Rabbi Gil Student And The Art Of Censorship

This is Banned Books Week. Fittingly, Rabbi Gil Student has written another post on Blogs And Lashon Hara. In it, R. Student lays out Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir’s views on the halakhot involved, especially those involved if (or ever!) an Orthodox rabbi is criticized. I analyzied Rabbi Meir’s position here. Rabbi Meir sent me an e-mail early yesterday expanding and clarifying his views. I responded by asking him for his permission to reprint his e-mail. Rabbi Meir did not respond to that request. Five hours later, R. Student’s post appeared. R. Student had been corresponding with R. Meir. It is on that correspondence that R. Student bases his post.

I have previously noted problems with R. Meir’s approach. In part, R. Meir posits the following:

If we apply the exact same criteria to a politician, we find that
reasonable criticism will generally meet them. Having a bad political
leader can result in great damage to the community, and having timely
knowledge of the abilities and character of candidates is of benefit
because these people typically stand for election at fixed intervals
and the information is of practical use to the community. No one has a
right to a political office, so if someone gets voted out because of an
item revealed in a blog, this is not "undeserved."…

In response to R. Student’s post, I left the following comment on R. Student’s blog:

[A}s long as rabbis are involved in politics, and as long as they issue bans* w/o interviewing the author first, refuse to meet w/the author and then refuse to talk with questioners or the press – there is NO REASON to give them the benefit of the doubt. Rabbis – like Ovadia Yosef and Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, for example – are politicians and should be treated as such.

R. Student censored that comment, even though it follows R. Meir’s guidelines – guidelines R. Student claims to endorse. R. Student has again proved himself to be a base censor, a rabbinic coward who deletes any comment that he is not man enough to answer.

*[This is a reference to the Rabbi Slifkin Book Ban, and to a Moment Magazine article R. Student called "probably the best article I’ve seen so far on the subject." That article notes:

It was a September morning in 2004, midway between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when Slifkin’s phone rang.…The voice on the other end belonged to a rabbi from the religious enclave of Bnai Brak, and he was calling to deliver an ultimatum.

He informed Slifkin that four prestigious rabbis had opened his “Torah Universe” series and found three of its four books to contain heresy. …The man on the phone informed Slifkin that he had until the end of the day to retract his books. If he didn’t, the charge would be made public and other prominent rabbis would join the campaign against him.…

Within the next few hours, Slifkin received four faxed letters. Their authors represented both the Israeli and American ultra-Orthodox communities: Rabbi Elya Ber Wachtfogel and Rabbi Yitzchok Sheiner were yeshiva leaders in New York, while the others, Rabbi Michael Lefkowitz and Rabbi Elya Weintraub, were among the leaders of the Bnai Brak community. Slifkin spent the rest of that day trying to arrange discussions with each of them, hoping to find out exactly which of his statements had caused such fury. None would agree to discuss the matter with him. Three days later, hours before Kol Nidre, the rabbis’ condemnations were posted on synagogue walls in Slifkin’s neighborhood.

The article later notes that none of the 23 rabbis who signed the ban would speak with the reporter about it.]

UPDATE: Rabbi Student has now banned all comments from me. Why? He claimed my above comment violated this policy:

Important Policy: This blog is intended only for the interchange of ideas for the purpose of Torah study, promoting enlightened public policy and/or the refinement of character. Comments in that spirit are welcome but those that entail denigration of character are not welcome and if they appear will be deleted upon discovery. Since editing is rarely feasible, comments that are deemed inappropriate will be deleted entirely or, if possible, edited.

I pointed out my comment did not violate that policy and I again pointed out that R. Student’s real purpose in deleting the comment was his inability to answer the challenge it posed. I further noted that failing to answer challenges is a pattern demonstrated by his teachers, and that R. Student’s censorship is a sign of that.

For those of you who do not know, R. Student’s teachers are YU’s Rabbi Hershal Schachter and Rabbi Mordechai Willig.

Rabbi Schachter is known for making Rabbi Ovadia Yosef-like public remarks that are often hurtful to whole segments of Jews (like his infamous "monkey" remark that so irritated many women) and then refusing to answer public questions about his remarks or to publicly clarify them. He also refuses to speak with reporters.

Rabbi Willig is best known in non-Orthodox circles for his role in covering up the Lanner child abuse affair that rocked the OU several years ago. Rabbi Willig intimidated witnesses against Rabbi Lanner and behaved in a reprehensible manner. When his role was exposed, and after much pressure built, Rabbi Willig apologized for his actions. He then spent the next several years refusing to help abuse victims or to do anything else concrete to atone for his protection of Rabbi Lanner. Like Rabbi Schachter, Rabbi Willig also refuses to speak with the press.

