Ari responds to Rabbi Genende

Guest post from Ari - who states that his parents and grandparents were/are CHC members.      (AJN Watch has edited this post slightly.)

Caulfield Shul members would've received the following message from Rabbi Ralph Genende a few days ago. (It also appears on their website.)

Reading it over Shabbos, it seemed to me that the rabbi is getting himself involved in matters not of his concern as well as showing that he has very little understanding of the ways and practices of Chareidi Jews.

He writes:
The digital erasure of the two women (Hillary Clinton and Audrey Tomasen) from the iconic photo in the Situation Room at the White House raised hackles but also some interesting issues. It got us thinking about the image of women in the Chareidi world, its ramifications for Orthodoxy (if not Judaism) in general. It also has implications about the boundaries between private and public, respect for the truth and the Chareidi mindset.

While modern Orthodoxy has long-championed the greater inclusion of women in Jewish public life, the Chareidi (ultra-Orthodox) world still struggles with, if not out rightly rejects it. While they have the right to read the Torah through their lenses, they don’t have the right to impose this on others as the “Torah-true way”. I don’t have a problem with the Chareidi world wanting to maintain standards of tzniut or modesty (and we could all do with a little more modesty and a lot less exhibitionism),

Thanks for that and may I suggest that Rabbi Ralph takes on some of his own advice. Wouldn’t the average observer say that the Purim photographs of him displayed on the CHC website “could do with a little more modesty and a lot less exhibitionism”? (I can just imagine what “Di Tzeitung” would do with such images!)

Anyone know what the rabbi is supposed to be representing here?

(I sure hope it's not what I think.)

I do have a problem with their zealotry, their conviction that they have the G-d given right to make women sit at the back of the bus or pressure them to move out of their allotted seats on an El AL plane because they don’t want to sit next to them. I have a problem with those Chareidim who are so obsessed with the depiction of women that they minimise essential Jewish and Halachik concepts like “kavod habriyut” (respect for humanity created in G-d’s image).

We often find that preachers of “Ahavat Yisrael” and “Kavod Habriyut” usually practice it far less than those people they are aiming aim. No sector of Jewry can match the Chareidi world's incredible and often heroic acts of Chesed and Tzedaka. This is something which the so-called Modern Orthodox communities can only dream about. (Even here in Melbourne, the Chesed of the Chareidi/Chabad communities outshines the rest by miles. It may be me, but I cannot recall any major "Ahavat Yisrael" project initiated and run by the rabbinate or members of the CHC.)

Talking of “kavod habriyut”, rabbi, I have a shaaloh for you. How far does this excuse go? Eg, what if an immodestly dressed woman turns up in your Shul in shorts? Would “kavod habriyut” trump the requirement of kavod Beit Haknesset and respect for a Mikdash Me’at? Do you have some measure by which you weigh up political correctness and the Halachah? If so, it would be interesting to hear of it.

This photograph, which I found on the Shul's website, may (or may not) answer the question:

Having grown up in CHC (and still attend occasionally), I well understand that talking to your members about tzniut and dress modesty would (sadly) make about as much sense as teaching the Zohar to a horse. But that is no excuse for your preaching to and criticizing the hundreds of thousands of Halacha-abiding Jews worldwide (BH the number is growing) who DO follow the laws of Tzeniut?  

 To airbrush out pictures of women (which is done regularly not only in Di Tzeitung but also in other Chareidi publications) is a distortion of the truth which in Halacha is called gneivat da’at (being deceitful) and midvar sheker tirchak (keep away from falsehood).

“Gneivat da’at”? Come on, rabbi. Every reader of a Chareidi publication knows that this is newspaper policy and not only does he/she have no problem with it but expects it to follow these standards.

The apologetic statement of Di Tzeitung Issued after the event does little to assure me: “Our photo editor…did not read the ‘fine print’…forbidding any changes in the photo (by the White House)…The readership of the Tzeitung believe that women should be appreciated for who they are and what they do, not for what they look like”. I am not assured by this because the Tzeitung producers and readers are ‘fine-print’ shmekkers; they often focus on the most stringent minutiae of Halachik practise.

For a rabbi to be so sarcastic is not nice. Yes, Chareidim do focus on “the most stringent minutiae of Halachik practice”. However, instructions from the White House publicity department don't qualify as “Halachik practise”.

And anyway, who said that the Tzeitung's photo editor was a Chareidi? Maybe he – or even she – was some bungling, inept or even junior Modern Orthodox?

And I am not assured by their reverence for what women do because this is usually restricted to a very narrow area. And anyway shouldn’t men be entitled to the same appreciation for they who they are rather are rather than what look like?

Sadly it seems that the rabbi has absolutely no idea of the Chareidi world’s position and perspective on Tzeniut values. Maybe it's time to drop into Golds and pick up a few seforim that discuss these issues from the authentic Torah angle and gain a little more knowledge and understanding of these things.

