smerel

There was never any chance of a massive ground invasion last week or the week before. The amount of traps, hidden tunnels in front and in back, the amount of Hamas training for this battle vs. the Israeli amount of planning etc. would have made it impossible. Even when the news was saying again and again that it is imminent I knew it would not happen then.

For the ground war to start Israel needs (1) a weakened Hamas infrastructure from the bombings and weakened Hamas fighters from the siege (2) Hamas can not be on alert like they certainly were over the first two weeks (3)intelligence needs to be discovered (4) serious planning needs to be done. Even then they probably won’t do an all out invasion. They will probably try to locate specific targets to destroy that can’t be destroyed from the air and retreat right afterwards.

>>>In a well functioning democracy, a leader who presides over a catastrophic security failure leading to the deaths of more than 1000 civilians would accept responsibility for it and offer to resign.

Not true. Bush didn’t resign after 9/11. Roosevelt didn’t resign after Pearl Harbor. etc. Leaders rarely resign after some disaster happens. The exception would be if (1)there was an intrinsic reason why they should have known, like they were warned or (2) The disaster was clearly the result of some prior action they took.

If leaders resigned over catastrophic security failures than the leader of any democracy that gets attacked by some other country would have to resign afterwards.

>>>Binyan olam was written by Rav Chatzkel Levenstein Zatzal.

It was also rumored to be written by someone who gone to work and was trying to get others to go the other way. A sefer like Binyan Olam that claims there are more chiyuey krisosos than those that are mentioned in the Mishna, Gemora, and the Rambam is upgefregt. Rav Chatzkel Levinstein would not have written stories about the Belzer Rebbe in a sefer of his.

>>>The majority of Israelis were living it up.

Um…no. The majority of Israelis were NOT living it up during the gulf war. Even the anti semitic New York Times claimed otherwise when describing the situation in Isreal. For that matter I don’t recall any Americans fasting or doing Yom Kipper kottons during the gulf war either. The most I recall was everyone lighting candles five minutes early on ONE erev shabbos due to a made up rumor that Rav Schach had said to.

>>>People went out the next day after their own brothers were just killed. They don’t think like you. Silly Americans freak out more than the Israelis.

What choice was there? Stay home and starve to death? Go crazy from staying in a one room house for an indefinite amount of time? How well followed was the covid lockdown in America after a few weeks? That was much less restrictive.

Mr Kuvult

May I remind you and everyone here of YOUR assessment of the issue here on YWN. I haven’t forgotten it becuase as I said then and repeat now it is from the most vile and antisemitic comments I ever seen on the blog world. And I’ve seen many vile and antisemitic comments on the blogworld

Here is your “brilliant” assessment

>>>Indefensible borders from who? Lebanon, Syria, Jordan & Egypt have neither the will nor capability to go to war with Israel. The Gulf States have no interest in war with Israel. The Palestinians with some automatic rifles & crude rockets are a non threat. The only threat is Iran 1,100 miles away giving Israel plenty of time to react before they get near Israel (& truth be told Iran really has no interest in a war with Israel.)
This is what bothers people about Israel (& Jews). Israel is the undeniable Superpower in the region where this time instead of a 6 day war it’d be max a 3 day war with a total victory for Israel. Yet we’re crying to the world like Israel is on the verge of being destroyed & people resent that.

Going down the wrong street

A plague on both their houses. They are both horrible people but as of this writing the polls based on the electoral college alone show Trump as winning.

I think it’s 50/50. This election is unique that both sides aren’t even pretending to have any platform other than pouring vitriol on the other guy and party. Both parties and candidates are doing a great job at proving that the other side is correct with it’s accusations. They are not doing a good job at anything else….

Very few people who were frum beforehand went OTD because of the lure of the Zionist movement alone. Had the Zionist not existed they would have found some other OTD movement to join.

For all their faults and personal opposition to religion, the Zionists did not run around preaching abandon Torah and join us. There are plenty of movements that did that you barely hear about. Because most of the anti-Zionists are only interested in fighting with those who they can accuse of being Zionists. They don’t seem to have any interest n fighting other groups who acted and continue to act worse. They have no problem giving kovod to members of the the latter groups when it suits their purposes. They certainly never initiate conflict with them.

