The gradual loss of Kovod for our present day Gedolei Yisroel.
First it was the important ad in Yated that everyone is being Mechalel Shabbos in Japan. A full page announcing to Klal Yisroel that one must follow the Psak of the Chazon Ish. No one can Chas v’Sholom say anything to diminish the Kovod of the Chazon Ish ZTL. However, Klal Yisroel has been following the psak of the Gedolim of our Dor, Rav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv ZTL, Rav Yisroel Zev Gustman ZTL and Rav Shlomo Zalamn ZTL, all who pasken that we follow the Shita of Chachmei Yerusholayim and the Yidden in Japan are keeping the correct Shabbos.
This writer doesn’t have the chutzpah to discuss the actual halacha, but he does know that we have been following these Gedolim in all our Shailos and they were post Chazon Ish. What was accomplished with the ad? That the Hamon Am can ignore when the present Rabbonim come out with a Kol Koreh.
Then there was the full page ad about the Sheitels. No one has the audacity to disagree with the psak of Rav Elyashiv [except those that put out an ad about Shabbos in Japan!] but other Rabbonim have thoroughly delved into the issue and have paskened, that even taking into account Rav Elysahiv’s opinion, it is still permitted. Now, it wouldn’t be a problem if our Gedolei Rabbonim put out an ad that says that it is best to be machmir and make every attempt to ensure that one purchases a sheitel without a shailoh. However, the kanaim successfully pushed for an ad that says that if one wears a sheitel without [what they consider] proper hashgocha – AND no such hashgocho exists – all the women of Klal Yisroel have to remove their sheitels immediately, and if they don’t, they are transgressing an Issur d’oraysoh of Avodah Zoroh. So now klal Yisroel knows to again ignore our present Gedolim.
Then WZO. A distasteful situation but one that some Gedolei Yisroel did permit and encourage the olam to vote. It is very understandable for other Gedolim to feel that it is forbidden and wrong. They surely have the right and obligation to have their opinion known. But when it becomes a terror campaign, calling up anyone that doesn’t agree, cancelling, drowning the internet with ridicule and mockery of other Gedolei yisroel then Klal yisroel has again learned the lesson – ignore our present day Gedolei Yisroel. The “kanaim” are running the show.
Then we reach the latest episode, where they crossed even more lines in their attacks on the rabbinic system. After they finished with WZO, and found themselves with extra time on their hands, they gathered signatures on a letter attacking big rabbanim and an established, respected Beis Din. This was a new step taken after months of terrorism and canceling and public ridicule etc.
What was especially disturbing was that they went much further than usual both in terms of the scope of the attack and in terms of the lies that led to it. The kanaim weren’t content with a letter voicing disagreement with a psak. They weren’t even content with merely attacking the rabbanim for the psak. They instead opted to pasul the rabbanim and the Beis Din personally, a dangerous move demonstrating a total lack of responsibility, especially being as this Beis Din is mesader a few gittin a week. And they didn’t suffice with simply taking issue with the halachic rationale or the understanding of the metzius. They instead attacked the behavior of the rabbanim personally – behavior which as it anyway turned out was a total lie designed to attack the rabbanim. This was readily shown with the subsequent publication of letters from 6 other rabbanim personally involved who testified that it was slanderous lies. The kanaim had completely fabricated a slanderous narrative which they used to elicit these signatures. And it was a narrative that was very easy to debunk, and never should have been promoted in the first place. This was a tremendous bizayon for the signatories.
The “kanaim” are making it abundantly clear. They run the show and will stop at nothing to make sure of this and advance their agendas.
Slowly but surely, the “kanaim” are taking over. This must not be allowed to continue.
We must take a hard look in the mirror and see if our behavior does not exhibit many of the traits displayed by the secular liberals we so despise. We must have an awakening. It is high time that words such as mussar and middos make their way back into our vernacular. It is time for the all the Torah we learn to act as a “Sam hachaim” and not, c”v, a “Sam hamaves”.
Yosef B.