Being a rabbi in a Shul where 80-90% of the members are not observant, attending only 3 times a year and whose most fervent prayer is that their child doesn’t marry out may make a sermon demanding Tzeniyut a bit awkward. But so what? Who said that a rabbi's job is always simple and uncomplicated? When we have a situation that 90% of couples registering to be married by you (and the other so-called "MO" rabbis) list the same (prior-wedding) address for both Chatan and Kallah, shouldn’t the rabbis be concentrating on changing this way of life? Shouldn't you be sermonising again and again about marrying first, and only then moving in with each other and establishing a family? One has the feeling that rabbis are afraid that talking about this lest they be accused of chalilah vechas having "Chareidi-extremist" views.More worrying is the attitude of a large segment of the Chareidi world towards women and modesty in general. A group of Chareidi women and girls in Bet Shemesh have begun to wear Muslim garb covering their whole body (including their heads and faces) with rabbinic approval.

That is simply untrue. Here and here are a couple of links to prove that.

There is an increasing tending in the Orthodox world to separate the sexes at schools, weddings, funerals and shule events. This was not the norm in the Orthodox world in the past.

Really? “Increasing tending”? Maybe a quick glance at, say, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch - written about 150 years ago (and sourced from Chazal, Rishonim and Acharonim - all who belonged to the "past") will enlighten you. Regarding mixed weddings see Ch. 149:1 and re the mingling of the sexes at funerals Ch. 198:10. So much for your “not the norm in the Orthodox world in the past”!

And may one suggest that for one of the few rabbis who allows and supports the Minhag Hagoyim of "double ring" ceremonies under the Chuppah, talking about “not the norm in the Orthodox world in the past” seems strange. 

Not only was this "not the norm in the past", but it is absolutely prohibited by the greatest Posek of recent generations Rabbi Moshe Feinstein in his Igros Moshe (Even Ha’Ezer vol 3:18). Rabbi Feinstein was by no means considered an ‘extremist’ or ‘Chumra” posek. And he writes it is Assur. But obviously Rabbi Genede has a different opinion.

While modest, respectful, appropriate behaviour between men and women is what the Torah expects, it does not expect a total separation of the sexes.

Come on rabbi. You know very well that you are preaching to those who not only don’t read your stuff, but  hardly know you exist. Why waste your precious time?

Wouldn't it be far more beneficial and productive if you spoke and wrote to your own flock about issurei arayos, pritzus, tumas niddah? Have you EVER dared to sermonize about Chilul Shabbos?  Far safer to preach about the lack of “kavod habriyut” and the “gneivat da’at” by primitive Chareidim.

As for your comment about “gneivat da’at (being deceitful) and midvar sheker tirchak (keep away from falsehood)” can your inform us about the last time you publicly - and honestly - spoke or wrote about the Torah’s “retribution” for Shabbos desecrators – “Mechaleleho Mos Yumos”? Or explained the "unadulterated" (non-gneivat da’at) Torah view about homosexual behavior?

Too risky, eh, rabbi? Far easier to criticize a Yiddish newspaper in Brooklyn.

Total isolation leads to a warped worldview and ironically an unnecessary emphasis on sexuality as the defining mark of humanity. As Rabbi Marc Angel has recently remarked: “It reduces all humans to sexual objects unable to conduct themselves with propriety, decency and morality…this philosophy is grotesque…if we do not stand up against these tendencies to isolate the genders, then don’t be surprised if they become accepted among the rest of Orthodoxy.”

I would be willing to bet any amount that Chareidi Jews “conduct themselves with propriety, decency and morality” in far, far more than any other group. Rabbi Angel should compare the numbers with his MOs. He’s in for a shock. (And whilst I know very little about Rabbi Angel and his congregation, I'm willing to bet that all the issues I have raised with Rabbi Genende are just as relevant to him.)

He also notes that such views cause more Jews to become alienated from Orthodox and Halachik practise.

What nonsense! Who has EVER heard of an observant Jew leaving Yiddishkeit or joining the Reform because Chareidm don’t put pictures of women in the newspapers?

The Zeitung debate highlights a wider issue: the breakdown in the walls between public and private. In an internet world you can no longer hide behind the walls of your community; anything you print goes viral immediately. As the wise rabbis of Pirkei Avot advised long ago: “Be careful with your words”. Hopefully the Chareidi world will become more sensitive to this and to the recognition that their views and opinions are impacting on all Jews and our relationship with society. Let us in the modern-Orthodox world encourage them to be more inclusive in their ways and views. You need fences for protection but you also need gateways and openings so that you can grow and move freely in Hashem’s varied and colourful world.

