The End of Cherems?

Just a very quick post because I am busy with many things (BH). I have been saying for years (and so have many other people) that as soon as Rav Elyashiv's protective hand was removed the knives would be drawn and all the people who had been attacked or harmed by the 'establishment' (in this case Yated Neeman and those associated with it) would get their revenge.

For years (the Israeli version of) Yated has been the mouthpiece of the 'Gedolim' and 'Daas Torah' (by which I mean that they would write articles, editorials and bans and claim that they came from Rav Elyashiv without his knowledge). During this time they have been at the forefront of controversy and destroying the lives of those who disagree with them. They have made many powerful enemies.

Somehow I missed the news when it actually happened. I only found out today, and it happened overnight last week (like an inverse of Yosef being called to Pharaoh - in one moment the people of Yated went from the top of the heap to the bottom).

It seems that Shimon Glick bought up the body which owns the newspaper without anyone noticing. Then on Thursday morning he fired everyone associated with the paper! He did this with the backing and support of Rav Steinman (thus making him the new 'Godol HaDor' and knocking out a lot of others who were vying for the position).

You can read a Hebrew article on ynet news, and an English article on Yeshiva World News.

And the biggest irony? Apparently the former owners of Yated now want to take the new owners to court (yes, secular court - the one that is forbidden because religious Jews have to use Beit Din) to try to reverse the deal! Doesn't feel so good being stepped on by others does it?

Rav Shteinman is (ad 120) an old man (I think 98) and he won't be the Gadol HaDor forever. But some of his views have been quite controversial (in the old style Yated manner of condemning those who disagree) including his support for Nachal Hareidi (which led to protests against him and much verbal abuse). Perhaps his takeover of the paper will herald in a new era of tolerance for views of others, for discussion rather than banning, and will allow for the possibility of Hareidim going to the army and to the work force.

Rav Shach founded Yated Neeman to be the voice of Degel HaTorah. I think that Degel has run out of steam now, and its original message became lost in petty politics. Perhaps now it will become clear that Daas Torah only exists in the imagination of the media who are trying to maintain their standing.

Yehi Ratzon that Yated becomes Neeman and that Hareidim can once again become G-d fearing, instead of 'Godol-fearing'.

(And I hope that the people who were harmed financially, spiritually and physically as a result of Yated will be having a quiet celebration now).

Kosher Internet - cynicism =truth

Every time I am at my most cynical about the Chareidi community I REALLY hope that I am going over the top and will be shown to be a fool. Because every time that I find myself to be correct I end up becoming more and more cynical!

Today is the 'asifa' in Citi-Field where tens of thousands of Chareidim will gather to hear chidushim that the rest of the world has already known for years (When Rabbi Yehoshua said "There is no Beit Midrash without a chidush" (Chagiga 3a) he presumably was specifically excluding events orgaised by 'askanim' in sports grounds, which clearly can be without any chidush).


Five months ago I wrote that:

My hunch is that it won't take long for the posters to go up offering exclusive 'kosher' internet access. This will obviously have some kind of label so that it is clear to everyone in the world who is using the 'approved' version and who isn't. After a few weeks Haredi magazines and newspapers will ban advertisements from anyone not using the approved 'kosher' internet. And at the end of it will be a small 'committee' - working for the good of the community, who will be making lots of money out of this.

Those of you who have been reading some of the blogs will know that the whole event is simply a money making exercise (not for an organisation, but) for a single individual called Nechemia Gottlieb. He is using the event to marry of his children.

And now, on the day of the Asifa Rav Chaim Kanievsky has written a letter, posted on Yeshiva World News:

ובעזה"י יסדרו במשך הזמן אינטרנט כשר אם ישתדלו בזה הרבה ויהיק סייעתא דשמיא, וחובה להשתמש בזה

With the help of G-d with the passage of time they will arrange for a kosher internet if they work very hard at it. May they receive help from Heaven. It is an obligation to use this!

It is almost as if he has recanted his previous position that the internet is COMPLETELY forbidden (many schools made people sign forms agreeing that they will not use internet at all before agreeing to accept their children in the school). It also seems as though he has never heard of the many internet filters already available (some 'kosher' (i.e. made for Jews specifically) and some just plain filters for use by sensible people who want to limit what they (or their children) see on the screen.

I have had the internet in the house since we moved to Edinburgh in 1996. We have had a filter on our internet since we first got it in 1996. (It was not very sophisticated, but neither was the internet back then). Everyone I know has some kind of internet filter.

