוי ל' יום כמו שקראו עבד מטעם מידה כנגד מידה יע"ש. ועיין עוד מ"ש מוהראנ"ח בתשו' ח"ב סימן כ"ד והביאו הרב כנה"ג שם אות ג"ן דהאומר לחבירו שהוא מנודה תלוי במחלוקת רש"י ותוס' שלדעת רש"י הוי כמו קורא אותו רשע ולדעת התוס' חייב נידוי יע"ש.

ונראה לומר דיותר הסברא נותנת דחייב כשהוציא ש"ר ודבר שקר לומר שהוא מוחרם מפי אדם גדול שמחזיק החרם בכח גדול דהגם שכתב מוהראנ"ח שם בח"א סימן צ"ה שמה שקרא אותו מנודה ומוחרם שאין לדון אותו כדין המנדה את חבירו שלא כדין שהוא לא נידה ולא החרים אותו אלא שאמר שהוא מנודה ומוחרם מ"מ גם בכיוצא בזה איכא עונש נידוי ואמינא לה מההיא דהקורא לחבירו עבד יהא בנידוי וכו' יע"ש כ"ש כשאמר לו שהוא מוחרם מפי אדם גדול הרי הוא ממש כמי שקראו מנודה ומחורם יותר מפי עצמו ובודאי דחייב נידוי ועוד איכא להחמיר בנ"ד כי מאחר שדיבר שקר שהרב נידהו הרי הוא כפוגע בכבוד הרב שנידה לאדם על לא חמס בכפיו והוי מנדה למי שאינו חייב נידוי כי בכה"ג גם הרב מוהראנ"ח מודה כי הוא חייב נידוי הן מצד שעשאו להרב שמנדה למי שאינו חייב הן שנגע בכבוד הרב שמדבר עליו שקר כי כן שורת הדין נותנת כי זה האיש אשר הוציא דיבה רעה על חבירו שהרב נידהו ולא היו דברים מעולם שיקבל עצמו התרה וקודם כל ילך ויפייס לחבירו על הדבר הזה והמוחל לא יהיה אכזרי וימחול לו ויעשו לו התרה והרב גם כן יעשה לו התרה וימחול לו. ואני אמרתי מוסר השכל במסיבת הועד של ראשי המדינה הביטו וראו ראשונים כמלאכים ואת אחרונים פוסקי הלכות סידרו אחר הלכות נידוי וחרם. הלכות בק"ח וקריעה והספד ואבלות לרמוז דהחי יתן אל לבו בין המנדה בין המנודה דסופו ליפול במשכב וימות ויספדו לו ויתאבלו עליו ועל מה זה יהיה קשה כארז ולא יהיה רך כקנה כי אדם להבל דמה ימיו כצל עובר ומי גבר יחיה ולא יראה מות. האל ברחמיו יזכינו. להכיר מיעוט ערכנו. ולעשות בכל דבר כרצון אבינו שבשמים אכי"ר.

---------------------------------
Daas Torah

Daas Torah
http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2016/01/rav-reuven-feinstein-proposes-takanah.html


Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein endorsed, publicized, and even added his own further accusations to the baseless “seruv” against Aharon Friedman issued by R. Aryeh Ralbag and his enterprise doing business as the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada.  http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2012/03/aide-to-top-republican-refuses-to.html

 As Rabbi Reuvain Feinstein noted, one who signs on to an invalid seruv [deserves] to be in Nidoi and he proposes that a takana be made for that]  Thus, Rabbi Adlerstein [deserves] to be in Nidoi. However according to Rav Gestetner there would be no need for a takana and in fact such a person should be placed in Nidoi according to Chaim Be Yad (88) [see above for the text.

http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2016/01/baltimore-beis-din-apologizes-for-many.html

In the article, Rabbi Adlerstein endorses the “seruv” against Aharon, and adds the further accusations that Aharon is mocking the “beleaguered halachic system” and manipulating halacha.

