Haredi Wall Posters

Ever wonder how those haredi wall posters known as pashkvillim that announce bans, excommunications, deaths, and other news get distributed? In Jerusalem, it happens this way.

Haredi Rabbis Ban Denim Skirts, Blouses

On the left. the leader of Lithuanian haredi, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. On the right, the Litvak’s number two, Rabbi Aryeh Lein Shteinman. I have seen dozens of pictures of these two and one video, but I’ve never seen either smile. The video was taken at a siyum for daf yomi, hundreds of other rabbis, including many haredi leaders were singing, dancing and clapping (many of them very weakly, though). These two sat almost motionless, looking like dried up, very unhappy prunes. Rabbi Shteinman is the rabbi who a year or so ago did not know what a credit card was. Run away from these men as fast as you can.

Haredi rabbis, led by the evil one of Jerusalem, Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, have set out to ban women’s clothing they find offensive, even if that clothing conforms to halakha. Ha’aretz reports on the results of their da’as toiyroh:

…In Jerusalem, the response went further than just the
Mea She’arim poster warning against "the Parisian designer getting his
nails into us," to acts of violence. A clothing store near Shabbat
Square was recently set on fire, while Geula neighborhood patrols are
armed with containers of bleach to damage the clothing of women who
break the dress code.

It is not clear how organized the
patrols are, but an elected Haredi official in Jerusalem recently
complained to the police of an "atmosphere of terror in the streets."
He called on the police to intervene.

Bnei Brak also has a
local Bleach Underground. The desire to be fashionable exacted a price
from Bnei Brak resident D.: "At the end of a day around town I
discovered three large bleach stains on my new skirt," she
reconstructed. "The next day I heard from friends that women with
syringes and baby bottles are spraying bleach on clothing they don’t
like for some reason." According to D., her sin was that her "skirt was
pretty, not particularly short."…

Just how picky are these madmen? This picky:

Miri, the owner of an eponymous clothing store,
earned approval, but only after she removed a substantial portion of
her goods from the shelves. "Anything made from jersey, spandex and
denim is prohibited," she explains.…

Several respected rabbis
weighed in on the matter last week, writing, "Recently a variety of
foreign garb has spread among the women and girls; this is immodest
clothing. Knitted fabrics are not appropriate for daughters of Israel."
At that time, the list of dozens of approved stores was published.…

Haredi Rabbis and Haredi Thugs: Is There Really Any Difference?

A haredi thug, leader of a gang of haredi thugs who terrorize the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem, is convicted of crimes of violence against another haredi gang. The reason for the violence? A war over pashkvellim, the notorious wall posters that line the neighborhood. The thug is sentence by a shomer shabbat judge to house arrest, and must wear a monitoring bracelet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – including Shabbat. The thug and his rabbis – including the leaders of Badatz Yerushalayim-Edah Haredit, major Lithuanian ‘gedolim,’ the Ashenazi Chief Rabbi, and even a Chabad rabbi – oppose the monitoring bracelet on religious grounds, arguing it is a violation of their freedom of religion to force this criminal to "violate" Shabbat by wearing it.

But the highly respected Zomet Institute, which deals with the interface of modern technology and halakha, ruled the bracelet is permissible to wear on Shabbat. (For this, the head of the institute has received threats from – anonymous haredi thugs.)

Matthew Wagner of the Jerusalem Post reports:

… In a letter to Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter, MK Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) called the use of the bracelet on Shabbat "anti-religious coercion."

"Zomet’s approval of the use of the bracelet on Shabbat is, of course, baseless from a halachic perspective," said Porush. "Halacha forbids the use of an instrument that causes [electronic] currents on a computer on Shabbat," he added.

Rabbi Haim Kanyevsky, one of the most respected in the Lithuanian community, ruled by proxy that use of the monitoring system on Shabbat was prohibited.

Metzger, quoting Kanyevsky, Rabbi Moshe Yehuda Leib Landau, and Rabbi Tuvia Weiss, head of the Edah Haredit’s Rabbinic Court, joined the opposition against the monitoring system. However, none of the rabbis explained why the Zomet Institute’s halachic opinion was wrong.

In contrast, Zomet’s Rosen explained why he permitted the use of the bracelet. "In the prisoner’s house there is an electronic receiver that constantly receives broadcasts from the ankle bracelet," explained Rosen.

