Rav Sternbuch - Living with Sinai

Rescue of Yemenite Jews

Haaretz reports

A small group of Yemenite Jews arrived in Israel on Thursday in a covert operation carried out by the Jewish Agency.

The Agency's Spokesman Michael Jankelowitz refused to say how the 10 people were rescued, citing security concerns, but said they had been threatened by al-Qaida.

The Ben Yisrael family was extricated from the city of Raida, after suffering from anti-Semitic attacks and repeated death threats.

A few weeks ago, a grenade was thrown into the courtyard of the family's home in Raida, possibly by al Qaida-affiliated extremists.

Said Ben Yisrael, who heads the Raida Jewish community, and his family are due to take up Israeli citizenship upon their arrival. They will be taken to Beit Shemesh, accompanied by a Jewish Agency team.

There are approximately 280 Jews left today In Yemen, 230 of whom live in Raida in the Omran province, and another 50 Jews live in the capital city of Sana'a.[...]

Child abuse - Difficult to prove accusations

JPost reports:

Parents waited anxiously Wednesday for Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz to respond to an appeal that he reopen an investigation against a Jerusalem-area pre-school teacher who allegedly abused their children.

The parents issued their appeal in the form of a letter they delivered to Mazuz's office at the Justice Ministry on Tuesday following a decision by prosecutors not to indict the teacher.

Some staged a protest in front of the ministry, bringing battered dolls to emphasize that "children are not rag dolls and cannot be serially abused."

The case began in June 2007 when parents discovered what they described as serious cases of abuse against their children, who had been enrolled at a pre-school in Givat Ze'ev, just outside Jerusalem. After questioning the children as to the source of various scratches and bruises, the youngsters blamed their pre-school teacher.

A number of the parents filed complaints with the police, municipal government and Education Ministry. One said her daughter had been "thrown across the room and then locked in the bathroom."

With a police investigation under way, the Education Ministry transferred the teacher to a pre-school in Jerusalem's Kiryat Menahem neighborhood. The ministry explained that it was standard procedure to transfer an employee following a complaint so as not to interfere with the investigation.

Within a few months, parents at the Kiryat Menahem pre-school also discovered signs of child abuse. The parents of a three-year-old girl who found multiple contusions on her body were concerned enough to take her to the hospital. According to the National Council for the Child, the girl said it had been the pre-school teacher under investigation who caused the injuries.

The organization argued Tuesday that evidence pointed to the fact that the teacher was a serial child abuser and constituted a danger to small children.[...]

Vatican lifts excommunication of anti-Semitic society

Haaretz reports:

In lifting the excommunication of Bishop Richard Williamson who has been accused of Holocaust denial last month, the Catholic Church also readmitted a priestly society that openly propagates virulent anti-Semitism, according to a probe by a Belgian Jewish newspaper.

The Roman Catholic Church excommunicated The Society of St. Pius X in 1988 along with Williamson and three other member priests, declaring their consecrations were "unlawful" and "schismatic."

In January of this year the Vatican lifted the excommunication. On the same day, a Swedish television station aired an interview with Williamson in which he denied the existence of gas chambers during the Holocaust.

In a research performed after the readmittance, a team of journalists from Joods Actueel, an Antwerp-based Jewish news publication, found what they describe as "a slew of anti-Semitic content" on the society's Web sites in five languages.

The probe whose results were made public on Thursday, found that the society's official U.S. Web site described Jews as "the enemy of man, whose secret weapon is the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy," adding that "heads of Jewry have for centuries conspired methodically and out of an undying hatred against the Catholic name."

The South African site said that "Jews have come closer and closer to fulfilling their substitute-Messianic drive towards world dominion." The Irish site asks whether "the Jews are guilty of Deicide," answering: "We must say yes."

The site from Germany, a country with strict limitations on anti-Semitic speech, clarifies that "contemporary Jews are for sure guilty of the murder of God, as long as they don't recognize Christ as God."

The Belgian site accuses Jews of "still believing they are the chosen people" while "awaiting world domination." The Austrian site warns that the Jewish organization B'nai Brith is "found everywhere" and "commands the entire world." [...]

