Madoff scam spurs online anti-Semitism

JPost reports:

In the wake of what police believe to be a $50 billion Ponzi scheme engineered by Wall Street insider Bernard Madoff, a flood of anti-Semitic comments have deluged the internet, being posted on various mainstream and extremist websites, the Anti-Defamation League reported.

"Jews are always a convenient scapegoat in times of crisis, but the Madoff scandal and the fact that so many of the defrauded investors are Jewish has created a perfect storm for the anti-Semites," Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said in a press release published by the organization on Friday. "Nowadays, the first place Jew-haters will go is to the Internet, where they can give voice to their hateful ideas without fear of repercussions."

"Blogging and social media sites are changing the way people communicate their reactions to events in the news and interact with each other," Foxman continued. "More people are online than ever before, and many more Web sites offer users the ability to comment immediately and anonymously. Those who harbor anti-Semitic beliefs feel most comfortable expressing themselves in cyberspace, where they can provoke a reaction from others or find like-minded individuals to affirm their beliefs."[...]

Chareidi college - R' O. Yosef's daughter

Haaretz reports:

There was no happier moment in Adina Bar-Shalom's life than when she stood to recite the Shehechiyanu prayer, said on special occasions, at the first commencement ceremony of Haredi College. It was two years ago that the ultra-Orthodox institution she founded in Jerusalem graduated its first class of female social workers. She looked at her father, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. The spiritual mentor of the Shas Party sat in the VIP section of the Jerusalem Convention Center auditorium, together with Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Shas chairman Eli Yishai and other dignitaries. Rabbi Ovadia looked pleased. Bar-Shalom was overjoyed that Haredi women now had a path to higher education - in no small part thanks to her efforts - and that her father had been a constant pillar of support. [...]

Chabad - The Rebbe runs the world? II/ Defense

This is the video from "Chabad - The Rebbe runs the world? I". Refer to that for the previous comments. This post is specifically regarding AH Bochur's defense of Rabbi Cunin's comments

Rabbi Cunin: "They will understand and see that the Rebbe runs the world and will take us out of golus".

A H Bochur's Defense

The short answer is, that R. Kunin's words are in fact the Rebbe's words, verbatim (for instance here):

כיון ש"צדיקא דאתפטר אשתכח בכולהו עלמין יתיר מבחיוהי" [זח"ג עא, ב. הובא ונת'
בתניא אגה"ק ביאור לסי' ז"ך], "שגם בזה העולם המעשה אשתכח יתיר" [ראה תניא
שם] – בודאי שהרבי מנהיג את העולם כולו, ואנ"ש בפרט, ומעורר רחמים רבים
וכו', כמו שהי' עד עתה, ואדרבה, ביתר שאת וביתר עוז.

וכשם שעד עתה הי' מונח ("אָפּגעלייגט") אצל כאו"א מאתנו שהרבי יוליכנו לקראת משיח צדקנו – צריך להיות מונח כן גם עתה.

--משיחת ש"פ תרומה, פ' זכור, ח' אדר, ה'שי"ת

Since the Rebbe was someone who authored a prolific amount on the topic of Achdus Hashem, and since the Rebbe is familiar with more philosophic Kabbala than the rest of us, that alone is enough for R. Shlomo Kunin, and that is why that isn't shocking.

---

The long answer is that Kabbala has all sorts of forces "running the world", with the innovative distinction that they are b'achdus with Hashem; this is in fact what Kabbala is mostly here to accomplish: to define the status of the ייחוד various עולמות and ספירות. There are some who lose sight of the point, and get involved in lengthy pilpulim on the exact "direction" זרועות דאריך אנפין are facing; that may have importance, but the essential point of Kabbala remains the gauging of the increasing unity of the material and then spiritual forces the closer G-d is approached.

But while that certainly suffices for someone who is familiar with Kabbala and it's ideas (and not only strictly it's technicalities), I'll note for now an explicit source which deals specifically with people running the world. It is from a famous letter penned by a leading disciple of the Maggid of Mezerich, R. Mendel of Vitepsk.