"The prisoner’s movements do not activate anything. As long as the prisoner does not leave the perimeters of the house he remains within broadcast range of the electronic receiver and no alarm is activated. There is no difference between the ankle bracelet and any conventional battery-powered wrist watch."

Rosen added that it was possible to deactivate the bracelet without removing it, if a prisoner had permission to do so.…

If so, why did these rabbis (including Landau, who is Chabad, and Yona Metzger, the scandal-ridden chief rabbi) rule against it? Maybe because of this:

Rosen said that he had received anonymous phone calls attacking him for
rebelling against the rabbis. "But nobody bothered to find out how the
monitoring system really works," he said.

Another reason may be that Zomet is a Religious Zionist institution and haredim a virulently anti-Zionist. Predictably, the consequences of trying to enforce the law when dealing with these haredim are violent:

Haredi sources predicted that if the court refuses Zarbiv’s request, extensive haredi demonstrations against what they perceive as a violation of Zarbiv’s religious freedom will break out in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh.

Supporters have already vented their anger over Zarbiv’s predicament. On Friday, December 29, Zarbiv forcibly removed the bracelet. Moked 99, a private security company that operates the house-arrest monitoring system for the police, responded immediately. Officers from the security company confronted a crowd of angry haredim that surrounded the patrol car, turned it on its side, and slashed all four tires.

Apparently, violent beatings of political opponents, destruction of property, threats and other violence are permitted under haredi understanding of Jewish law.

This really is Orthodox Judaism. Run away from it as fast as you can.

Why Orthodox Judaism Fails

Rabbi Without A Cause, the RCA-affiliated rabbi so loved by Rabbi Gil Student (and so ridiculed by many of Gil’s readers and by me) has this to say about the behavior of the ‘gedolim’ in the Rabbi Slifkin Ban:

[L]abelling books kefirah and someone a kofer is well-within halachah, as is refusing to meet,if the claims are well-grounded. Read the position of Rabbi Akiva in Perek Chelek.

In other words, a shomer Shabbat Jew with recognized smicha wrote a series of books that quoted Rishonim and later authorities. Gedolim labeled those positions heresy, and Rabbi Slifkin a heretic. They refused to meet with him or his representatives. And, when pushed by others to explain themselves, they were left with saying that what was permissible for Maimonides or Nachmanides or Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch to believe is not permissible for us.

These rabbinic fools tried to destroy Rabbi Slifkin. They did so with no due process granted to the man they condemned. And who defends their misbehavior? An RCA rabbi.

This is Orthodox Judaism. People, run away from it as fast as you can.

Paul Shaviv On Rabbi Slifkin, The Age of the Universe, Chabad and Haredim

Paul Shaviv writes:

Whether we read the tangled tales of our “founding family,” or the mystical account of the origins of morality in the Garden of Eden, Genesis has always been the most engaging and the most challenging of the Five Books of Moses. But no part of it has exercised more attention than the account of Creation described in its opening 34 verses.

Way back, I was comfortable in understanding Genesis – Bereshit – as a majestic, spiritual account of Creation, containing in its short texts infinite spiritual truths. It was not a literal account. In the mid-1960s I first encountered Lubavitch-Chabad Chassidim who argued that the world was exactly five-thousand-and-some years old, and that God created fossils. But no one I knew – including several Orthodox rabbis – took them seriously. It was an exotic sideshow to the Chabad “gig,” which we all loved, in its uncomplicated, pre-Messianic incarnation.

A little later on, I encountered the “Orthodox Jewish scientists,” who sought to demonstrate by elaborate interpretations that the text of the Bible did not contradict any scientific theory. It was noticeable that as the scientific theories changed, so did the explanations. While, again, the arguments were sometimes fascinating, I could never understand why they were necessary. But every year, I loved those few weeks in the fall when the New Year began with the reading of the powerful account of the beginnings of the world as we know it. I could listen to Bereshit being read from the Torah without being troubled.

I am still not troubled, but others are troubling me. For in today’s Orthodox community, there are strong and insistent voices saying that you have to believe the world is 5767 years old or you are a heretic, with all the exclusions that are implied. Whether you are meticulous in observing the commandments or not is no longer a sufficient yardstick.…

The Challenge of Creation is important for two reasons.