EJF family - fishing for non-Jewish souls

Local-Reviews.com   has the following article. It is interesting that term "eternal Jewish family" is used as bait. The links lead you to another page and then finally to EJF's home page.

Judaism is one of the oldest and most ancient religions in the world, and it can be said that many people can trace their roots back to the original Jews; the children of Israel. But for whatever reason, many of those who have Jewish ancestry are no longer Jewish today, yet are curious about the religion of their heritage. Furthermore, more and more are converting to Judaism, whether because of family ties, spouses, or simply of their own accord, to create their own eternal Jewish family.

If a person wishes to convert to Judaism, there are a few steps they need to take. Most often, an individual’s intent to convert will be reviewed by a rabbi before any ceremony can take place. Once the rabbi believes a convert to be worthy and ready for conversion, they will face a three person religious court to be tested on their knowledge and intent of the religion.

Once the religious court has verified the convert, he or she will then undergo a process of immersion called a mikveh, which is a symbolic cleansing before entering into the faith. Conversion is an important step to an eternal Jewish family. Those who undertake do not do so lightly, and are warned of their responsibilities to the faith and their families after conversion.

Rabbi Bomzer's ban signatories - retract

Rabbi Eidensohn, [This is in reference to this post ]

Although I have studied at yeshiva, I do not consider myself anything close to a chocham; I do, however, feel that I am a rather good judge of character and a more than good analyst of arguments. I have also had personal experiences with conversions and rabbis who perform them. It is for this reason that I am writing to add my support to those who claim that Rabbi Chaim Zev Bomzer has been libeled and slandered in the controversy over the legitimacy of his geirus.

I have been reluctant to write on the matter of R' Tropper and R’ Eisenstein’s charges against Rabbi Bomzer, because I try my best to avoid spreading lashon hora. I admit that because of my own relative lack of talmudic education, I tend to err on the side of caution whenever I am confronted with a situation where my words may be viewed as inappropriate. But this situation demands that all information which can reveal the truth be provided to as many eyes as possible. Having been referred to the blog and having read the many statements supporting and condemning both factions, I have come to the realization that certain obvious questions are being glossed over in the indignation both sides are claiming as a result of this disagreement.

The first issue that has gone undiscussed is the matter of bringing this argument to a din torah for resolution. It is my understanding that R’ Eisenstein has declined to attend a beis din in the US on the grounds that his mentors tell him he need not leave Israel to resolve this matter. Rabbi Bomzer, on the other hand, feels that only in the US can this matter be properly and fairly adjudicated because of numerous adim and other potential expert witnesses who will not or cannot afford to make the trip to Israel. What would it take to have R' Eisenstein come to the US? Would it simply be a matter of the flight? By this letter, I offer to pay R' Eisenstein’s fare if he will agree to come to the US for the beis din.

The other issue is the legitimacy of the letter ostensibly signed by the respected and revered chochomim condemning Rabbi Bomzer and warning against acceptance of his geirus. I have learned that more than one of the signatories has since retracted his support for the contents of that letter. Some have gone so far as to claim that the letter they signed did not contain the same language as the letter which has been circulated, while others have stated that at the very least they do not remember the letter to have stated such things when they signed it, and that they now state unequivocally that they do not support what the letter claims. I am attaching to this email a copy of a statement signed by two of those signatories which I hope you will see fit to place on your blog.

It is not my intention to become involved in any "back and forth" with your other commentators. I have been a contributor to newsgroups and online debates for more than 25 years, and know too well how easily some people allow themselves to behave online in ways they would not dare were they talking to their opponents face to face. So it is my intention bli neder to make this my only statement on the subject in the hope that, by refraining from participation in any inflammatory dialogue, R' Eisenstein will take me up on my offer to assist his participation in the only forum that can settle this matter once and for all.

All the best,

Ben Israel

Why do we need to earn Olam HaBa?

The following interesting question was posed.

Shalom u'vracha! Here's my latest question: Why can't the Creator simply remove the possibility to experience any discomfort/embarrassment that would occur upon being given the "free gift" in the end (olam haba)? In fact, it's not even that much of a free gift at all in the end if the Creator simply removes the potential for evil that causes pain/suffering (because then He wouldn't have to remove much of the possibility to experience any embarrassment in the end). So why is there evil to the extent that there is?