At the moment I don't have a copy of the entire letter, but I'll provide that as soon as I get a copy of Pri Ha'aretz.

R. Mendel had received a letter requesting that he bestow the author with children. R. Mendel replied that he doesn't control the world, although the Baal Shem Tov did:

בושת פני כסתני, כי התחת אלקים אני – היו
היה דבר ה' ביד הבעל שם, ויגזור אומר ויקם. אחד היה, ומהקדמונים לא קם
כמוהו, ואחריו לעפר מי יקום.

that translates roughly, "I am throughly embarrassed because I cannot stand in G-d's stead. The Baal Shem [could, for he] had the word of G-d in his power, and he would decree and it would be. He was unique, since the ancient there were none like him, and who could be after him?"

So R. Mendel has stated that the Baal Shem is תחת אלקים and can control the world. This actually is alluded to in the Yerushalmi (

תענית פ"ג ה"י):

ותגזר אומר ויקם לך, אפילו הוא אומר הכין ואת אמר הכין, דידך קיימא דידי לא קיימא

Furthermore, the reference to דבר ה' is in fact to the עשרה מאמרות which are Kabbalistically the spiritual force upon which all existence exists. So R. Mendel has stated that the Besht's powers derived from the fact that he could manipulate the very core of existence.

While it is impossible to teach these extremely detailed concepts in the comments to a blog, I'll suffice by explaining that all normative Jewish though and philosophy is seen by Kabbala to apply only within the סדר השתלשלות
העולמות which begins with the עשר ספירות דאצילות. Whereas what is higher, for instance בחינת הכתר, has complete power of veto over any "worldly" notion.

Kabbala and Chassidus entertain the possibility of man "reaching" that level, and then they indeed may "control the world". That is peshat in the Yerushalmi.

P.S. there are more sources on the topic of התחת אלקים אני which I'll hopefully post soon.

Beit Shemesh - Ready to explode against Chareidim

YNET reports: [Warning - problematic pictures] English version here

חשש בבית שמש: "דתיים יצאו לנקום בחרדים"

שלוש נערות דתיות הותקפו בשבת שעברה על ידי אנשי העדה החרדית בעיר, שטענו כי הן מכניסות לשכונה "ערווה ופריצות". חבר מועצה דתי: "לא ניתן לאנשי סדום לגור בתוכנו". תושב חרדי ל-ynet: "יש מידע על מסע נקם שהם מתכננים להערב האברכים שלנו ערוכים לקרב ומוכנים להיכנס על זה לכלא"

קובי נחשוני

בית שמש בוערת:
תושבים דתיים בעיר מדווחים כי בתקופה האחרונה הותקפו כמה פעמים על ידי שכניהם, אנשי העדה החרדית, הטוענים כי הם מכניסים "פריצות וערווה" למקום ומשפיעים לרעה על ילדיהם. במקרה האחרון, שאירע בליל שבת שעברה, תקפו כמה מהם שלוש נערות שחלפו בשכונתם - שתיים הצליחו לברוח כשהן מוכות וחבולות, והשלישית יצאה בשלום מהמקום רק אחרי שהסכימה לעטוף את עצמה בחלוק ארוך בסגנון חרדי. בקהילה החרדית טוענים כי דווקא הדתיים הם ש"התחילו" וכי בידיהם מידע על פעולת נקם שהם מתכננים להערב (ליל שבת). "האברכים פה לא יעברו על זה בשתיקה", מזהיר אחד התושבים החרדים, "יש פה הרבה שמוכנים גם לשבת בבית סוהר".

בעקבות אירועי השבועות האחרונים פנו בעניין אנשי הקהילה הדתית-לאומית בבית שמש לראש העיר ולנציגיהם במועצה ואף הגישו תלונה במשטרה. במקביל הם
מקיימים מגעים עם גורמים בעדה החרדית ובהם הרב

....