>>>I choose to listen to people who are more religious,

Making a living off being vitriolcy anti-Zionist doesn’t make you more frum. As the Satmar Rebbe put it “anyone who wants to can become a kanoi overnight”

>>>because even if they’re biased, they’re airing on the right side

If they are too extreme and emotional about the issue they very likely are NOT on the right side. I’m sure Shapiro didn’t bother informing you that Ponevich fly’s the Israeli flag on Yom Haaztmut, Rav Shach used to daven in a shul that said Hallel and Yom Haatmut (he himself never said it but he didn’t walk out in protest either and by far of most importance, Rav Shach strongly felt that Shapiro’s group and their ilk are the cause of a lot of the hatred to the frum world in Israel due to their endless standoffish and confrontational behavior with secular Israelis. I go with Rav Schach and the many other Gedoley Torah who felt that Shapiro and co are doing the WRONG thing.

>>>The biases of a person who wishes to further Torah and minimize sin is better to me than that of leftists

Having read Shapiro’s book it has nothing to do with Torah and minimizing sin. It has to do with propaganda and trying convince you that secular Israelis today are collectively responsible for the attitudes and behavior of people who are long dead. If he is going to plagiarize from the Chazon Ish the title “The Wrong Battle” would be a far better title for his book than the one he choose.

Rabbi Shapiro is a brilliant person with so much to offer the frum world. In times like today when Yiddishkeit is under attack from all sides, there is so much he could accomplish for the frum world and Torah.Had he written a 1300 page book against the CURRENT enemies of Torah and their ideologies he would be from the strongest spokesman for and defenders of Torah Judaism in our time. His former website, frumteens, was a lifesaver for some. Tragically he closed that website down and chose to use his talents and energy to fight people and ideals that are long dead. Chaval!

>>>definitely heard it from the author of the Empty Wagon

A rule in life is not to trust people who are in the business of pushing an agenda…

>>>So you really want me to stick my little head between them – between Rav Amram Blau, zul’zein gezunt, and between, let’s say, Rav Chaskel Abramsky, who’s not Neturei Karta?!

Neither the Neturei Karta today nor the people who they fight against are the same as what the situation during the lifetime of Rav Amram Blau was.

And the Neturei Kara was controversial back then too. See what Rav Yosef Elyah Henkin had to say about them at the end of Kisvei Rav Yosef Elyah Henkin. And that was even though he agreed with them that frum people should not vote or be in the Knesset.

>>>Awareness of the rishus of a Zionist and his hate for Charedim.

How do you define Zionist?

I’ve heard and seen enough of those type of shiurim in life to know that a secular Israeli could just as easily give a lecture called “Awareness of the evils of a Charedi and his hatred towards us.”

>>>Smerel, your way of reading the gemara would mean that the main purpose of sifrei tanach including iyov is written so that goyim should read it.

I’m in wonderful company. You misunderstand the Gemorah and you misunderstand me. I have no idea where you see what you are claiming I said that but to be clear. The Gemora asks as a question how anyone can think that the Neviem were not also written for non-Jews אַטּוּ כּוּלְּהוּ נְבִיאֵי מִי לָא אִינַּבּוֹ לְאוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם. The Gemora answers that Iyov is unique in that the entire sefer was (also) written in a manner that is for non-Jews עִיקַּר נְבִיאוּתַיְיהוּ לְאוּמּוֹת. You can possibly kvetch into the Gemora that it means that during their lifetimes their nevua was also (or primarily in the case of the other seven) for non-Jews but the written seforim of their nevuos were not meant for non-Jews bit there is is no way it can be understood as saying that Sefer Iyov is primarily ABOUT non-Jews like you do. Reread the gemora with Artscroll a few times if you still think I’m misquoting it.

>>>As for c’kohen gadol, avi quoted it and it’s not relevant, because it’s referring to a goy who keeps the 7 mitzvos.

Says who? Who made that a unanimous opinion? Is it all or nothing when it comes to the Shiva mitzvas? As an aside someone enrolled in this course is far more like to end up keeping the Shiva mitzvas than someone who isn’t.

I’m not posting further on this thread so you are welcome to have the last word.

The Gemora Bava Basra 15B says ?אַטּוּ כּוּלְּהוּ נְבִיאֵי מִי לָא אִינַּבּוֹ לְאוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם about the thought that the Neviem in Tanach were not talking to non-Jews as well.

