"We are not happy, of course, with the proposals made by members of the Trump team to postpone Ukraine’s admission to NATO for 20 years and to station British and European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine," the foreign minister said, though that deal has not been announced by any American officials.
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
IDF downs ballistic missile from Yemen as sirens heard across central Israel
Large debris fragment crashes into residential neighborhood in Beit Shemesh; Houthis claim responsibility for seventh nighttime attack in under two weeks
Doctor – heretic expert or frum less expert
Igros Moshe (YD IV #08.01 pg 166) Is it preferable to use an expert doctor who is a heretic or a frum doctor who is not as excellent a doctor? This question does not need a psak since the Torah permits treatment by doctors, and the Rambam and most of the Rishonim hold it is even an obligation, so surely one should go to the specialist doctor , even though he is a heretic or even non Jews who are idolators in our time who are not suspected of killing on purpose, it is necessary to. And it is not appropriate to be concerned that G-d sent his cure through a heretic, because concerning cures we were commanded not to trust in a miracle.as long as it is possible to be cured with medicine that G-d created for the healing of the sick. This expert is more knowledable about the sicknesss and the medicines. However since it happens at times that a doctor errs, it is nessary to also pray to G-d that he won’t err and that he be the agent of cure. We find in the gemora that our Sages went to non Jewish doctors and heretics who it was certain they would not kill them. However if the doctor is a missionary then he is prohibited even if there is no other doctor. In fact most doctors, even non Jews and heretics will simply do their job and not try to missionize and thus there is no need to be concerned with this . However if it is known that if he is a missionary it is prohibited to be cured by them,
Dating for marriage
Igros Moshe (Y.D. 01:090): A boy and a girl want to get to know each other for the purpose of marriage to determine whether they will like each other. They want to know whether it is permitted to rent two separate bedrooms in one house where the owner and his wife also live. It is clear that if it is known to the owner and his wife that they are not husband and wife – there is reason to be lenient. However if they have not informed then it is possible that they might mistakenly assumed that they are married and therefore it won’t help that the owner lives there. If the owner doesn’t know that they are not married it would thus be prohibited to rent the separate rooms because the owner is no longer a protection against sin because they are not embarrassed to be alone together and other similar problems. Regarding the issue of whether it is permitted for her to prepare meals for him, it seems that there is no concern that this is prohibited according to all authorities. That is because this is not included in the prohibition of utilizing a woman’s services. This type of service is permitted as is serving as a maid – even if she does it for free. All of this is permitted according to the strict letter of the law – however in actuality it is not worth doing. A person shouldn’t try to be too “smart” in these matters. It is sufficient if she finds favor in his eyes - regarding her appearance, her family and her reputation concerning her religious observance - that he can rely on that to get married with the hope that she was the one designated for him from Heaven. It is not necessary to examine her first. Furthermore this “test” is worthless to determine if she will be a good wife. Rather the Torah tells us to be “tamim” (to have simple trust) with G‑d.
Russia rejects Trump’s Ukraine peace proposals
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5059813-russian-minister-rejects-trump-proposals/
“We are not happy, of course, with the proposals made by members of the Trump team to postpone Ukraine’s admission to NATO for 20 years and to station British and European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine,” he said, responding to leaked reports of Trump’s proposals.
Monday, December 30, 2024
Appeals court upholds verdict finding Trump liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5059810-federal-appeals-court-panel-upholds-verdict/
A federal appeals court panel on Monday upheld a jury’s verdict finding President-elect Trump liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll and ordering him to pay $5 million.
A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded Trump did not sufficiently show any claimed errors affected his rights or warranted a new trial.
A New Approach To Modern Orthodoxy
https://www.academia.edu/15326360/A_New_Approach_To_Modern_Orthodoxy
For some, Modern Orthodoxy is a movement with a problem. It lacks a definitive identity which has caused many of its facets to suffer. Many of its schools are populated with Torah teachers that do not reflect its specific values because the movement does not seem to produce a sufficient body of educators for its institutions. Its adherents are dwindling in numbers as its children and young adults migrate to the left and, even more so, to the right. Its influence in the general Jewish community and in the general Orthodox community is waning; its voice is not heard. The intent of this article is to approach the subject of Modern Orthodoxy and its difficulties from a point of view different than that found in the mainstream literature. I will examine the various definitions of Modern Orthodoxy, summarize what distinguishes it from Chareidi Orthodoxy, note the concerns with its viability and suggest solutions to help the movement continue forward until such time as Hashem sees fit to reveal his Moshiach and return us to our homeland in Israel.
