Yoinoson Schreiber

On 'The War on Entertainment'

2005-12-21T05:18:00.000-08:00

Naive that I am, I had thought the war against entertainment had been won some time ago. I am wrong. New victories would seem to still lie ahead, and only recently new battles have been won.

Several weeks back a columnist in The Jewish Tribune (the UK's indigenous orthodox Jewish weekly) penned a piece, that for the first time ever I could agree with. He noted that the orthodox community now considered all non-totally religious entertainment as something to keep away from. Something to protect the children from. As an illustration he talked about the annul Zeirim show that he used to act in. This was an all 'kosher veyoisher' play and even Rabbonim would attend (something I did not know). No play has been put on for the last twenty years, the reason being the radicalisation of the potential market. To be economically viable such shows need people on seats; and people do not come to these things any more. Bearing in mind the massive growth of the orthodox community in London this is quite an achievement!

Many people have hailed the piece as courageous and the breaking of new ground. Some of the British blogs have posted about it most notably The Shaigetz. (By the way Mr Shaigetz your style is becoming less and less accessible. Soon we will all need a degree in English lit to be able to understand your prose!)

Two London stories, both occurring subsequent to the said article, confirms that the warrriors of turbo charged conservatism have not lost any of their strength. The first concerns a Stamford-Hill kosher grocery store that had opened on the long winter Motzoei Shabossios for the past twenty years. A couple of weeks ago the storeowner announced that he was not going to do so any longer. His Rebber had called him to say that he should keep the shop closed. Motzei Shabbos is after all a continuation of the real thing. One doesn't want to spoil it by mundane activities like shopping. Admittedly a small story, but in our context, I think, a relevant one.

The second is a very big story with enormous implications. You can read about it on the Stamford-Hill based blog, Frummer. Make sure you read the comments as one of the main protagonists (Meilech Landau) has commented informatively several times.

Basically a talented chassidesher (bobover) man organised a Yiddish language play to be held in a hall over Channukah. The important thing to bear in mind is this; the play was to be for children and in Yiddish, the story chosen carefully, for a chassidisher audience. Mixed seating doesn't even come into question, and due to language barriers guaranteed to attract only Yiddish speakers, so no chance of mixing with and heaven-forbid learning from 'modernerz'.

Last week the Jewish Tribune (Thursday evening) announced it, but by Friday the play had been pulled. Several menahalim (headmasters) of chadorim banned their pupils from attending. Once one menhael does so, so do all the others and soon it was apparent that the show would be a 'box-office' flop. The play's organiser realising he would be left with an enormous bill cut his losses and cancelled.

This is an even bigger story because it involves children. Many had had purchased tickets and are now more than disappointed. It certainly will be the big discussion point amongst children this Chanukah. What message will they take from this saga? Some won't care; for some it will be another reason why they will grow up disillusioned and live lives in a manner that dosen't reflect their upbringing; and for some this will be a lesson in an extremism that they will advance even further when they reach their mid-teens.

Right Wing By Default (Revised)

2005-12-15T03:15:00.000-08:00

Chareidim also have a professional class. They also have what we call on this side of the Atlantic ‘the chattering classes’. Many of them have had the advantage of a good secular education. Some of them have gone to some of the best universities of the land. Most of them though are ‘born again charedim’, and in order to prove their chareidi credentials, try desperately to err on the side of right wing bigotry. For a free and true representation of their positions on important matters look no further than the web-log Cross Currents. Make sure you have a bowl close at hand as the urge to puke can become overwhelming.

Cross Currents is important. It is not just another blog. It is the chareidi worldview translated into English. It is the chareidi worldview for the common man. The leaders of chareidi Jewry (‘The Gedoilim’) do not write the articles that get posted on Cross Currents, but the posters on Cross Currents certainly represents correctly the views of the said ‘Gedoilim’. When the story of modern chareidi Jewry gets written in one hundred years time, Cross Currrents will be a primary resource for ascertaining what motivated and moved chareidi Jews of the 21st century.

Cross Currents is right wing. They enthusiastically support capital punishment, and from reading some of the posts this week one gets the distinct impression that they would love to see public hangings in the town square (its ‘torahdik’ after all) – and for adulterers too. I suppose it would make a suitable family outing, as they also hate the ‘entertainment industry’ and its immoralising effect on public values. Anything George W Bush does fills them with childish excitement, and by extrapolation they are pro-torture, pro Guantanamo Bay, pro-war and pro all the other excesses of the said president. When speaking about Muslims and Islam they lose all restraint, and although they have no sensible solution to the Palastinain issue, they opposed the Gaza-disengagement with vigour, not even shirking from making comparisons to Nazi Germany.

