Science based shadchun?

NYTimes

IF finding true love were an exact science, we wouldn’t need matchmakers, singles bars or, of course, online dating services.

Like job seekers who take the Myers-Briggs personality test to help steer them to suitable professions, we’d simply take a relationship test, whose results would identify our most compatible types of mates and rule out the frogs. Problem solved.[...]

Stop all conversions?

JC.com Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet,

Tradition tells us that when the Israelites stood at Sinai and embraced the Torah, they were as converts. From that day till the present, the process of conversion entails a “Sinai moment”. By definition, just as the Israelites accepted upon themselves the obligation of mitzvot then, so too the modern-day convert must accept upon himself the same.

Over the past half a century the Jewish world has become mired in controversy over the definition of what that obligation entails. As the debate goes to the core of identifying who is a legitimate member of the Jewish faith, and as all Jewish people, without exceptions, are one entity, like one body with one heart and one soul, then the tragedy of this schism affects the totality of the Jewish people.[...]

Rav Sternbuch:Surviving the Darkness

65 Parsha 02-05-10

Consciousness in vegetative patients

NYTImes

He emerged from the car accident alive but alone, there and not there: a young man whose eyes opened yet whose brain seemed shut down. For five years he lay mute and immobile beneath a diagnosis — “vegetative state” — that all but ruled out the possibility of thought, much less recovery.

But in recent months at a clinic in Liège, Belgium, the patient, now 29, showed traces of brain activity in response to commands from doctors. Now, according to a new report, he has begun to communicate: in response to simple questions, like “Do you have any brothers?,” he showed distinct traces of activity on a brain imaging machine that represented either “yes” or “no.”[...]

R Bulka's observations on conversion crisis

CJnews

The Canadian Jewish News was right, and right on, in calling for unity (Jan. 14) in the face of the latest conversion crisis. Two articles on this matter also appeared, one by Rabbi Marc D. Angel in that same issue, and a followup rebuttal by Rabbi Reuven Tradburks on Jan. 21. In their disagreement, there was an obvious agreement that unity is vital. The question at hand is how best to achieve it.

I know both these distinguished rabbis and am singularly aware of their passionate commitment to the long-range welfare of our community – here, in Israel and everywhere else. So what I share with you herein is in no way to be construed as criticism of these rabbis. It’s more a personal reflection on the issue as it has developed and on the background of what once was.[...]

Tropper resigns as rosh yeshiva of Kol Yaakov

Five Towns Jewish Times

Late this morning Leib Tropper, the head of Yeshiva Kol Yaakov in Monsey resigned his position as Rosh Yeshiva of the institution. The new incoming Rosh Yeshiva is Rabbi Dovid Stefansky Shlita, a maggid shiur in the Yeshiva. Kol Yaakov is staffed by fine Talmidei Chachomim among whom are some quite distinguished Torah scholars.

Tropper indicated that he was resigning so that the Monsey-based Bais Din will not continue their investigations into allegations against him.[...]

Tropper scandal: Investigating beis din threatened

5 Towns Jewish Times

Members of the Monsey based Bais Din investigating the charges against Leib Tropper has been receiving a series of threatening phone calls from people. The threats have ranged from threats of utterly destroying the Rabbis to getting people to pray for the downfall and destruction of the Rabbis involved in the investigation. [...]

Is beis din obligated to convert non-Jews?

Restitution in sexual abuse cases

NYTIMES

When Amy was a little girl, her uncle made her famous in the worst way: as a star in the netherworld of child pornography. Photographs and videos known as “the Misty series” depicting her abuse have circulated on the Internet for more than 10 years, and often turn up in the collections of those arrested for possession of illegal images.

Now, with the help of an inventive lawyer, the young woman known as Amy — her real name has been withheld in court to prevent harassment — is fighting back.

Conversion - best beis din & Jerusalem seminary?

I just received this letter. Would appreciate help in providing him with answers.
================
Rabbi,

Your blogs often discuss issues concerning conversions. But mostly all criticism.  Who in Jerusalem and who in New  York would you recommend an interested guir candidate, daughter of a Jewish father and goy mother to speak with and  learn from?  What beis din in New York City and Jerusalem is ideal in your estimation?  Is the RCA preferable over EJF? What seminary in Jerusalem is best for a md-20s girl giur candidate to learn at in your estimation?

 I could really use your advice.

Gedolim & Placebos: Danger of destroying false expectations

While this article deals with the significance of the placebo effect on depression - it is equally valid concerning revealing the truth in other areas. If a person is happy and functioning well - should you provide him with information that some of his foundation beliefs are simply not true? For example that investments that return 30% interest are probably ponzi schemes or that all rabbis will protect your children from being harmed or that rabbis don't give into lust and greed or that gedolim are infallible or that if you think you have bitachon - the physical world  never matters? These are very real questions as is clear that all people have fundamental beliefs about reality which are not true. In other words does the requirement of "not standing idly by the blood of your brother" include protecting their illusions or to pop them?

Newsweek

Although the year is young, it has already brought my first moral dilemma. In early January a friend mentioned that his New Year's resolution was to beat his chronic depression once and for all. Over the years he had tried a medicine chest's worth of antidepressants, but none had really helped in any enduring way, and when the side effects became so unpleasant that he stopped taking them, the withdrawal symptoms (cramps, dizziness, headaches) were torture. Did I know of any research that might help him decide whether a new antidepressant his doctor recommended might finally lift his chronic darkness at noon?