Childbirth – Husband Present
Igros Moshe (YD II #75) Can the husband be present at the childbirth to ensure that things are done properly and to provide encouragement To provide his wife with support, if there is an actual need I don’t see that is is prohibited also if there is no need I don’t see that it is prohibited. However it is prohibited to watch the actual birth of the child since it prohibited to look at the places that she normally covers when she is a Niddah. And looking at her genitals is always prohibited even when she is not a Niddah. Therefore if he is careful to avoid looking at that which is prohibited it is not prohibited. It is also prohibited to watch using a mirror. To lift a heavy object together with his wife when she is Niddah or to push the bed together or any other heavy object. Even though there is no clear proof it is best to be strict and not do it. The gemora only mentions unloading or loading a donkey. because of concern the impure person might lean on the pure person so this might apply also to a Niddah
Ben or Bas Niddah - Marriage
Igros Moshe (E.H. 4:14) Avoiding marrying a woman over concerns that she is a bas nida as her parents are not observant Jews, even though she is modest and a good person is G-d fearing and loves Torah,. The Rambam (Issurei biah 15) and Shulchan Aruch (E.H. 4:13) state that the child of a nida is blemished but is not a mamzer. All the commentaries state that the child is fit to marry even a cohen but the problem is he is blemished and therefore best to avoid. Therefore the question is whether to avoid marrying them because of this blemish? In particular this woman even though she is modest and a good person and refined and apparently has overcome the spiritual damage - that perhaps her chidren will be bad. However it is also possible that the mother was not actually a nida because she mght have gone swimming in a lake - and even a bathing suit does not prevent her from becoming purified. Furthermore our Sages (Kallah) Rambam and Shulchan Aruch described the blemish of ben nida as being bad personality traits such as brazzeness. And even though we have authorities that a mamzer is a brazen person, we don’t rely on that to say that if the person is not brazen he can’t be a mamzer The Nachlas Yakov said that this just means if a person is brazen he should be suspected of being a mamzer and needs investigation. However since a ben nida is not prohibited to marry either by the Torah or rabbis it is possible to rely on the existence or absence of bad personality traits to determine whether she is a bas nida,and in this case with her good midos to assume she is not a bas nida and that the mother must have gone swinming in a body of water simiar to a mikve. Similary the son of sinners who is modest and refined can be assumed not to be a ben nida.
Sunday, December 29, 2024
Common Sense medicine vs Evidence Based Medicine
It was asserted recently that common sense needs to be used in medical decisions. There is a long list of common sense leading to major problems
Bypass surgery, lobotomies hormone replacement therapies knee surgery, Prostate cancer screening etc etc
all of which were popular but no are longer done on a regular basis as in the past
Saturday, December 28, 2024
Musk calls some MAGA supporters ‘contemptible fools’ as visa row intensifies
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5058355-elon-musk-visa-debate/
The tech mogul, who dropped at least $250 million backing Trump’s second White House run, then clarified that “the ‘contemptible fools’ I’m referring to are those in the Republican Party who are hateful, unrepentant racists. They will absolutely be the downfall of the Republican Party if they are not removed.”
Cracks appear in Maga world over foreign worker visas
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyv7gxp02yo
Supporters of President-elect Donald Trump clashed online over a visa programme intended to bring skilled workers to the US - showing possible cracks in the upcoming administration.
Out: Trump’s campaign promises. In: War with Panama and Denmark?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/12/27/trump-backtracking-campaign-promises/
Trump’s demanding routine of rhetorical reverse-lunges has worried MAGA hard-liners, particularly when it comes to his signature promise to carry out “the largest deportation operation” in U.S. history. “Trump Allies Fear Watered Down Deportation Efforts,” announced the Wall Street Journal. These allies are apparently shocked to discover that Trump does not always keep his word. They must have fallen for his “we will never back down” rallying cry as he closed his campaign speeches.
Friday, December 27, 2024
Chanukah Purpose?
Rambam (Chanukah (03:01) In [the era of] the Second Temple, the Greek kingdom issued decrees against the Jewish people, [attempting to] nullify their faith and refusing to allow them to observe the Torah and its commandments. They extended their hands against their property and their daughters; they entered the Sanctuary, wrought havoc within, and made the sacraments impure.