Tamar unilaterally relocated the parties’ child from Maryland, where the family lived, to Pennsylvania, over Aharon’s objections, and then perjured herself by falsely claiming to the court that she did not do so, before later acknowledging to the court that she had done so.  It is not generally a criminal offense for one parent to unilaterally relocate a child.  However, such action is regarded extremely negatively by the law and the courts. The unilateral relocation of a child by one parent is “reprehensible” and the law is meant to “ensure[] that abducting parents will not receive an advantage for their unjustifiable conduct” – including a “parent who abducts the child pre-decree.” Comment to Section 208 of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction & Enforcement Act [codified by nearly every State, including MD and PA].  In and of itself, it is quite remarkable that Rabbi Adlerstein did not think it relevant to mention the child abduction in writing about the matter.

Given the harsh manner in which the law views such child abductions and the remarks of the judge at an earlier emergency hearing in the case, there was every reason to believe that the child would be returned at a October 2008 pendete lite trial calendared in civil court.  Aharon nevertheless agreed to cancel that trial when Tamar agreed to have the matter adjudicated in the Baltimore Beis Din if the parties could not reach an agreement. The Baltimore Beis Din held three hearings in the matter with the participation of both parties.  Tamar then violated the orders of the Baltimore Beis Din regarding dismissing the case from civil court in order to have the matter decided by civil court instead of Beis Din.

Tamar successfully argued in civil court that the child should remain in Pennsylvania given the time that the child had already been in Pennsylvania before trial, and specifically argued that the time that had elapsed should be prejudicial because Aharon had voluntarily dismissed the earlier pendete lite trial to bring the case to Beis Din.  Thus, Tamar manipulated Aharon’s bringing the case to the Baltimore Beis Din to treat her abduction of the child as a fait accopmpli.

Even at the time of Rabbi Adlerstein’s Cross-Currents article it was known that the “seruv” was without any basis.

The Baltimore Beis Din had previously stated in the Washington Jewish Week: ”Currently, the Epstein-Friedman case remains open but dormant, as “neither party has approached” the Baltimore beit din, requesting that it reconvene, according to Rabbi Mordechai Shuchatowitz, a rabbi on the court. “Right now,” he said, “the ball is in [Epstein’s] court” because, as the party seeking the get, she is responsible for reinitiating proceedings. Since the court has yet officially to order a get, Shuchatowitz said, it’s “a bit premature” to be holding rallies and other events meant “to pressure [Friedman] because he’s not been given his day in court.” After all, “you can’t disobey something you’ve not been told to do.”

Furthermore as the Baltimore Beis Din later noted, even had the case never been brought before the Baltimore Beis Din, the Union of Orthodox Rabbis had no authority to issue a seruv against Aharon.

After failing to pressure the Baltimore Beis Din to order that a get be given, Tamar unsuccessfully attempted to have at least two other batei dinim, the Washington Beis Din and the Beis Din of America, intervene against Aharon. Failing to find an actual beis din to attack Aharon, she hired the criminal enterprise doing business as the Union of Orthodox Rabbis to issue a baseless “seruv” against Aharon.  Shamefully, Rabbi Adlerstein and the editors of Cross-Currents piled upon Aharon citing this baseless “seruv” and what they claimed were Tamar's "impressive list of rabbinic supporters." Even after the subsequent letter from the Baltimore Beis Din proclaiming Aharon's innocence and again stating that any attacks against Aharon were wrong, Rabbi Adlerstein and Cross-Currents have refused to retract their baseless attack against Aharon.

So in their baseless attack against Aharon, it is Rabbi Adlerstein and the editors of Cross-Currents who are guilty of mocking and manipulating halacha and the halachic system.  And, as noted by Rabbi Reuvain Feinstein [ a takana should be made while according to Rav Gestetner based on the Chaim BeYad (88),  Rabbi Adlerstein and the editors of Cross-Currents are therefore in cherem (nidoi).