The Gedolim are truly great in their Torah knowledge. They have dedicated their lives to learning and teaching Torah. Yet 'askanim', for their own purposes, make these Gedolim seem most stupid than your average 'man in the street' (not to exclude women, but I couldn't afford to build a mechitza on my blog). It truly makes me sad and upset to see such a perversion of Torah for the sake of making a few bucks.

Please make sure that your internet has a filter on it (I'm sure it does already). Please also make sure that you know that no filter is perfect (far from it). It excludes things that should be included, and includes things that must be excluded). If you don't have an internet filter, do a search and find one. There are free ones and pay ones and many other options.

Please do not cave in to Chareidi extremism and believe that only the one with the hechsher is kosher.

And to the 'askanim' - PLEASE LEAVE THE GEDOLIM ALONE! It is bad for my cynicism!

Best Article for Ages

I am putting this on my blog for those who don't read Yeshiva World, who may have missed this fantastic article. Nothing else needs to be said (which didn't stop 123 people writing comments on yeshiva world with plenty to say).

Read this if it is the only article you read this week!

Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum: A Kosher Alternative

Many people are in total shock at some of the goings on in the Catskills this summer. I will not go into the details. Suffice it to say that hundreds of our teenagers - boys and girls - were enticed to engage in activities that are far from what their parents and teachers consider acceptable, and far from what we have a right to expect from Yeshiva and Bais Yaakov products. While there are many reasons for it and no easy or simple solutions, we must be very careful not to add to the problem by forbidding everything without providing a satisfactory kosher replacement.

The Yetzer Hora of today is not the one of yesterday or the one our grandparents had to deal with. Today we have television, movies, CDs, DVD’s, Internet, videos, certain type cell phones, and music that are extremely attractive and contain more filth than ever before. They are everywhere and they can easily be brought into our homes without detection. Their influence and message is so powerful and seductive that they have penetrated even the best homes. We are dealing with a mighty foe whose magnetic power of attraction is difficult to resist. Saying “No” doesn’t always work. Unless we provide our children with a kosher alternative to it all, we are asking for trouble.

While in the past, summer camps may have been considered a luxury and kids could be kept in the city, nowadays camps are a lifesaver. Most summer camps provide kids with a kosher outlet for their pent up energies with a balanced program of learning and sports. There is Color War and BOG. There are hikes and trips. Children are kept so busy that they don’t have the time or desire to look for non-kosher means of entertainment.

Many years ago, Pirchei Agudas Yisroel used to organize trips to Washington, Baltimore, and Toronto. Motzoei Shabbos there was learning along with game nights, and concerts. There was the famous Pirchei Choir that put out beautiful records and tapes that brought countless hours of delightful Jewish entertainment into thousands of homes. This was all done in order to keep children busy during their free time so they shouldn’t have to go looking elsewhere. It was important to show children at a very early age that the Torah is not just restrictions, but that Shabbos as well as the rest of the week can be a time of constructive joy and pleasure. Happy laughter and family voices in the home will keep more kids off the streets at night than the strictest curfew.

I still remember when the Pirchei Agudas Yisrael put on a play and concert more than forty years ago in Montauk Junior High School. ( The play was based on the book Family Aguilar. ) There were some who tried to convince the rabbonim to put a ban on it. Since I was the president of Pirchei at the time, Rabbi Moshe Sherer z.l, asked me to go down to the venerable gaon hador, Rabbi Moshe Fienstien z.t.l., to get his halachic opinion. Not only did he not ban it, but he gave it his blessings. He understood only too well the importance of giving the boys a kosher alternative; otherwise they would soon find their pleasures elsewhere. One must be very careful before imposing restrictions. “Restrict everything and everything becomes permitted,” is what my father z.t.l. once said. When some tried to ban the Miami Boys Choir Concert in N.Y. and tried to get Rabbi Pam z.t.l.s’ signature as well as that of the Mirer Rosh Yeshiva to ban it, they both refused to sign.

A number of years ago, Rabbi Motty Katz of JEP and I organized a Chanuka trip to Washington on the two days that yeshivas give off for Chanuka vacation. Thanks to Mr. Yisroel Lefkowitz and others who helped subsidize part of the trip, we were able to charge only $20, which included an overnight stay in a nice motel. We were only able to take along 100 boys even though many more boys wanted to come along. I received a very nasty letter in the mail from a prominent rosh yeshiva accusing me of causing bitul Torah and admonishing me for organizing the trip. I very respectfully replied that it wasn’t I who was causing any bittul Torah but rather the yeshivas that gave the kids off for two days without providing them with something positive to do. I told him that if he wanted, I would show him where some of his students are hanging out during this time. I never received a reply.