The Jews suffered great difficulties from them, for they oppressed them greatly until the God of our ancestors had mercy upon them, delivered them from their hand, and saved them. The sons of the Hasmoneans, the High Priests, overcame [them], slew them, and saved the Jews from their hand.
They appointed a king from the priests, and sovereignty returned to Israel for more than 200 years, until the destruction of the Second Temple.
The result of Chanukah was Jewish sovereignty for 200 years not necessarily distinguished by piety
Thursday, December 26, 2024
Trump Has a New Plan to Deal With Campus Protests
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/05/trump-campus-protests-deportation/678521/
The threat is classic Trump: vindictive, nonsensical, disproportionate, and based on the assumption that deportation is the answer to America’s problems. Protest is an essential element of American freedom and is not itself against the law. (Some protesters have been charged with crimes.) One would think it goes without saying that U.S. citizens cannot be deported for it. Although some of those protesting the war in Gaza and American support for it are international students, no evidence indicates that most or even a large minority of those protesting on campuses are non-U.S. citizens. (Foreign nationals can lose their student visa if they are suspended from school for any reason, political or otherwise.) In short, Trump is proposing a heavy-handed plan that wouldn’t solve the problem.
Unvaccinated 17-year-old from Jerusalem area contracts polio, condition unspecified
Cases of polio in Israel are highly rare, but not unheard of, and occur almost entirely among children in unvaccinated populations.
In May 2023, an unvaccinated 8-year-old in Safed caught the virus; three other children contracted the virus from that child, but showed no clinical symptoms. In 2022, an unvaccinated 4-year-old was hospitalized with paralysis from the virus, prompting a vaccination campaign in Jerusalem.
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Should you trust an AI-assisted doctor?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/12/25/ai-health-care-medical-doctors/
The harm of generative AI — notorious for “hallucinations” — producing bad information is often difficult to see, but in medicine the danger is stark. One study found that out of 382 test medical questions, ChatGPT gave an “inappropriate” answer on 20 percent. A doctor using the AI to draft communications could inadvertently pass along bad advice.
How to have a Trumpy Christmas, and make the president-elect richer, too
It’s a little late for this year’s celebrations, but you can get a very early jump on next year and count down with the $38 Trump Advent calendar. Or trim the tree with a $95 Mar-a-Lago bauble or a $16 MAGA hat ornament, sold in nine colors. (A glass version of the hat ornament is $92.) Stuff stockings with an $86 “GIANT Trump Chocolate Gold Bar” and a $22 pair of candy cane socks printed with “Trump.” Prepare a holiday feast with a $14 Trump Christmas tree pot holder and $28 Trump apron featuring Santa waving an American flag.
The profits from these holiday trinkets do not benefit a political committee or a charitable cause, but the Trump Organization, the Trump family’s privately owned conglomerate of real estate, hotel and lifestyle businesses. As the company encouraged customers to celebrate the holidays with Trump gifts for all ages, President-elect Donald Trump personally profited off of his upcoming term in a manner that is unprecedented in modern history — even during his unconventional first stint in the White House.
The rise and rise of Maye Musk: China’s love affair with Elon Musk’s mother
The 76-year-old has a successful career as a model and a dietician. But her son’s extensive business dealings in China – his car company, Tesla, has its biggest factory in Shanghai and he is a frequent visitor to the country – have opened the door to a new market of admirers who have welcomed her with open arms.
Ghosts, Evil Spirits and Kabbalistic Teachings: A Very Ashkenazi Christmas
https://blog.nli.org.il/en/nittel_nacht/
t appears that Jewish folklore recognized, adopted, and even preserved the older Christmas traditions long after they had faded from most of the world.
The German Reformation, the English Industrial Revolution, and American capitalism transformed Christmas into the holiday we know today, almost unrecognizable from what it once was, and almost all of the customs known today only go back to the last 200 years or so. Ironically, some of the only people who still observe these ancient holiday traditions belong to certain Ashkenazi Jewish communities, for whom the practices of their ancestors remain sacred. After all, as the old Jewish joke goes – what do Christians know about Christmas?