Message from the Chareidi world to Rabbi Genende: Thanks but no thanks. We are mochel your encouragement and suggest that rather than advising us on how to run our lives, spare your strength for your home turf to work with your own congregants. Presumably that is why they pay tour salary. Get them to understand and accept some of the basics, ie, observe the Shabbos, eat Kosher, put on Tefilin, Taharas Hamishpacha and you’ll have achieved something positive. You are wasting your time trying to “downsize” Chareidim.

PS. And if you feel that talking Torah and Mitzvot to your parishioners is too 'risky' or an absolute waste of time then I suggest you continue to invest your efforts with the Christians and Buddhists (information I found whilst reseaching this post. There is a higher probability that that they will heed your advice than will Chareidim. 

Finally, I apologise if some of my words seem overly harsh, but I have relied on Chazal who teach us “Bemakom sheyesh Chillul Hashem ein cholkin kavod larav”.


  With respect
       Ari (who really wants to return to the Shul of his youth)

PS. Someone has just brought to my attention that Isaac Balbin has also has his say on Rabbi Genende's piece. As Sholomo Hamelech once said "tovim hashnayim min ha'echad".
http://pitputim.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/pushing-your-own-barrow/

NY YIddish paper deletes Hilllary's image and the world goes crazy!

Almost as big news story as the execution on Osama bin Laden.


Here's a missive we received from one of our favourite letter-writers, Rabbi Mordy Katz (aka Robert Weil):

From: Robert Weil
Date: Wed, May 11, 2011 at 10:31 PM

Subject: New York - Chasidim Find Themselves in the Spotlight Following Altered White House Photo -- VosIzNeias.com
To: ajnwatch@gmail.com

Hi there, are you guys asleep at the wheel? You are so quick to try and scandalise the AJN at every opportunity, but here is a far greater Chillul Hashem that has had worlwide repecussions perpetrated by Charedi morons with XXXX for brains.

Hope you will post on your blog. I look forward to the comments.

http://www.vosizneias.com/83427/2011/05/10/new-york-chasidim-find-themselves-in-the-spotlight-following-altered-white-house-photo

Thanks to the Caulfield Shul website where we found Rabbi Mordy 'mitzvah-tanzing' with PM Gillard.


Who knows, maybe next time it will be Hillary Clinton.


(The above would make an interesting photgraph after a "Di Tzeitung" rework - showing Robert dancing on his own....)


Meanwhile, more seriously, here is a (surprisingly) different POV from the popular and respected Modern Orthdox blog "Hihurin - Musings"

The Talmud (Avodah Zarah 20b) says that a man should not think improperly about women during the day because that may cause an unnecessary emission at night. This is a broad requirement to (try to) control your thoughts. The divinely implanted desire to procreate and its attendant instincts make this quite a challenge. But, as any successful person will tell you, if you surrender without a struggle and give up even if you sometimes stumble, you will never get anywhere in life.

A Jewish community newspaper needs to ensure that its published material does not contain inappropriate material. What is inappropriate? Libel, profanity, vulgarity and more. Pictures that cause improper thoughts are also inappropriate. I think all reasonable people would agree that family newspapers should refrain from publishing provocative pictures. What makes a picture provocative? Forgive the tautology, but a picture that provokes improper thoughts is provocative. To some degree, this varies by reader, which makes the determination difficult and subjective.

In today’s world, standards are on a constant decline. A recent issue of Newsweek featured naked pictures of men with small smiley faces over their most private parts. This is what passes as decent today. Bus stops and subway trains are filled with half-dressed women, peddling their bodies in order to sell products to consumers. Decency is relative, and today it seems relatively gone. Religious and family publications cannot give in to this trend and must maintain their standards.

If it were up to me, a newspaper would have a committee that uses common sense and community standards to determine what pictures are provocative. I have no doubt that, since this exercise entails making judgment calls, such a committee would be publicly mocked as a censorship board and a nudity monitor. Another option is to simply refrain from publishing any picture that anyone might remotely consider inappropriate. Even more extreme is refraining from publishing pictures of women at all.

I don’t agree with this last choice. I think too much is lost — to women and to the public — to justify the blanket policy. However, I can respect the decision to refrain from making decisions on women’s pictures. I understand the desire to avoid the mockery of a censorship board whose job is to determine which women, clothing and poses are sufficiently attractive to arouse readers. The mocking class of commentators have created a culture where this last option is appealing and then they mock people who take the path they feel forced into.

I prefer moderate and flexible standards. But I can understand, even if strongly disagree with, those who choose otherwise.

See a CNN interview with the editor of Di Tzeitung, who I think handles himself admirably even if I disagree with his interpretation of Jewish law:

And from one of the over a million (fair dinkum) websites discussing this most important affair...

Hawaii - Oy Vey! What a mishmash!

Some pure gold in the Honolulu Yellow Pages!                 (Hat tip - DJ)

Have a look at the "Featured Advertisers". What have they to do with synagogues? Well, maybe 'silicone' and 'synagogue' almost rhyme. But the others...!?