The first is that it powerfully and rationally argues that to be Orthodox need not – indeed, must not – mean abandoning reason, nor need it mean rejecting science. That is – as indicated – a courageous statement in an Orthodox world that has been hurtling in the opposite direction for the last 30 years or so.

Rabbi Slifkin’s courage brought a firestorm down on his head. But his book is a powerful injection of calm common sense into an increasingly eccentric community. The small group of Orthodox who yearn to hear voices in Orthodoxy to whom we can relate – we feel like one of Rabbi Slifkin’s ecologically endangered species – owe Rabbi Slifkin a huge thank you.

The second, less immediately apparent reason, is that it is a practical complement to recent, and important, books by Menachem Kellner and Marc Shapiro, demonstrating that the parameters of Jewish definition have always been fixed by tests of practice, not tests of belief. Being Jewish was always about what you did, not what you thought. That idea sharply distinguished Judaism from most branches of Christianity, whose test of faith was belief, and it can only be conjectured whether those who want to reverse those parameters actually understand what damage they are doing. (Given the equally strong movement against the study of Jewish history in the same circles, it is entirely possible that they don’t.)

…This civilized, respectful, erudite, well-argued, beautifully structured book is a revelation in a controversy that has been marked by crude and adversarial public mud-slinging. His opponents could learn major lessons from him in derech eretz, let alone in Torah.

Haredim Rule Organic Products Not Kosher

A kibbutz adopts the philosophy of Anthroposophy, a cult (or cult-like group) that follows the teachings of Rudolph Steiner, and early 20th century social philosopher and occultist. The kibbutz goes into the organic produce business and is successful. Tnuva then buys out the kibbutz and employs the kibbutzniks. The produce and foodstuffs get kosher certification from the Rabbinute. Time passes. Yad L’Achim, the haredi anti-cult organization, goes to the haredi rabbinic court Edah Charedis in Jerusalem. Edah Charedis issues a statement banning the produce from the kibbutz and labeling it non-kosher.

Questions:

1. If the food is inherently kosher, how can it become “treife” due to the beliefs of the growers?

2. Outside of wine, which would be kosher without supervision if not for a specific rabbinic enactment made at the time of the Mishna to forbid non-Jewish wine, are there any other foods that have been banned because of who produces them?

[Cheese needs supervision because of the coagulating agents used, but others assert the reason for this rabbinic enactment from Mishnaic times was to separate Jews from non-Jews. Milk also has a kashrut reason, although some also hold this ancient rabbinic enactment was made to prevent intermarriage. Meat needs supervision because kosher meat and treife meat are indistinguishable and the incentive for cheating is high because of the price disparity between the two.]

3. Halakha does not ban the produce of idol worshippers, even Jewish idol worshippers, and does not question its kashrut status. Indeed, even prepared foods of idol worshippers are kosher, as long as the ingredients are kosher. What basis is there in Jewish law for Edah Charedis to declare Harduf foods non-kosher?

Readers?

Dennis Prager’s Rabbi Slifkin Interview On Web

You can listen to Dennis Prager’s recent interview with Rabbi Natan Slifkin here.

[Hat tip: LA Yid.]

The Haredi Takeover and YU’s Cowardice

The Canadian Jewish News has published the first of a two part series on inter-Orthodox tension in Toronto. The article is stunning, both for its clarity and for the candidness of the interviewed subjects.

First, we have Rabbi Shlomo Miller, Toronto’s rosh kollel and a major opponent of Rabbi Natan Slifkin. He refuses to be interviewed because, he tells the CJN, the media misrepresents his views. Instead, Miller appoints a spokesman, Jonathan Ostroff (who’s brother, I believe, is Rabbi David Ostroff, a significant haredi figure in Israel). Here is what Ostroff has to say:

Rabbi Slifkin’s “misrepresentation” of the six days of creation, as described in the book of Genesis, compromises the core beliefs of Judaism, Ostroff said. Rabbi Miller, therefore, objects particularly to his work in kiruv (outreach). “Would you want your children to be taught by someone who misrepresents a core belief of Torah?” Ostroff asked.