Marijuana
Igros Moshe (YD III:35) Concerning the matter that some guys from the yeshiva started smoking marijuana. It is clearly forbidden according to several basic principles the Torah. it is clear that it spoils and destroys the body, and even if healthy people are found that it does not harm them that much, but it still spoils the mind so they cannot understand things properly. This latter problem is even more serious aside from the fact that a person is prevented from learning the Torah properly it also interferes with prayer and the mitzvos of the Torah that he does without proper knowledge it is as if he didn’t do them. Moreover, it causes a great desire which is more than the desire for eating and other physical needs that a person needs to live. And there are those who can not control this desire So creating it involves the problem seen in the rebellious child (ben sorrer) which results in his execution even if he only eats kosher food. So clearly it is prohibited to create this great desire in himself! In addition there is no necessity to create this desire and thus it is prohibited. While it might not incur the punishment of beating but it is clearly prohibited. In addition it causes great anguish to the parents so he also violates the mitzva of honoring his parents. He also violates the command of being holy according to the Ramban as well it brings about many other prohibitions. Bottom line, it is clearly one of the more serious prohibitions. It is thus necessary to strive with all your might to remove this impurity from all Jews in particular from yeshiva students.
Will Trump Invade Panama?
Forgive us if we missed it, but we don’t recall Donald Trump campaigning to invade Panama and retake its famous canal. But there was the President-elect on the weekend, threatening our Central American ally with punishment if it doesn’t meet his demands.
If we can introduce a few facts, Mr. Trump’s claim that Panama is gouging Americans is unfounded. Every vessel, regardless of its flag, pays the same rate according to tonnage and type. Container ships, which carry finished goods, pay more than bulk carriers. About 75% of the total price is a toll and 25% is for services like tugboat or locomotive escorts.
It’s hard to know how seriously to take Mr. Trump’s broadsides. But threatening a takeover that would require an invasion may court more trouble than he imagines.
Russians Respond to Donald Trump's Greenland Proposal
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-responds-donald-trumps-greenland-proposal-2005643
"This is especially interesting because it drives a wedge between him and Europe, it undermines the world architecture, and opens up certain opportunities for our foreign policy," MIkheyev said, adding that if Trump "really wants to stop the third world war, the way out is simple: dividing up the world into spheres of influence."
Stanislav Tkachenko, a top academic at the St. Petersburg State University also voiced his support for Trump's discussion of buying Greenland and said that Russia should "thank Donald Trump, who is teaching us a new diplomatic language."
As Woman Burned Alive on NYC Subway Car, Bystanders Watched — and Filmed
https://www.newsweek.com/nyc-subway-fire-sebastian-zapeta-bystander-effect-nypd-2005812
In his original post on X, Posner argued that "the only difference today" with the Genovese murder is that the bystanders in Sunday's incident had phones to document the horrific scene. And by filming, he said those bystanders helped document "why sometimes I think we humans are a failed species.
A Chanukah Message for the First Night INSPIRED BY FAITH, WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD
Never believe that a handful of dedicated people can’t change the world. Inspired by faith, they can. The Maccabees did then. So can we today
Rabbi Yitzhak Hutner’s View of Torah Im Derekh Eretz and a Hidden Haskamah Rediscovered
I remember when I was younger, I once had the opportunity to be within the orbit of one of the elder gedolim of the previous generation. Our conversation led to a discussion about Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch zt”l. This gadol then told [me] what he had heard in the year 5630 (1869-1870) from one of the unique [people] of the generation before him. In that year of 5630, news of R. Hirsch and his activities had reached Russia. There were those who had concerns about his approach, because it appeared that the study of Torah had not gained a proper footing within his activities and his educational approach. However, these concerns were not accepted by the gedolei hador of those days. And despite these doubters (naysayers), an attitude of loyalty towards R. Hirsch was established and his approach was deemed akin to [spiritual] rescue from the fire. In relation to this, this gadol then expressed the following: “The clearest proof that the intentions of Rav Hirsch were for the sake of Heaven will be found in the near future, that the desire for Torah study in the soul of the next generation of Rav Hirsch’s community will increase, and many of them will attempt to acquire additional Torah beyond what was taught by of the community’s educational system.” So were the words of that gadol.
This gadol’s words were right on the mark because we can see with our [own] eyes that during the period between the two World Wars, many benches in the yeshivas in Eretz Yisrael, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and Galicia were filled with the descendants of R. Hirsch’s followers.