Interestingly, someone I know pointed out that Daas Tevunos explains free will and the associated evil in terms of nahama d'kesufa - but in Derech Hashem Ch. 2 he explains both...WITHOUT ANY REFERENCE WHATSOEVER TO nahama d'kesufa. What do you make of that?

Defense of BMG Hanhala in Beis Feiga dispute

RaP forwarded:

Dangers of teaching complex issues publicly

[I am making this a post due to its cogency and relevance]

mekubal comment to "Sexual molestation is absolutely prohibited accord...":

Shoshi wrote: So I learned, that in general, when people start insulting you "You are too ignorant for me to explain you" it really means that the person insulting you does not know the answer and does not want to tell you.

I wonder what you would have said to R' Kaduri Z"L, who would say to people who asked too many questions, "You are not worthy to learn Kabblah, leave." Thus removing them from his Yeshiva. I have heard from students of his when he still taught at Beit E-l that he would do the same there, effectively kicking people out of someone else's Yeshiva. That can be independantly verified from R' Tzadok of Kosher Torah.com.

Or what you would have said to my first Magid Shiur at BMG who started the Zman by saying, "I will gladly answer any question you may have once you know enough to ask a proper question."

The truth is that if one is given too much information before a proper foundation is laid it can lead to confusion and even kefira. I have no intention of insulting you when I say that your level of learning is not on a par where it can easily enter this type of discussion. This is all in the realms of Dayyanim, which is far more learning than most Rabbis will ever do. Most Rabbis never spend any serious amount of time learning these laws, let alone trying to become expert in them. One can only become a Dayyan after become a Rav(a process that takes a number of years) then one has to have the ability(financial) and willingness to devote 10-15 more years to study of these sorts of laws before one can become fluent in them. Most other Semichut the Rabbinute gives a single exam, for Dayyanut there are five consecutive exams that one takes over a course of years when one has prepared appropriately for each. Personally I have taken and passed the first two, that has taken 4 years. So please excuse me or D"T if we tell you that you are swimming in deep waters, and possibly waters that are out of your depth.

I have endeavored to answer each of your questions, asking only that you actually thoroughly read the answers before making assumptions. You seem to want full and complete answers not just sources. The truth is because of the nature of the topic and the amount of information involved a full treatment cannot be done on a blog. Not only would an exhaustive treatment take ample space, it would, because of the public nature of the blog violate the prohibitions of teaching Torah to non-Jews.

I truly don't think that you fully grasp the complexity of your question, if for no other reason than you don't seem to understand the unfounded assumptions that you are basing it on. There are two parts to your question, one is halakhic and the other is haskafic. However, the hashkafa has to be settled before we move on to the halacha.

For instance you want a guilty party to have to make some kind of reparations for mental health care. You are assuming that mental health care is a valid form of healing and that it is in line with Torah values. Take for instance this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS2G4_CeMCY

I post that because I know the Rosh Yeshiva he learned that from.

Then there is the perspective of others such as R' Mordechai Goldstein Shlit"a, who claims that psychology/psychiatry can diagnose accurate problems but is useless to resolve or heal them. He claims that is the shitta of the Yeshiva where he learned(Chafetz Haim), and has passed that on to each of his students at his own Yeshiva. Furthermore each of his former students that have started their own Yeshivas(at least each of the one's I have spent any time at) hold the same opinion. They have passed this on to their students, some of whom are Dayyanim that will hear cases.

On the other side of the spectrum you have R' Twerski(whom I personally agree with) and Nefesh. Each side believes that it is upholding Torah with its view points. Who is right who is wrong, who can decide? Both sides have Gedolim backing them.

Those view points will radically dertermine different paths and different solutions to the problems that you give. For instance if one does not believe in mental illness, but rather that "problems" are simply a lack of emunah, middot development and Torah Study, then for instance their is no such thing as a serial abuser who has a mental problem. Rather it is simply someone who has sinned, or who has not yet mastered the teivot. Thus why should they be imprisoned or punished? They need rather to be taught and helped. They need proper musar, and chizuk. Maybe they need to make a tikun for an aveira in a past life. You don't have to take my word for it, see the move "Trembling Before God." Granted it deals with homosexuality(though one of the individuals claims to have "improper feelings" for his school children) which is not classified as a mental illness, but nevertheless is a deviance according to Torah. You will see the variety of approaches portrayed there.