Growing tensions between ultra-Orthodox and religious residents in the town of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, have recently escalated into violence as three teen girls were beaten up by haredim who claimed they were "immodestly" dressed. [...]

According to reports, the three 15-year-old girls went for a walk after the Shabbat dinner last Friday, and passed through a haredi neighborhood. At some point they noticed that they were being followed by several men. A Few minutes later the men entered one of the buildings and then came back outside accompanied by dozens of people who then stormed the girls.[...]

Meanwhile the members of the Haredi Community stream in Beit Shemesh present a different version for the state of affairs in town. Moshe, a haredi resident, said that young religious boys and girls often pass through the haredi neighborhood together, and that on occasion yeshiva students have to "drive them away by force." "Boys and girls laughing together is forbidden. This shouldn't happen in a secular neighborhood, let alone an ultra-Orthodox one," Moshe stated.[...]

Throwing Shoes - Butterfly Effect & Middle East

Time Magazine:

Beware of people throwing things at you in the Middle East, even shoes. Think David and Goliath or the Palestinian intifadeh — a rebellion set off by a thrown rock. Or better yet, think of the rocks thrown in Nabatiyah, Lebanon, on Oct. 16, 1983.

On that fateful day, a routine Israeli military patrol cut through a Shi'a religious procession, rocks flew, and the Israelis fired back. Two Lebanese were killed. The Israelis expected little to come of it, understanding too late just how frustrated the Lebanese Shi'a were — frustrated by their own government, by the Palestinians, by the Americans, by the French, as well as by the invading Israelis.

Nabatiyah quickly metastasized into a vicious 17-year guerrilla war. It would turn out to be Hizballah's Boston Tea Party, and led to Israel's first defeat in the field of battle when Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.For us, though, Nabatiyah should be a crucial lesson in how a small act of defiance can turn into a viral contagion. (See the top 10 awkward moments of 2008.).

The man who threw the pair of shoes at President Bush on Sunday was a Shi'a Arab who for years has expressed his bitter frustration about the way things have gone in Iraq. Contacts in Iraq told me that the man came to despise the al-Maliki government because he believes it sold out not just to the U.S. but to Iran as well. He was furious that the al-Maliki government is fabulously corrupt and incompetent. How else can you explain the $100 billion of development money that disappeared down the rat holes in Washington and Baghdad? Or how the electricity and water shortages continue, as do the car bombs in Shi'a neighborhoods? And he is furious that the U.S. intends to abandon Iraq in three years, leaving a mess behind.[...]

Father's Jewish - try to convert?

This is an excerpt from R' Aryeh Ginzburg's sefer [pp 266-267.] As a young man he went around to gedolim with many important questions. He compiled this sefer from the answers. I personally find the sefer very frustrating since these are not teshuvos written by gedolim. Consequently there is no context or clarity. In other words you can't rely on these halacha le'maseh. It is also not valid to make diyukim in what he says. On the other hand he had very solid haskomas. Bottom line this material is thought provoking and encourages further study of the matter. The full sefer itself is available at Hebrew Books

There is a fundamental difference between what Rabbi Tropper is doing and the possible heter of a number of gedolim. As Rabbi Fuerst of Chicago has pointed out.

Are we dealing with someone who views themselves as Jewish? Someone who views themselves as Jewish and is enrolled in a Jewish school or attending kiruv meetings - is a serious problem for intermarriage. Rav Moshe Feinstein also suggests converting non-Jewish children who are attending a day school. He also says a similar heter regarding the Ethiopians in Israel who view themselves as Jewish.

On the other hand Rabbi Tropper is targeting non-Jews who have no doubt that they are not Jewish and are married to Jews. He claims that conversion is necessary for the sake of kiruv for the Jewish spouse.