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26 Responses
You such a great writer but if you can chap the difference between some guy putting in a ad in a paper about the date line or about sheitel and very serious problem of a rogue bais din you really need to look your self in the mirror
The two ads are basically some guy or guys that have a agenda you don’t like it turn the page and this issue with the bais din is a very serious issue and by starting off bashing the ads and going on to the bais din issue in the same breath just mind boggling sounds like someone has a real agenda here to bash this Gedolim that came out against the bais din
Are you part of the bais din ?
Anyone who is aggressive enough and has a few dollars can built up a ton of signatures on any issue. You just need to get one name from a so called gadol by bribing his Gabbai. Then you go to smaller local rabbis and show them the signature and ask them to sign as well. It’s an easy gimmick. This has been going on for years. Corruption of this kind is nothing new. It causes many young kids to lose faith in the truth and go off. About thirty five per cent of chassidim are actually living double lives on various degrees. Between smart phones and internet access and goyta secretaries there is a lot more than meets the eye unfortunately. This generation is facing a very serious challenge.
@DasLakewood – Perhaps you forgot, but those ads also had all the same gedolim signed on it. It was also the same “kanaim” who were behind eliciting the signatures.
It should also be noted that there is not one Lakewood Rav on there.
But you completely missed the main point. The entire premise of the Kol Koreh was quickly shown to be completely false. I will quote from a beautiful expose on this on the Fixing Lakewood blog:
What is the reasoning given for proclaiming them to be pasul?
This is where matters really enter an alternate reality.
The reason given is that they have not answered the call for a review of the investigation into Rav Cohen’s psak!
A letter was summarily publicized in which the Beis Din the family and their representatives chose makes it very clear that the entire premise of the proclamation – namely, that the Rabbanim have not answered the call for a review of the investigation – is patently false, thereby utterly delegitimizing the proclamation.
[Well, there is the added caveat of “באופן המניח את דעתינו”, and that can be understood as “until you retract and assume our position”.]
The proclamation, in an apparent attempt at addressing the fact that numerous other Rabbanim were matir, (which itself raises the question of what the purpose of the diyun is if the other Rabbanim don’t partake in it,) makes the bold claim that the Rabbanim from the first Beis Din to review Rav Cohen’s psak “הכשילו אחרים להתיר”. This is something that they can’t possibly know without those other Rabbanim saying they were tricked. And yet, the other Rabbanim have consistently made it clear that they conducted their own investigations! [The family must have known this. After all, they spent hours speaking to some of these Rabbanim. In fact, they spent more time speaking to them then to members of the first Beis Din to review Rav Cohen’s psak.]
This is shocking!
A proclamation this strongly worded, and of this nature – a proclamation calling for the destruction of major talmidei chachamim’s jobs and reputations – calling for the dismantling of a major Beis Din which is mesader almost all the gittin in Lakewood – calling for all their gittin to be considered pasul! – cannot be issued so flippantly! It cannot be issued based on hearsay and lies. Especially not when the truth is so readily available for those seeking it! (Rav Bess, Rav Reisman, and all the others all have phone numbers…)
There should be public outrage over this!
We should be demanding a public accounting, a public retraction, and a public apology!
And we should ensure that the circumstances that led to this are not allowed to be replicated.
We will not go through each of the signatories, but they can all be easily analyzed. Suffice it to say that we must no longer allow people to misuse an אדם גדול and major posek (Rav _____), an old man suffering from a severe case of Parkinson’s, who will not pasken simple shailos anymore due to the mind-addling effects of the medicine coupled with age-induced senility. It is a בזיון התורה of epic proportions, and we must not allow to pass unnoticed. We must no longer stand for Rav ______’s “chatzer” (such as ____ and ____ [who is _____’s brother-in-law], who are self-proclaimed representatives of the _____ (on record), besides for their other motives,) feeding him whatever they want to elicit the response they desire.
This tremendous חילול השם must be publicly decried.
This is a sensitive topic, so enough said for now.
Safek deoraissa lahumra!!
All the things you quoted are la I’m especially the pea. Whoever authorized it is an am haaretz and will or already pays dearly for this.
