Michael Freund of Shavei Israel responds to criticism

Michael Freund, Chairman, Shavei Israel responds to "RaP's criticism of proselytizing in Poland":

I would like to respond to the spurious criticism and outright lashon hara contained in the March 19 post entitled, "RaP's criticism of proselytizing in Poland".

I find it simply incomprehensible that my organization, Shavei Israel, is being labeled as "missionary" and criticized for helping people in Poland to return to their Jewish roots. Had the person who posted this tirade bothered to read the article in Mishpacha magazine in question, they would have seen quite clearly that I am quoted as saying the following: "For those interested in halachic conversion, we send them to the proper rabbinic authorities. For those who just want to learn more, we try to provide them with positive Jewish experiences.” Shavei Israel leaves the halachic aspect of each case to Israel’s Chief rabbinate. “Each case has its own set of evidence, its own level of proof or reliability,” Freund explains. “Is the Jewish line from the mother or the father? What kind of proof is there? These are things for a beis din to decide.”

There it is - in black and white - we leave these matters for a beis din to decide, because as Torah-observant Jews our fidelity is to Halacha and nothing else. We simply refer the people in question to rabbonim, and it is up to them to make the determination. Since when is referring people to a beis din considered "missionary" activity? Since when is respecting Torah law and following it cause for being the target of lashon hara?

Michael Freund
Chairman, Shavei Israel

Spirtual love vs material love

Meshech Chochma(Vayikra 19:18): Bereishis Rabba (41:1): A tzadik flourishes like a date palm… Just as a date palm and cedar tree have desires also tzadikim have desires. What are their desires – it is for G‑d…. Rav Tanchum said that there was a date palm in Chamaso which did not give forth fruit. A palm tree gardener passed by and commented that this date tree is longing for palm tree in Jericho. Once the two were grafted it bore fruit. The key to understanding this medrash is from the tradition that the yetzer harah does not have an influence except on which the eyes see (Sotah 8a). Lust for material things only is aroused by what the eye sees and then the heart desires(Bamidbar Rabbah 10:2). Similarly Megila (15a) says that the mere mention of the name of Rachab (who was very beautiful) caused a person to be sexual aroused. But that was only if the person knew what she looked like. However what the eye hasn’t seen the heart doesn’t desire.

In contrast the lust of tzadikim is not that way but comes from the power of the mind… Their desire is solely for spirituality and getting close to G‑d and not for material things. This is stated in Shemos (33:20): No man can see me and be alive. Thus we can understand the lust of the date palm and the cedar tree to which tzadikim are compared. It is not based on material desires. Therefore we see that the date palm had desire for that which it couldn’t see. The tzadik has gained control over his material nature and now has desire for that which can’t be seen – which is G‑d. This is also the proper understanding of “You shall love your fellow man as yourself I am G‑d.” Just as you have been commanded to love G‑d even though He hasn’t appeared before you – similarly you shall love and value every single Jew – even though he is so far away from you that you have never seen him.

Abuse - Jewish Board of Advocates for Children

The Jewish Board of Advocates for Children, Inc. (JBAC) is a new non-profit corporation founded in New York State in 2008.

The founders recognize a need for a new voice to address the pressing issues of the day in yeshiva and nonpublic school education. Those issues include the health, safety and welfare of all children, the spiraling cost of religious and nonpublic school education, and the quality of education.

We are both a think tank and activist organization. Among our initial accomplishments, when we were known as the N.Y.S. Yeshiva Parents Association, was our successful advocacy for a new law authorizing all nonpublic schools to fingerprint and background check their prospective employees. Our schools can now avoid hiring convicted sex offenders and other dangerous persons who should not be working near children. This law became effective July 1, 2007.

Our activities include multi-disciplinary conferences, attended by professionals, community leaders, and all interested persons who possess a fervent wish to make a better world for our children. We seek practical solutions to contemporary challenges.

Our Officers and Executive Committee members are comprised of individuals with strong backgrounds in law, medicine, mental health, education, parenting and mentoring, and the Jewish religion.

Abuse - Be careful with doctors

NYTimes reports:

Dr. Melvin D. Levine, the North Carolina pediatrician who faces a lawsuit accusing him of molesting young boys during physical examinations, has signed a consent order agreeing that he will never again practice medicine in North Carolina or anywhere else.

In the consent order, approved by the state medical board on Friday, the board said it had been prepared to present testimony that the genital examinations Dr. Levine conducted on five unnamed patients were done outside the presence of a parent or chaperone, were not medically indicated and were either not documented in the medical record or not documented according to prevailing standards.

Until the accusations of sexual molesting surfaced last year, Dr. Levine was a prominent voice in the field of learning disabilities. His books and lectures were acclaimed by teachers and parents.

Dr. Levine, 69, has denied any wrongdoing. He voluntarily suspended his license last April and faces no criminal charges. Although the consent order did not address his guilt or innocence, Thomas Mansfield, the medical board’s legal director, said the order was unusually broad.