President Trump Refuses to Apologize for His Central Park Five Ad: 'They Admitted Their Guilt'

https://time.com/5609622/trump-central-park-five-apology/

President Donald Trump has once again refused to apologize for demonizing the Central Park Five.

On Tuesday outside the White House, Trump stopped to answer questions from reporters on his way to his campaign launch rally in Florida. There, reporter April Ryan asked him if he would apologize for an full-page ad he took out in 1989, in which he castigated the five teenagers arrested in the case and called for the return of the death penalty.

In 1990, five black and hispanic teenagers were convicted of raping and beating a white woman in Central Park. Their convictions were vacated in 2002 after another man came forward and admitted to the rape. His DNA matched with evidence that police had collected. Each of the five convicted men received a settlement from New York City of roughly $1 million per year spent in prison.

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a27586174/when-they-see-us-central-park-5-donald-trump/

Patrick Shanahan Withdraws Nomination as Defense Secretary and Steps Down

https://time.com/5609295/patrick-shanahan-nomination-pulled/

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has decided to pull out from the nomination process to become full-time Defense Secretary amid news reports that he, his ex-wife and son were involved in domestic violence incidents in 2010 and 2011.

“It is unfortunate that a painful and deeply personal family situation from long ago is being dredged up and painted in an incomplete and therefore misleading way in the course of this process,” Shanahan said in a statement. “I believe my continuing in the confirmation process would force my three children to relive a traumatic chapter in our family’s life and reopen wounds we have worked years to heal. Ultimately, their safety and well-being is my highest priority.”

Father of Sandy Hook Massacre Victim Wins Defamation Lawsuit Against Shooting Deniers

https://time.com/5609120/sandy-hook-father-wins-defamation-suit/

The father of a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre has won a defamation lawsuit against the authors of a book that claimed the shooting never happened — the latest victory for victims’ relatives who have been taking a more aggressive stance against conspiracy theorists.

The book, “Nobody Died at Sandy Hook,” has also been pulled from shelves to settle claims against its publisher filed by Lenny Pozner, whose 6-year-old son Noah was killed in the shooting.

TRUMP'S 2020 STRATEGY: CAMPAIGN AGAINST HILLARY CLINTON

newsweek

The president repeatedly called Clinton out by name during his hour-plus speech in Orlando, Florida, stopping and smiling as the crowd fell into familiar "lock her up!" chants. Trump repeatedly brought up Clinton's email server, remarking to the crowd that if he so much as deleted an email, he'd be killed.

"Can you imagine, if I got a subpoena — think of this: if I got a subpoena for emails, if I deleted one email, like a love note to Melania, it's the electric chair for Trump," he said.

Trump also referenced Hillary Clinton's use of the word "deplorables" to describe some Trump supporters. The press clung on to the term deplorable, said Trump but, "she also said irredeemables, I think that's worse." The president remarked that "I think Hillary Clinton made a big mistake with that speech," about the 2016 remarks.

Lakewood Jewish woman charged in death of toddler left in car

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264787

NBC News reported last month that the toddler was left in the car after a miscommunication between mother and father about who was to bring the toddler inside.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in the Monday statement the child died due to being left alone in the car on a hot day.

About two-thirds of Lakewood’s population of over 100,000 is Orthodox Jewish.

Some social media users posted anti-Semitic comments under a Facebook post by the Ocean County Prosecutor Office announcing the charge. In a new post, the office urged “mutual respect and tolerance,” and said “there is no room for hate and prejudice.”

CHILD-RAPE CASE CLOUDED IN INCONSISTENCIES, MOUNTING PRESSURE ON POLICE

jpost

However, a resident of the ultra-Orthodox settlement where the attack happened spoke with Radio 103 FM on Tuesday, saying that “We don’t think he [Katusa] raped that child. We’re afraid the attacker is still walking about free,” Maariv reported. 

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the man claimed it “doesn’t make sense that an Arab takes a 7-year-old girl… and drags her away when there are thousands of children in the street and haredi adults, and she’s crying and resisting the whole time.”