Now there are no gdolei because a real gadol needs to know all the PARDES sod included with kavanots. What you call gdolei barely don’t understand the minimum of the sod and I know that for a fact. These burims are then disqualified to even be called gdolei.
The torah world is in the abyss because of pashtanims who take psakims against the kabbalah and often against the torah
All this confusion and guessing could EASILY BE AVOIDED if rabbanim would just video their response to something. We’re not holding yet where people will bootleg rabbanim to repeat different words in the video. Today we need to SEE THEM SAY THEIR PSAK. otherwise letters will continue to be forged and fake signatures etc. Enough confusion stop hiding the rabbanim from us
People are losing kavod for people and gaining kavod for truth and freedom of speech and thought.
Sad but true, the yeshiva world is turning into ISIS and Al Qaeda, the violence and aggressiveness used to push opinions is nauseating.
Hello, I literally grew up with this stuff!
My father was the one that put the full page $750 ad in the yated over 20 years ago, calling for a full ban on NYC water, even saying that R Belsky is a Chote uMachti es haRabim, for chas veshalom disagree-ing with my father, a talmid muvhak of R Dovid Feinstein!
As a bachur, I would go around the yeshivas, telling everyone that R Belsky is a Rasha and Machti haRabim for saying NYC water is not trief, and salmon worms are ok and palm oil is ok etc… my brother stayed up the whole night of shavuos, as a soundboard for my father, to learn the sugya of palm oil, which he got R Shmuel Birnbaum to sign onto, the last thing he did alive (late 2007).
People used to tell me my father is a terrorist, which i only now understand to be fully true.
את חטאי אני מזכיר היום
I am the one who typed up those ads and kol kores, because my father doesn’t want to touch a computer. Yes, the Anisakis worm in the wild caught Alaskan salmon, the cocopods in NYC water (he wont brush his teeth without bottled water and my mother spent decades of her sad life shlepping cases of bottled water), the matzah which wasn’t kosher, the palm oil, no meat is ever edible except Webers, a random butcher in Boro Park.
Some of my brothers still keep this craziness, but BH I was able to break out and recognize the terrorism for what it is.
Recently, my father apologized for training me to hate R Belsky, and said he’s takke a gadol baTorah (he only said this when I told him I was happy when R Belsky’s lung collapsed in 2012 and when he died in 2015).
So now, whenever I’m in NYC, I davka drink water from the sink in front of him to show that we pasken like R Belsky now.
TLDR:
Shkoyach for reading till the end!!
@emetsealofhashem
Kabalah is not Torah. It’s a different religion. My father grada knows the whole Pardes, and does kavanot haRashash, and I used to also. I know what I’m talking about.
Before the days of the mashiach the vilna gaon says that the Erev Rav Will be leading the nation and be the talkers of the nation. And the nation would suffer from them. He didn’t say if they would be secular or religious because there was no real secular in his days. Not all seculars are the Erev Rav and not all religious leadership kanaim are not from the Erev Rav. They were always a thorn to the nation. And the Erev Rav in the days of Moshe I guarantee you were a lot more religious and frum than the ones today. Don’t be fooled by the outer look.
I don’t really understand from this discussion what actual substantive issues are going on here but I offer some thoughts on what constitutes a machlokes l’shem Shamayim and how to avoid other kinds of machlokes, the consequences for which are pretty terrible. If anyone has any substantive critique of this offering I’d be very grateful to see it.
בס”ד
ידועה הגדרת ספר יערות דבש (דרש ח’ – ט’ אדר) מהו מחלקת לשם שמים:
אבל בעוונותינו הרבים כל מחלקת, תהיה מה שתהיה, היצר הרע מפתה ואומר שהיא לשם שמים, ולמצוה גדולה להכניע בוגדים ולשבר זרוע רמה וכהנה דברים רבים, כללו של דבר אין לך מחלקת שאין יצר הרע מפתנו ואומר שכל הכוונה לשם שמים, וחס וחלילה לומר על מחלקת שהיא שלא לשם שמים. רק אם כן במה יוודע אפוא האמת אם היא באמת לשם שמים או לא.