And what's this about the "shalom gesture" ? Anyone have a clue?

And this gem: "Orthodox Jew reform, which involves more conservative behavior than liberal practices".

Someone is obviously trying to take the Mickey out of any reader landing on this page.

And:
"Children that attend Shuls are able to study this religion's background, the shalom gesture, and why kosher foods are important for cleanliness."

"Some people also decide to attend service only on holidays instead of going to them every week. This can help you maintain your traditions without compromising your religious beliefs."
Sorry, can you say that again?

AJN - smut peddler?

Hat tip to an anonymous reader

From the AJN website:

Why are we not shocked? 
No doubt we can look forward to the AJN's authority on all matters related to dreck and the dreckerati, Adam Kamien, to give this muck a rave review.

From another reader:
The same porn advertisement features on the AJN weekly email newsletter.

Exaggeration creates mockery

Guest post by Chosid-Maskil

Like most of my fellow Chabad chassidim I highly respect Rabbi Heschel Greenberg. He is one of the most prominent names in Chabad. Thus I was somewhat disappointed reading his article in the Shabbos Hagadol issue of "The Lamplighter", where, writing about the Rebbe he makes the following statement:

   "...never before in history has one individual impacted the lives of so many diverse people in so many different ways. Never before has one Jewish leader connected directly or indirectly with as many Jews on so many levels..."

This naive and childish observation was reminiscent of the ridiculous ‘accolade’ oft repeated about Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz and justifiably blasted on this very blog some time ago.

"Once-in-a-millennium scholar”? Really?

I have noticed over the years that every time Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz gets mentioned in the AJN - whether it be an article or an advertisement we are reminded that the internationally renowned Maven on Torah scholars and rabbis - Time magazine - labelled him as a “once-in-a-millennium scholar”....I am always amazed at the childlike naivety of the average person in accepting and repeating such nonsense. Rabbi Steinsaltz is indeed an extraordinary and notable scholar. But to make and repeat such an absurd statement is mind-boggling. Is he really a greater scholar than the Rambam, Ramban, Rashi, Rosh, Rav Yosef Karo? Or even more recent Gedolim, eg, the Rogatchover, the Chafetz Chaim, the Chazon Ish, etc etc?

Does Rabbi Greenberg expect his readers to believe that the Rebbe ‘impacted’ and ‘connected’ with more Jews than, say, Moshe Rabeinu or Dovid Hamelech or even the Baal Shem Tov!?

Please, I beg my fellow Chassidim, let's not make a mockery of our Rebbe. There was so much true greatness that can be extolled and written about, so, why of why, publish articles that makes us look like naïve and dimwitted adolescents that certainly bring no Kavod to the Rebbe?

(This photo seems to be the Rebbe himself asking the same question...)

! חכמים הזהרו בדבריכם

Wall Street Journal reports on the business of Kashrut

Possibly the most interesting fact in this article is the following sentence:
"These days, more than 1,000 agencies world-wide vie with one another to bestow on products an alphabet soup of kosher insignia."
Over 1,000 agencies - but the 3-4 that we have here in Australia want to swallow up each other and demolish any attempt by a newcomer!                                                    (Hat tip: SBA News list)



When Rabbi Naftali Marrus does his spring cleaning, he doesn't use a mop. He rolls with the Inferno.

The Inferno is a three-and-a-half-foot-long propane torch Rabbi Marrus uses during the critical days before Passover to scour commercial kitchens catering to observant Jews and obliterate the smallest particles of bread and other leavened foods, which are forbidden during the holiday that commemorates the Jews' flight from Egypt.

Marching into the kitchen of My Most Favorite Food, a restaurant on Manhattan's Upper West Side, Rabbi Marrus runs his finger along stove tops, pokes his head inside the big industrial ovens, examines the coffee maker and inspects walls and floors. They have been soaked in boiling water and scrubbed clean with soap, detergents, degreasers and ammonia.

No matter. With the restaurant's owners, Doris Schechter and her son-in-law Scott Magram looking on, Rabbi Marrus directs the flames of the Inferno up and down racks of steel rolling trays and deep inside the oven. His assistant will apply the Inferno to the pots and pans. Ms. Schechter takes the drastic cleaning in stride. "To me it is a renewal, you start over again." Rabbi Marrus, 6-feet-3-inches tall and built like a football player, handles the Inferno with care. "You have to be respectful to the blowtorch," he says.

Passover, which starts Monday at sundown and lasts eight days, is the busy season for Rabbi Marrus. As a supervising rabbi for OK Kosher Certification, an agency in Brooklyn, N.Y., he and his colleagues are working 24/6—they don't work on the Sabbath—to ensure that all restaurants, caterers, cafés, industrial kitchens and food manufacturers that want the OK Kosher for Passover label follow strict Jewish food laws.