Rabbi Miller, Ostroff said, is a follower of the Vilna Gaon, the 18th-century Talmudist, and thus is not opposed to science, as some have said, but is very interested in it. Ostroff said the rabbi, however, distinguishes between “operational science” and “origin science.” Operational science, which Rabbi Miller accepts, examines how things work in the universe, while origin science looks at what caused things to begin. “It’s the difference between building a bridge, and who came up with the original idea of a bridge,” Ostroff said, adding that Rabbi Miller “objects to origin science, because it can’t be studied empirically.”

He said that in the rabbi’s, and the Torah’s, view, the world was created by supernatural means, by God, in six days. By the seventh day, when He rested, everything, from light and darkness to land and the seas to plants and animals to man, was in place. That, Ostroff said, is when operational science came into play.

And all the empirical evidence pointing to a world far older than 6000 years? “Operational science” itself must be thrown out in order to believe this haredi line.

But Ostroff is not finished yet:

On the general subject of stringencies, Ostroff said that 80 years ago, Orthodoxy was moving to the left. Today, it’s moving to the right. As an example, he noted that religious Zionists, including some in the Modern Orthodox camp, are questioning whether they should say Hallel, the psalms of praise said on Jewish holy days, on Yom Ha’atzmaut. “They are moving closer to the opinion of the haredim. It’s all part of God’s plan.”



Stricter kashrut guidelines are part of this trend. Kashrut standards in the wider Orthodox community are moving closer to haredi views on questions such as the dangers of insect infestation in fruits and vegetables, Ostroff said. “This may appear to some to being a stringency. In fact, it is exactly what the Shulchan Aruch demands.”

Before light boxes, magnification and pesticides, Jews ate vegetables, including broccoli and brussels sprouts. How did they do this? How, when the average person had eyesight that was closer to 20/60 than 20/20, and when reading glasses did not exist, were vegetables checked for bugs? Does the Shulchan Aruch demand only those with good eyesight check for bugs? Does it even mention this as an opinion? No, it does not. But haredim do not care about this fact, any more than they care to note that before pesticide use, far more insects were on vegetables than are found today. Bugs must be identifiable as bugs using the human eye in order for them to be forbidden. That means bugs too small to be seen by less-than-perfect human eyes do not count. Magnification, light boxes, prescribed acts of soaking and the like are all stringencies added by haredim.

More Rabbi Miller-inspired foolishness is kindly noted by the CJN:

In Toronto, the controversial trend toward more stringent interpretations of halachah has been ongoing, with a decision this summer by the Toronto Vaad Hatzdokah, an independent board that certifies Jewish charity collectors, not to endorse any future female applicants, despite having done so before. The Vaad said the collection of tzadakah by women is halachically problematic for reasons having to do with modesty. In addition, moves by the Vaad Harabonim, Toronto’s Orthodox rabbinic umbrella organization – such as challenging the city’s longstanding eruv, a physically demarcated boundary around the city that allows Jews to carry things in public on Shabbat and Yom Tov – are being seen as an attempt to bring the community more in line with haredi ideals.

Rabbi Shlomo Miller is a coward and a thug, representing a community of thugs. (Don’t be a poor woman in Toronto!) But he is not the only rabbinic coward in Toronto:

Making the situation more volatile, many people in the Orthodox community are troubled by what appears to be a refusal of non-haredi rabbis and other Orthodox leaders to speak out against the situation.

Several people interviewed for this series expressed the view that many Orthodox rabbis and leaders are afraid of being censured by Rabbi Miller and the haredi community, and these sources contend this fear is behind the silence of Orthodox leaders.

As I have written many times, the silence of rabbis Hershal Schachter, Mordechai Willig and the other YU roshei yeshiva – a silence that is borne of both cowardice and a fawning need to have approval from haredi ‘gedolim’ like Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv – is the most destructive force in today’s Orthodox world.

When all this is over, when historians write about this period of Jewish history, the cowardice and abdication of responsibility of Hershal Schachter, Mordechai Willig & Co. will be the focus. Great leaders rise to meet difficult challenges. Great leaders act, often at significant personal risk, to fight for what is right and good. YU’s roshei yeshiva are not great men.

Rabbi Slifkin Live On Dennis Prager NOW

Rabbi Natan Slifkin is live on Dennis Prager’s radio show as I write this at 1:15 CDT.

You can listen (live streaming only – no archived content) on the web here.

