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The Lies Of Kosher Today Exposed

I wrote two weeks ago that the claim made by Kosher Today that OSHA had inspected Rubashkin’s Postville, Iowa plant and given the plant a clean bill of health, was most likely false. I pointed out that the man who made that claim, Rabbi Asher Zeilingold, was unreliable, and that he has a close business [...]

Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein and Child Sexual Abuse

According to Luke Ford, Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, a haredi, LA-based rabbi and polemicist, has this to say about blogs and abuse:
“Halakhicly, you should not read blogs. It is not our business to punish people. Vengeance is not a Jewish idea except for in a court of law.”
“In some cases, a cover-up is not the worst [...]

Who Owns The Holocaust?

Twelve years ago, the British Union of Jewish Students launched a project called 50 Days For 50 Years, an effort to commemorate the Holocaust by having Jews learn something each day for 50 days in memory of a Jew murdered in the Holocaust. A book of 50 essays written by leading (Orthodox) rabbis and scholars [...]

The Problem With Haredi Education

Rabbi Yakov Horowitz writes:
… I think that this analogy of bicycle riding and training wheels carries profound lessons for us as we chart a course for the chinuch of our precious children in these challenging times. If one takes a few steps back and surveys the overall landscape of how we impart Torah teaching to [...]

Mohel Who Maimed Baby Is Baby’s Father

Vos Iz Neias reports that the mohel in this sad story turns out to be the baby’s own father. Was he licensed? Trained? Experienced? I doubt it. I also doubt he was – or is – sane. Perhaps that insanity will keep him out of jail …

Haredim and the Holocaust, 2

UOJ quotes the infamous letter written by Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman telling a student not to go to YU or HTC (Skokie), even though it would get him safely out of Europe:
"I received your letter, but unfortunately there is nothing I can do. The yeshivos in America which can bring talmidim from overseas are the yeshivah [...]

Settlers At Play Again …

This video was taken in Hebron. The voices are of international observers there to protect Palestinian families from out of control settlers like this.
We need to make a choice. Behavior like this cannot be tolerated; neither can the atmosphere that causes it. Settlers teach their children hatred. It is true this is in part a [...]

Rabbis: It’s The Fault Of Provocative Women, Not Ill Behaved Men

According to Arutz Sheva, our dear rabbis of the reconstituted ’sanhedrin’ have this to say about former Justice Minister Haim Ramon’s conviction for sexual harassment:
The Ramon verdict is a judicial evil, said the rabbis. “After the complainant’s picture was published as it was published,” they said, “there is no reason to expect different behavior on [...]

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http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/
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Falash Mura Set Up Christian Missions In Israel?

Ethiopian Jewish leaders are complaining that some of the Falash Mura, Jews whose ancestors converted to Christianity but who themselves have returned to Judaism, have set up missions in Israel to convert Jews and have done so with the backing of several churches. Ha’aretz reports:
    Ethiopian rabbis and spiritual leaders (keisim) called on the [...]

The Legal Wrangling Over Seperate Haredi Busses Continues

Remember the woman who was beaten on an Egged bus by haredim because she refused to move to the rear? A good update on the story from yesterday’s Globe and Mail:
…"There’s a concept in Jewish law which is that silence is acquiescence.
And when the rabbinical leaders hear about a store being burned down .
. . [...]

Mohel Cuts Off Too Much, Baby’s Penis Maimed

A baby is circumcised. A horrible accident takes place and the mohel (ritual circumciser) accidently cuts off part of the baby’s penis. Ynet reports, dateline Bnai Brak, Israel:
…Following the bris and after the mohel (circumciser) had already left the building, the baby’s parents noticed that his diaper was soaked with blood.
The parents phoned the mohel, [...]

Schvartzes?

Rabbi Shmuely Boteach writes:
Last week I delivered a sermon based on the Torah portion of the week and which compared Moses, the great Jewish redeemer, with Abraham Lincoln, the martyred American emancipator. When I finished, I was approached by an acquaintance who happens to be an Orthodox Jewish engineer. He seemed, up until that time, [...]