Non of the gedolim mentioned advocated running after intermarried couples. In fact Rav Eliashiv explicitly stated concerning kiruv that the time honored practice has always been to ostracize such couples. Rav Eliashiv also makes an exception for a Jew who is married to a non-Jew who mistakenly thinks he/she is Jewish.

Gedolim oppose R' Amar's new organization

Dei'ah veDibur: [forwarded by RaP]

December 18, 2008

Gedolei Yisroel shlita voiced their staunch opposition to Merkaz Rabbanei Eretz Yisroel, noting it poses a dire threat to the conceptual and halachic independence of rabbonim in Israel and could herald a takeover attempt that would foist certain opinions on all rabbonim and the entire public in Israel.

A short time ago Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar founded and became president of an organization called Merkaz Rabbanei Eretz Yisroel, which seeks to unite all rabbis in Israel. The aim of the organization is to serve as a supreme rabbinical body in the State of Israel and it threatens to place itself in a position to determine halacha and hashkofoh in every area for the entire public, including kashrus, mikvehs, conversion, etc.

Letters sent to all rabbonim in Israel intended to persuade them to join the organization listed the names of prominent rabbonim supposedly slated to serve on the presidential board without first seeking their consent.

Many rabbonim, including prominent rabbonim, declined to join whereas others have joined the new organization, which ostensibly seeks to uphold the Torah and the rabbinate without any ulterior motives. Others joined because they were concerned they might be targeted if they refused.[...]

Russian immigrants attack Chareidim in Haifa

YNet reports:

The ultra Orthodox community has recently expressed concerns that the crime rate in the Hadar area of the northern Israeli city of Haifa is on the rise. Those concerns have been compounded by several violent attacks on residents of the area's religious neighborhoods.

Avi Weizmann, head of the Shas faction in the Haifa Municipality warned Thursday that unless the police crack down on crime in the area, local community members will have no choice but to take matters into their own hands. We will take to the streets and establish our own Orthodox patrols," he said. "We've come to a point where dozens of people have been brutally attacked in the Hadar Neighborhood. We cannot accept this violence and if the police won't take care of it, we will."

Most of the violent incidents have reportedly taken place in the area's Shtrug Park, which is frequented by the local Orthodox community, as well as the secular one, which is made up of many Russian immigrants. "The park is the center of a violent turf war, between the haredim, who are an innately closed society, and the immigrants, some of whom are not Jewish, who view them as the enemy," said a local resident. [...]

Anusim - Ashenazim more accepting

Aryeh wrote:

I am a Bnai Anusim, and it's been a struggle not only for my ancestors, but for me too. We faced hundreds of years of persecution by Catholics, only to have many modern day Jews reject us. There is a story of Moroccan Sephardi Jews coming back to Portugal in the 20th century and establishing a Sephardi synagogue. When the Anusim hiding in Portugal for hundreds of years came out and reached out to their Sephardic brothers they were rejected.

The Moroccan Jews felt remorseful that the Anusim's ancestors stayed behind in Portugal during the expulsion. When Polish Jews established an Ashkenazi synagogue in the same place, they accepted the Anusim. When the Ashkenazi Jews went out of their way to teach the Anusim about their unique Sephardi minhag, the Anusim wanted to learn only Ashkenazi traditions because it was the Sephardi Jews that rejected them.

Rabbi's in Israel estimate that there are up to 60 million people of Jewish descent in Latin America. They also estimate that 10% of the Portuguese population is of Jewish descent. These are people that want to be religiously Jewish, and I feel can be an answer to the problem of a declining world Jewish population.

My family left Portugal in the late 1700's/early 1800's. They kept Shabbat, they refused to eat blood, they would cover the mirror when someone dies, they were extremely weary of the evil eye, they would light candles every day instead of just on Friday nights to throw off the inquisitors and they would get together every thursday at sunset and pray in the basement, purposefully not praying on Friday at sunset so they wouldn't get caught.