I could go on but I want to make my own comparison to Nazi Germany. There is a little known, but important story that is relevant here. During the 1930’s there were instances of orthodox Jews that thought that Hitler had some good ideas. They supported his return to pure Germanic values. They thought his ideas on homosexuality, gypsies and ‘coloured’ people were not far off the mark. Many of them felt that the big enemy was atheist Marxism. Hitler would sort that out. Hitler would also act as a bulwark against the tide of capitalist values that was sweeping across Europe. Some even thought that Hitler could stem the tide against that ungodly thing called democracy. In short Hitler was right wing and so was Orthodox Jewry, and therefore why not support him. (For those of you who think that all this is too fantastic I invite you to read this book. It’s all in there)

I think it’s pretty sad that a right wing dogmatic worldview is the default perspective of a ‘choreid’. Its sadder that they have not learnt from the big mistakes of the past.

Some Advice for 'Also A Prat'

2005-12-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

So also-a-prat reads Winston’s book and bursts a blood vessel. He stamps his foot and throws the toys out of the highchair. Next come the minced meatballs, mashed potatoes and mushy peas splattered all over the kitchen floor. Not very nice.

Oy! I have some advice for you young man. Get a grip. You’re yelling that loud, the whole world will soon know about your infantile temper-tantrums. You wouldn’t want that, would you?

Lets get things straight then. You as a Chosssid can spend the last six months doing nothing but telling us about the uncultured, unthinking and unstimulating community you live within. You put time and effort into posting all kinds of unflattering tales that reveal the stinking side of a Chassidic lifestyle. Week after week you take pride in portraying yourself as some chosen enlightened one. But when Winston dares writes a book, based on a sociological study she has undertaken as part of a doctorate, you have the chutzpah to accuse her of starting a ‘blood libel’. (You’re words not mine).

You then go on with a very silly critique of her book that tells us far more about your own lack of understanding, of the very community you yourself come from, than of any bias on Winston’s part. Oh yes suicide. I forgot that. You’re probably right there. But I can even explain that. Not now. I’m sorry; it’s not a subject I want to go into just yet, so you will have to wait.

You’re undisciplined outburst has shown us that you still have both feet firmly within an inward looking and narrow minded community. Yes you listen to the radio (in the car only, wow) but just like any member of these ‘close-knit ’ communities, you think criticsm is fine as long as it’s self-criticism, but lo-and-behold the outsider who dares express words of negativity. Those outsiders are perpetrators of a ‘blood libel’; they have an agenda, they are in there for the money.

I shall now tell you why you have attacked Winston with such venom. Listen carefully. It’s because she is a woman and Chassidim are sexist, because she is an academic and Chassidim are anti-knowledge and because she is a secular Jew and Chassidim hate the guts of (real) secular Jews.

Read that last paragraph a few times now. Breath deeply. Get over that initial urge to strike back. Then read it once a day for a couple of years. Think about it. Let it sink in slowly. Try and understand what it says. Bit by bit you might begin to appreciate that certain values are so ingrained within your system that it might take a generation (or two) to root out.

Allow Some Space For Criticism. Thanks.

2005-11-30T04:17:00.000-08:00

Whenever I criticise the charedi community among friends and family someone will pipe up with the following "Why criticise? Why find fault? There are so many good things happening in the community; why not talk about those."

I find this attitude infuriating. Not because I disagree with the notion that many good and beautiful things happen in our communities. Of course I agree with that, how can one not? It infuriates me because when I am criticising I am focusing on those aspects that are not that good and not that beautiful. For heavens sake allow me a couple of minutes to do that; yes to criticise. When I criticise I am not denying the good and I am not denying the beautiful. But when I criticise I am criticising. Get it? Criticising. Do you not know what criticism means? Well look it up. Criticism is criticism and when I criticise I am criticising. Allow me to finish criticising and then we can go back to discussing the good and the beautiful.

Lots of bloggers are posting about Hella Winston's book Unchosen. I must admit I have not read the book. It is something I still have to do. But I have read book reviews and articles by the author. She does not sound to me as a person with an axe to grind. Rather she sounds (to me anyway) like an academic who has stumbled upon an interesting and unexplored topic as part of her doctorate in sociology. The subject is a difficult one to examine and she is giving it her best. Of course she will make the odd mistake, we all do, but broadly she is approaching the issue as an academic, not as journalist wanting to make a fast buck. (Yes I might change my mind once I actually read the book. Possible but not very probable. If I do you will be the first to know. I promise.)

Anyway, last week I managed to download the Zev Brenner show (a New York based phone in hosted by Zev Brenner), the one in which he interviews Hella (Ester, Esti, whatever). And of course you get the inevitable call berating Hella for focusing on people leaving the community? Couldn't she focus on the many people who are joining the community, the Baal Teshuvah revolution? Isn't that a good enough story. Why focus on the less than good when you could have focused on the good?

