Zanvil

There is absolutely no shortage of translations and commentaries on Selichos. Let’s call it what it is:
failing to understand the words is just a product of laziness and a total lack of preparation. If you didn’t bother practicing the pshat before Elul, that is entirely on you. You had a whole year to prepare. But now, suddenly, you claim to be a “mevakesh the emes”
What is next—are we going to modernize the Shmoneh Esrei too?Enough is enough.
I am completely sick and tired of this modern, self-indulgent narrative of “facing yourself” and “this is just who I am.” those idiots that think It isn’t deep, it isn’t entertaining, and it needs to be trimmed out of our …. entirely.
Do not touch our mesorah . Look at Monsey, where we now have minyanim calling themselves “Selective Selichos” or “Selective Kinos.” It is absurd.
Stop blaming the liturgy for your own lack of effort. Stand up, prepare, and respect the minhag ….

true but I just think not everyone read his sefer ,as I witnessed too many misconceptions and misquotes from him , he was absolutely a daas yachid , good point .
I apologize if my previous comments felt personal, but they come from three years of firsthand experience listening to the shiurim and engaging with shuirim on RIETS. I’ve seen the full spectrum of people there, including deeply serious, learners who have actively petitioned and signed letters against the university’s direction .
I am specifically referring to those who follow in the footsteps of ‘JB’ With all due respect, his shita of Torah and secular philosophy was a distinct da’as yachid , the vast majority of mainstream gedolim and yeshiva authorities firmly opposed. (I’m just shmoozing , in life you’ll find people disagreeing with you nothing intentional )

>This is literally what Chofetz Chaim was asking in 1930s in Poland: have one kosher cheder in every town ..That is true, but you must realize that this was NOT Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s original intention. He genuinely appreciated chochmas chitzonyos (secular wisdom) and sought to synthesize it with the Torah, truly believing that this combination would save the American Jewish youth from total assimilation.
But between four eyes: Did he actually succeed??? have a look at YU Today, YU is a place caught in a constant, defensive battle against liberalization and secular compromise.

Anyone listening closely to the shiurim coming out of the YU world today will notice a fundamental distortion: they routinely displace the authentic, text-driven Torah approach and replace it with a purely philosophical one.Instead of analyzing a topic through the lens of Halacha, Shulchan Aruch, and the authority of Chazal, these lectures reframe the Torah to fit modern intellectual trends. They subject the timeless truth of the Torah to Western concepts of psychology, existentialism, and human emotion. Rather than using the Torah as the absolute basis of hoiroah , they use external philosophy to validate and explain the Torah. This methodological shift fundamentally changes what Torah learning is supposed to be. It reduces a divine command into an intellectual exercise, (proving exactly why the gedolim warned against bringing chochmas chitzonyos into the Beis Medrash in the first place).

Saying that Zionism saved Judaism is like saying Reform Judaism saved Judaism. Many do not fullyunderstand the PSAK of the Satmar Rav. As seen from his sefer Vayoel Moshe, his battle was against Religious Zionism, and objecting any theological valid sevara for a Jewish state—(especially a democratic one with socialist undertones).
To clarify, Vayoel Moshe is divided into three distinct sections:The First chapter (Shalosh Shevuos): unmasks the concept of Atchalta De’geulah and all other apikorses that stems from Zionisim. such as having a Jewish state or voting etc. second chapter (Yishuv Eretz Yisrael): This section reviews whether settling in the Land of Israel remains a mitzvahtoday, specifically objecting the Religious Zionist claim that it is a Mitzvah de-Oraisa to settle in Israel . third chapter(Lshon HaKodesh): This section addresses the sin of modern Hebrew.

When looking at Secular Zionism, a simple question arises: Is there a real difference between the ideology of Secular Zionism and Reform Judaism?The answer is NO
At their core, both movements share the exact same objective: to strip Jewish identity of its theological essence and redefine it away from traditional Torah observance. On a practical level, both movements openly embrace chilul Shabbos and the consumption of treifos. etc.
.. Therefore, supporting a democratic state run by secular Zionists is exactly like supporting a state run by Reform Jews.Historically, poiskim had a major machloke) on how to deal with this state:One view held that voting or speaking up within the government is just a practical way to protect religious needs. To them, it is not a true partnership, casting a ballot did not constitute an official partnership or endorsement of the state’s legitimacy..The Satmar Rav completely disagreed. He viewed any participation as a form of heresy (Minus). He stood by the strict ruling that you cannot compromise with heresy. He used the rule kevan de-mushcha, a-basrei—meaning once you let yourself get pulled in even a little bit, you will eventually follow it completely.While other rabbis chose to compromise to navigate this reality, Satmar Rav maintained that total separation was the only way to preserve the purity of the Torah.

