Chabad Messianism

Rabbi Gil Student notes the above Chabad messianic poster for a 11 Nissan concert in honor of the birthday of the "Rebbe Melech HaMashiach" (The Rebbe King Messiah).  Below the photograph of the Rebbe in white type it reads: "Yechi adonaynu moreynu v’rabbaynu melech hamoshiach l’olam vo’ed!" (Long live our master our teacher our rabbi [...]

How To Navigate This Site

Just a quick post to explain site navigation. Each post is is indexed both by date and by category. Category links are on the right side of this page, as are archive links. So you can search by date for a post or look through an entire category – the Rubashkin kosher meat scandal, for [...]

FailedMessiah In The Forward

This week’s David Klinghoffer’s Forward column The Disputation deals with the Matisyahu issue and with Chabad in general. Here, for my money (and ego) is the money quote:
For centuries, the role of the Jewish people as a "kingdom of priests"
(Exodus 19:6) calling humanity to the worship of the one God was
suspended. In our day, thanks [...]

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Still Burns

The Triangle Shirtwaist fire 95 years on. Jonathan Mark of the Jewish Week writes:
The UPI reporter, William Shepherd, was just by chance on the corner of Manhattan’s Washington Place and Greene Street when on March 25, 1911 flames started licking out of the eighth and ninth floors across the street. He knew the place, the [...]

Shas To Send First Ethiopian Rabbi To Knesset

Shas won 13 seats in yesterday’s election. The 13th spot on the Shas list is an Ethiopian rabbi from Beersheva, Mazor Bayana. This means Shas will send the first Ethiopian rabbi in the history of Israel to Knesset.

Complete Israel Election Results

The Jerusalem Post has a complete summary of election results, including a complete slate for each party.

Rabbi, Shas MK Charged With Bribery

Shas Minister of Knesset Shlomo Benizri and his patron, kabbalist Rabbi Reuben Elbaz, have been charged with bribery. Benizri is number six on the Shas list. Shas won 13 seats and is expected to be a coalition partner with Ehud Olmert’s Kadima. Benizri will not be allowed to hold a cabinet position until the trial [...]

Rubashkin Kosher Meat Scandal, USDA Scandal

The entire archive of the Rubashkin meat scandal (and related USDA scandals) is here in reverse chronological order. The page is large, and it may take a moment or two to load.
The PETA video that started it all, my interviews with experts, and links regarding the Rubashkin family’s other peccadillo’s are all posted on the [...]

Are Jewish Vegans Hurting Their Own Cause?

KosherAndHumane.com has an interesting post on how Jewish vegetarians and vegans often misrepresent Judaism. They argue that such misrepresentations hurt our chances of getting humane kosher slaughter and our chances for dealing with the true abuses that permeate factory farms. As you might expect, I agree.

Elie Wiesel On Darfur

Elie Wiesel on Darfur:
I am haunted by what I know of Darfur.
In Darfur, humankind’s center of suffering today, men, women and children are uprooted, starved, tortured, mutilated, humiliated and massacred — and the whole civilized world knows it. And little or nothing, nothing significant, is being done to stop these massive violations of human rights. [...]

Rabbi Elyashiv’s Evil

Dan Rabinowitz at SeforimBlog has a more complete picture of just how bad the new ban on Rabbi Nosson Kamenetsky’s Making of a Gadol is. Not only did Rabbi Elyashiv agree to consult with Rabbi Kamentsky before banning the revised edition of his book, Rabbi Elyashiv’s grandson, who serves as a senior assistant to Rabbi [...]

Haredim Publish Children’s Book Equating Zionists With Nazis

Haredim are loaded onto a cattle car bound for Auschwitz as zionists look on and laugh. The Hebrew over the heads of the zionists refers to a now infamous quote from a zionist leader, "Only with blood shall we redeem our land."
Haredim, most probably affiliated with Neturei Karta and Satmar, have published a children’s book [...]

Rubashkin Protest Mug On Sale!

Normal price is $14.99. On sale through Pesach for $12.99. Bring a few to your local seder.

Moscow Shul Attacker Sentenced To 13 years

The skinhead who attacked a Chabad synagogue in Moscow, wounding 9 people, including four seriously, was sentenced to 13 years in prision today. The stiffer charge of incitement to racial hatred and violence was dropped by the court. The prosecution intends to appeal that decision.