The moral dilemma was this: oh, yes, I knew of 20-plus years of research on antidepressants, from the old tricyclics to the newer selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that target serotonin (Zoloft, Paxil, and the granddaddy of them all, Prozac, as well as their generic descendants) to even newer ones that also target norepinephrine (Effexor, Wellbutrin). The research had shown that antidepressants help about three quarters of people with depression who take them, a consistent finding that serves as the basis for the oft-repeated mantra "There is no question that the safety and efficacy of antidepressants rest on solid scientific evidence," as psychiatry professor Richard Friedman of Weill Cornell Medical College recently wrote in The New York Times. But ever since a seminal study in 1998, whose findings were reinforced by landmark research in The Journal of the American Medical Association last month, that evidence has come with a big asterisk. Yes, the drugs are effective, in that they lift depression in most patients. But that benefit is hardly more than what patients get when they, unknowingly and as part of a study, take a dummy pill—a placebo. As more and more scientists who study depression and the drugs that treat it are concluding, that suggests that antidepressants are basically expensive Tic Tacs.[,,,]
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World of the Ger VIII - saying they are baalei teshuva

I was recently told by a baal teshuva who is married to a giyorus that he was advised to tell shadchanim that his wife is a baalas teshuva and not mention that she is a giyorus. He said that he had been given this advice by a number of rabbis. Is this deception? Why should it be permitted? What happens when someone finds out the truth?

Rav Eliashiv: Calling the police for theft

Rav Eliashiv(Divrei Sinai page 45-46): Question: On a number of occasions money has been stolen from the local religious affairs office. It appears that the thief is one of the employees. However we don’t have the means of bringing about a confession. The question is whether it is permitted to turn to the police who after investigation - if they are successful in getting a confession - will bring the person to judgment in a secular court. The consequences of this would be very serious since we suspect someone who has a large family and in addition since he is someone who is involved in religious work it will result in chilul hashem (desecration of G‑d’s name), Heaven forbid! On the other hand, public money is missing and who knows what else.

Answer: See Panim Me’eros (2:155) concerning our issue in which someone found an open chest from which much was stolen. There is reasonable circumstantial evidence that one of the workers was the thief. He was asked whether it was permissible to inform the secular authorities and that this will lead to him to confess … However at the end the Panim Me’eros concludes, “It is improper to turn a Jew over to secular authorities as our Sages say they will treat him like a trapped animal and there is concern that if he confesses they will kill him.”  From here it is clear that this ruling is not applicable in our times. Therefore it is permitted to turn to the police. However since you raise the concern that this will lead to a chilul hashem, I can’t render an opinion concerning this since I don’t know how to evaluate it and therefore the matter must be determined by your evaluation.

Fish oil might prevent schizophrenia

ABC NEWS

A new study suggests that fish oil could be the key to a safe and effective form of treatment for young people with schizophrenia.

For young people at risk of developing the mental illness, early treatment is generally seen as the best way to avoid full-blown psychosis down the track.

Only Chief Rabbi has power to nullifying conversions?

YNET

Chief Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar signed over the weekend new measures stipulating that rabbinical courts will no longer deliberate misgivings regarding the validity of conversions, and instead will transfer such files to a special panel chosen by the rabbi himself, Ynet learned.
 
As part of his role as chief rabbi, Rabbi Amar serves as president of the Great Rabbinical Court and as the supreme rabbinical authority on the State conversion layout.

Attempts to terminate Tropper investigation?

Press release has been edited.

Special to the Jewish News Datawire

One was formerly the head of an orthodox Jewish organization that dealt with facilitating the conversion process to Orthodox Judaism. He resigned amid allegations of impropriety with a candidate for conversion.  The other was a wealthy businessman who was [recently acquitted of all charges] that he had molested two women by pretending to be a gynecologist.

Leib Tropper is the former.  Zalman Leib Silber is the latter.  ....  Apparently, this past Sunday, the latter paid an unannounced visit to some of the Rabbis conducting an investigation into Leib Tropper’s behavior, asking that they drop the investigation.

Leib Tropper is the former head of the Eternal Jewish Foundation (EJF), an organization that has in the past successfully promoted the conversion process to Orthodox Judaism to couples that are intermarried.  EJF, among its other activities, provides scholarships for intermarried couples to attend seminars in Judaism at various hotels throughout the country, to promote their conversion to Orthodox Judaism promoting something that they term “Universally Recognized Conversions.”[...]

“The real scandal here is not the association between the two, but that someone would have the temerity to interfere with an investigation conducted by leading and respected Rabbis,” remarked a former colleague of Tropper.

Bnei Menashe - Shavei Israel outreach program

Tropper's Lakewood meeting with Kol Yaakov alumni

Yehoshua wrote:

I just received this letter from Kol Yaakov yeshiva. It is postmarked January 28, 2010 and the letter itself is dated January 25, 2010 on KolYaakov letterhead. I typed it out because I don't have a scanner.

As you can read below, whomever sent this letter still believes in Tropper and fund raising is still on-going.