My answer:

We must get out of the habit of equating criticsm of a given issue within our communities, to a complete disdain for everything chareidim stand for. I am pretty certain that Hella Winston could speak at length about the many good things that she has seen in our community, about the many happy people, and yes about the Baalei Teshuvah. The two are not mutually exclusive. And listen to the interview. Again and again she makes this point. In her academic life she is focusing on a real story that happens to be unflattering. This is not because she hates the chareidi community but because it is also an important story that needs to be told. In her book she is in the business of exposing the less than good bits of chareidi life. Just accept it. That she has written a book about the 'Unchosen', does not in any way imply that she sees none of the good and beautiful in the community. Of course she sees it. She might well have another book in lined up called 'The Chosen'.

Let me reiterate, the two are not mutually exclusive. One can see beauty but still discuss the less than beautiful. One can see good but still explain the less than good. It takes a brave person to do so.

From The NY Times to Mandarin Chinese

2005-11-27T12:33:00.000-08:00

I try hard to be as realistic as possible and therefore, besides for apologising to Dov Bear for ruining his breakfast, I will not be reading too much into being mentioned in The New York Times. But I think a little gloating might be permitted.

For as long as I remember I have been a man with opinions. The problem was that so often those opinions did not find favour with its recipients. From early on I learnt that one has to be careful when airing opinions. I realised that opinions have to be filtered and altered to suit ones audience else one can find oneself in all manner of trouble. I remember clearly one occasion, I must have been fourteen, when the adults around me were discussing how terrible it was that blacks were moving into the area. I piped up and suggested that black people, are well, people, and they should be allowed to live were they want. There was a stony silence and I just knew that I had said something that was wrong. I figured I would understand when I got older; and I did.

I recall doing a school exam. That particular test was to be marked externally. No one in the school would be seeing it. For the first time I was able to write what I wanted, opinions that went straight from mind to paper bypassing my self-imposed filter. I got the best mark of my school career.

During my teenage years I craved knowledge and ideas. I had this dream of spending years in a bookshop surrounded by atlases and dictionaries and books on history and philosophy and economics and geography. But in truth I had access to very little. It would be great to be able to report that I used to make clandestine visits to the library. This would be untrue. I was not brave enough. I was frightened. Subconsciously I was also afraid of reading something that would place me beyond the point of no-return; and I had to return, where would I sleep? On the street?

When I was home I used to listen to the radio and read any newspaper or book I could lay my hands on. In yeshiva I didn't even have access to that. Whenever I was able I would go into a newsagent to buy, say stamps, and on my way out steal a look at the front pages of the laid out papers. I remember one Friday doing that. I saw a picture of a plainly shocked young Chinese man. The headline said that he had been sentenced to death. Something to do with a student revolt. Tiananmen something. The photograph haunts me unto this day. I suppose that was something that I should have organised. A student revolt. But then again I don't think I would have achieved much more then those Peking students.

As yet I have not managed to fulfill my desire and go to university to study the ideas of great men and woman. I might never be able to materialise my fantasy of becoming an academic and specialising in an area of philosophy or history. The blogging revolution has allowed me though to have a space where I can express some of my thoughts. A space where I can practice at writing smallish articles and hopefully get better with time.

It is fantastic for me to know that I am being noticed. That some people (and yes lots of people probably hate my style) think that I write well and that I do a good job of expressing the subjects I choose to focus on. It certainly gives me the motivation to carry on. Not even necessarily on this blog. I have other interests and could start a blog on some other issue. Maybe I should discover what really went on those days in 'Tiananmem something'. I am sure there is yet lots to learn and discover. Let me dig out that book I once bought in a hurry, from a train station stall, entitled 'Learn Mandarin in 30 Days'.

Those Who Must Not Be Named

2005-11-18T02:45:00.000-08:00

As everybody is no doubt well aware the chareidi community and the constitution of the United States of the Americas share a common value. A value that is the envy of many a people who until this day live in whole or quasi dictatorships. The value I speak of is, that all people should be free to express any idea and free to say anything they so wish. In the common parlance this is known as ‘freedom of expression’. President Bush goes on and on about it; admittedly Rav Eliashev a little less often.

Of course if one does opens ones mouth, or one does express a ‘wrong’ opinion one might find ones children getting kicked out of the school they attend. One might find oneself being asked to leave the shul/shteibel that one frequents. These are I suppose minor inconveniences.

OK story time. Two Jews go fishing together. A secular Jew and a chareidi. The chareidi catches nothing. The secular Jew catches more than enough to share among the members of his bridge club. When the chareidi Jew asks his colleague what is the secret of his success the secular Jew answers “ah well my fish are allowed to open their mouths”.