Neither Rabbi Schachter or Rabbi Willig are fit to lead Jews. It is becoming increasingly clear that this applies to their students as well.

Rabbi Goldschmidt Must Be Backed By FJC And Lazar To Enter Russia

Interfax reports on the "reason" behing the banning of Berel Lazar’s rabbinic rival, Moscow’s Chief Rabbi Pinkhas Goldschmidt, from Russia by the Putin government:

Moscow, September 28, Interfax – The Russian Foreign Ministry is investigating the motives behind a decision to cancel an entry-visa issued to Moscow Choral Synagogue Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, ministry spokesman Mikhail Troyansky told Interfax on Wednesday.

"At the moment, we are investigating the circumstances surrounding the annulment of Rabbi Goldschmidt’s visa", Troyansky said.

A Moscow source told Interfax that Russia recently adopted new visa regulations for foreign clergymen.

The new rules allow clergymen from abroad to come to Russia for religious activities only at the invitation of an officially registered centralized religious organization, he said.

The source said that Goldschmidt is reported to have been invited to Russia by a business group.

Sources in Moscow told Interfax that Goldschmidt, who arrived at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport from Israel on September 27, was not allowed to enter Russia and was forced to return to Israel.

Putin only recognizes Chabad and its front group the Federation of Jewish Communities (FJC). That would appear to mean that Rabbi Goldschmidt, Moscow’s long-serving Chief Rabbi and a pro-democracy opponent of Putin and Lazar, would only be allowed back into Russia if he is officially invited by Lazar’s Chabad-controlled FJC.

Putin is an anti-democratic thug. Lazar and Chabad are his lap dogs. So far, the Jewish media is silent.

UPDATE: Miriam Shaviv has an interesting take on this development here.

New Moment Magazine Article On Rabbi Slifkin

Moment Magazine has published a new article about the Rabbi Nosson Slifkin Book Ban. Perhaps the best quote in the piece comes from Rabbi Ahron Feldman, the ‘godol’ who first backed Rabbi Slifkin but then sold him out:

None of the rabbis who signed the ban was willing to speak with me, but I reached [rabbi Ahron] Feldman this summer while he was vacationing in Israel. I asked him to explain how the ban’s signers differ from fundamentalist Christians: Both groups believe that Darwinism is heretical and that the world is 6,000 years old. Feldman, who speaks English with strong Yiddish inflections, replied that he was not familiar with Christian ideas but was reasonably sure that they were nothing like Jewish ones. “We rarely can converge with Christians on anything,” he said, “so I doubt we agree with them on this matter.”

Actually, Young Earth Creationism, the idea that the earth was created old with fossils of dinosaurs buried under layers of earth, the idea that Rabbi Feldman and his cronies support, was invented in the mid-1800’s by a Christian theologian and apologist named Gosse. It has no source in Jewish tradition. That Rabbi Feldman could be so ignorant about the idea is frightening. When one takes into account the thuggish manner in which the ‘gedolim’ imposed their ban, and add in their ignorance of both science and history, one is left with a sad and inescapable conclusion. May God protect us.

American Jewish World Service Calls For Expanded US Role In Darfur

American Jewish World Service has launched a call to action on Darfur. The petition, which can be signed here, calls for an expanded US role in ending the genocide. Let’s hope it works.

Putin Bars Non-Chabad Chief Rabbi From Russia

Moscow’s Chief Rabbi – an opponent of Chabad, Putin’s pro-Stalin, anti-democracy movement, and Chabad’s self-appointed ‘chief rabbi’ of Russia Berel Lazar – was barred from returning to Russia after a trip to Israel by Russian border guards. The AP and Ha’aretz report:

The chief rabbi of Moscow’s main synagogue said Russian border guards had denied him entry to the country on Tuesday when he returned from a trip to Israel.

Rabbi Pinkhas Goldschmidt, speaking on Ekho Moskvy radio, urged the authorities to review his case and let him return to Russia.

He said the border guards told him that his Russian visa had been annulled, but gave no further explanation. He flew back to Israel after being denied entry.

Goldschmidt, chief rabbi at the Moscow Choral Synagogue, said he hoped the incident was a misunderstanding.

Adolf Shayevich, Russia’s chief rabbi, said that his Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations asked the Foreign Ministry for an explanation of what happened to Goldschmidt but had not yet received an answer.

"It was unexpected for all of us, since he never has had any problems," Shayevich told Ekho Moskvy.