Although I am a male, I have a purely matralineal line going back to these Portuguese ancestors yet I would be hard pressed to find any Orthodox Rabbi in the world willing to say I'm Jewish. Despite how hard we fought to remain so.

Chanuka - Jewish Christmas? /Aish HaTorah

http://www.aish.com/movies/TwasChanukahNight.asp

EJF - revised video

Videos -Eternal Jewish Family - Preservation Of The Jewish Culture

Video about EJF's dedication to promote the concept of universally accepted conversions in intermarriage as a way of preserving the Jewish family.

Rav Soloveitchik's lectures III - Commensurability

Rav Meir Triebitz writes:

We have already hinted that the Rav views halacha as the central basis for a philosophy of Judaism. This theme appears over and over again in the Rav’s writings, and in particular in lecture XII where he declares:

Whether an idea is typically Jewish can best be judged by the halacha – not the Aggadah – to understand any work as the authority meant to convey and you must have lived in the same social environment and cultural forces as the author. Mankind is changeable in its cognitive adventures, and to say that I understand Aristotle means in the tradition of Aristotle, which, of course, has been subject to change. In halacha there is a masoret, a tradition as to method, but if I give an interpretation to Maimonides, it does not necessarily mean that Maimonides meant just that. If measured by halachic standards it is correct. That suffices. But as to Aggadah, there is no tradition, nor in philosophy do we have a tradition. In halacha there is a certain kabballah without any missing links, while in Aggada and certainly philosophy there are many such missing links.

It appears to me that the Rav’s remarks concerning evolution are an attempt to achieve what I would call ‘halachic commensurability’ and not, merely, ‘scientific commensurability’. While Judaism views man as the “bearer of a divine image” and therefore endowed with the capacity for transcendence, this transcendence, in the Rav’s words, “was always seen against the background of naturalness. The canvas was man’s immanence; transcendence was just projected on it as a display of colors” (Emergence of Ethical Man p. 9). The Rav is clearly speaking from the standpoint of the halachah. In contradistinction, “Christianity succeeded in isolating them and reducing the element of naturalness to a state of corruption” (ibid.). This has to be seen as a consequence of Christianity’s rejection of the halacha.

Bernard Madoff II - Impact on Jews

JPost reports: ---- [See previous post]

At least $600 million in Jewish charitable funds have been wiped out by the collapse of Bernard Madoff's Wall Street investment firm, a partial review by The Jerusalem Post revealed Monday.

Yet much is still hidden about what may amount to the most spectacular financial disaster to hit Jewish life since the Great Depression, with unconfirmed losses totaling up to $1.5 billion.

Furthermore, the Post's figures do not include billions of dollars lost to individual and family investors, many of whom were the primary donors to Jewish schools, synagogues and communal charities.[...]

For the worldwide Jewish community, the fact that the man at the heart of what may be Wall Street's worst-ever fraud was an active member of the community could be the worst news yet in a bad recession period.

Not only could Madoff's alleged dishonesty increase anti-Semitic feeling in a time of worldwide economic downturn, said many Jewish leaders, but his close involvement with the Jewish community has exposed vast amounts of Jewish communal assets to his scheme.[...]

"This is a tidal wave, a tsunami," said a veteran advisor to Jewish nonprofits, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "You can live with a downturn in the economy, because there will be an upturn. But now we're talking about foundations that have been wiped out completely, money that's not recoverable."[...]

T.V. & the Israeli "soul"

YNET reports:

A school in central Israel decided to postpone an educational trip scheduled for Tuesday evening because the date clashes with the final episode of the hugely popular reality show "Big Brother."

The show provides viewers with 24/7 access to the lives of a group of participants locked up in a house monitored by multiple TV cameras and completely isolated from the outside world.

In the three months it has been broadcast, "Big Brother" has swept large audiences in Israel, with a substantial proportion being glued to the screen most hours of the day. The show has also been the focus of much controversy lately, due to its blatant content and its allegedly negative influence on teenagers and TV culture in Israel. [...]