But keeping kosher isn't just for Passover, and it isn't just for traditional Jewish food. OK gives its kosher blessing to items as varied as Perrier water and Tropicana orange juice.

Getting the kosher seal is a rigorous experience that requires OK's 300-odd part-time rabbis to travel around inspecting plants where food is produced. They study every ingredient that goes into a product to make sure it conforms with religious law. Only then will they allow it to carry their trademark "K" with a circle around it.

"We like to say God is our silent partner," remarks Rabbi Chaim Fogelman, an OK veteran.

OK Kosher started in about 1935 as a mom-and-pop shop called Organized Kashrut Laboratories. It's now a multinational player, with rabbis in China, Japan, India, Belgium and Israel who certify nearly 500,000 products from about 3,000 companies. Its headquarters are still in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. It operates as a nonprofit. Clients pay from $2,000 to tens of thousands of dollars annually.

 Kosher dietary laws date back to biblical times. Several basic laws come with hundreds, even thousands of regulations or interpretations. Eating pork and shellfish, for example, is banned, while mixing meat and milk is also taboo. There are also intricate rules on how an animal must be slaughtered to produce kosher meat.

Establishments that serve kosher food, including restaurants, cafés, catering halls and butcher shops, need to have a mashgiach on hand, an on-site supervisor, typically a rabbi, assigned to stand around and watch, guarding against treif or unkosher ingredients that could slip in.

The U.S. kosher market is valued at about $12.5 billion. "The iconic brands of America are overwhelmingly kosher," says Menachem Lubinsky, President of Lubicom Marketing Consulting. Familiar brands such as Coca-Cola, Snapple, Philadelphia cream cheese, Coors beer and Tootsie Rolls all have products with a kosher label.

"It is astounding when you figure that Jews are less than 2% of the population," says Sue Fishkoff, author of the book "Kosher Nation." Many non-Jews believe a kosher product is healthier and safer, she says. "Is it? Possibly the Kosher beef is. But certainly not the cereal or the aluminum foil."

 These days, more than 1,000 agencies world-wide vie with one another to bestow on products an alphabet soup of kosher insignia. These include the ubiquitous k with a circle around it favored by OK; there's the OU—a U inside a circle—sign used by the Orthodox Union; while the Rabbinical Council of Chicago is known for its cRc in a triangle stamp.

"There is healthy competition, but we do work for a higher cause," says Rabbi Sholem Fishbane of Chicago's rabbinic agency. "We try to promote kosher."

There are occasional disagreements, and what is kosher to some rabbis may not be to others. Ms. Fishkoff, for instance, recalls how the granddaddy of kosher products—the iconic Hebrew National Kosher Hot Dog—for years wasn't considered sufficiently kosher by some of the key certifying agencies. These days, armed with a kosher seal from Triangle K, a Brooklyn agency, the hot dog has been embraced by Conservative Jews who observe kosher dietary laws.

Some Orthodox agencies such as OK and the Chicago Rabbinical Council still reject it. "It is much better than it used to be," says Rabbi Fishbane, but "it is not certified glatt," he says, referring to an even higher standard of kosher meat certification.

For Hebrew National to be certified as glatt, Rabbi Fogelman says, it would have to use only glatt kosher meat. Glatt certification, he explains, involves checking a cow after slaughter to see how healthy it was—specifically if it had lesions on its lungs. If it had too many lesions, then it won't pass muster as glatt, he says.

Hebrew National, owned by ConAgra Foods, says on its website that its certification by Triangle K comes from an orthodox Jewish agency made up of "the most stringent Jews" that provide rabbinical supervision and make sure its products and ingredients meet the "strictest criteria" for kosher. ConAgra's spokesman says it has no plans to pursue the glatt market.

Then there's the question of how far to push the kosher brand. Rabbi Fogelman of OK says his agency has been asked to certify paper bags as kosher; OK is working on it. OK certifies a dog treat as kosher. Exclusively Pet Inc., in Milwaukee, manufactures dog cookies that carry the little K seal.

These days Evanger's Dog & Cat Food Co. near Chicago sells dog and cat food that, in a manner of speaking, is kosher. They are deemed usable during the Passover holiday, though not kosher for human consumption, and have the endorsement of the venerable Chicago Rabbinical Council. Evanger's website touts its products by showing a photo of a dog wearing a yarmulke.