BeliefNet Interview With Rabbi Natan Slifkin; Klinghoffer Politely Skewered

Rabbi Natan Slifkin, the now-banned author whose earlier books so traumatized haredi gedolim, is interviewed by Steven I. Weiss for BeliefNet:

I can’t speak for Yeshiva University or anyone else, but many rabbis believe, like me, that [the Discovery Institute Senior Fellow David] Klinghoffer‘s column [in the Forward] was profoundly problematic. He claimed that Darwinian evolution would render Judaism void and meaningless, which is simply not the case. The “randomness” of evolution that he found so objectionable is no more antithetical to Judaism than the “randomness” of history, in which Judaism perceives the creator as working within the laws of nature and the seemingly arbitrary forces of chance and circumstance.

Rabbi Slifkin’s newest book is a revised and expanded version of The Science of Torah called The Challenge of Creation. According to Rabbi Slifkin, this is what has been added:

I have elaborated upon many other topics, such as other cases in history where Torah scholars confronted challenges from science, the issue of literalism in interpreting Scripture, and questions posed by the existence of ancient civilization. There is also a lengthy discussion of intelligent design, which is a hot topic these days.

Of course Klinghoffer & Co. are profoundly wrong, and it is no coincidence their error mirrors Fundamentalist Christianity – it is who they work and shill for. That they have managed to influence haredim including Chabad to buy into Intelligent Design is no great surprise. One only needs to revisit the Slifkin Ban to see the vast ignorance of Jewish theology and the vapid reasoning so commonly found in today’s haredi gedolim.

The only Modern Orthodox inroad of note ID has made is YU’s Rabbi Dr. Moshe David Tendler, who after publicly supporting ID, refused to answer questions about ID posed to him, perhaps because he was unable to answer, or perhaps because he was preoccupied with the self destruction of his sons.

[By the way, SIW is getting married in three days.]

Rabbi Saul Berman: Bans Make A Mockery Out Of Judaism

Rabbi Saul Berman of Edah on today’s gedolim and bans:

The current anti-scientific climate makes a mockery of Judaism’s constant search for truth. The very idea that rabbis might excommunicate people for teaching that the world is more than 5766 years old, or for supporting the truth of evolution, must be repudiated loudly and clearly.

The accumulation of incontrovertible evidence of the great antiquity of the earth has led to the broad rabbinic acceptance of the accuracy of an early interpretation of the word “day” in the Genesis story as meaning “an indeterminate period of time,” rather than “a day of twenty-four hours.”

There will always be some resistance to this approach from people who deny that reason is a valid source of truth. Also, from those whose misplaced loyalty to a particular understanding of a revealed text leads them to the rejection of otherwise established scientific truths.

But for most of us, the depth of our religious commitment and our openness to the process of scientific inquiry, go hand in hand as full partners in our lifelong quest for truth.

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 Elyashiv, confirmed this. But the ban was published – published with Rabbi Elyashiv’s agreement and signature, and without consulting Rabbi Kamentsky first or even warning him. Indeed, Rabbi Kamentsky writes:

The author has made it his habit to daven in the morning in R’
Elyashiv’s minyan from time to time, so that if anything arises he can
be informed of immediately.

This last Friday and Sunday he was
at the minyan and no one (including Yisroel Elyashiv – another
grandson) said anything when asked if everything is fine. It was only
after he came home that he found out about the ad and article in Yated
Neeman."

No due process. No respect. Just ban, ban, ban. Rabbi Elyashiv is either suffering ill effects of advanced age or is a very evil man. Either way, he should no longer be a leader of Jews.

Rabbi Kamentsky’s Letter?

A reader has sent me a the text of what appears to be Rabbi Nosson Kamentsky’s letter to Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv (and perhaps to some other gedolim as well) detailing the agreement made after the original ban, and how Rabbi Kamentsky’s enemies were trying to goad Rabbi Elyashiv into breaking it.

My problem with the letter is the deferential tone. Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv is perhaps the least moral of what passes for a gadol in today’s haredi world. The man does not deserve respect – he deserves ridicule and shunning. The proper response to Rabbi Elyashiv is to spit on him and on all he stands for.   