I’m no posek and not endorsing the idea of a masters program teaching Tanach to non-Jews from a Jewish perspective but the Gemora does seem to clearly indicate that non-Jews are encouraged to learn Tanach. Who is supposed to be teaching it to them?

Unless you can prove with solid maareh mokomos that YU is clearly doing an aveira just bug off.

>>>From all the “sinas chinam” or “it ain’t different in xyz community” it would seem that no one has a good answer to OP’s question.

As the famous comment from the Rav Chaim Volozhiner goes “Questions have answers, answers do not” Meaning that if someone isn’t looking for an actual answer no one can give him one.

If someone is sincerely interested in understanding MO haskafa and how they deal with the questions asked in the OP they can be addressed. If someone isn’t you may as well focus on the sinas chinom and hypocrisy of the implied questions . Things are not so simple that they can be answered in the simplistic manner they are presented. They are like asking Can you be Yeshivish and wear a blue shirt and no hat? Can you be a Satmar Chosid but oppose women shaving their heads? Can you be a baal musser but only learn from musser sources that the musser movement did not stress learning? What was the mesorah that the musser movement used in picking the seforim and some of the concepts it would focus on?

>>>Does anyone know what the MO Mesorah is? Or how old it is? Who started it?

Depends on who you ask. Some would say that the Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin was the first “modern” MO institution so MO traces it roots to there. Others would claim that Rishonim like who were up secularly educated were haskaficlly MO so they trace their roots to them. Others would claim that RYBS from Boston and YU was the founder of MO. And others would claim…

You would get conflicting claims if you were ask about the current variations of many other movements as well. While no one disputes that the Baal Shem Tov was the founder of Chasidus, many would question how strongly he would identify with the current practices and haskafa of certain Chasdish groups today.

>>> And what are the commonalities that all MO Jews share?

The answer to that would depend on how you define MO. As above one can ask that about many other groups as well

>>>Is a Rabbi ever required to be consulted or is each person able to decide everything on their own?

No learned or deeply committed member of any frum community believes that each person able to decide everything on their own. MO included. Am Haartzim and apathetic people rarely have halacha shaalos. That isn’t unique to the MO world

>>>I’m confused, does the court in Israel have the power to create new laws, or is it just like America where they just strike down laws?

Officially they can’t create new laws but technically they can. If a petition is brought to them claiming that the government is being unreasonable for NOT doing something they can and have forced it to act. Therefore they do have power to create laws. –

>>>My instinct as someone who likes freedom is that it should be as difficult as possible to make news laws

This is the actually the first time I’ve seen anyone argue in favor of the supreme court with an argument that borders on anarchy.

>>>I’m confused as to why people (especially what appears to be the conservative side) would oppose a strong judicial branch.

Unelected people who are accountable to no one being able to strike down any laws they want because they say it is “unreasonable” isn’t judicial review. It’s dictatorship

While I could answer all the issues raised by the OP, I won’t. Not only that I will concede that there is some merit and truth behind what is being said there. I’ll even take it a step a further and acknowledge that there is truth and merit in some of the other criticism of the Yeshiva World not mentioned in the OP.

In fact whatever group you are part of you should realize that there is probably some truth behind the criticism other groups have of yours that you shouldn’t just ignore or assume they are wrong because you and your leaders know better.

Now back to Chabad. As a secular historian discussing the frum world of the 20th century put it. Chabad in the 1950s was unique among the frum groups that they were the only group who was only answerable to their rebbe and was willing to ignore the VEHEMENT opposition of other frum groups. This in turn led to serious problems among the movement which by the end of the century had raised their rebbe almost to the point of deification (R’L) L’havidil Rav Hutner in the 1950s also predicted where Chabad was heading because of the above assessment. I mention a secular historian only because he would be thought of as more neutral.

There is what to complain about Chabad even without the messianic and borderline deification of the rebbe. But admittedly when it comes to that you can brush it off by saying that other groups also have what to criticize, complain and say they are doing the wrong thing about. Those things however don’t push anyone behind the pale of Orthodox Judaism. The messianism and borderline deification of the rebbe R’L do. It’s absolutely unacceptable. It’s not a question of relying on non mainstream shittos in halacha or questionable haskafa . It’s a question of the Ikerey Emunah and Avodah Zora R’L. You just can’t ignore the vehement opposition of so much of Klal Yisroel when it comes to a thing like that.