========================
Dear fellow alumni,

Every morning for the past 26 years,without fail, Hilchos Lashon Hara from the sefer Chofetz Chaim have been learned in the Bais Medrash of Kol Yaakov, your Bais Medrash, after shacharis. This emphasis on binding together learning and character development in a tangible way is part of what makes Kol Yaakov so special.

This past month, Kol Yaakov Torah Center has endured one of the most challenging periods of its 29 year history. Kol Yaakov has emerged whole and is forging ahead.

Just this past Sunday, Rabbi Tropper and alumni of the yeshiva from Lakewood, Passaic, and Philadelphia gathered together in Lakewood for an asifa. Everyone took time out of their busy schedules to hear Divrei Torah from Rabbi Tropper, spend time with fellow alumni, and to gain new chizuk and direction.

As alumni of Kol Yaakov, you are the most important people outside of the walls of the yeshiva to its health and continued growth. Please take the opportunity to be personally mechazek the yeshiva: taking time to learn and daven in the Bais Medrash, calling the yeshiva office to share your simchos, and donating much needed funds to help ensure our future. Even if you are not able to visit the Bais Medrash personally, please reach out and call Rabbi Tropper and the yeshiva – reconnect to Rabbi Tropper and your Makom Torah.

Together, we will continue to emerge from this nisayon not as only as strong and healthy as before but in an even better position to broaden and intensify the yeshiva’s mission of teaching Torah, helping create a new generation of Tamidei Chachomim and strengthening Jewish life.

B’yedidus,

Yonason Meadows  Binhyomin Segall  Amitai Bielinki  Yaakov Gruber

Tropper & Silence of the Rabbis/R' Ribiat (II)

5Towns Jewish Times

On January 21, 10 Rabbi Dovid Ribiat released an interview regarding the Tropper scandal. His remarks generated a lot of interest, and he was asked on Jan. 29 for another brief interview to address some of the many questions that have since been raised.

Rabbi Ribiat heads the Kollel Ohr Yaakov of Forshay in Monsey NY, and is regarded as a prominent Halachic authority across the US. He is also the author of several Seforim, including the world-renowned four-volume work on the 39 Melochos of Shabbo [...]

Conversion in the service of politics: Bnei Menashe

The National 

Nazareth, Israel  The Israeli government is reported to have quietly approved the fast-track immigration of 7,000 members of a supposedly “lost Jewish” tribe, known as the Bnei Menashe, currently living in a remote area of India.

Under the plan, the “lost Jews” would be brought to Israel over the next two years by right-wing and religious organisations who, critics are concerned, will seek to place them in West Bank settlements in a bid to foil Israel’s partial agreement to a temporary freeze of settlement growth. [...]

Rav Sternbuch - Maintaining elevation

What could you live without?

NYTimes

It all began with a stop at a red light.

Kevin Salwen, a writer and entrepreneur in Atlanta, was driving his 14-year-old daughter, Hannah, back from a sleepover in 2006. While waiting at a traffic light, they saw a black Mercedes coupe on one side and a homeless man begging for food on the other.

“Dad, if that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal,” Hannah protested. The light changed and they drove on, but Hannah was too young to be reasonable. She pestered her parents about inequity, insisting that she wanted to do something. [...]

Chilul HaShem: Why is tropper still rosh yeshiva?

The tropper/EJF scandal has entered a new phase.

1) Originally when the tapes were released and tropper immediately resigned there were two views - 1) the tapes are forgeries vs 2) he is a disgusting menvual and walking chilul hashem.

2) As time passed and tropper remained silent and more people realized the tapes were genuine we now have the following three groups 1) the tapes are forgeries became a minority and 2)most said that they were not sure if  the tapes are forgeries and but we must give him the benefit of doubt and even if he sinned , Berachos says we must presumed that a talmid chachom who sinned at night has done teshuva next day vs 3) he is guilty and a walking chilul hashem and the continued silence of the rabbis is embarrassing and sowing confusion regarding moral leadership and emunas chachomim..

We are now in state three and there are two different approaches being taken

1) Tropper did sin, tapes are genuine and he was a menuval but he has definitely done teshuva and those who want him removed as rosh yeshiva and constantly talk about him lack the elementary Jewish quality of rachmonus and they are baalei loshon harah and they are causing the chillul hashem by talking about it  Furthermore he only violated rabbinic prohibitions and thus that is not considered to be a genuine chillul hashem. thus case is closed and we must get on with life and act as if nothing happened.

vs 2) Tropper sinned - not out of a moment of overwhelming lust which is what the gemora in Berachos was describing.  He was seriously and persistently a menuval and thus there is no presumption of teshuva. There is in fact no evidence that he has done teshuva except for a brief statement released to the press that he apologizes for the appearance of violating the laws of modesty! He sinned against a particular woman and there is no mention that he has asked for mechila and that she has granted it. This is a an embarrassing defense and it is not teshuva.  But even if we say he did teshuva  that doesn't allow him to a rosh yeshiva and being called a rabbi. This is for two reasons 1) The gemora says a rosh yeshiva and rabbi need to be a person who is pure and is perceived as pure. He needs to be perceived as the embodiment of Torah itself. It is embarrassing that he is being defended that he only violated a rabbinic decree of nida and  is kares medivrei kabbalah. The gemora says "All who transgress the words of our sages are deserving death at the hand of Heaven." That is an insignificant chillul haShem?! Furthermore it is not certain that he only violated rabbinic laws. 2) The chillul haShem is in the perception of the public both Jews and non-Jews who know that tropper has sinned in a disgusting way and thus he is a chillul hashem every time he is identified as a rosh yeshiva and rabbi. This is not an issue of rachmonus. Is every time that the punishments prescribed by the Torah and Rabbinic decree are carried out it a lack of rachomonus?! Chas vesholom! It is the greatest rachmonus to allow punishments which bring about atonement.