בס"ד אור לח’ אלול תשס"ה

‘ להו"כ הגאון הגדול ר ……………………………………………נעימות בימינו נצח,

בט"ו בטבת תשס"ג, דהיינו לפני כשנתיים וחצי, הוציא כת"ר יחד עם גדולי ישראל אחרים איסור על הספר שבשפה האנגלית "עשייתו של גדול" שהח"מ חיבר. והריני רוצה להביא לידיעת כת"ר את תוצאות האיסור ההוא ולבקש מכת"ר דבר מה כדלהלן.

כמה שבועות לפני שהוצא האיסור ביקשני מרן הגרי"ש אלישיב שליט"א לנסח מודעה לעיתון "יתד נאמן". ואני מצרף למכתבי זה את הנוסח של המודעה שמרן הגרי"ש אישר והכניס לעיתון. וכפי שיראה כת"ר, הסכים מרן הגרי"ש שליט"א שכאשר דברים מסויימים בתוך הספר ישונו, אז יוכשר. ולכן עבדתי על השינויים הנדרשים הרבה זמן עד שהכנתי "מהדורה מתוקנת" של ספרי. אכן טרם אספיק לגמור את ה"מהדורה מתוקנת" וכבר רצו אויבי נפשי למרן הגרי"ש ודרשו שיוציא איסור גם על הספר החדש, ומרן שליט"א דחה אותם בשתי ידים. אחרי זה ביקשתי אני ממרן הגרי"ש שליט"א שאם יבואו אליו עוד פעם אחרי שאוציא ה"מהדורה מתוקנת" לאור ויגידו לו כזו וכזה כתוב בספר, שלא ישמע אליהם עד שאיקרא אני לפני המלך, מאן מלכי רבנן, להיות נוכח כשיתרגמו שונאיי את דבריי מהשפה הזרה. ומרן שליט"א ענני, "בקשה זו היא בודאי נכונה".

ובכן מבקש אני גם מכת"ר שאם יבואו אינשי דלא מעלי אלה אל כת"ר שיחתום איזה נוסח גם נגד ה"מהדורה מתוקנת" לבל ישמע לעדותם עד שיקרא אותי אליו ובחפץ לב אבוא לפניו ובפניהם כדי להזים עדי רשע אלו. רציתי רק להוסיף שהרי גם כת"ר וגם כל אלה שחתמו יחד אתו לא קראו את הספר המקורי, ואדרבה שני גדולי ישראל שכן קראוהו אמרו בפירוש שאין שום סיבה לאוסרו. הלוא המה: הגאון ר’ זליג הלוי עפשטיין שליט"א (מזקני ראשי הישיבות באמריקה, תלמיד מובהק של המשגיח של ישיבת מיר ר’ ירוחם הלוי ליבוביץ זצ"ל, וראש ישיבת "שער התורה גרודנא" בארה"ב) והגאון ר’ משה שטרנבוך שליט"א (אב"ד עדה החרדית בירושלים, תלמיד מובהק של מרן הגרי"ז מבריסק זצ"ל, מחבר ספרי "מועדים וזמנים" שו"ת ועוד). שני צנתרות הזהב האלה אשר יודעים היטב את השפה הלועזית ההיא קראו בעצמם את ספרי המקורי והכשירוהו כמו שהוא. אמנם מפני שלא רציתי להמרות את איסורו של כת"ר שליט"א, ומהיות טוב, נטיתי את שכמי לסבול עמל והוצאות  עמודים), וגם לא אמכור את ספרי 224רבות כדי להשלים "מהדורה מתוקנת" (אשר בה שיניתי החדש בארץ ישראל, כי אם באמריקה. ומלבד מה שמבקש אני מכת"ר שיקרא לי להיות נוכח באם יבואו מתנגדיי אליו, הנני מוכן ומזומן לבוא לפני כת"ר גם כעת עתה לפרט הדברים שכתבתי לעיל, אילו רצונו של כת"ר בכך.