There is little reason to rally around anyone who doesn’t look like they will win the nomination. Frum people only rally around primary candidates in situations where their vote may actually make a difference about who will win the primary. This is not one of those times.

(There was a fundraiser for Nikki Halley in Deal this Sunday but if she wouldn’t have had close ties with the frum community way before she decided to run that never would have happened)

The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office dropped the complaint against Christie, because they did not believe that an official misconduct charge can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The government investigation conducted later also reached the conclusion that Christie had no prior knowledge of the incident

>>>I’m sure there is a way of understanding the Gemara without saying that matter came to life without any internal organs.

Why is that difficult to understand? Are there no robots in human form carrying out some human functions and activities without internal organs? They came to being through mechanical methods and golems came into being spiritual methods but they are relatively similar in function despite lack of internal organs

Curious George is probably the worst in that area. The stories almost all revolve around him stealing and damaging people’s property, yet he is depicted as the hero.

>>>Regarding the story from the Riyatz, I believe there are sources which make it clear that he never said he saw it

There are many versions of that story. According to his daughter, Chana Gurary, he told her that he saw the form of a man wrapped up and covered. Which of course could have been anything that was wrapped and covered in that size and shape. According to the Lubavicther Rebbe his FIL the Rayatz said he saw “what remained of the golem” which is even less clear. Other versions say he refused to discuss it.

There are no even semi reliable versions claiming that he saw the actual golem the way it would have looked when it allegedly existed or that he saw it in uncovered form.

>>>The kefirah is believing in another, independent power besides Hashem.

Believing that Hashem gave people bechira to the extent that he does not restrain them even when they are causing an outcome he does not want to happen is not believing in another, independent power besides Hashem. Someone would have to believe that he CAN not stop them to be believing in another, independent power besides Hashem.

>>> it definitely is kefirah to think that the fate of the jewish people depends on the bechirah of goyim.

Claiming that believing that goyim have the bechira to kill a large percentage of kllal yisroel is kefira needs solid mekoros for it to have any weight.

Do you believe that the Nazis did NOT have bechira? Do you believe with 100% certainty that had they done nothing everyone would have been killed and experienced that suffering some other way?

The Torah very clearly says that Klal Yisroel would be enslaved but the well known Ramban (Breishis 15:14 says they had the bechira to be more benign and that the MURDER of Jews committed by the Egyptians (like throwing the boys into the Nile) was something they had complete bechira over .. Among many other sources that would support the concept of goyim having bechira to decide the fate of a large part of klal yisroel like the case of the holocaust. There are Rishonim who give other reasons for why the Egyptians were punished but no one who argues on the Ramban and those who say like him so strongly.

What is your source for saying that believing that goyim have bechira to determine the fate of a large part of klall yisroel like the holocaust is kefira?

Part of the reason why Chabad generated so much controversy is because they insist on inserting themselves everywhere. Including where they clearly aren’t wanted .e.g. Other groups don’t advertise their leaders yartzeit in publications read primally by non members and opponents. Of course the message in the publications meant for outsiders is very different from what is said in venues intended for internal consumption….

As a secular historian who got it very right about Chabad put it . In the 1950s Chabad developed an attitude of being accountable only to Rebbe. They were willing to do things over such vehement opposition of other groups that no other Orthodox group would ignore. As time went on this led to serious problems among the movement, most serious of which was the borderline deification of their rebbe.

My father still remembers how in the 1950s some of the elderly Chabad Chasidim who he knew and still respects, strongly denied Chabad would go down the messianic route .

>>>if you want to know about the rebbe, learn his 200+ seforim on all parts of torah,
בבלי, ירושלמי, מדרש,קבלה,חסידות וכו

if you want to know about the rebbe read a sefer like Al Hatorah V’al Hetumrah or Im Nosi yechta . They have have avey nice synopsis of his writing along with “he’oras” .

The Rebbe was a very learned person but he did write anything on the daf and was not known to be a lamdam or an amkan. He did not speak ot people in learning. It was expected in Chabad that you accepted whatever he said. No one asked him kashes on it