It is time for Tropper to retire and save G-d and the Jewish people the continued embarrassment and degradation. It is time to stop the torment of his students - present and past. Has the man no shame? It is time for rabbis and organization to publicly criticize him - and it is time for EJF  the monster with two heads that he created which is interfering with the issue of geirus and causing distress to converts on an international level - be disbanded. It is necessary for the rabbis to restore confidence in their moral leadership and the public's emunas chachomim. It is an fundamental obligation that the leaders make the effort to explain and convince the public of  their course of action. This is not just the aberration of a single individual but rather the healing of the entire Jewish people.

A blogging rabbi under attack

Five Town Jewish Times   I was requested to make this a separate post but see original post see Tropper scandal is this what Lakewood is producing. 


Rabbi Daniel Eidensohn lives in Har Nof, Jerusalem. He is the author of the much acclaimed Daas Torah Sefer, the Yad Moshe Index on Igros Moshe, and operator of a blog entitled DaasTorah, has been one of the few individuals strong enough and brave enough to stand up against bullying in the Orthodox Torah world.

Even before the Tropper scandal, Rabbi Eidensohn has been exposing the misrepresentations, the bullying, and the unfair practices that this organization has used against Bnei Torah, Geirim, and numerous others.

Now he, like many others who have attempted to shed light on some very questionable practices, is being attacked. A writer that claims he is from Lakewood writes about a Jewish bookstore in Lakewood as follows:[...]

Bankrupt diocese will pay $9.8 million to abuse victims

Anchorage Daily News

The Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks is emerging from bankruptcy under a plan that will provide nearly $10 million -- and maybe much more -- to sexual abuse victims, send the bishop traveling to parishes where abuse occurred, and put names of suspected abusers on the diocese Web site.

Under the plan for reorganization, $9.8 million will go into a fund for close to 300 victims. Another $2.5 million is going to lawyers, accountants and other professionals. Payments to individuals will be decided case-by-case by a mediator, depending on a variety of factors including the nature and severity of abuse, the age of the victim at the time it started, and whether the perpetrator was in a position of trust.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Donald MacDonald approved the plan at a hearing Monday morning in Anchorage.

"I've never had a case like this in my nearly 20 years on the bench," the judge told the lawyers and Catholic church leaders gathered in court. The sexual abuse claims made this bankruptcy especially challenging, he said.

When religious people lie

5towns Jewish Times

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zatzal once wrote of the horrific repercussions of lying. Aside from the issues and Torah violations involved in the lie per se, it also, quite often, causes issues of theft. When someone lies about issues involved in the holocaust, it is particularly heinous. Why is that?

Because it feeds directly into the hands of holocaust deniers and causes enormous pain to numerous people. The lie allows holocaust deniers to cause pain to those who underwent the horrors of the Nazis, their relatives, and anyone who lost family in the holocaust.

Recently, the Washington Post ran a story about a Sofer who misled numerous people regarding Sifrei Torah that were allegedly from the holocaust. If the allegations are true then this is not merely a lie. It involves theft. It also involves providing fodder for holocaust deniers. If the allegations are true, then the Sofer would be in violation of theft, and would lose his ability to serve as a witness in a Jewish court until he does Teshuva.[...]

World of Geirim VI - Shidduchim Issues

sb's  comment  "World of Geirim - IV Seeing both sides":

DT: "Before addressing your other points could you explain your positive response to these posts while Michal and Gioret have viewed them asattacks on them?"

I don't know what to explain. You seem nterested in the truth and exploring tough issues in a sensitive andhonest way.

DT: "Would you mind writing a post about this?
Describe a little about your background. What your expectations were?What possible solutions do you see?

If in fact this is somethingwhich you think is painful but understandable - do you think it should be mentioned clearly to prospective conversion candidates?"

Inthe interest of anonymity, I don't know if I would write a whole post. If you could give me guidelines on how to write a post without givingaway who I am, I could do it.

I'll post a bit here, and I'll keep it vague: My background is that my father is Jewish, mother not. I have learned for quite a few years in 3 yeshivas, the last two "mainstream," in both Israel and the US.

I didn't really have anyexpectations. I realized that the Torah is true and I realized that things might be difficult but it didn't matter.

As for the last two questions, I can't suggest solutions since I don't understand the problem. I have never heard a cogent answer as to why being a convert,or a bt, is considered such a bad thing in terms of shidduchim. The thing is that most (all?) ffb families would take a far less accomplished fbb over a far more accomplished ger/bt. From this it seems that it is some sort of intrinsic issue. This doesn’t make sense to meand I’m still trying to figure it out or hear an answer from someone.

Maybe it’s the Gemara you referenced in Berachos (and also in Arvei Pesachim) about not marrying a giyores, along with the b’nei niddahissue for BT’s? I just have a hard time believing that everyone knows those gemaras and that they are so makpid about them…Sometimes I think maybe it has to do with a "What will my friends/family think" type of thing, but that seems too shallow for many of the people and it doesn't really explain it.