There are like streams of reasoning dealing with the victims, but because they disgust me I will not share them here. It is enough to say that there are Torah opinions that, because of their view on psychology and other things, essentially blame the victims for their ongoing problems.

Once those issues are sorted one can move on to halachic issues. As if the halacha was not already complex enough, you have to factor in the above into any decision of a B"D. Their Hashkafa will determine their interpretation of halacha. Simply look at the various posts on this blog about conversion to see how that plays out in a different realm of halacha. In general the less quantifiable a problem, the more complex will be the resulting halachic dispute.

[see rest of post as comment to "Sexual molestation is absolutely prohibited accord..."]

Nefesh Conference on abuse

JPost writes:

Abuse of women, children and the elderly in the religious Jewish community was long denied, on the grounds that observance of the Torah and Talmud prevented it. Physical, sexual, emotional, economic and other types of maltreatment of the weak, claimed this sector, occurs among secular Jews, but "not in our camp."

But this has been disproven by infamous cases of child abuse reported recently in the general media, and the opening of shelters for battered women in haredi neighborhoods.

THE RECENT ninth Jerusalem conference of ATEM Nefesh-Israel - an organization of observant social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and other therapists - had several sessions devoted to this topic. Although all the 200 or so participants were religious (most of them women), the public nature of the conference at the Bayit Vegan Guesthouse constituted a welcome airing of the religious community's "dirty laundry," though some rabbis still insist on hiding it. The organization of religious therapists was founded by Shaare Zedek Medical Center neuropsychologist Dr. Judith Guedalia and geriatric social worker and Melabev found Leah Abramowitz.

Clearly, most religious Jewish men are good or excellent husbands and fathers. No data were provided on how common abuse is in the religious - especially haredi - community, and how it compares with the secular community, but the fact that it was discussed is a healthy phenomenon.

"Twenty years ago, no one would dream of talking openly about violence in the religious family," said Rabbi Dr. Benjamin (Benny) Lau. The modern Orthodox rabbi - who is director of the Center for Judaism and Society, heads Jerusalem's Institute for Social Justice at Beit Morasha, serves as rabbi of the Ramban Synagogue in the Katamon quarter and lectures on Jewish law and social justice at Bar-Ilan University - delivered a keynote address at the conference. "If a community gives a legitimacy to violence and abuse, these can happen. There are closets in haredi society that are still not open."

AN EYE-OPENING workshop on "Spiritual Abuse" of haredi women opened the closet door a crack. Dr. Nicole Dahan, a social worker at the Ariel University Center and Tzipi Levy, a social worker in the Jerusalem Municipality, have done much to put this subject on the public agenda.

While until recently, men's abuse of their partners was known to involve physical, emotional, sexual and verbal violence, as well as economic abuse and the reduction of freedom, Levy and Dahan discovered that some haredi men use God and the commandments to abuse their wives. [...]

Rav Sternbuch - Choosing Life in Tough Times

Sen. Schumer - "Public doesn't care about pork in stimulus package"

Subbotnik Jews of Ilyinka are Jews

Shalom.

I saw the post on your blog today regarding the Subbotnik Jews of Russia, and was simply astonished at its tone and content. With all due respect - and I do respect talmidei chachamim - I would like to bring to your attention the attached article from the haredi newspaper HaMevaser which appeared last month.

In it, Maran HaGaon HaRav Elyashiv Shlit"a is quoted as ruling that the Subbotnik Jews of the village of Ilyinka in southern Russia are "yehudim kasherim lechol davar". While HaRav Elyashiv's pesak relates specifically to Ilyinka, I humbly suggest that in light of this, your headline to the effect that "Subbotniks are not Jewish" warrants correction.

Michael Freund

Rabbi Triebitz - Development of Talmud

I would like to recommend - for the serious students - Rabbi Triebitz' website hashkafacircle.com. Especially of interest is his speculation on the development of the Talmud.