JB approach to Zionism was deeply rooted in existential philosophy, human experience, and emotion, especially in the raw aftermath of the Holocaust. not halacha , again I don’t know if you have the correct view of JB , he was mufrach , he meant good maybe , but he went his own way knowing he’s living a double life (I’m not getting involved )

i would even go deeper the zionists will use legislative power to bypass the 13 ikrai emunim , The state is actively weaponizing its legislative power to dismantle core religious beliefs. By passing targeted laws direct on the chariedim , the government shatters traditional barriers to weaken orthodoxy and force secular integration (It’s a fact!). Once these foundational boundaries are completely broken, the whole society shifts entirely—leaving people to accept and practice things that were once considered completely assur , (this is the weapon of the reform , and is happening in america as well , they use legislative power to bypass the most toievah) , however in isreal the orthodox charidim in the knesset try to use legislative power to turn back the laws
some clarity?

To be honest, I believe that modern secular Zionism functions like a direct continuation of the Reform movement, sharing the same core values of changing traditional Judaism. Are you allowed to associate with Reform ideologies? Should you even try to debate them? Are you allowed to live in a country that is entirely rooted in Reform ideology?Claiming that the Zionists saved Yiddishkeit (Judaism) is like praising the Reform movement’s statement: “We worry for our future generations; we want diversity and acceptance for everyone.”
Furthermore, regarding the establishment of a state, even if we put aside the Shalosh Shevuos (the Three Oaths), I cannot see how creating a state is permissible l’chatchilah. Establishing a state that requires being mechalel Shabbos (violating the Sabbath) to fight enemies cannot be one hundred percent muttar. While it is true there is a machlokes on this matter, I cannot see it as ideal.
On the other hand, I acknowledge the opposing party that building a state is a holy duty under the concept of Atchalta De’geulah This worldview primarily stems from Sefer Kol HaTor, supposedly written by a talmid of the Gra (the Vilna Gaon). This book relies on the Zohar to argue for a “natural redemption”—a physical, human-led rebuilding of the land before the miraculous redemption.
However, the sources are highly contested and deeply flawed. Many major rabbinic authorities (Rav Moshe sternbruch and more) claim that Kol HaTor is a modern forgery, that the mechaber never wrote those chapters, the main reason is (because this chapter is written in total modern hebrew and has a different language than the whole sefer)and that it represents a total fringe theory. There is no widely accepted, mainstream traditional concept of a purely natural, furthermore “secular redemption”.
In fact, the Satmar Rebbe in his Vayoel Moshe brings down countless midrashim and Gemaras that completely dismantle and dispose of this concept of natural redemptions. .Therefore, while pro-Zionist halachists rely on the shita of hischlta… they already found some rishonim that they also misinterpreted ,and they use the sefer kol hator as a prime source , with this they excuse mechalel Shabbos for the military under the rule of pikuach nefesh ……., their entire psak rests on a broken foundation.
The Satmar Rebbe makes it crystal clear: If the state’s existence violates the Oaths, the state itself is a transgression (aveirah). You cannot use pikuach nefesh (saving lives) to justify ongoing chillul Shabbos to defend an entity that halachah forbids l’chatchilah. You cannot deliberately engineer a forbidden situation and then claim pekuach nafesh !. Ultimately, forcing soldiers to constantly violate Shabbos to sustain a forbidden state cannot be one hundred percent muttar.while the other side (Rav kooks talmidim ) did not have it clear , it is also known that the religious Zionists often misquote rishonim to pasken their shalos , they often say a rambam , a chasam sofer , and its completely wrong ,

The History They Don’t Teach You: Zionism’s Socialist Roots
If you want to understand the origins of Zionism, stop looking at it through a modern lens.
Let’s add a note to history that most people completely miss: Zionism and the Haskalah (the Jewish Enlightenment/assimilation movement) went hand-in-hand as a massive historical chain reaction. And to be even more concise, early Zionism was internally built on communism and socialism.
Here is the direct timeline of how it actually happened:
The First Footprint: many European Jews tried everything to achieve legal emancipation and equal rights. Through the Haskalah, movement they sought total cultural assimilation. They did not succeed. Assimilation failed to stop the hatred. From the devastating Eastern European pogroms to the horrors of Kristallnacht, even the most integrated, secular Jews were targeted and hunted down anyway. Realizing that integration was a lie and no one was coming to rescue them, they stopped begging for acceptance and started creating their own defense.But here is the twist they don’t teach you: when these people went to build their defense, , .They realized international socialism wouldn’t save them from antisemitism, so they combined intense nationalism with radical socialism to build a survival mechanism.If we don’t study these exact cause-and-effect relationships, we miss the entire context of why these movements began. Stop looking at the past through modern lenses. Read the history.

to clarify :The Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) promised that if Jews assimilated, adopted European culture, and integrated, they would receive equal rights and safety. Zionism is the dark shadow of that broken promise. When pogroms and state-sponsored hatred proved that even the most secular, assimilated Jews were still targeted for destruction, Zionism emerged as the desperate backup plan. It was the realization that cultural integration had completely failed, those people(the Zionists) were forcing Jews to make the aliyah .
Zionism exists because the Haskalah failed to protect Jews through assimilation, and it was built because socialism provided the revolutionary blueprint to build a self-reliant society from scratch. and do the assimilation stronger r”l with a nationality and a defense system . this is how a non zionist should view Zionists , “a communist , socialist , left wing political group”