Comments on: VIDEO: HaRav Shalom Cohen: Hatikvah is A ‘Foolish’ Song

By: searchin345

searchin345 — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 18:44:25 +0000

By the way, even R’ Kook didn’t like HaTikvah and he wanted to replace it with something else. This is well known and it is even on Wikipedia.

By: About Time

About Time — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 14:17:12 +0000

It might also be sickenly worthy to note that the author of Hatikva put tefillin on a dog and walked it through the streets of yerushalayim r”l

By: smartaleck

smartaleck — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:53:23 +0000

Beans: Even if the word “chofshi” has a connotation of freedom from Torah, it’s not the simple translation. There is no open k’fira in this song. So no need to deride it. Secondly, the word “metumtam” is lowly street slang, unworthy of a Talmid Chacham. He could have said “kafrani”.

By: american_yerushalmi

american_yerushalmi — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 09:21:50 +0000

To all who claim proof from the haggadah shel Pesach:
“Cheirus” (“ben chorin”) is NOT the same as “chofshi.” For instance, אין לך בן חורין אלא מי שעוסק בתורה, so it depends on loyalty to Torah, not in eating felafel, wearing Israeli sandals, or even in serving in the IDF. It is the freedom of mind and spirit that Hashem grants someone who is oseik ba’Torah not to be enslaved to the frivolous and often destructive attitudes of the Umos HaOlam (and those Jews who unfortunately think like them).
“Chofshi” is something else entirely. In fact, it is the opposite of a free mind and spirit that is engendered by aisek ba’Torah. Chofshi is a casting off of our obligations to Hashem. The gemara (Niddah 61b) says דאמר רבי יוחנן: מאי דכתיב (תהלים פח, ו) במתים חפשי, כיון שמת אדם – נעשה חפשי מן המצות.
So, according to Chazal, a person can be “chofshi” only when he’s dead! Not exactly what most people, and certainly not a frum Jew, would want to aspire to. It would seem that those who endorse singing “Hatikva” like the idea of being a “dead nation in our land.”
Which has nothing at all to do with “ben chorin” and the Pesach haggadah, and the restoration of the Bais HaMikdash with the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu במהרה בימינו אמן.

By: uzbek

uzbek — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 04:27:09 +0000

I happen to agree with akuperma here, which is something rare.
The song is definitely against the Torah. Please don’t delude yourselves with parallels from haggada such as bnei choirin, or comparing it to choifesh , which means vacation. When the zionists made the anthem and used the words להיות עם חפשי בארצנו they meant to be free like all the other nations in a secular manner. There is no other way to interpret that. They also did not want hashems name mentioned, so as to be completely devoid of yiddishkeit. Therefore, the song is worse than stupid, its blasphemous.
However, not withstanding the above, it must be clear that this has nothing to do with the issue of protecting the land of Israel and the Jewish people, which is mandatory according to the Torah as paskened in shulchon oruch, despite who is at the helm of the government.
Unlike satmar who confuse the 2 issues and are ready to surrender the land of israel,in order to conform with their mistaken hashkofo.

By: mbachur

mbachur — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 03:25:25 +0000

there seems to be a confusion among americains

chafshi (as in hatikvah) is different than cheirus

By: Atyeshiva

Atyeshiva — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 02:26:39 +0000

Why do people try to defand the Zionist people who created the state, people know well what they meant not saying all of them but most of them didn’t believe in God they were more non jewish then lapid is today, galicianer, what they meant chofshi is not what the Haggadah meant don’t be stupid I think you understand that.

By: jack123

jack123 — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 02:20:21 +0000

Unnecessary article. The title is very misleading and can cause some to make the great Hacham lower in their eyes. What’s really foolish is this article.

By: Hill of Beans

Hill of Beans — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 02:11:34 +0000

Reform and Conservative ideology is also “dear” to millions of Jews the world over. We still must denigrate those ideologies as well as the Torah-denying Hatikva.

By: Yosi7

Yosi7 — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 01:30:47 +0000

To all those who say that the song is Keneged hatorah i.e Akuperma read the haggadah this year “This year we are here. Next year, may we be in Eretz Yisrael. Now we are slaves. Next year, may we be free men.” Im not CH”V a Zionist… but a little intellectual honesty.