[VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]
A New York Police Department baseball cap surrounded by flowers, teddy bears and candles marks the spot where two police officers were killed by a gunman who was targeting law enforcement.
Visitors including Police Commissioner Bill Bratton have gone to the Bedford-Stuyvesant section in Brooklyn to pay their respects to officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.
The men were killed Saturday as they sat in their patrol car. The gunman killed himself shortly afterward. He had posted online about his intention of killing police officers.
Bratton says the memorial is a “reflection that the community cares about the cops.”
He laid a wreath and flowers for the slain officers.
(AP)
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12 Responses
Where to start with the halachic problems. (Of this, and most of chabads lighting ceremonies).
Brocha? After it’s lit? After it’s lit by (presumably) a non-Jew? After it’s lit by a non-Jew in a place theres no mitzvah to light in????
Nice photo-op for Chabad but being Neeman to halacha is a prerequisite for every outreach effort. Do you care about Hashem yes or no?
Dear Who Knows,
try to judge your fellow yid favorably. You probably did not notice that the police officer lit the Shamas, which is common practice when Shluchim invite dignitary goyim. That takes care of your first two (rush-to judge) comments.Secondly According to many poskim there is a mitzvah of perisuma nissa in these places hence the bracha.
WATCH THE VIDEO
before you spread your sinas chinam about people that are working to bring more kedusha in this dark world
making comments about the video about a goy lighting the menorah and making brochos after its lit
the only thing the officer lit was the shamesh as seen in the video which is ok
and about the berocho it was said before the candles were lit the only thing that was lit was the shamesh
So before you spread your sinas chinam WATCH THE VIDEO
Singing the Brochos and Holiday sings in a joyous tone at a memory to two people who were murdered yesterday. Seems inappropriate.
Not endorsing the chabad lighting in any way – but in re: to the particular point which u mentioned: if you watch the video clearly you will see that the officer had ONLY lit the “shamash” / the middle light which is not part of the actual mitzvah candles and thus the Bracha was said afterward by the jewish man who proceeded to light all the regular mitzvah candles.
Please be more careful the next time you want to criticize.
@who knows
Intresting that when there is a desire to spread שנאת חינם, everyone becomes a posek and פנחס הקנאי, fighting for G-d himself.
Simple question: DID YOU RESEARCH THE SUBJECT before you start asking your “questions”?
Yes, it is a sugya but making a bracha by public lightings such as these is discussed in the פוסקים and שו”ת. When did you become more of a halachik opinion then ר’ עובדי’ יוסף for example?
In your haste to fight “G-d’s battles” you conveniently also didnt notice that the goy only lit the שמש. The rest were lit by a yid after the brocha.
Bottom line is: where you asking b/c you hade questions and wanted an answer: NO
You have a agenda.
My question to you: on how many טייערע אידען were YOU poel to light menorah?
Do you care about Hashem -and by consequence his children- or not?
b.t.w. whoever wrote that comment: have guts. respond
To #1
If u notice, the shliach lights the candies after the brocha. The officer must have just lit the shamash. Be careful before u judge or bash. Have a happy chanukah!
Baruch Hashem for Chabad for doing this!!!
The perception is that yidden dont care about the goyim at least Chabad negates this showing they care about all mankind!!
Dear ‘Who Knows’
the answer to your username, is NOT YOU
your hateull comment shows clearly on ignorance
I do NOT know a lot of halacha, but apparently you know even less than me…
1) as your name suggests – who knows – maybe the officer is jewish – maybe he is.
2) the oficer lit ONLY the SHAMASH
3) only the SHAMASH was lit before the brachah, as you see CLEARLY in the video the JEWISH (if you hold chabadniks are jewish) rabbi lights the rest of the menorah
4) where there is no mitzvah to light? every day in shul a menorah is lit WITH a bracha. is there a mitzvah to light there? no one is even being yotzei with that lighting.
i myself am not chabad, but blatant ignorant hate remarks are hard for ANYONE to ignore
i hope you will one day recognize the good chabad does, and the source for EVERYTHING in halcha.
I apologize for my ignorance but how is lighting a menorah a memorial for the fallen NYPD Cops. If it happened around succos would we build a sukkah there as well?
Regarding the bracha in situations such as this, the shulchan aruch harav paskens it is permitted (perhaps even obligated, need to double check). It may not be your minhag to follow this psak of the SA’H, but it is most definitely the minhag of chabad to follow this psak.
Last I checked there were no conflicting minhagim regarding lo selech rachil. Why do you have to badmouth chabad?
@ number 10. why do you assume it was a memorial for the cops?