MT: “Didn't you tell me you were a BT, is there two "SB"s?”

I may have said that. I use BT sometimes as a blanket term for a person that didn’t grow up religious. Also, my father is Jewish and I actually thought I was Jewish growing up – reform Hebrew school etc – before I found out at some point that I wasn’t, so it feels like a technicality to me anyhow. I guess it wasn’t really technically correct, though. (Although if we are nitpicking the word "ba’al t’shuva" is not really correct for bts either.)

Obligation of loving gerim and not tormenting them

There has been much heat and debate which seems to be primarily the result of differing assumptions of what the obligation of a Jew towards a ger.

In this post I will cite sources which illustrate what this means in practise. None of the sources indicate that one can not disagree with a ger or need to avoid giving a ger rebuke. 1) indicates that one shouldn't opress the ger because they have a greater propensity (yetzer harah) to sin and give up mitzvos 2) In the hierarchy of saving the life and providing food and support - the ger is at the bottom of the list with the freed slave. 3) There seems to be an emphasis that there feelings are more easily hurt because of their change of life i.e., they are strangers and they have lower self esteem. This seems to be similar to be careful with the feelings of women because they readily cry and G-d responds readily to tears. 4) As cited before Berachos (8b) cites a view that one should not marry a giyorus


Bava Metzia(59b): It has been taught: R’ Eleazar HaGadol said: Why did the Torah warn in 36 places – while others say in 46 places – against wronging a convert? It is because he has a strong inclination to evil [Rashi Horios 13a]. What is the meaning of the verse (Shemos 22:20): “You shall not ridicule a ger (outsider), nor oppress him; for you were gerim (outsiders) in Egypt?" It has been taught: R’ Nosson said that one should not ridicule another with the blemish you yourself have. This idea is expressed in the folk expression “If someone had a family member who was hanged one should not say to him, ‘Hang up this fish for me.’”

Horios(13a): Mishna Saving the live of a cohen takes precedence over that of a levi while a levei takes precedence over a yisroel, the yisroel takes precedence over a mamzer while a mamzer takes precedence over a nasin and a nasin takes precedence over a ger and a ger takes precedence over a freed slave. This hierarchy is only valid if they are equal in other respects however if the mamzer is a talmid chacham and the cohen gadol (high priest) is an ignoramous then the mamzer talmid chacham has precedence over the ignorant high priest. Gemora – A nasin takes precedence over a ger since the nasin the nasin was raised with us in holiness and the ger was not raised with us in holiness. A ger takes precedence over a freed slave for the slave is included in the curse while the ger was not… It was taught: R’ Shimon bar Yochai said it is logical that the freed slave should in fact take precedence over the ger for the slave was brought up by us in holiness and the ger wasn’t, however since the slave was included in the curse and not the ger – the ger takes precedence. R’ Eleazer the son of R’ Tzadok was asked, “Why do all want to marry a giyorus but not everyone wants to marry a freed maidservant? He answered that the maidservant was included in the curse while the giyorus was not. Another explanation is that the giyorous is known to protect her chastity while the maidservant is not…

Shulchan Aruch(Y.D. 251:9): If a person has many poor people who need help but he doesn’t have enough funds to feed them, giving them clothing or redeem all of them – then he should first take care of the Cohen and then the Levi. The Levi is taken care of before the Yisroel, the Yisoel comes before the Challal who comes for the Shetuki who comes before the Asufi who precedes the Mamzer. The Mamzer takes precedent overthe Nesin and the Nesin takes precedence over the Ger while the Ger takes precedence over the Freed Slave. When is this hierachy applicable? When they are all equal in knowledge but if the Mamzer is a talmid chachom while the Cohen Gadol is an ignoramous then the preferences is given to the Mamzer who is talmid chachom…

What it is all about:The mugger & the black belt

A true chasidic tale:

My chavursa studied karate in a program run  by one of those proverbial oriental masters. He learned all the kicks and blows and  readily advanced through the ranks. One of the critical points that his teacher emphasized - besides that strict ritual of bowing and respect - was that karate is not to be used. It is to be studied and appreciated but not used against another person unless there was no choice. It was an art form and a spiritual endeavor.

One night my chavruta was walking down the dark streets of St. Louis when he was jumped from behind by a huge mugger who put a muscular arm around his throat and demanded his wallet. Having learned his lessons well he turned slightly stomped on his muggers instep, jabbed his elbow in the guys gut and twisted the surprised mugger's arm until the elbow broke. Then he ran to safety.

He was greatful that he had learned his lesson well and had handled the situation well. While it was a shame he had had to break the muggers arm - but it was purely self-defense as his master had taught.

With a feeling of self-satisfaction at his skill and his self-restraint - not only in dealing with the mugger but also his own ego - he went to his karate master to tell him  how he had successfully applied the lessons he  had been taught.

The karate master listen impassively as the events of the night before were related by his excited student. When he finished his karate master bowed slightly to him and then proceeded to give him the beating of his life. "I told you karate is not to be used unless you have no choice. If you had given the mugger your wallet he would have left you alone. This beating is because you have not learned the most elementary lesson of what karate is about.

Fighting 'Arabization' or solving housing crisis?