“The result of this consent order is that this physician will never examine another patient anywhere in the world,” Mr. Mansfield said. “Rarely do you see one that says never again, in any jurisdiction.”

The order, whose language was negotiated with Dr. Levine’s lawyer, said Dr. Levine had been prepared to present testimony that his examinations were medically indicated and consistent with standard medical practice.

The order also said the board had received many letters in support of Dr. Levine from doctors, educators, former patients and their parents, saying he had been instrumental both in helping students who struggle in school and in “helping teachers and clinicians understand the differences in learning and better manage students whose problems were misunderstood and poorly managed in the past.”

Dr. Levine’s lawyer, Alan Schneider, said, “He continues to adamantly deny the allegations.”[...]

Abuse - Incest - immoral but legal

Associated Press

Surprising as it may seem, incest is not always a crime in Europe.

Three European Union nations — France, Spain and Portugal — do not prosecute consenting adults for incest, and Romania is considering following suit.

The shocking case of Austrian Josef Fritzl, found guilty this week of holding his daughter captive for 24 years and fathering her seven children, has focused new attention on incest — which is a crime in itself in Austria even if the acts are consensual. But in the Fritzl case it was in connection with rape, homicide and other charges that led to a sentence of life in a secure psychiatric ward.

Laws exempting parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters from prosecution for incestuous acts if they are not forced upon adult family members are decades old in France, Spain and Portugal.

In Romania, decriminalizing incest among consenting adults is being considered as part of a wide range of reforms to the country's criminal code. No date has been set yet for a parliament vote on the bill, and opposition to the proposal is fervent even among some lawmakers in the ruling coalition.

Currently all forms of incest in Romania are punishable by up to seven years in prison. But Romania's Justice Ministry suggests the new legislation would move the country — which joined the European Union two years ago — closer legally to some other EU members.

"Not everything that is immoral has to be illegal," said Justice Ministry legal expert Valerian Cioclei. "We cannot help these people by turning them into criminals and punishing them."[...]

Rambam - Faith & Doubt & the study of Science

Daas Torah: "Why don't we try another dichotomy. If you think his [Rambam] belief that studying of science leads to a greater appreciation of G-d is applicable to all times and all places - than you would conclude that he made a major mistake. On the other hand if you view that he only wrote that for his generation then you would assume that he would have abandoned it in our age when we see being a scientist does not produce a better understanding of G-d than studying Torah."

רפאל I do not think that the Rambam would abandon his view. True, he would be shocked by Chilonim studying Science and not finding G-d. But his directives were for Torah Jews. I submit he would be appalled by the intellectual corruption in today's Yeshiva world, in no small part caused by the ignorance of Science, davka after it gave birth to insights into Creation that are without precedent.

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I think the above exchange demonstrates the gap between the two sides. The Rambam is pictured by my opponents as the Enlightened Man - fearlessly search for truth without regard for the consequence. Urging all men to drop their blinders and no longer fear the Truth which is contained in Science and Philosophy.

This stereotype is simply not supported by the Rambam's own writings. For example the Rambam says that the Morech Nevuchim was not written for everyone. It was specifically written for those who involved in science and philosophy and were bothered by how to integrate the material. Even so he wrote this work with great care - concealing much of his true views as he writes in his introduction. In fact the Rambam was so successfull in concealing what his views were - as manifest by the apparent contradictions between the Moreh Nevuchim and Mishneh Torah - there is no agreement even amongst academics as to the Rambam's true positions on many issues.

Then we have his letters - one of which describes his abandoment of the study of Torah for science and philosophy. Rav Kapach simply says it is a forgery because it is inconsistent with eveything else we know about the Rambam. Then we have the view that the Rambam says that there is no need to study anything besides the Mishneh Torah. Yet he writes in one of his letters that in his yeshiva there was a traditional study of Talmud.

The false fantasy of the Rambam's espousal of fearless search for truth becomes unraveled with his statement that one is not allowed to study works which leads to questions and possible heresy. He says that even a sincere person who is trying to understand Torah - but concludes a view which is heresy - is in fact a heretic.

The Rambam would not walk into Lakewood and knock the shtenders over with the cry - "Go to college and seek the truth - you have nothing to fear!"