It seems clear – Putin bans a political opponent and does a favor for Chabad at the same time. And the Jewish media? If past examples are any indication of the future,  expect near silence. What you do read will probably contain a quote from Lazar supporting Goldschmidt. Lazar may even ‘intercede’ with the Foreign Ministry. Then, if Goldschmidt is allowed back in, Lazar can claim to have helped. And if not, Lazar did his ‘best.’ But Chabad’s long campaign to crush rabbis not under its direct control will not be reported in any detail. Too many uncomfortable threats come with printing uncomfortable news.

UPDATE: Miriam Shaviv has Ma’ariv’s take – which largely agrees with mine – here.

The OU Spins Kosher To New Lows

The OU has announced it is now certifying Maalox as kosher. Why? The OU (incorrectly) notes:

Kosher certification is not required for prescription medications, but it is a requirement for over-the-counter medications – such as Maalox® and Triaminic® – which are not used in life-threatening situations or in cases of serious illness.

Following the OU’s incorrect logic, Aspirin, Tylenol, Sudafed, Claratin and dozens of other over the counter medicines also require certification. Further, many OTC drugs were once prescription only. That quickly leads one to realize that prescription drugs used in non-emergency situations or for chronic conditions would also require certification. The OU’s statement is false because:

1. Only something with taste has the potential for falling under kosher laws. Products without taste are not a problem.
2. That taste must be good. If the taste is the product so bad that it would not be consumed as food, the product itself is kosher.
3. If the (solid, i.e., a pill) product is swallowed whole and not chewed, the product is kosher. Why? It is not the normal way of eating to swallow food whole. One gets no pleasure or taste from it.
4. Even if the medicine is treife, one consumes less that the required amount to count as eating treife.
5. Usually only one ingredient out of many found in a pill is treife, and that ingredient – a derivative of a derivative – is almost always batel in the pill itself.
6. Gelatin is commonly considered treife, but many significant poskim considered it pareve and kosher, no matter its source. (Indeed, I have personally heard haredi teachers of semicha posit that all gelatin is kosher and pareve even though "we" do not poskin this way.) When consumed as a pill gelatin amounts to less than the required amount to count as eating and is consumed by swallowing not chewing. (See #3 above.) Therefore there is no reason whatsoever to require gelatin capsules to ‘kosher.’
7. The purpose of consuming the medicine is not for eating or pleasure.
8. OTC and prescription drugs have scientifically proved healing qualities. Most herbal and homeopathic medicines do not. The laws of kashrut as applied to medicine were made 2000 years ago for herbal medicines that lacked proved track records of healing. Permitting their use is based on a doctor prescribing them. The case for use of OTC medicines is much stronger and should carry far more halakhic weight. That the haredi world does not view them this way should tell you volumes about that world’s understanding of science and its reaction to modernity.

Buy kosher Maalox if you must, but don’t do so because of the OU’s unnecessary certification. And certainly do not spend more money buying kosher Maalox rather than a generic or competing brand. Use the money you save to help pay your kids tuition.

The Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir Flip Flop

Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir of the Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem wrote a column a few weeks ago endorsing public criticism of public figures. This week, Rabbi Meir has ‘modified’ his message – Rabbis are lagely exempt from such criticism. Why? follow Rabbi Meir’s ‘logic‘:

If we apply the exact same criteria to a politician, we find that reasonable criticism will generally meet them. Having a bad political leader can result in great damage to the community, and having timely knowledge of the abilities and character of candidates is of benefit because these people typically stand for election at fixed intervals and the information is of practical use to the community. No one has a right to a political office, so if someone gets voted out because of an item revealed in a blog, this is not "undeserved."…

But why not rabbis?

1. "[Rabbis have a] reputation for upstanding conduct, then giving [rabbis] the benefit of the doubt is not merely a good deed, it is simply good judgment."

2. "[A] person can’t exactly phone up the governor and schmooze with him or her over the way to improve their failings. [I do not recall Rabbi Elyashiv taking any calls from the masses over the Rabbi Slifkin Book Ban. The same holds true for Dovid Feinstein and a number of other’gedolim.’]"

3. "Compare this to the average spiritual leader. Even if we are convinced that they have made mistakes, revelation doesn’t always make the most sense. Many of these people are surprisingly accessible [sic], and so often it is much more practical and ethical to merely confront them with any concerns. And it is worth asking if letting followers know about shortcomings will ultimately be of benefit.