JPOST

On Tuesday, the National Planning Council subcommittee responsible for general planning principles recommended that the National Planning Council authorize the construction of Kasif, a new haredi city in the Negev, 10 km. west of Arad. The move was met with criticism from environmental organizations for its effect on open spaces, but also from local leaders.

Arad Mayor Gideon Bar-Lev said his municipality had opposed the initiative from the start, when it first came up for debate two-and-a-half years ago

"We think it is a huge mistake in principle and that the decision goes against the state's main planning objections of dispersing the population," he said.

Mt of Olives has website of graves

JPost

The world's oldest Jewish cemetery just went online.

A new project undertaken by the City of David archeological Park, located south of Jerusalem's Old City and at the foot of the Mount of Olives cemetery, has begun the process of identifying and documenting tombstones throughout the entirety of the Mount of Olives and uploading the data to the Web.

Tens of thousands of graves on the mount have already been mapped and incorporated into a database, in the first-ever attempt to restorethe graves and record the history of those who were buried there. Theproject includes the creation of a Web site (www.mountofolives.co.il)that aims to raise awareness of the City of David and to honor thememory of those buried in the cemetery, as well as to inform about thetours and activities available.

Tropper - Why the Rabbis were silent

5tjtimes

Rabbi Dovid Ribiat heads the Kollel Ohr Yaakov of Forshay in Monsey NY, and is regarded as a prominent Halachic authority across the US. He is also the author of several Seforim,   including the world-renowned four-volume work on the 39 Melochos of Shabbos. On January 21, 10 he graciously consented to the following interview regarding the Tropper scandal:

Interviewer: Over the past several weeks there have been a lot of questions in the media over the silence of the Rabbis in the Ultra-orthodox community re. the Tropper scandal. Why has there been no condemnation of Tropper from the Rabbis? [...]

Earthquake - Divine response to criticism of the silence of rabbis in Tropper scandal?!

A curious example of apologetics -The Earth Trembles - recently appeared in Cross-Currents. It was written by the director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America - normally the epitome of cogent prose. He did slip once before by claiming that the swindler  Berny Madoff  was somehow superior to the "Hero of the Hudson" - for which he apologized.  What follows is the relevant excerpt. It is the only response of the American Chareidi establishment - that I am aware of - to the Tropper scandal.  Read his article Tidal Waves on page 5 of the Jewish Observer for a more appropriate essay.
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From a truly Jewish perspective, though, there is more that we must do in the wake of a disaster as terrible as the recent one in Haiti. We must introspect, and make changes in our behavior. The 2004 tsunami in Asia occurred during the same period of the  Jewish year’s Torah-reading cycle as the recent Haitian disaster, a  period known as “Shovavim Tat,” an acrostic of the initials of the weeks’ Torah portions. It is a time considered particularly ripe for repentance. After that cataclysm, a revered contemporary Jewish sage in Israel, Rabbi Aharon Leib Steinman, pointed out that the revered Gaon of Vilna identified a particularly powerful merit at this time of year in “guarding one’s speech” – avoiding the expression of ill will, slander and the like. That, Rabbi Steinman added, is a merit especially urgent “in these days, when the evil inclination puts all its energies into entrapping people in this sin… [when] it is almost impossible to find someone who hasn’t fallen into the ‘mud’.”

No prophet or wise man, only eyes and ears, are necessary to recognize that the Jewish world today is rife with “evil speech” – speaking and writing ill of others (whether the words are true, false or – so often the case – some toxic mixture of the two), and with the hatred that breeds such sins. Jewish media are filled with accusations and “scoops”; they compete gleefully to find the vilest examples of crimes to report, to do the most attention-grabbing job of reporting them, and to be the first to do so. The very week of the recent catastrophe in Haiti, a national Jewish newspaper published a comic strip featuring grotesque depictions of religious Jews and aimed at disparaging Jewish outreach to other Jews.

And another Jewish newspaper ran an editorial placing the alleged ugly sins of an individual at the feet of Jewish rabbinic leaders, simply because the presumed sinner, before he was exposed, had arranged for several respected rabbis to deliver lectures and had encouraged people to make donations to their institutions. Having thus “established” guilt by that association, the editorialist demanded that every Orthodox organization and rabbinic leader publicly condemn the alleged sinner or be smeared themselves with sin. Then he mocked rabbinic authorities as a group for, instead of issuing condemnations of sinners, rendering decisions on social and halachic matters, as if that were not precisely what rabbis are for. Those are examples of anti- Orthodox invective. But ill will and its expression, tragically, know no communal bounds – in fact, the offensive comic strip seized upon intemperate statements made by Orthodox Jews about others.

Jews can take positions. Indeed we are charged with standing up for Jewish principles. But personalizing disagreements or slandering individuals is – or should be – beyond the pale.
© 2010 AM ECHAD RESOURCES
[Rabbi Shafran is director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America.]

Tefillin stopped a flight:

NYTIMES

he plane, a 50-seat regional aircraft that was less than a third full when it took off from La Guardia Airport, had been climbing through the early-morning sky for about 25 minutes. A 17-year-old passenger in a whitish sweater took out something he had carried onboard, and strapped it onto his wrist and his head.

To some people in New York, that is a relatively common sight: an observant Jew beginning the ritual of morning prayer. But to at least one person on US Airways Express Flight 3079 on Thursday — the flight attendant — it looked ominous, as if the young man were wrapping himself in cables or wires. [...]