They are a godsend to Terry Socol of Skokie, Ill. His two cats, Ashley and Coco, don't like Passover because of the limited diet. He called Evanger's and obtained cans of whole mackerel and beef tips with gravy. But he also bought them lox—certified kosher for humans: "Passover is such a hard holiday for them."
Copyright 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Apologists of J-wire's Chilul Shabbat - please note

To all those comment-writers who denied/defended the Chilul Shabbat e-mails sent regularly by J-Wire with justifications and excuses like:

Milhouse said...
If, as you say, this is a daily mailing that goes out every day on the dot of 3 o'clock, then it's obvious even to blind Freddie's dog that it's an automatic job. No human sends out a message at exactly 3:00:00 every single day. Nor is it in the nature of a news site for someone to type up a single "daily update"; such messages are always an aggregation of whatever stories have been entered in the last 24 hours. If you don't realise this then you have no business commenting on anything that goes on on the net. For you to use this as the basis of an accusation of chilul shabbos is outrageous. You need to substantiate that charge, or withdraw it and apologise. Hotzo'as shem ra is also an aveira.

Milhouse said...
Moshe, on the contrary AJN watch did not dot or cross anything, and indeed offered weaker evidence than was available. The 3 pm daily e-mail is far from "obvious chilul shabbos"; on the contrary, it is very obviously not chilul shabbos, and anyone who would accuse someone on that basis is a motzi shem ra. Now the evidence from the datelines of the individual stories is disturbing, and does at least indicate a probability that there is chilul shabbos going on, though J-wire should be given a chance to explain it. But that was not the evidence that AJN watch originally presented.  Is it such a great mitzvah to accuse people of averos? Do you know what it means to beg the question?

Emes said...
It's probably an automated email that goes out at a certain time each week/day. Send Henry Benjamin (not Harry, as the previous poster claimed) that he correct this. The solution is simple and it's really no reason to pour scorn on this fellow who is doing a great chesed to the kehillah through his hosting of the site.

mikeybear said...
Have you verified with J-Wire that this is the time they actually posted the message? It is possible that the message had been posted earlier and was delayed by a mail server

AustIsr said...
Cummon AJNWatch, "dan lkaf zchus" - Jwire probably has an automated email program in action and I am sure that the site's manager Henry Benjamin (a thoroughly good bloke) would not intentionally wish to offend members of the kehillah.....I seem to recall posting a comment along the same lines last time you raised the issue of alleged chillul Shabbos at Jwire, but you seem to have ignored this advice...

Really? Huh said...
It is not even against halacha, there are thousands of frum websites and emails running during Shabbes and this issue has been dealt with by many competent Rabbinical authorities. There is no problem there. But apparantly AJN Watch missed that shiur or as usual he is trying to stir up trouble. Move on...nothing to see here folks.

Uncommon Sense said...
Some of you may not know that emails can be sent automatically

We invite the above writers to explain this email which arrived at our "inbox"  today, Wednesday, the 2nd second day of Pesach at 4.32 pm.
 
Just in case any of the defenders/deniers again tries to claim that the email was/could've posted before Yom Tov, please read it! It reports on the Marrickville Council meeting which took place Tuesday night - a time when all good Jews - observant and traditional - were enjoying the Seder!

And this...
J-Wire reader Jack Pinczewski attended the Marrickville Council meeting. Here is his report….

Hamodia recalls Stalin-loving Mapamniks

The Pesach edition of the Hamodia will for many bring back unpleasant memories of the appalling Mapam party. Mapam was created by a marriage of the Hashomer Hatzair and the Poalei Zion groups. In a sad indictment of Israeli voters, despite Mapam being Stalin-devotees, they garnered enough votes in Israel's first election to get 19 of their schlepper comrades well-paid parliamentarian jobs. In fact they became the 2nd largest party in the first Knesset.

HAMODIA

How so many of our ‘am navon vechacham’, who had only recently suffered terribly in the hands of brutal murderers – Hitler and Stalin – could cast their votes for such an execrable rabble is truly beyond our comprehension.

The Mapam’s emotional and ‘heartfelt’ commiseration at the demise of one of history’s worst monsters shows that even before Goldstone we had plenty of disgraceful types in our midst. In addition to their love of Stalin they were also known to be extremist haters of Torah and Torah Jewry. Thankfully over the years they have been flushed down the toilet of history and as one personality was overheard stating that we have been zocheh to witness the fulfillment of “Yemach shemom vezichrom’.

PS: The current edition of Hamodia includes almost half a dozen supplements incorporating a wealth of interesting articles and features. There are heaps of fascinating items - enough to keep all members of the family occupied for hours on end. We highly recommend it as an Oneg Yom Tov treat for all.

And for those who are too young to remember, here's part of their Wikipedia entry which details some of their unlovely views.


Mapam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mapam (Hebrew: מפ"ם‎, an acronym for Mifleget HaPoalim HaMeuhedet (Hebrew: מפלגת הפועלים המאוחדת‎), lit. United Workers Party, Arabic: حزب العمال الموحد‎, abbreviated 'مبام') was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.

History

Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally Marxist-Zionist in its outlook and represented the left-wing Kibbutz Artzi movement. It also took over the Hashomer Hatzair-affiliated newspaper Al HaMishmar.