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Conclusion
I believe the context of R. Hutner’s letter and its subsequent removal is of historical significance because it provides the student of history with a hitherto unknown understanding of R. Hutner’s nuanced view of Torah Im Derekh Eretz. It appears that although he supported and advocated for R. Levi bringing a Torah Im Derekh Eretz perspective to those “outside of the Bais Hamedrash,” he chose ultimately not to advocate for this approach formally for the larger American Jewish community. He decided not to publish his endorsement for R. Levi’s book and not to establish a yeshiva high school or college based on the principles of Torah Im Derekh Eretz. Why was R. Hutner’s public position so drastically different from his personal one?
First, and perhaps most significant of all, was R. Aharon Kotler’s role in both the abandonment of the dual-curriculum college as well as the removal of the haskamah should not be underestimated. It is likely that the power and force of R. Kotler’s personality and his Torah-stature prevented R. Hutner from even entertaining the possibility of deviating from his position. Once R. Kotler made his position known, R. Hutner, despite his own view being more amenable to secular studies, was compelled to comply out of his deep respect for R. Kotler, or simply because it would be impossible to succeed at the communal level without his support.
Rav Yitzchok Hutner and the Meaning of Hanukkah
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/rav-yitzchok-hutner
Here is Pahad Yitzhak (Hanukkah) 3.2-4:
3.2… Yose b. Yoezer and Yose b. Yohanan who lived in the time of the Greek war were the first [recorded sages] to disagree in regard to the laws of the Torah. … That is, because the Greek decrees forbidding Torah study caused the eyes of the sages to be darkened, this darkening/causing to forget was the cause of the first [recorded] dispute within the Sanhedrin that sat in the Chamber of Hewn Stones—so that the increase of viewpoints and the consequent differences of opinion in Torah discourse (lit., “war of Torah”) to the present day proceeds directly from that darkening of the eyes of Israel by means of the enforced forgetting of the Torah by the Greek decrees.
3.3 But “at times the nullification of Torah is its [continued] existence” (Menahot 99b). … The breaking of the tablets [containing the Decalogue] constituted its preservation [when Moses shattered the first tablets which eventually led to a reconciliation with God]. Thus, the Sages say that had the first tablets not been shattered, Israel would not have forgotten the Torah (Eruvin 54a). We learn therefore that the breaking of the tablets led to the forced forgetting of the Torah, and from this we learn a wonderful insight: the Torah can increase by means of forgetting of the Torah. See what the Sages have taught us: Three hundred laws were forgotten during the period of mourning for Moses but Othniel b. Kenaz restored them by means of his analytic ability (Temurah 16a). Thus, the words of Torah that were restored by analytic ability are identical to the laws that were multiplied only because of that forgetting of the Torah. Not only that, but the very increase of disputes in law occurred because of that forgetting, but despite this, the sages tell us that even though these declare an object ritually clean and others declare it ritually fit, these declare it invalid and others declare it valid, these declare something permitted and other declare it forbidden, etc., both are words of the living God; the upshot is that the increase in views and approaches constitute an enlargement of Torah and its glorification that proceed precisely from the forgetting of Torah.
3.4 An even greater insight than this proceeds from the foregoing: Our perception of the power of Oral Torah as revealed through disagreements is greater than when there is agreement. For within the principle that “these and those are the Word of the Living God” is included the essential principle that even the principle that is rejected as legal practice is nevertheless a Torah view, when it is expressed according to the norms of the discourse of the Oral Torah. This is because the Torah was given according to the sensibilityַ of the Sages of the Torah. … And if they then vote and decide according to the rejected view, the law then changes in a true sense. … The result is that in disagreement the power of the Oral Torah is revealed to a greater extent than by [the Sages’] agreement. The “war of Torah” (Torah debate) is thus not merely one mode of Torah discourse among others, but rather “the war of Torah” is a positive creation of new Torah values, whose like is not to be found in ordinary words of Torah [where there is no disagreement].