Channel 12 reported on Tuesday that no document existed proving the rape of the child and that apart from the child’s identification of Katusa, no proof existed to connect him to the crime.

Furthermore, the girl only identified him after having spoken to her teacher at school, Channel 12 said.

Anti-Vaxxers Storm Albany In Hopes Of Saving Religious Exemptions For Vaccines

.cbslocal

How many people in this room do not believe the information coming from the Centers for Disease Control,” LaPook asked a room of anti-vaxxing parents who all raised their hands.

“The rabbis tell us that there’s nothing in Judaism that prohibits vaccinations,” LaPook told a parent at the protest.

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied.

Most of New York’s measles cases have been traced to Orthodox Jewish communities in the state.

Suicide rates among America's young people continue to soar, study shows

cnn

Suicide rates among young people have continued to soar in recent years -- so much so that the rate among 15- to 24-year-olds climbed in 2017 to its highest point since 2000, new research has found.

An increase was especially seen among 15- to 19-year-olds and young men, according to a research paper published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA.

Trump’s biggest impediment to winning in 2020? His personality

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-goldberg-trump-personality-campaign-polling-20190618-story.html

And that’s the problem for Trump. When you talk to people who think Trump will be reelected they point to conventional rules about how a good economy makes voters want to stay the course. That’s superficially plausible, but it leaves out the single most important fact of the political landscape: Trump’s personality. A good economy doesn’t necessarily speak for itself. Normal presidents stay on message to deny the press the ability to talk about more interesting stuff. The only talking point Trump can be counted on to stick to is himself. Hence, his claim to Stephanopoulos that no one has been treated worse than him.

ה'תלמיד חכם' שלא הרכין את ראשו - גם כששרפו את ספרו

https://mobile.kikar.co.il/article/320551

ספרו של הגר"נ קמינצקי שנפטר לאחרונה, 'עשייתו של גדול', עורר חרם רבתי וטקסי שריפה המוניים, ויצר סערה אדירה גם בתוך משפחתו; הכל, לטענתו, משום שנגע במונח הרגיש שנקרא 'גדול' 

it is important to know that he revealed a very important fact i.e.,

that there are two different and distinct traditions

that of gadolim and that which is constructed for the masses

The making of a gadol is simply an account of what he personally heard from his father and other gadolim as Rav Nossen himself said in reply to Rabbi Breurer critique that it was not history. His crime was that he revealed this version to the masses

Chao Corruption Shocking Even For Scandal-Plagued Donald Trump Cabinet | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

McFaul: Absolutely Shocking If Intel Officials Are Holding Back Info From Trump | MTP Daily | MSNB

NYT: Intel Officials Hesitant To Tell Trump Details On Russia Operations | Velshi & Ruhle | MSNBC

Nobody Believes Trump Admin’s Story About Iran

VIDEO: Trump Caught Knowing Nothing, Mumbles Word Salad

Why are we headed for a blowup with Iran? It began when Trump scrapped the nuclear deal

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/06/17/iran-us-blowup-possible-since-trump-quit-nuclear-deal-column/1471389001/

How did we get here and, more troubling, exactly where are we going? Amidst all the hype, spin and storytelling from both sides, here are some harsh truths about the Trump administration and its Iranian adversaries.

The Iranian regime is authoritarian, ideological and repressive, a serial human rights abuser and regional troublemaker. But we now find ourselves in a dangerous situation largely as a result of a great unraveling begun by the Trump administration's unilateral decision last year to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.

The accord — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — was flawed, to be sure, and didn’t address Iran’s aggressive regional behavior or its ballistic missile programs. Even so, it was still a highly functional arms control agreement that imposed significant constraints on Iran's nuclear program for at least for a decade or more.