1950s Mapam May Day meeting.

 Slogan reads '1st of May for Peace and Brotherhood of the Peoples.

In the elections for the first Knesset, Mapam took 19 seats, making it the second largest party after Mapai. As the party did not allow Israeli Arabs to be members at the time, it had also set up an Arab list, the Popular Arab Bloc, to contest the elections (a tactic also used by Mapai, with whom the Democratic List of Nazareth were affiliated). However, the Arab list failed to cross the 1% electoral threshold.

The party's pro-Soviet views did not endear them to Ben-Gurion, and they were not included in the governing coalition. During the session they gained one seat when Eliezer Preminger joined after leaving Maki and then setting up his own party, the Hebrew Communists.

In the 1951 elections the party dropped to 15 seats and again were not included in the coalition. However, they did become the first Zionist party to have an Israeli Arab, Rostam Bastuni, representing them in the Knesset.

From Mapam's point of view, the most important event of the second Knesset were the Prague Trials of 1953, which severely shook the party's faith in the Soviet Union. The show trials in which mostly Jewish leaders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia were purged, falsely implicated Mapam's envoy in Prague, Mordechai Oren, as part of a Zionist conspiracy. After the Prague Trials and later, Nikita Khrushchev's Secret Speech at the 20th Party Congress in the Soviet Union, Mapam moved away from some of their more radical left wing positions, and towards social democracy.

This created a split in the party. Avraham Berman, Rostam Bastuni and Moshe Sneh left the party and set up the Left Faction, whilst Hannah Lamdan and David Livschitz created Faction independent of Ahdut HaAvoda. Although Bastuni later returned to the party, Berman and Sneh eventually joined Maki and Lamdan and Livschitz joined Mapai. Four other party members left to recreate Ahdut HaAvoda, though the Knesset speaker did not recognise the group as an independent party during the Knesset session. It also displeased the USSR. /SNIP

The Matzah Wars

If our readers think that it is only here in Australia that the rabbis are squabbling over the Kashrut of Matza, let us assure them that there are far bigger battles going on in other parts of the Jewish world. The two major Chassidic groups, Satmar and Chabad, are split internally over the manufacture of Matzot under supervision of their respective rabbis.

The Satmar Chassidim – followers of Rav Aharon Teitelbaum of Kiryas Joel have for a number of years been producing Matza with flour made from Arizona wheat. This does not have the approval of the other Satmar Chassidim who follow his brother, Rav Zalman Leib Teitelbaum – who have made a number of claims about the inappropriateness of Arizonian wheat.

Both sides have published articles, rabbinical letters and booklets proving their POV (and have probably not convinced anyone from the other side to change their mind…)

Anyone wanting to delve into this controversy may start by looking here, here, here, here and here.

Meanwhile an recently introduced innovation re kneading the dough has caused ructions in the Chabad rabbinical world, again with letters and booklets etc – and as it seems also not getting anyone to change their minds.

Meanwhile we have received a fair bit of correspondece and commentary regarding the Australian version of ‘soft’ Matza. Due to the harsh and unforgiving language used by the protagonists (and antagonists) on both sides, we are withholding from publishing their materials on our site – at this time. Maybe at some later stage we’ll again take a look at this controversy and try to make some sense of it.

And here is an advertisement published in Israel offering ALL possible versions of Matzot - hand, machine and soft laffa-style - produced under a variety of hashgachot:

Meanwhile, our advice to all is, when considering Matza and all other products that you will be using over Pesach, follow the advice a knowledgeable Rav – one who has no personal ‘conflict of interest’ in any aspect of the product.

And, of course, you will not go wrong by following the Mesorah (traditions) of your parents and grandparents.

J-Wire - Mechalel Shabbat with Rabbi's Message!

We have previously commented that the J-Wire daily email is often Mechalel Shabbat. (See here and here.)

But a new low has been reached by today's publishing/forwarding the weekly message of Rabbi Michoel Gourarie 'be'etzem Yom HaShabbat". We strongly doubt that Rabbi Gourarie knows about this (and if he is a follower of this blog). He will no doubt appreciate if one of our readers in Sydney informs him about this public Shabbat desecration. 

According to all reports, Rabbi Gourarie is one of Australia's most popular, active and respected Rabbanim and being used as a 'partner' in Chillul Shabbat and Chillul Hashem (and Chillul Lubavitch) should horrify him.

From Melb AJN reader:
How does the editor of the AJN expect his Melbourne readers to understand letters he publishes that refer entirely to issues that were raised only in the Sydney edition? Zeddy, is it too much to ask you and your staff to use a bissele seichel?

Additionally, if you felt that the subject matter of those letters to be of general interest, why not include the original stories in the Melbourne edition?