World of Geirim - IV Seeing both sides

Growing up's Guest Post

Rav Sternbuch: Behind the Miracles

Is there still a need for EJF? - An insider's perspective (Revised)

The following is the first of a series of posts that asks why hasn't the second shoe fallen? Why hasn't EJF been closed down?

Now that Tropper has left the organization - even without the foul odor associated with the organization - it still has not produced the "universally accepted geirim" and its geirim are not uniformly high quality.  The following contends that it is a chaotic mess which sows discord and confusion and in reality has fallen significantly short of what they claim they are doing.  It is a poorly organized group that doesn't even have a manual which describes the halachic principles it follows , a program sylllabus for educating candidates or even the standards for accepting candidates or mentors.

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Mondrowitz - Israeli interview of Mark Weiss

This is a link to the Israeli Reshet Bet news discussion regarding the Israeli Supreme Court's decision not to extradite Avrohom Mondrowitz. 

The program (Hebrew) is approx. 20 minutes long and is about 1 hour and 4 minutes into the broadcast. 

 

  http://www.iba.org.il/media/?recorded=14&starting=diburim-wed

Haiti - Appeal by Aid Organizations

Zaka 


Orthodox Union's fund

International Medical Corps


There are still thousands of patients seeking treatment of which approximately 80% are in need of surgery and are running out of time - especially with the tremendous aftershocks still devastating this country. The team is treating crush injuries, trauma, substantial wound care, shock and other critical cases with the few available supplies - And they're in it for the long haul.

Haitians & Chasidim and Kiddush HaShem

NYTimes

Spring Valley Village Hall sits in a drab strip mall along with Angel Nails, the Family Dollar discount store, the Caribbean Village restaurant and other modest businesses in this Rockland County village, which has a mix of Hasidic and other Orthodox Jews, Latinos and blacks. Haitians make up roughly half the population of more than 25,000.

So in terms of demographics, there was nothing out of the ordinary in the scene at Village Hall on Tuesday, with bearded Hasidic men in their long black coats and a largely black crowd of workers and volunteers scurrying around the lobby, which was filled with boxes of medicine, cotton balls and crutches, big black suitcases and an air of incessant activity.[...]

Israel has only field hospital in Haiti

CNN
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen visits a Haiti hospital where patients are desperate for better medical care.

Evidence Mondrowitz may have counseled teen in 2006

Jewish Week

Posted Monday, Jan. 18, 9:15 PM) With alleged Brooklyn child molester Avrohom Mondrowitz under house arrest  until Jan. 24 following last week's decision by the Israeli Supreme Court to deny his extradition, new evidence has emerged that appears to indicate that Mondrowitz was treating adolescent boys in Israel as recently as 2006.

According to a document provided to The Jewish Week by New Jersey attorney Michael Lesher, and apparently obtained from Mondrowitz's computer, Mondrowitz appears to have conducted an interview with and "assessment" of a 15-year-old  boy who had been engaging in "improper behaviours [sic] with his peers."

EJF - How tropper spent his way into rabbinic elite

Tablet

n May 2007, Leib Tropper arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, to preside over a grand conclave of prospective converts to Judaism sponsored by his Eternal Jewish Family organization, which offered "Cadillac conversions" to non-Jews as part of an effort to seize control of the conversion process outside of Israel. Buoyed by a $4.8 million infusion of cash from the billionaire Thomas Kaplan, an oil and mining mogul who is currently president of the board at the 92nd Street Y in New York, the fast-talking rabbi with global ambitions and a smooth line of patter had offered would-be Jews a special treat: an all-expenses paid weekend of discussions on topics like "Becoming Part of the Jewish Family" at the Arizona Biltmore, a spa resort on 39 acres at the foot of Phoenix Mountain that is part of the Waldorf-Astoria chain.

While offers of Ayurvedic massages and luxury accommodation may seem at odds with the somber, discouraging face that ultra-Orthodoxy has traditionally turned to prospective converts, Tropper, by most accounts, did not seem particularly interested in relaxing halachic codes to accommodate the modern world. A biblical literalist, he played an active role in an effort by a group of ultra-Orthodox rabbis to ban the books of another rabbi, Nosson Slifkin, who believed that the world is older than the Jewish calendar—that is, 5,770 years. In 2006, among his other duties, he took it upon himself to retroactively invalidate the conversion of a woman who subsequently dared to violate ultra-Orthodox codes of modesty by wearing pants. [...]

EJF:To prevent Chillul HaShem - transgressing Torah & even idolatry are permitted

Concerning the chillul hashem resulting from the Tropper scandal - it is important to note how seriously Chazal view chillul hashem. In Yevamos (79a) it is noted that Dovid executed Shaul's sons and left the corpses hanging for a long time to avoid the chillul hashem caused by Shaul's indirectly causing gerim diffulty. In Sanhedrin (107a) it describes that Dovid was apparently willing to become an idolater to avoid the chillul hashem that would result if his son killed him.

While both gemoras clearly require much more study, the message of our Sages is clear. Chillul hashem is worse than violating the Torah and it is worse than idolatry. The fact that there are those  whose "solution" to this international chillul hashem is "don't talk about it and it will go away" is simply incredible.