Campaigning hard against the agreement, candidate Trump vowed to renegotiate or leave what he deemed the worst agreement ever negotiated. Then as president, he pulled out of the agreement and launched his "maximum pressure" campaign. The administration reimposed sanctions on banking and petrochemicals and, in the past several months, has made a major effort to reduce Iran's lifeblood — its oil exports — to zero. As intended, all of this has wreaked havoc on the Iranian economy.

On-Line Web Resources

https://rabbimanning.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/On-Line-Web-Resources-2017-Version-3-March-2017.pdf


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Rabbi Anthony Manning – www.rabbimanning.com – revised March 2017
On-Line Web Resources
Index to the List
Topic Page
Important Notes 1
Audio Shiurim 2
Halacha /Jewish Law 3
Medical Ethics 5
Jewish Philosophy and Hashkafa 5
Chumash/Tanach 5
Contemporary Issues 6
On Line Torah Journals and Periodicals 7
Israel/Religious Zionism 8
Kiruv and General Torah Education 8
Rabbis’ Personal Sites 10
Rav Soloveitchik 13
Jewish History 13
On-line Sefarim and Articles English 14
 Hebrew 15
Teaching and Educational Materials 17
Talmud 18
On-line aids to Tefilla, Nusach and Jewish Song 18
On-line Learning 19
Kashrut 19
Miscellaneous 20
Marriage and Relationships 21
Encyclopedias, Dictionaries and
General Jewish Knowledge 21
Manuscripts 22
Academic Sources 23
Blogs and current issues 24
Links to Links 26
Other Lists 27
Important Notes
1. This List of almost 400 sites has been prepared in response to requests from students for
information on what’s ‘out there’ on the web, so as to help them to take forward their Jewish
education following some intensive Jewish learning, usually post high school or post college.
Although many of the sites on the List are geared to such students, many others are in truth
more suitable for the more experienced scholar seeking to make use of web resources for the
purpose of shiur preparation or advanced study. Rather than prepare two separate lists, I leave
it to the intelligence and discretion of the user to discern which sites are most helpful for them. I
believe that most people can gain something from almost all of the sites on the list, but you’ll
hopefully find the ‘niche’ that fits you best.
2 | P a g e
Rabbi Anthony Manning – www.rabbimanning.com – revised March 2017
2. The List primarily comprises sites in English. Although there are many excellent Torah sites in
Hebrew (a few of which are included in the List), my assumption is that most users will read
more quickly and comfortably in English and my aim here is to assist in the acquisition of a
broader and wider general Jewish knowledge. Since time is very limited and the task is
momentous, speed is an important factor. However, it is critical to appreciate the Hebrew
resources out there. Searching on Google in Hebrew will yield a goldmine of extra results!
3. The List should not be taken as an endorsement of all content on the sites mentioned. Whilst
most of the sites broadly represent Jewish Orthodox thought1
, they span a range of
contemporary hashkafic approaches. I make no attempt to label the sites according to modern
hashkafic labels; the discerning reader should be able to work that out for themselves. Some of
the sites are by academic writers and thus reflect academic perspectives and styles which may
not accord fully with today’s religious sensitivities.
4. In most cases, sites contain further links to other resources which may (and often do) fall
outside the spectrum of Orthodox thought. As with all internet use, care must always be taken
and considerable discretion used when ‘surfing’. The unexpected and often undesirable may only
be one click away!
5. Some sites may be controversial in certain circles and the reader is urged to use thought and
discretion when reading all material and to seek appropriate Rabbinic guidance wherever
necessary. I have consciously chosen to include controversial issues and Rabbis on the basis that
those using the web will be exposed to such issues anyway. Again, I do not personally endorse
or support every view expressed, but, as Chazal state, only through debate can one arrive at
truth!
6. Sites that I personally recommend strongly are marked with a star “*”. A few sites are listed
in more than one section to make them easier to find.
7. Websites are sometimes shut down and links become broken. My apologies if this happens to
any entries on the List. You can help me to keep the list up-to-date by letting me know if links
are broken – rabbi@rabbimanning.com
8. Finally, the list can no doubt be enhanced and improved. I would be very happy to hear from
other people with suggestions as to what they feel could be added (or should be deleted!)
Audio Shiurim
http://www.yutorah.org/ *
A goldmine of Torah – 65,000+ audio shiurim, many with source notes, from the top YU
speakers.
http://www.nerleelef.com/audio.html
http://www.ou.org/index.php/torah/#.UM8eMOTqkuc
Hundreds of shiurim with audio and source notes from the OU.