I give great credit to the Mirer Yeshivah in Yerushalayim that has realized the great problem of what happens when their bocurim have nothing to do during bein hazmanim. The yeshiva organizes trips at subsidized prices which take their talmidim around Eretz Yisroel. If only other yeshivas would follow their example, many tragedies would be avoided.

When sports and concerts are forbidden, and all forms of kosher entertainment are off limits, we are asking for trouble. If our kids can’t find a place to vent their energy within a kosher environment, then they will find it elsewhere. In a time of war even the Torah itself permitted one to marry a captive non-Jewish girl under certain conditions. Chazal explain the logic behind this law. The Torah understood that a person is only human and therefore in this instance, while fighting a war, it gave him some leeway. The Gemora tells us that for everything the Torah forbade it gave us something similar that was permitted. Today’s war with the Yetzer Horah is far greater than ever before.

But in every generation we have the likes of Doeg and Achitofel who misled great people such as Shaul and Avshalom with falsehoods and lies that caused them to try to kill Dovid. Doeg even succeeded in getting Shaul to kill all the Kohanim in the city of Nov. This shows how falsehoods can be spread, how easily they are believed, and the terrible damage that can result. Even the greatest of the great are vulnerable to such camouflaged slander and can be misled by advisors they trust. Just turn to Shmuel II chapter 16 and read the story of how Dovid who knew better than anyone else of the great dangers of an evil tongue was himself taken in by Tziva who fabricated a false story about Mefiboshes. If even the greatest of the great can be misled, then we’d all better be very careful and constantly on our guard least we too fall into the same trap.

Some have organized special activities and places for these “at risk kids” to get together under proper supervision, but this is not the real solution. The problem must be addressed long before young people reach the “at risk” stage. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If the money we spent on rehabilitation where to be spent on prevention, we’d get far more for our money, and fewer people who need intensive intervention

It must be clearly noted that despite all that was said, one is required to follow the ruling of our sages even when they say “Right is left and left is right.” Nowadays when there is no Sanhedrin, one must seek a leading posek and follow his ruling on all matters and not go “posek hopping.” This applies not only in the above case but in all other areas as well. There are some disagreements among our leading poskim in Hilchos Shabbos which can be an isur sekilah. One can’t pick and choose stringencies from one or leniencies from another. (Gemora ) The Agudas Yisroel follows the ruling of the Moetzes Gedolai HaTorah. Others can decide on their posek whom they wish to follow. But whoever it is, the p’sak must be followed even if it hurts.

Yes, there are legitimate concerns that must be addressed in order to make sure that concerts are conducted in a true Yiddish atmosphere and flavor. Performers should not be Jewish rock or rap singers and the music should not imitate today’s street hip-hop culture as some performers unfortunately do. Sadly, I’ve gone to frum weddings where the music and dancing felt like one was in a discothèque with only the flashing lights missing. Roshei yeshivas and rabbonim danced in the middle of the circle having no idea as what type of music they were dancing to. I hope no one is going to ban music at weddings because of this, but rather the m’sader kidushin or rabbonim should meet with the band leaders as well as the mechutonim to rectify this outrage. Serious concerns must be discussed between the concert organizers and rabbonim beforehand. Instead of seeking to ban these concerts, we must make sure that they are a kiddush Shem Shomayim. Music has a powerful effect upon the listener and we must ensure that it follows in the footsteps and style of Dovid Hamelech the “n’im zemiros Yisroel,” to whose words our music is often put.

We definitely need our gedolim to guide us, and if we come to them with sincere requests to teach us to run activities al pi Torah, they would respond wisely and constructively. We should no longer leave the field open to those few agitators and connivers who choose to deprive our young people of positive outlets. For if we close the doors to that which is permitted, they’ll unfortunately, soon find other places to fill the void!

© 2007 Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum.

(Thanks for allowing Yeshivaworld to publish this important article.)

Gedolim and the music ban

Yesterday someone got very cross with me and accused me of not listening to the Gedolim. I wanted to use this blog to clarify, to him and to the world, that of course I listen to the Gedolim, and have the utmost respect for them and their Torah knowledge and opinions. I have heard stories and had first hand experiences that leave me in no doubt as to the greatness of the Gedolim.

However, I am equally sure that the banning of the Shwekey/Friend concert did not come from the Gedolim.

I know that the ban did not originate with the Gedolim because the Talmud says many times 'chasa al mamon yisrael'. The Torah always considers money of Israel. If there is a way of permitting something, even b'dieved, it won't be considered forbidden if it would involve great financial loss.