"Due to their great moral authority of these leaders [sic], undermining their status can do immense damage to the community — perhaps more than the damage resulting from having authority in the hands of an imperfect individual."

In other words, Rabbi Meir should believe that if the governor would take your phone call, publicly noting that he had failed as a leader would be wrong, especially if it would lead the masses to distrust other political leaders and our poitical system as a whole. But he does not believe this. Why?

Having a bad political leader can result in great damage to the community [and a bad rabbi cannot?], and having timely knowledge of the abilities and character of candidates is of benefit because these people typically stand for election at fixed intervals and the information is of practical use to the community. No one has a right to a political office, so if someone gets voted out because of an item revealed in a blog, this is not "undeserved."

Therefore, because rabbis are not democratically elected and are not responisble to their communities, and because they have a self-ordained "right" to retain their office (in perpetuity, no less) no matter how flawed their leadership is, rabbis are above criticism.

Rabbi Meir’s point is clear:  If Jews are going to leave Orthodoxy because they learn the truth about our ‘gedolim,’ or if they will shift Orthodoxy’s worldview to the religious Orthodox left, then the truth must be hushed up.

If Haza"l had used Rabbi Meir’s standards, much of Nakh would have been censored.

It is also important to note that ‘gedolim’ are political leaders, their followers often vote in blocks, and that ‘gedolim’ are regularly and actively involved in the political process. Yet Rabbi Meir ignores these facts in order to shield ‘gedolim’ from public scrutiny.

Let’s face it, people. Orthodox Judaism is anti-democratic, anti-modernity, anti-science and anti-rationalist, and no amount of kiruv-based apologetics and sugar coating can hide that fact. We are Islam but without a theocracy. God forbid we should ever aquire one.

Falash Mura End Hunger Strike

1500 Falash Mura were forced by police to end their 3-day hunger strike protesting the extremely slow rate of aliya to Israel. The Falash Mura were saddened because no Jewish communities contacted them during the strike.

Are You Chabad?

Are you Chabad?

Conservative Rabbi Resigns Post, Becomes Orthodox, Gets Online Semicha

A New Jersey-based Conservative rabbi resigned his pulpit, became Orthodox, took an online semicha program, passed and is now looking for work as an Orthodox rabbi:

… Rabbi Friedman was helpful. He spent time with me and kept insisting, ‘I guarantee you’ll get through this course.’ I didn’t even understand the course material.…

The course was Pirchei Shoshanim, a Lakewood-based distance learning program run by the Shema Yisrael Torah Network. It provides studies culminating in an exam taken in Israel for smiha, rabbinic ordination, issued through the Pirchei Shoshanim Rabbanim.

“I had known about this program for some time. I had a tremendous amount of self-doubt I’d be able to do it…,” Zell said, adding that he thought he would be taking the test in Israel “with a bunch of 20-year-olds.”

In fact the lawyers, doctors, and other professionals in the class, who had come from all over the world, were like him — men in their middle years interested in Jewish learning. The course was based on The Code of Jewish Law and focused on laws of kashrut. The difficult part, Zell said, wasn’t the original text but understanding all the centuries-old commentaries on the laws.…

In November 2004, Zell took his first test toward the Orthodox rabbinate — and scored a 67. He did no better on the second test a few months later, despite studying several hours a day. “The year was a roller coaster,” Zell said. “One day I was convinced I didn’t do it and the next day I’d be okay. I used an old Jewish grandmother trick. I’d say to myself, ‘Okay, spend an hour studying and then you can freak out.’”

By the third test, this past July, Zell had been driving to Monsey, NY, to study with rabbinical experts. His score on the 70-page, seven-and-a-half-hour test was 58.

It turned out that 58 percent on the test was an average grade. Zell had never appreciated the bell curve more. All three tests were part of the one class, and his scores were the minimum he needed for his smiha.…

This JTS graduate had no diffculty with Tanakh, Talmud or Yosef Caro, but he could not understand the arcane bilbul that is the language of most (Ashkenazi) rabbinic literature from 1600 onward. But that’s okay. Much of this literature is made up of rabbis arguing over what other rabbis meant to say, the deciphering of a language so obtuse and imprecise that it confuses even those who grow up studying it. Made up of Aramaic, Biblical, Mishnaic and Talmudic Hebrew, Yiddish, arcane abbreviations (each abbreviation can have several conflicting meanings), and an occasional Slavic, Russian or Polish term, all strung together in long, Falkner-like sentences lacking any punctuation, Rabbinic Hebrew is less a language than a code. Semicha today is largely about breaking that code. The actual knowledge that code is meant to convey is decidedly secondary.