מזעזע: חבריו של הנאשם סייעו לו ואמרו לילדה - "מגיע לך

https://www.kikar.co.il/320683.html

לאחר כתב האישום נגד הפלסטיני מדיר קדיס שתקף באכזריות ילדה בת 7, עולה כי שני חבריו הטיחו בה - "מגיע לך", מנעו מנה לכאורה לברוח וטרם נעצרו. בן גביר קורא ל"גזר דין מוות" (חדשות, בארץ)

Matthew Karelefsky: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

https://heavy.com/news/2019/06/matthew-karelefsky/

Matthew Karelefsky has been identified as the man accused of arson and attempted murder after police say he set a fire in Brooklyn targeting a rabbi he held a deadly grudge against. The four-alarm fire burned three homes on Thursday, June 13, and injured 13 people, including a baby, authorities in New York say.

Karelefsky, a 41-year-old former teacher from McKeesport, Pennsylvania, who also goes by the name Menachem Karelefsky, has a tattoo on his arm reading, “Never let go of the HATRED — KILL Rabbi Max.” Rabbi Jonathan Max lives in one of the homes burned in the fire, the New York Times reports. He was not injured.

Karelefsky had long expressed hatred for the rabbi online, including on social media pages and Jewish websites. He accused the rabbi of sexual abuse — without any evidence — in apparent anger over personal dealings with Max. “He’s been making threats against Rabbi Max for years,” a friend said. “As a last resort, he told a friend that he was gonna spread false rumors that he was molested by him. They are completely false.”

President Trump Accuses the New York 'Times' of a 'Virtual Act of Treason' for an Article His Own Administration Reportedly Cleared

https://time.com/5607955/trump-new-york-times-russia-treason/

Trump responded to a New York Times story that detailed his administration stepping up attacks on Russia’s power grid in response to Russian-directed U.S. election interference. The President called the story “a virtual act of treason” before accusing the paper of writing without regard to the consequences of the reporting, calling them “true cowards” and repeating his line that the Times is “the enemy of the people.”

Soon after Trump’s accusations, the Times responded on Twitter and claimed that the paper had described the content of the article to administration officials before the story’s publication.

According to the article, officials at Trump’s National Security Council declined to comment on the reporting, but said that “they had no national security concerns about the details of The New York Times’ reporting.”

FOX NEWS POLL SHOWS TRUMP LAGGING BEHIND BIDEN, SANDERS, THREE OTHER DEMOCRATS IN 2020 RACE

https://www.newsweek.com/fox-news-poll-shows-trump-lagging-behind-biden-sanders-three-other-democrats-2020-race-1444216

The latest poll, conducted between June 9 and June 12, found Democratic frontrunners — former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders — each garnering 49 percent of the vote in a hypothetical head-to-head against the president.

Biden fared slightly better against Trump, beating the incumbent by ten percentage points, while Sanders had a slightly smaller gap of nine points over the president.

Pennsylvania man with crazed grudge against Brooklyn rabbi charged with attempted murder and arson in fire that torched holy man’s home

nydailynews

A Pennsylvania man with an crazed grudge against a Brooklyn rabbi has been arrested over accusations he set a massive fire that torched the religious leader’s home and sent 13 people — including a 6-week-old infant — to the hospital, police said Sunday.

Menachem “Matthew” Karelefsky, of McKeesport, Pa., was charged with two counts of attempted murder and arson for the four-alarm fire that erupted early Thursday on E. 17th St. near Avenue N in Midwood.