אני מתנצל על אריכות מכתב זה כי מרוב שיחי וכעסי כתבתי עד הנה, ולכן תחת שאכתוב מכתבי בכתב ידי אשר כך יאות ממידת דרך ארץ, תקתקתיו כדי שהקורא כת"ר ירוץ בו. ואני תפלה שלא יחול ר"ל על דורנו הקיטרוג של הבת-קול שהוזכר בסנהדרין ק"ב ע"א בשם רבי חנינא בר פפא עיי"ש: מי שהנהיג את יהדות ארה"ב במשך הרבה שנות עשור, אבא מארי מרן הגאון רבי יעקב זצ"ל (אשר עליו סמך מרן הגרא"מ שך זצ"ל בכל הענינים), תתנו שילוחים לבניו בשביל כמה "אמעריקאנער אינגלאך" שטי כזב? ואסיים בברכת שלום כמנהג ת"ח שמרבים שלום בעולם, בכבוד התורה ויקרא דרבנן,
(חתימת הרב נתן קמנצקי)

                                                                         With Heaven’s help: Evening of 8 Elul 5765

To the distinguished Hagaon R’…… ……………..……. greetings of pleasantness.

On 15 Teveth 5763, about two-and-a-half years ago, his Torah honor together with other gedolei Yisrael issued a ban on the English-language book, Making of a Godol, which the undersigned authored. I want to bring to his Torah honor’s knowledge the results of that ban, and to request something from his Torah honor, as below.

Several weeks before the ban was issued, Maran Rav Elyashiv shlita asked me to compose an announcement for the Yated Ne’eman newspaper. I attach to this letter the text of the announcement that Maran Rav Elyashiv approved and inserted in the newspaper. As his Torah honor sees, Maran Rav Elyashiv agreed that when certain things in the book will be changed, it will become qualified. Therefore I worked on the required changes much time, till I prepared an “Improved Edition” of my book. However, I hadn’t even completed the “Improved Edition” when my mortal enemies ran to Moron Rabbi Elyashiv and demanded that he also issue a ban on the new book; and Moron shlita dismissed them from his presence. After that I asked Maran shlita that if they come to him again after I publish the “Improved Edition” and tell him that such-and such is written in the book, he should not hear them out until I am called before the king – who are kings? the rabbanim – to be present while my enemies translate my words from the foreign language. Maran Rabbi Elyashiv replied, “This request is certainly proper.”

Thus, I also ask his Torah’s honor that if these indecent people come also to his Torah’s honor to sign on some form against the “Improved Edition” not to listen to their testimony until he calls me to him and I will gladly come before him, and in their presence, to prove false these evil witnesses. I want only to add that both his Torah’s honor and the others who signed together with him did not read the original book; and, on the contrary, two gedolei Yisrael who did read it said explicily that there is no reason to forbid it. They are: Hagaon R’ Zelik Epstein shlita (from the senior rashei yeshivos in America, an outstanding talmid of the Mashgiah of Mirrer Yeshiva, R’ Yeruham Levovitz zatzal, and Rosh Yeshiva of “Sha’ar haTorah Grodno” in America) and Hagaon R’ Moshe Sternbuch shlita (head of the Beth Din of Aidah Haharaidis in Jerusalem, an outstanding talmid of Maran Hagaon R’ Velvalleh of Brisk zatzal, and author of Mo’adim uZmanim, Sh’ailos uTshuvos, and other volumes). These two precious gedolim, who know the foreign language (English) well, read the original book themselves and ruled it kosher as is. But because I did not want to defy the ban of his Torah’s honor shlita, and in order to make things even better, I bent my shoulder to bear much toil and expense to complete the “Improved Edition” (wherein I changed 224 pages); and I will also not sell the new book in Eretz Yisrael, but only in America. Besides my request that I be called to be present if my opponents come to him, I am fully ready, if this be the wish of his Torah’s honor, to come before his Torah’s honor at the present time to detail what I have written above.

I apologize for the length of this letter, for from the abundance of my grief and vexation have I written till now; therefore, instead of writing my letter in manuscript, as would be fitting according to the rules of good manners, I typed it, so that the reader, his Torah’s honor, be able to go through it quicky. And I pray that the denunciation of the Bas Kol cited in Sanhedrin 102a in the name of Rabbi Hanina bar Popo, vide ibidem, not affect our generation, may the Compassionate One spare us: Whosoever led American Jewry for many decades, my father Maran haGaon R’ Yaakov zatzal (on whom Maran Rav Shakh zatzal relied in all matters), do you send off his sons because of several “American yinglakh” who stray aside unto deception? I will end with blessings of peace, as is the way of Talmidei Hakhamim who increase peace, with honor of Torah and dignity of rabbanan,

(signature of Rav Noson Kamenetsky shlita)