One always has to keep in mind the audience for a particular program

A number of years ago Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm wrote a book "Faith and Doubt" which argued for the positive view of having doubt and having searching questions. However tucked away in a footnote 52 he presents a similar position to the above noting Hilchos Avoda Zara (2:3) which proscribes the study of that which may lead to heresy and hence into doubt. "If one reads the passage in Avoda Zara carefully he will note the author's explanation of and qualifications on his prohibition: the inablity of all kinds of mentality to understand philosophic truth...the emphasis on the fact that this is a general decision to be applied to the masses of people... and to casual unsystematic suty... and the fear that such speculation will be undertaken by those who do not know its fundamental principles and methods... Obviously Maimonides was dealing with two principles which had come into conflict - the duty to know G-d rationally, and the obligation to protect the unsophisticated from spiritual confusion...What, however, if the state of society and culture are such that to follow these rules without deviation would result in wholesale abandonment of faith? Would we be justificed in applying these rules regardless of the effects that were to follow? Obviously not.... In Maimondies' days, most peole were covered by his decision in Hilchos Avoda Zara and the minority of accomplished scholars and sophisticated intellects by the law in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah. That was how the halacha protected the integrity of the faith. Today there may be pockets here and there of those who will live in self-contained communities without any access to the great sources of Western Civilization; for them the same decision holds true without change. But most of us, despite our lack of halakhic expertise and our doubtful philosophic sophistication, are such that doubt is ubiquitous with us and if we do not entertain it yet we surely will be exposed to it before long..."

Thus we must acknowledge and be concerned about the consequence of a particular program of study. If a person comes from a culture where Science is the standard of truth - then it might be important to address the issues as R' Slikin is doing. Then again it might be better to simply teach him that the only truth that matters is Torah. However a person who is in the Chareidi society immersed in learning Torah day and night. It is highly unlikely his yiras Shamayim will benefit from a diet of contradictions of Science and Torah and proposed solutions. There are, however, a minority of Charedi Jews that can benefit and therefore should study these issues. It is simply not for everyone.

Rav Sternbuch - Final battles before Moshiach

Abuse - Press charges or help victim?

In Abuse Case, Press Charges Or Help The Victim?

Temima Shulman Special to The Jewish Week | Mar 18, 2009

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A rabbinic expert on abuse in the Jewish community told a conference in Teaneck, N.J., dealing with child sexual abuse last week that “working outside of law enforcement is irresponsible,” and was highly critical of the efforts of Borough Park Assemblyman Dov Hikind.

Rabbi Mark Dratch, who heads JSafe, a not-for-profit organization that addresses issues of abuse in the Jewish community, depicted Hikind, who has been outspoken in recent months in calling attention to the problem of abuse in the Orthodox community, as trying to be an advocate for the abused while refusing to give over the names of alleged perpetrators he says he has amassed to the police. - Read More -

Conservative Judaisim - 3 generation movement

Jpost - Sherwin Pomerantz The writer is president of Atid EDI Ltd., a Jerusalem-based economic development consulting firm,

Rabbi Jerome Epstein's op-ed regarding bringing back the Conservative Movement's most committed young people to Conservative synagogues (March 17) reminds me of the farmer who closed the barn door after the horses left.

His statement that "many of the more committed people who were inspired by our movement have chosen to identify with Orthodox congregations, not because of the ideology but because they seek others who share their commitment to the very ideals that we say we hold dear. They bought into what we said we stand for - but they do not find it in our synagogues. So they seek elsewhere" describes exactly my situation as well as that of so many of my friends and associates who grew up in the Conservative Movement in the US and who now live traditional life styles within the framework of Orthodox synagogues, albeit for the most part in what is know as "modern" Orthodox.

I am a product of the movement. I was president of one of its Chicago area synagogues, Midwest regional president, chairman of the United Synagogue's Council of Regional Presidents, national vice president and, upon making aliya in 1984, founder and officer of Kehilat Ya'ar Ramot, the Conservative congregation in that Jerusalem neighborhood. Yet today, I am the head of the board of the Ohel Nehama synagogue in Katamon and very much involved in the life of that community. What happened?

Rabbi Epstein, whom I have known for the more than 35 years that he has been a professional with the United Synagogue, hits the nail on the head when he says: "They perceive that there is no place for them and their Judaism in the Conservative synagogue." It was not as if those of us who were in the ranks of the traditionalists of the movement left the movement, rather the movement left us by failing to support, in practice, what the movement purported to support in theory.[...]

Rebbtzn Sternbuch A"H - Brother's Hesped

Yated Ne'eman

RaP's criticism of proselytizing in Poland

Recipients and Publicity comment {rest of post is in comments to "Subbotnik Jews of Ilyinka are Jews": ]

Mishpacha magazine for hire continues to promote agenda of Michael Freund and Shavei Israel proselytizing organization.

Mishpacha magazine for hire poses danger to Torah true hashkofas by not teaching about Kiddush Hashem when Jews are obligated to sacrifice their lives for Yiddishkeit and not become Christians, Catholics or Communists.

Shavei Israel digs for converts in Poland and elsewhere in the guise of "hidden Jews" who will in any case require GIUR KEHALACHA LECHUMRA.

As in the case of the Russian Subbotniks, the status of gentiles seeking to become Jews in Poland, as many as 150,000+, poses a threat to Israel as long as the Israeli Chief rabbinate does not affirm its position and leaves it up to Michael Freund to set the agenda.

Read the latest article first, with later comments and analysis starting with "RaP": [...]