Mesirah - a plague in our midst

Klal Yisrael always viewed, not only actual mosrim, but even those who only threatened to inform on others to the police or authorities with loathing and revulsion. The most horrible epithet one throw at another was “Moser”. “Dobbers'’ were, throughout our history, considered to be the lowest of the low. Vermin. The Shulchan Aruch actually permits eradicating such a person - even on Yom Kippur adding: "vechol hakodem lehargoy - zacha" !!

To the best of our knowledge there is no such an allowance or ruling for any other major or minor infraction – not “bein adam laMakom” not “bein adam lechaveiro”.

It is therefore extremely painful to see this mesireh phenomenon become a 'normal' occurrence in our community, with the regular appearance of signed and unsigned letters and notices which explicitly and implicitly make threats of 'reporting' and ‘going to the authorities’ against organizations and the people who work tirelessly for them. Sadly, even in cases where the target is 100% in the clear – some of the mud sticks and time, money and effort that would be spent in building and improving is wasted in cleaning up the mess that has been created.

Do these contemptible and vile YBR parents who went running to the Age and the Jewish News realise that they have lost their “Chelek le’olam haba”? Was it really worth it? And what about the enormous Chilul Hashem they caused?

If these people have even a minuscule level of Yiras Shamayim, they must soon realise what a terrible state their neshamos are.

We at AJN Watch have no idea who the offenders are, but have no doubt (by the pattern of previous incidents) that these mosrim probably pay zero or minimal tuition fees for their children and have never lifted a finger to assist the schools in any way. A nasty collection of whingers, whiners, complainers, takers and users who should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

It is time that the RCV and individual rabbis came out strongly against this plague of mesireh which has affected a number of our communities. It is also obvious that many – especially BTs - have no idea of the gravity of this aveirah.

Rabbis should undertake to educate their congregants about these laws - before they too are affected by the actions of some unknowing member of their Shul. Outreach-Kiruv workers should be trained to impart these important Halachot to all who wish to become part of the community of Shomrei Torah uMitzvot. They should be clearly told: “Mesireh is assur – no less than pork”.

Wake up rabbis, before this snake bites you!

For those who wish to study these halachot – see Choshen Mishpat 388.

Meanwhile we reproduce a few of the main laws: (Click to enlarge)

From Friday's Age:

A JEWISH school in St Kilda East is being investigated following a complaint alleging the misuse of a $2 million grant under the federal school building stimulus program.

Yeshivah and Beth Rivkah Colleges received the $2 million grant under the program for a multi-purpose hall.

The complaint, obtained by The Age, alleged the grant was used by Chabad Youth - described on its website as a community-based organisation established to disseminate Judaism worldwide - for a building ''totally separate and distinct from the school''. It says Chabad Youth is not a school and therefore not entitled to receive any funding.

The complainant, who uses the pseudonym ''John Smith'' and is believed to be a parent at the school, also alleged the building's primary purpose was religious worship, in breach of the program's guidelines. ''It is imperative that the Australian government ensures that taxpayer funds are applied in accordance with the intention of the schemes … and that persons do not act in a fraudulent manner to obtain a benefit contrary to the provisions,'' he said in an email to the school building stimulus taskforce, which is investigating the complaint.

A federal Education Department spokesman confirmed the taskforce was investigating. ''The primary purpose of BER [Building the Education Revolution] facilities is educational,'' he said. ''BER guidelines outline that funding cannot be used for the building or refurbishment of any facility which has religious worship as its primary purpose.''

The general manager of Yeshivah-Beth Rivkah Colleges, Nechama Bendet, said Yeshivah College was confident that it had fully complied with all the guidelines and requirements of the grant.

But parents, who spoke to The Age on condition of anonymity, said they believed the building would be mainly used by Chabad Youth for Jewish social functions and worship on the Sabbath rather than the education of children at Yeshivah College. ''They took away our children's playground and put up a building which has nothing to do with our children's school,'' a mother tearfully told The Age.

In 2008, Chabad Youth was granted a planning permit by Glen Eira Council to build a three-storey education centre to be used in association with Yeshivah College.

Ms Bendet said the school gratefully received a $2 million grant to build a multipurpose hall the following year. ''To comply with the short time frames associated with the BER funding, existing permits were utilised by the school to build the hall,'' Ms Bendet said. She said an extra $3 million was raised by the community.

''The hall will be utilised by the school for assemblies, indoor sport, study areas, lectures, professional development, debating, large performances, parent-teacher meetings and staff meetings,'' Ms Bendet said. ''In accordance with BER guidelines, the hall will be made available to the local community after school hours and on weekends for after-school clubs and other recreational, cultural, sporting, and social activities.''

Badly placed advertisement

“Purim Sameach” right below a front page picture portraying the latest tragedy in Israel seems unfortunate and wrong.

The editor should have used his discretion and seichel by placing that ad elsewhere.

We have no doubt that not only would Glicks would have agreed to do this but they would have preferred such action.