Was the Holocaust caused by specific sins? A disagreement between Rav Yitzchok Hutner vs Rav Avigdor Miller
update: The Nesivos Shalom's sefer on the Holocaust can be downloaded here
update: The words of the Lubavitcher Rebbe seem consistent with the views of Rav Hutner that the Holocaust was not punishment for the sins of that generation. See also my post on the views of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Rav Shach Chabad and the Holocaust
update: The words of the Lubavitcher Rebbe seem consistent with the views of Rav Hutner that the Holocaust was not punishment for the sins of that generation. See also my post on the views of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Rav Shach Chabad and the Holocaust
Chabad itself has the following material
The Rebbe and the Holocaust
Belief after the Holocaust
There are those who wish to suggest that the Holocaust was a punishment for the sins of that generation.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe rejects this view. He stated (Sefer HaSichot 5751 Vol.1 p.233):
The destruction of six million Jews in such a horrific manner that surpassed the cruelty of all previous generations, could not possibly be because of a punishment for sins. Even the Satan himself could not possibly find a sufficient number of sins that would warrant such genocide!
There is absolutely no rationalistic explanation for the Holocaust except for the fact that it was a Divine decree … why it happened is above human comprehension – but it is definitely not because of punishment for sin.
On the contrary: All those who were murdered in the Holocaust are called “Kedoshim” – holy ones – since they were murdered in sanctification of G–d’s name. Since they were Jews, it is only G–d who will avenge their blood. As we say on Shabbat in the Av Harachamim prayer, “the holy communities who gave their lives for the sanctification of the Divine Name ... and avenge the spilled blood of His servants, as it is written in the Torah of Moshe ... for he will avenge the blood of his servants ... And in the Holy Writings it is said ... Let there be known among the nations, before our eyes, the retribution of the spilled blood of your servants.” G–d describes those who were sanctified as His servants, and promises to avenge their blood.
So great is the spiritual level of the Kedoshim – even disregarding their standing in mitzvah performance – that the Rabbis say about them, “no creation can stand in their place.” How much more so of those who died in the Holocaust, many of whom, as is well known, were among the finest of Europe’s Torah scholars and observant Jews.
It is inconceivable that the Holocaust be regarded as an example of punishment for sin, in particular when addressing this generation, which as mentioned before is “a firebrand plucked from the fire” of the Holocaust.
In short, one can only apply the words of Isaiah, “My thoughts are not your thoughts and My ways are not your ways, says the L–rd.” (Isaiah 55:8)There are those who wish to suggest that the Holocaust was a punishment for the sins of that generation.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe rejects this view. He stated (Sefer HaSichot 5751 Vol.1 p.233):The destruction of six million Jews in such a horrific manner that surpassed the cruelty of all previous generations, could not possibly be because of a punishment for sins. Even the Satan himself could not possibly find a sufficient number of sins that would warrant such genocide!
There is absolutely no rationalistic explanation for the Holocaust except for the fact that it was a Divine decree … why it happened is above human comprehension – but it is definitely not because of punishment for sin.
On the contrary: All those who were murdered in the Holocaust are called “Kedoshim” – holy ones – since they were murdered in sanctification of G–d’s name. Since they were Jews, it is only G–d who will avenge their blood. As we say on Shabbat in the Av Harachamim prayer, “the holy communities who gave their lives for the sanctification of the Divine Name ... and avenge the spilled blood of His servants, as it is written in the Torah of Moshe ... for he will avenge the blood of his servants ... And in the Holy Writings it is said ... Let there be known among the nations, before our eyes, the retribution of the spilled blood of your servants.” G–d describes those who were sanctified as His servants, and promises to avenge their blood.
So great is the spiritual level of the Kedoshim – even disregarding their standing in mitzvah performance – that the Rabbis say about them, “no creation can stand in their place.” How much more so of those who died in the Holocaust, many of whom, as is well known, were among the finest of Europe’s Torah scholars and observant Jews.
It is inconceivable that the Holocaust be regarded as an example of punishment for sin, in particular when addressing this generation, which as mentioned before is “a firebrand plucked from the fire” of the Holocaust.