There have been many 'Jewish' concerts in the past, which were similar to the most recent one. If the Gedolim were concerned with this concert, they would have spoken to the organisers and performers from the very beginning, and discussed with them whether there are permissible ways of doing it or not. Had they done that I'm sure that everyone would have complied with their wishes.

However, to ban a concert less than a week before it is scheduled to take place, to cause huge loss to the organisers, performers and ticket holders - that is not the way of the Gedolim. So I am sure the ban did not originate with them.

When a Rabbi issues a p'sak Halacha (unless it is a personal p'sak to an individual, in which case they may or may not) they always explain the reasons and sources for their ruling. This is obviously necessary so that people can understand exactly what is being said, and so that they (or their Rabbis) can study the ruling, to know exactly to whom, when and where it applies. Additionally, a ruling may contradict a different ruling from another Gadol, and my local posek has to be able to evaluate and compare the rulings.

In the case of this ban, the best I could find was:

"We trembled at hearing about the terrible breach in our camp of 'music evenings' and 'concerts' in which musicians sing before men and women sitting together, Heaven forefend, and even not together. All Torah leaders have in the past clearly forbidden these events, even when men and women are separate."

This is not a p'sak Halacha, but a meaningless statement. Nobody even knows why it is forbidden. I have heard at least 4 different possible reasons as to why the concert was forbidden, none of which seem to me to be compelling, but even if they were, how do I know which is the real reason? Perhaps all recorded music is now forbidden? Perhaps wedding bands are now forbidden? Perhaps leaving the Beis Midrash is forbidden? Perhaps all separate sex events are forbidden? I don't know.

It is inconceivable that a Gadol would ban something without saying what they are banning and why. If they don't say what the issue is, how could we follow their ruling to avoid it? We don't know what we are avoiding!

Therefore I am sure that the ban did not come from the Gedolim.

How can it be that people do and say things in the name of the Gedolim? I don't know. In this particular case, though, I don't think the printers even bothered printing the signatures of the Gedolim. They just stated that it came from them. And if they had printed signatures it would not have had any more meaning. Everyone knows that the signatures are on file, and are not a true indication that the document was signed by the Gedolim listed.

If there were such a p'sak it would require another blog to discuss the system of halacha, the limits of lo tassur and the individualistion of halachic ruling. It may or may not apply to the kinds of people who were asking me whether they were permitted to go to the concert or not. But since I am sure that this ruling did not come from the Gedolim I challenge anyone who mocks our Gedolim based on this p'sak.

The Gedolim are the Gedolim and deservedly so. The printers and zealots are just that. There is no obligation to listen to their words. But don't mock the Gedolim.

Music not banned!

Even though the 'Gedolim' (or at least the people who write the signs and posters on behalf of the Gedolim have banned people from attending the Avraham Fried and Yaakov Shwekey concert in Yerushalayim, I notice with some surprise and a lot of relief that they have not commented at all on the forthcoming Jethro Tull concert! Tull are playing on the 23rd in Jersalem and the next day (I think) somewhere else. You can check the details for yourself.

I assume that the 'Gedolim' understand that Aqualung and Thick as a Brick are full of Torah messages and bring a person closer to G-d (presumably the same is not true of the Jewish music that has been banned). I agree with the Gedolim 100% on this issue. There is a lot that can and should be learned from the lyrics, the musical content, and the album covers (although perhaps on in the case of the cover of Thick as a Brick, which is more like a newspaper than an album cover).

I think the Rolling Stones may be also coming this summer, and I am very proud that although the Christians and Moslems condemn their wild, satanic music, our Gedolim, by their very silence, fully support 'Their Satanic Majesties'. Long live Rock and Roll!

I was just watching a documentary about the making of Machinehead, where the original Deep Purple musicians (well, MkII at any rate) were interviewed. For most of my teen years Jon Lord was my hero. He is one of the most talented musicians and composers, and according to all the interviews is also a nice guy and easy to get on with. His blend of rock and classical music was always ahead of its time and created that unique Purple sound.

Anyway, having watched this documentary I remembered why I liked him so much. While some of the other band members are posing with wigs or dyed hair (and possibly some nips and tucks not to mention candles, suits of armour and a wizard's hat), he sits behind his Hammond calmly answering questions and recreating that majestic sound from all those years ago. He looks the oldest of the band by a long way (I think he may be a year older than the others), but (along with Roger Glover) comes across as the one who really cares about music more than anything else.

What a guy. Perhaps I should add him to my 'Gedolim' gallery. (actually I don't have a gedolim gallery, but if I did it would also include Winnie the Pooh and possibly Mickey Mouse). And he has (to the best of my knoweldge) never signed a ban against anyone or anything.

Must be Elul.