The Rabbi Mordechai Eliyhu Flip Flop

Rabbi Modechai Eliyahu has now withdrawn his statements urging soldiers to disobey orders. He also has this to say about his ‘prophcey’ that Disengagement would not happen:

Eliahu has been criticized by religious Zionist rabbis for promising thousands of his followers, many of whom are former residents of the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria, that disengagement would never happen.

Asked what he had to say to those settlers who suffered material losses, because they believed his promises and did not pack up their belongings or cooperate with the government, Eliahu replied: "From the beginning I always said to the settlers that they need to act according to their level of confidence in God. Someone who is afraid, I said, should evacuate and leave and do what he thinks is right. Someone with more confidence in God should pack but not leave and someone with even more confidence should not even pack."

Eliahu said that those settlers who had confidence in God and did not pack would receive a heavenly reward.

And those who packed but did not leave? Why, they get nothing!?! Their faith was not great enough!?!

What utter bulls*#t! Mordechai Eliyahu was wrong, he damaged many Jews and did so when claiming ‘prophecy.’ The man is either a fool or a false prophet. Either way, he should be ashamed and should with draw from public life immediately.

Chabad Huricane Relief #6: Efforts “Nonsectarian,” Misrepresents President’s Statement

In a new press release, Chabad claims President Bush praised its ‘nonsectarian’ relief efforts in a speech given yesterday. But nothing could be further from the truth. As noted first here, what President Bush actually said is as follows:

"Our nation’s armies of compassion have rallied and have come to the aid of people who are in desperate need of help. Our charities and houses of worship and idealistic people have opened up their homes, wallets and their hearts. It’s been an amazing, amazing outpouring of help. And the Jewish community of this country has been on the forefront of the efforts.

"At Tulane University, the director of the Chabad, Rabbi Rivkin, brought teams of students to New Orleans and Southern Mississippi and other communities hit by the storm. He called in folks to help. He didn’t say, head away from the storm, he said, let’s take it right to the middle of the storm area to help people. They helped rescue stranded people, distributed bottled water, self-heating kosher meals, cleaned up and helped salvage homes, they provided spiritual support for those who lost loved ones and one of the ones rescued put it this way: In the days after Katrina hit, Chabad saved  lives.

"Rabbi Stanton Zamek of the Temple Beth Shalom Synagogue in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, helped an African American couple displaced by the storm track down their daughter in Maryland. When Rabbi Zamek called the daughter, he told her, "We have your parents." She screamed out, "Thank you, Jesus!" (Laughter.) He didn’t have the heart to tell her she was thanking the wrong rabbi. (Laughter and applause.)

"Jewish organizations have thus far raised $17 million to help the victims of Katrina. (Applause.) Our citizens are answering the call of the Prophet Isaiah: "If you give what you have to the hungry, and fill the needs of those who suffer, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your darkness will be like the brightest time of day." People are hearing that call all across the country. And there’s more work to be done. I urge you to continue to pay attention to the folks down there by contributing to the Red Cross, or the Salvation Army, or the United Jewish Communities, or B’nai B’rith International, or the American Jewish Committee. (Applause.) "

President Bush does not claim Chabad efforts are "nonsectarian." In fact, he lists them with other sectarian efforts and then urges donations, not to Chabad, but to nonsectarian relief agencies like the Red Cross. Chabad efforts were directed at Jews, skipped over needy non-Jews and do not meet the nonsectarian test. Chabad has committed fraud, and should be prosecuted.

The complete text of Chabad’s press release follows:

Rashi Upshlugged

A brilliant, must read refutation of a Rashi in Shabbat has been published by the Forward’s language columnist, Philologos. History does matter.

Chabad Hurricane Relief #5

In the midst of a nice article about Chabad ‘relief’ efforts in Mississippi and Alabama we find the following description of Chabad’s activities there from Chabad itself:

Jewish people were the group’s focus but not the only beneficiaries. As
the RV made its way down a residential street, the volunteers saw a man
peeking through the curtains of his home. They stopped. The elderly man
who answered the door had toughed out the storm as best he could, but
his two broken legs and his reliance upon crutches had kept him from
seeking out aid from relief centers. The Chabad group stocked the
pantry with self-heating meals and offered to get him medical help.
“When we came across people needing attention, helping them became part
of our mission, no matter if they were Jewish or not,” said Dubrowski.
Though the man refused medical help, “he was extremely thankful for the
food.”

Again, this is not considered nonsectarian relief and all monies raised to support it under the pretext of nonsectarian distribution were raised fraudulently.