In short, one can only apply the words of Isaiah, “My thoughts are not your thoughts and My ways are not your ways, says the L–rd.” (Isaiah 55:8)
===============================================
The following quotes are taken from a paper written by R Gamliel Shmalo concerning Rav Hutner's view of the Holocaust. The objections that were raised in comments in a previous post regarding Rav Miller's views are similar to those that Rav Hutner raises against Rav Miller's view. He objects to anyone speaking with certainty as if he were a prophet or to say that the Holocaust was a kindness that was deserved by the sins of the Jewish people. In contrast Rav Hutner specifically rejects such an explanation or even the ability to know the truth of such allegations and claims that the Holocaust was part of the suffering of Exile and not because of specific sins. Furthermore Rav Hutner viewed the horrible events as being nothing inherently different than the suffering of the past and in fact described events
The last paragraph contains unconfirmed conjecture from the paper as to the possible consequences of the disagreement
Rav Avigdor Miller (Rejoice of Youth Page 350-351) …because so many European Jews fell into the error of admiring and emulating the Germans, G-d allowed the Germans to do their utmost to show who they really are.. Those Jews who had begun to ignore the Soul, and in imitation of the gentiles devoted their efforts solely to the needs of the body, were made to see how their efforts ended in. the worst ruination of Jewish bodies in history ... Because so many imitated the gentiles and refused to rest on the Seventh Day., they were forced to work seven days a week at_ killing labor. Because they sent their children to non-Jewish or .secular schools and no longer gave their children to the Torah-study, the Nazis were allowed to destroy Jewish children entirely. Because, for the first time in Jewish history, women ceased to cover their hair, tbe Germans shaved them bald in the death camps. Because the virtues of chaste dress and behavior were diminished in imitation of tile gentiles, they were marched naked to the gas chambers, and Jewish women were subjected to every barbarous indecency before being killed., Because they had so revered the physicians, especially the German specialists, they were subjected to the malicious experiments and torments which the German physicians impose upon them, Because they forsook the laws of the Torah, they were subjected to the Nuremberg Laws which deprived them of all the rights which other men enjoyed….
Rav Yitzchak Hutner (taken from "Interpreters of Judaism in the Late Twentieth Century" Prof. S. Schwarzchild and R Matis Greenblatt's "Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner" in Jewish Action Summer 2001)
The first of these of these epochal changes involves the shift from generations of gentile mistreatment of Jews, which, if unwelcome, was nevertheless expected and indeed announced by our oppressors - to an era where promises of equality were made and then broken, rights were granted and then revoked, benevolence was anticipated, only to be crushed by cruel malevolence.
The end-result of this period for the Jewish psyche was a significant - .. indeed, crucial - one. From trust in the gentile world, the Jewish nation was cruelly brought to a repudiation of that trust In a relatively short historical period, disappointment in the non-Jewish world was deeply imprinted upon the Jewish soul.
[…]
It should be needless to say at this point that since the churban of European Jewry was a tochacha phenomenon, an enactment of the admonishment and rebuke which Kial Yisroel carries upon its shoulders as an integral part of being the Am Hanivchar - G-d's chosen ones - we have no right to interpret these events as any kind of specific punishment for specific sins. The tochacha is a built-in aspect of the character of Kial Yisroel until Moshiach comes and is visited upon Kial Yisroel at the Creator's will and for reasons known and comprehensible only to Him. One would have to be a נביא or תנא (a prophet or a Talmudic sage), to claim knowledge of the specific reasons for what befell us; anyone on a lesser plane claiming to do so tramples in vain upon the bodies of the kedoshim who died 'על קידוש ה' and misuses the power to interpret and understand Jewish history.
כנראה ,ראש ישיבה חיים ברלין (רב הוטנר) והמשגיח הרוחני שלה (רב אביגדור מילד) היו מחולקים בנושא" .רב מילד הביא את ספרו הנ"ל לדפוס נשבת 1962 והוא יצא לאור בפועל בשנת 1963 ; מעניין שהרב מילד עזב את הישיבה בשנת 1964 - עובדה האומרת דרשני. יש בזקרם לשייר שמבחינתו של הרב הוטנר, רב מילר הקצין · את השיטה המסורתית עד נקודת שבירת הכלים. רב הוטנר איבד בשואה קרובי משפחה שהיה בעיניו צדיקים וקדושים: מסופר בחוג הישיבה 68 שדודו היה כה רגיש לכבוד התורה שהוא מת מהתקף לב כשהוא ראה חייל נאצי יורק על ספר התורה. לא ייתכן להסביר את מיתתם של ''קדושים" האלו באופן כל כך גס, ועל כן הרב הוטנר חיפש פשר חילופי . קשה להוכיח מה היו מניעיו של הרב הוטנר; מה שברור הוא שבעולם הישיבות, הגישה שלו הייתה
יוצאת מן הכלל, אם כי היו תקדימים
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