בזאת יוודע, אי המחולקים ובעלי הריבות – זולת הדבר שחלקו בו ומנגדים זה לזה – הם אוהבים גמורים בלב ונפש, זהו אות שמחלקתם לשם שמים, אבל אם אויבים ונוטרים שנאה זה לזה על ידי מחלקת, זהו שלא לשם שמים, ויתרקד השטן בתוכם. וזה הסימן מסרו לנו חכמי המשנה, איזו היא מחלקת שהיא לשם שמים, כי בכל מחלקת אומרים שהוא לשים שמים, אמרו כמחלקת שמאי והלל, שאהבו זה את זה וכבדו זה את זה הנאהבים ונעימים, זהו אות שמחלקתם לשם שמים, אבל כמחלקת קרח ועדתו, שהיו נוטרים איבה ושנאה וכמעט יסקלוהו למשה וכדומה, זהו שלא לשם שמים (כי למעלה אהבה איש את אחותו), וזהו לאות נאמן בכל מחלקת להבין אם היא לשם שמים או לאו. ע”כ לשונו הזהב.
ולכן הנני הקטן להציע הצהרה שעל ידיה אפשר להינצל מעוון המר הזה והוא ננוסח השוה לכל נפש:
הריני מצהיר שאע”פ שאני אוחז בשיטה מסוימת בעניני ציבור — מדינת ישראל, בחירות, גיוס, חינוך וכו’ — (וכמו שקיבלתי מרבותי) ומתנהג ע”פ שיטה זו ורוצה לשכנע אחרים ג”כ לשיטתי, אין ברצוני לגרום עי”ז ח”ו שום פירוד לבבות עם שום יהודי אחר אפילו עם אלה האוחזים בשיטות אחרות ומנוגדות לשיטתי או המשתייכים לחוגים המתנגדים לחוגים שאני משתייך להם ולא לעורר שום בחינה של שנאת חינם חלילה וחלילה, והריני מקבל על עצמי לקיים מצות עשה של ואהבת לרעך כמוכה עם כל יהודי שותו”מ או תינוק שנשבה ובפרט עם אלה שאוחזים בשיטות אחרות ומנוגדות לשיטתי ולאלה שמשתייכים לחוגים אחרים, ולהתנהג עמהם בכל החסדים ומידות טובות שתורתנו הקדושה והאהובה לנו מכסף ומזהב ומכל חפצי העוה”ז מחייבת אותי בהם, ולא לדבר בגנותם אלא לתועלת גמור מנופה בי”ג נפה, והריני מתחנן לפני אבינו שבשמים לשמור אותי ואת כל אחי בני ישראל מכל פירוד לבבות ומכל מחלקת שלא לשם שמים ולגאול אותנו כולנו יחד גאולה שלמה בקרוב בימינו אמן
This is a tremendous issue today. Misguided individuals compete to be the “most righteous”. They take valid issues to the extremes and under the guise of zealotry in avodas haShem. They demean entire sectors of halacha-abiding members of klal yisroel. These naysayers do more harm than good and create breaches in the respect individuals have for Rabbanim, mesorah, and halacha l’maysah. These individuals are often those who wouldn’t find a Rav they’re less ‘frum’ than, or a Gadol who ‘knows’ more than them. I was recently shmoozing with a guy who has these kinds of views on hilchos kashrus/tznius/shalom bayis, among others. He said he wouldn’t go to any Rav/Rebbi to resolve shaylos because, “They don’t learn so much anymore, they’re busy being oseik b’tzarchei tzibbur”. I would go so far as to say that this kind of “Judaism” is hedonistic and borders on kefira. It’s scary that many of these people are considered ‘ultra frum’ and somehow afforded respect by some rabbanim and members of the yeshivish community. Extremism is not the torah way.