Donald Trump Claims No One Calls The FBI- Meet The Man Who Did | The Beat With Ari Melber | MSNBC

Fox hosts give Trump chilling news about his open collusion invitation

Sen. Graham on Trump comments: It's a mistake

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-opposition-dirt-foreign-power-1443895

President Trump said Wednesday evening of foreign intelligence on election opponents that "it's not an interference, they have information—I think I'd take it," to ABC's George Stephanopoulos. "If I thought there was something wrong, I'd go maybe to the FBI—if I thought there was something wrong. But when somebody comes up with oppo research, right, they come up with oppo research, 'Oh let's call the FBI.' The FBI doesn't have enough agents to take care of it. When you go and talk, honestly, to congressmen, they all do it, they always have, and that's the way it is. It's called oppo research."

It is true that most congressmen and presidential candidates do opposition research, but they pay American staff to do it and use legal search functions, they are not getting their research from illegally hacking into emails or from foreign agents.

"When foreign governments are offering to 'help' a particular candidate, it's not because they want to have a beer with them at some point. They want to be able to change our policies — including ones that make it easier for them to do things against the interests of the U.S.," wrote former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa on Twitter. "When such help is accepted and kept hidden, it becomes a source of liability for the candidate/officeholder. This means that the foreign government then has LEVERAGE over a person who ends up in a position of public trust."

Not even Trump-pal Senator Lindsey Graham could fully defend the president. "I believe that it should be practice for all public officials who are contacted by a foreign government with an offer of assistance to their campaign—either directly or indirectly—to inform the FBI and reject the offer," he said before launching into a Twitter thread accusing Democrats of also engaging with foreign nationals for campaign research by paying former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele for a dossier of information on the Trump campaign. However, a 2018 report by a Republican-led House committee noted that merely paying a foreign citizen for opposition research is within the boundaries of the law.

Former Senator Rick Santorum, meanwhile, defended the president's words by saying that he didn't mean what he said. The president was just speaking "colloquially," explained Santorum.

"He has, sort of—as we all do, filler words that don't mean what they say, like, 'I think,'" Santorum said on CNN. "So I took the president for his word that he would do both, which I think, I don't think that's necessarily inappropriate as long as he refers it to the FBI. As far as looking at the information, maybe he should and maybe he shouldn't and I don't think it's a crime in looking at the information as long as you refer it to the proper authorities."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi commented on the president's interview at her weekly press conference Thursday morning, but did not change her tune on avoiding impeachment chatter.

"Yesterday the president gave us evidence that he does not know right from wrong, it's a very sad thing," she said, "for the president to be so cavalier, to disregard any sense of ethics about who we are as a country, that's an assault on our democracy."

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/13/politics/donald-trump-spy-election-2020-foreign-government/index.html

In context: Sean Hannity’s conflicting remarks on jailing political opponents

politifact

Fresh off word from a Politico report that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told party leaders she’d like to see President Donald Trump in prison, Fox News host Sean Hannity gave a fiery monologue that’s had many people calling him a hypocrite.

"Speaker Pelosi now apparently telling senior Democrats she’d like to see Trump behind bars," Hannity said during the June 6, 2019, episode of "Hannity," his TV program. "Based on no actual crimes, she wants a political opponent locked up in prison? That happens in banana republics."

threats - is this normal behavior?

Yehuda Pogrow

Jun 9, 2019, 2:51 AM

Take everything with my name on it off of the internet. Like it never existed. 

Delete all of the posts in their entirety. 

Then reach out to Google and ask them to expedite the process of getting everything cleared off of their servers.

Do it by noon tomorrow EST.

Take it down, Eidensohn.

I don't threaten illegal action, but boy will I make the Legal Pain Rain.

Being in another country won't help you.

Ask those on Copy what I am capable of.

You want me to take pity on you. Really. You Do.