The Text Of The Ban

Deiah v’Dibur, the online edition of the Israeli haredi rag Yated Ne’eman, has published a translation of the new (second) ban against Rabbi Nosson Kamentsky’s revised book, Making of a Gadol:

    Daas Torah
    BS"D, 14 Adar 5766

    On Rosh Chodesh Kislev 5763 a statement prohibiting the book, The Making of a Godol, was issued. Since a new book has now been printed with the claim that the matters that needed rectification were indeed rectified, after Hageonim Hatzaddikim R’ Y. Rosenbloom and R’ D. Segal examined the matters, this [claim] has been found to be untrue — kema’aseihu borishonoh kein ma’asehu be’achronoh — and therefore the ban remains in force.

    Yosef Sholom Eliashiv

    Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman

    Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz

    Chaim Pinchos Scheinberg

    Nissim Karelitz

    Tzvi Markovitz

    Chaim Kanievsky

    Shmuel Auerbach

    The Following Letter was Issued three years ago and reaffirmed now.

    Condemnation of the book "The Making of a Godol"

    We were appalled to hear from reliable talmidei chachomim about the distribution and sale of a book called The Making of a Godol, which is full of severely debasing remarks, derisiveness, degradation and hotzo’as sheim ra against several figures among gedolei horabbonim, the leading lights of Yisroel in recent generations and the rishonim kemal’ochim whose words guide the lives of all Beis Yisroel, whose elucidations of the Torah we imbibe and whose greatness, veneration and holiness are rooted in the hearts of all Jews with a fear of Heaven. This is what the book seeks to negate, by discrediting, disgracing and debasing their illustrious honor, which is also the honor of Hashem yisborach and the holy Torah, as explained in Rabbenu Yonah, Shaar 3, The Tenth Madreigoh.

    Moreover, the book casts doubt and creates confusion by infusing spurious opinions and incorrect hashkofoh regarding learning chochmos chitzoniyos and various types of literature, implying falsely that there is no contradiction to Torah study if certain approaches are followed, all in the name of gedolei Yisroel. By so doing it blemishes the proper hashkofoh that we have received from our rabbonim, gedolei hadoros, who raised loud and bitter cries, and wholly dedicated themselves throughout the last fifty years to the task of uprooting the terrible breach of blending external studies together with the pure study of our holy Torah as given at Sinai. Herein lies an awful danger, particularly for the young abroad, many of whom [in any case] face great pressure from their families and their environment in this matter and are liable to fall into the traps set by those who seek to distance them from the eternal springs of devoted Torah study.

    Therefore we hereby state our opinion that such an aberration cannot be tolerated in the holy nation of Am Yisroel and therefore this book is prohibited from entering kehal Hashem, whether by bringing it into the home, reading from it or dealing with it commercially, and every man of prudence who wishes to keep his fear of Heaven and purity of heart intact and is concerned to educate his family properly will keep it at a great distance from both himself and his household, with the realization that it poses a great danger to all who have a fear of Heaven in their heart. This is not a book of tales about gedolei Yisroel, but just the opposite. It is wholly filled with a chilling spirit that distances one from the true purpose in life that can have unforeseen and grave consequences.

    He who heeds our words will be blessed by Hashem Yisborach, and together with his household will rise to higher and higher levels of Torah and yir’oh, cleaving to the Tree of Life, the holy Torah, and will cover himself with the dust from the feet of gedolei hadoros, the conveyors of Torah, who pass it on for eternity throughout the generations until the arrival of the Messiah speedily, in our days.

    Upon this we have signed for the honor of the Torah Hakedoshoh, and the honor of the Chachomim and those who pass it on in purity.

    Yom Shlishi, Rosh Chodesh Kislev, 5763

    Signed,

    Yosef Sholom Eliashiv

    Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman

    M.S. Shapira

    Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz

    Chaim Pinchos Scheinberg

    Nissim Karelitz

    Tzvi Markovitz

    Chaim Kanievsky

    Shmuel Auerbach

    Shlomo Wolbe

The lesson from this? Haredi Orthodox Judaism and truth do not mix. If you write the truth, you will be banned – no matter what you have been promised by gedolim.

Our response should be clear and strong: Disinvestment from the haredi world and its institutions. Speak with your wallet and with your feet.

[Hat top: Calvin not Hobbes.]