To happyNewYear- if what you are telling us is true, you and your father have much much bigger problems than bugs in water issurim. Being mevazeh a tremendous Talmid chacham, who not only knew the Torah completely inside out but also just about every secular subject as well, it’s most likely your olam haba hangs in his hands depending if he forgives you or not. There is almost no repentance for such a crime of not only crushing a yirei shamayim because you have an opposing opinion, but rejoicing in his health issues? Do you understand how severe that is? It is likely you lost your portion in the world to come. And for what? Because of issues that are not even close to a severe punishment as this terrible behavior.
Bottom Line is:- The current Jewish Calendar which everyone has been following since 4118 or thereabouts, is predicated by 90 degrees East of ירושלים, not by 180 degrees, so only the פסק of the בעל-המאור and of the חזון-איש makes sense. & utilizing 180 degrees from ירושלים is a straight תיובתא to our entire Jewish Calendar.
@147
90 degrees exactly, or at the “end of the world”?
Japan is part of Asia. I’m masking that the Chazon Ish is 100% correct Lfi All Rishonim and is PASHUT PSHAT, but Japan should be part of Asia. The 90 degree davka mark sounds a little too scientific based and not Torah based.
Now, where is the end of the Yishuv?
Good question!
@rebEmes – does somebody who is brainwashed by their father into thinking that doing those things is a Mitzvah, bare full responsibility for those actions?
The loshon hora going on here is beyond the pale….
Ad Masai???
Wait, you’re saying that today’s rabbinim don’t get enough Kavod?
Maybe they should stop hiring their sons-in-law, and start hiring people who are qualified. What a meritocracy – raise millions of dollars to build their “community center” yeshivos, then immediately pivot to “of course it’s a family business, dummy!” once they’ve secured funding.
Respect is earned, not given.
Yosef B, the above letter writer, is self-contradictory and hypocritical.
First he demands we follow Rav Elyashiv regarding when Shabbos is in Japan.
Then he demands we do not follow Rav Elyashiv, when Rav Elyashiv bans those sheitels and prohibits voting in the WZO.
Mr. Yosef B, make up your mind. Should we follow Rav Elyashiv or not. “Pick-and-choose” doesn’t cut it. You can’t suddenly follow Rav Elyashiv when he is meikel (Japan) but throw Rav Elyashiv under the bus when he is machmir (sheitels and WZO).
Listen the truth dismantles gitten already.
Everyone has an agenda and ulterior motive. So which side is right is anyone’s guess. Torah today is used as a tool to collect hundreds of millions of dollars. Guys in BMG are analogous to widgets being produced for massive sale.
No the Kanoim aren’t leading Klal Yisroel. The Gedolei Roshei Yeshiva & Poskim are leading. The fact is that there is a big controversy over a decision of the Bais Havaad which has nothing to do with Kanous. Sheitels & Japan are a separate sugia so leave them out of this. WZO was forbidden by the Moetzes & many other Gedolei Yisroel.
The letter should not have been published by YWN.
First of all we have to stop treating _anyone_ like G-d. Someone may be a big gadol. He’s not an idol. My gosh. He knows the whole Torah. Good for him. Respect. But not idolitry my goodness. Stringing attitude comes from lack of grasp of morality and realistic thinking this is why principled living is important to learn not rules. We are not created to follow laws, or technicalities but to follow principles and things that have a true propose behind it a meaningful reason behind it either for our safety or because it’s common sense
The Rambam stressed that the Derech Beinini was the correct Derech. Both the “Modern Orthodox” & the Kanoyim hurt Klal Yisroel & are correctly referred to as the Erev Rav.
_third_ though I value completely our very important rules we placed in our society, they are not reality. They are a construct and something we agreed to collectively. Someone saying a bunch of blessing under a chuppah doesn’t change the status of a person. just food for thought
The reason I say that is because if something happened somehow that all of our laws disappeared, if we still choose to maintain our relationships without all the brachos we would still live in the same reality. It’s not the brachos that keep our lifestyle intact but our agreement to take our relationships seriosly that keep them intact. it’s our deligance at showing up everyday that make it work. Not the seriousness of the brachos. So gittin or not reality won’t change.