Troubled Dutch teen was not euthanised: minister

times of india

The Hague: A Dutch teenager traumatised by a childhood rape died at home after refusing food and drink but was not euthanised, a minister and a clinic said on Wednesday, dismissing "incorrect" media reports. Noa Pothoven, 17, who became famous after writing a book about her long battle with anorexia, severe depression and posttraumatic stress disorder, died on Sunday. Pothoven said in a final Instagram post that she had "lost the will to fight".

Birthright Trips, a Rite of Passage for Many Jews, Are Now a Target of Protests

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/11/us/israel-birthright-jews-protests.html

But the protests highlight growing unease among many young American Jews over Israel’s policies. They see Israeli leaders who have been drifting rightward and openly embracing the annexation of the West Bank, land on which Palestinians have long hoped to build their own state.

The Birthright protests also highlight a generational divide between Jews who grew up with the constant fear of Israel’s destruction, and younger people today who may be more likely to take Israel’s existence for granted, and who focus instead on the millions of Palestinians left stateless by the conflict.

Rabbi Eliyahu: Help women harmed by Rabbi Sheinberg

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264425

The Rabbi of Tzfat, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, published a video supporting women who were harmed by Ezra Sheinberg, calling on the public to help them.

"I was privileged to accompany them on part of their path," said Rabbi Eliyahu, adding: "I saw what lionesses, heroines, brave and special women they are.”

At the end of the video, the rabbi said: "We need to help as much as possible, because that is how we will eradicate the spirit of impurity from the land."

The video of Rabbi Eliyahu joins other recently published videos, including of rabbis and rabbanits such as Malka Piotrkowsky and Yehudit Shilat, who called to help the victims with the fundraising process in which they now find themselves.

The victims of Sheinberg embarked on a mass mobilization campaign to raise money to help them in the civil suit they are now conducting against Sheinberg, and to help fund the psychological treatments they need.

They wrote on their Facebook page: "It's hard for us to say this out loud, but we, the victims of Ezra Sheinberg, need the help of the public. Years of treatment and legal proceedings and caused us to go into huge financial debt. We are at a crossroads where we must decide - do we ask for help or abandon everything because of debt? We have decided to fight. For ourselves, for our families, so that there will be no more women harmed in the future."

Sheinberg, the former Dean of Orot Ha’ari yeshiva in Tzfat, was convicted as part of a plea bargain for sexually assaulting eight women and sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison.

Smash the Wellness Industry

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/08/opinion/sunday/women-dieting-wellness.html

The wellness industry is the diet industry, and the diet industry is a function of the patriarchal beauty standard under which women either punish themselves to become smaller or are punished for failing to comply, and the stress of this hurts our health too. I am a thin white woman, and the shame and derision I have experienced for failing to be even thinner is nothing compared with what women in less compliant bodies bear. Wellness is a largely white, privileged enterprise catering to largely white, privileged, already thin and able-bodied women, promoting exercise only they have the time to do and Tuscan kale only they have the resources to buy.

'Today there's no patience. If it doesn't work they divorce'

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264383

Kikar Hashabbat quoted Rabbi Hirsch: "Once the situation was that a woman by nature was subservient to her husband. He was the king at home and she did kindness for him and was also subservient to him, and he would honor her more than [he honored] himself. And that way, if you live that way, over time love and great friendship is built.

"Today the situation is different. Many girls don't have the natural subservience, they're not subservient to their husbands, they don't make him a king in the home, and especially in our communities, where the woman who works and the husband starts to deal with the house a bit, this kind of situation is created.

"Today there's a lack of patience. Once there was patience to wait. Today there's no patience, if there isn't something immediately, there's a fight and there's divorce. In the past 45 years the percentage of divorces in Israel has risen, grown, jumped. If a person knows that there's a way to get out of marriage, he's not willing to try

Watch Fox News host call Trump statement 'fake news'

Weak Jobs Report Draws Criticism; Can Trumpism Survive Donald Trump? | Morning Joe | MSNBC