Yevamos(79a):And Ritzpah took sackcloth and spread it on a rock for herself - from the beginning of the harvest until the rainy season began and she did not allow the birds to rest on the corpses by day or the wild animals at night (Shmuel 2’ 21:10). But how could it be that the corpses of Shaul’s sons remained hanging on the gallows day after day? This is specifically prohibited by the Torah (Devarim 21:23). R’ Yochanon said in the name of R’ Shimon ben Yehotzadak, “It is better that one letter of the Torah be uprooted in order that the name of heaven be publicly sanctified. Those passers-by who saw the corpses hanging would ask what type of people were they? They would be told that they were princes. They then asked what did they do that they were executed? They would then be told that their punishment was related to harm done to gerim. When they heard that they said, “There is no other nation that is more worthwhile to join than the Jewish one because if they punish princes for the mistreatment of gerim then surely they will punish commoners and if they do justice for gerim then surely they will do it for Jews from birth.


Sanhedrin(107a): Dovid wanted to worship idols [so that people would think he was wicked]… However Chushi the Archite came to meet him with his coat ripped and dirt on his head. He said to Dovid, “Shall people say that a king like you has worshipped idols?” Dovid answered, “But should a king like myself by killed by his own son [causing people to question G‑d’s justice]? It is better that I worship idols [and I alone sin and lose my reputation] than the name of Heaven be profaned [because many will become idolators if I don’t].” Chushi asked, “So why did you marry a marry a yofas to’ar [non-Jewish woman captured in battle]? Dovid replied that the Torah permits it. Chushi said, “Don’t you make Torah interpretations based on the proximity of verses? The permission to marry a Yosef’s to’ar is in proximity with the discussion of a rebellious son and we learn from this that the offspring of a yofas to’ar will be a rebellious son.”

Vayikra Rabbah(22:6): ...We find that G-d showed indulgence towards idolatry but that He never condoned chillul Hashem...

Zionist youth more interested in fun than ideology

Haaretz

The World Zionist youth movements came out this week claiming that a cut in the money they receive from the Jewish Agency is threatening their very existence, and that as a result "hundreds of thousands of Jewish youth will lose their only significant link to the State of Israel and to their Jewish identity."

The recession has hit hard in the movement world, and it has been suggested that this will directly lead to a fall in numbers making aliyah. However, a closer look seems to show that the problem lies deeper.[...]

Chabad's preschool outreach

Tablet

The reception area in downtown Manhattan's Preschool of the Arts is a cheerful, modern space: dozens of self-portraits and paintings by children named Jem and Oliver and Esme crowd the walls. A small sign invites visitors to stop by the art gallery to see "action paintings created in the style of Jackson Pollock" and hangs next to an iconic photograph of the mid-century artist, cigarette dangling from mouth, and a shot of a toddler dripping paint on her own canvas.

A tall narrow bookshelf to the left of the reception desk doesn't garner much attention. Its shelves are divided into sections like child-rearing (two copies of the No Cry Sleep Solution as well as several baby sign-language books) and art (Crafts and La Vie En Rose). It's only the titles in the adult literature section that seem incongruous: Bringing Heaven to Earth, Opening the Tanya, and My Spiritual Journey.[...]

R' Riskin threatens excommunication for going to secular court

Haaretz

What happens to a person who does not want to obey din Torah - that is, judgment according to Jewish law? A resident of Efrat, Alon Levy, who refused to accept such a judgment, was told by the rabbi of that West bank town, Shlomo Riskin, that he would be ostracized and would no longer be allowed to work there.

The affair began during the November 2008 elections for the Efrat local council, when an ugly war of words broke out between two activists representing opposing lists: Levy and Dan Lubitz. The latter sent a number of letters to local residents, defaming Levy. In response, Levy sued Lubitz for libel in the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court. Lubitz did not submit a defense brief and in December 2008, the court ruled that he must pay Levy compensation amounting to NIS 300,000. [...]

Mitzva to honor abusive parents?

Dr. Benzion Sorotzkin

As a clinical psychologist in the frum community I have frequently been asked by patients to address the question of the obligation to honor abusive parents. As a result, I have researched the issue and have discussed it with some prominent Rabbonim. I would like to share some of what I have learned with other clinicians and anyone else who needs to address this issue.

It goes without saying that kibbud av va'eim is a very important and complex mitzvah. Any particular situation will involve specific clinical and halachic issues that have to be evaluated by a knowledgeable Rov for specific guidance. It does help, however, if the questioner is as knowledgeable as possible about the issues involved. It is for that reason that I would like to share with the readers some interesting and not so well known dimensions of this issue. [...]

Torah based whistleblower - Rothstein Ponzi scheme

Aish.com

On a recent trip to Florida, I met with Alan Sakowitz, the whistleblower who alerted the FBI to flamboyant Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein's massive Ponzi scheme that is suspected of bilking investors of over $1.2 billion.

I had previous contact with Alan, who has advertised on Aish.com from time to time on behalf of various Jewish causes. After reading news reports of how Alan tried to stop the billion-dollar fraud, I thought there may be a good lesson or two to share with our Aish.com readers. And sure enough there was. [...]

R' Aaron_Rakeffet-Rothkoff - Contemporary Scandals

YUTorah

Discusses child molesters, Tropper scandal and other scandals