I find it very revealing that of the many blogs I read, which orthodox Jews own, the vast majority are written under pseudonym. How many of them reveal their real names? Almost none. Even a blog like DovBear who tries pretty hard to ride along a straight and narrow path finds it necessary to hide behind a cuddly (or is it grizzly?) pseudonym.

So lets ask some questions. Who is Frummer? Who was Mis-nagid? Who indeed is DovBear? Who is he that calls himself The Sheigetz? Who are all these people whose names must not be spoken? Why do all these people feel they must masquerade behind facades of many a kind? It is noteworthy that the only one who is upfront is Shlomo Leib Aranovitz, and he has completely left the community as those who read his blog will well know. Is this the price one has to pay for coming out?

I am not a ‘yachner’ (chatterbox) and its not that I really need to know who these people are in the flesh. I am noting the phenomenon. I am noting a pattern of non-disclosure, a pattern of deliberate attempts to put trackers off the scent.

Only a couple of weeks back he who sometimes is and at other times isn’t, The Godol Hador, went through several days of intense panic when he thought he was about to be ‘outed’. His normal rational, cool approach turned into something that was a lot less cool and a lot less rational. Behaviour well suited for one being persued. Why?

Let me put my sociological hat on and begin to analyse it. Yes it fits so here goes:

Why is this necessary? One could understand if some were doing it; but all of them are at it. Why? We have a pattern here. It must be saying something about the community they live in? Words like Stalinist and dictatorial spring to mind? Is that right. Hmm, I think I need to do some more research on this. Let me go back to those blogs and reread them critically; are there signs of fear, dissent? Wait, this might be a good subject for my doctoral dissertation. Yes it is a fantastic subject. But now I do need to meet these people. I am going to need to interview them clandestinely. So The Sheigetz when are you available? DovBear can I come over? I will be in a white car with tinted windows at the bottom of your street. Just get in.

In the Footsteps of A Great Patriarch

2005-11-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

Our great grandfather Avrohom Ovinu (our patriarch Abraham) as understood in the chareidi world was not a romantic. One might not want to go as far as calling him an empiricist, but he was certainly a man of logic, the original Maimonides.

So as three year olds listening to the parsha (bible portion of the week) we are taught how Avrohom, born into a pagan world, would engage those he met, in debating the veracity of the varied deities, that those ancient peoples respected and feared. We hear that Avrohoms father owned an idol shop; whether he had a small boutique or an emporium we are not told, but he definitely sold statues and graven images to those who required them. On occasion Avrohom would be asked to manage the business. A punter would enter. Avrohom would ask him penetrating questions. How can you justify serving a terracotta model? How can you pray to a stone statue that was fashioned but yesterday? The punter would be flummoxed by these questions and walk out with his head spinning but no idol.

One such day when Avrohom was in charge he smashed every idol in the shop except the very largest one. Avrohoms father was understandably furious and demanded an explanation. Avrohom told him that the biggest deity had demanded respect from all the lesser ones. When this respect hadn’t come the big one simply smashed all the others to smithereens. When his father angrily responded that statues neither speak nor move around, Avrohom retorted that if that was indeed the case why did he bother serving them?

And then we learn that Avrohom, with his phenomenal mind had, already by the age of three, deduced by a very simple logical method the existence of the one and true God. The reasoning is so simple that I feel that I can repeat it here. Initially Avrohom had thought the earth must be a diety. But no, the earth is not all-powerful; does it not depend on the heavens for rain? And so Avrohom decided he shall prostrate before the king of the firmament - the sun. But come the night and the sun vanishes to make way for the moon. Avrohom reasoned that the moon must therefore be divine. But the moon shines only by night. And so finally by observing the regular rhythm of day and night, of the seasons and all the natural laws, Avrohom inferred the presence of an omnipotent and wise creator. How do the Heavenly bodies rise and set at an appointed time? There has got to be a higher intelligence directing them.

And so to all you sceptics who question the basic tenets of chareidi Judaism I have the following message. Know that from the beginning our theology was born through a process of observation and deduction. Ours is not a religion based on raw emotion or primordial senses. Our way of life is rooted in a philosophical approach and logical thought. Any objective observer would agree that we are deserving descendants of our trail blazing patriarch.

You've Had Quite Enough Already

2005-11-02T17:48:00.000-08:00

It is axiomatic to those who have benefited from a good orthodox Jewish education that Jewish law is absolutely perfect. It is not like any other system of laws. Secular law is man made and merely reflect knowledge and values at the time the given law was enacted. Torah law on the other hand is divinely inspired and reflects eternal values. Values that never change.

Over the last few years I have moved on a little and I see that after all, 'Halocho' (Jewish Law) is not all that perfect; many a time it is downright crazy. In this post I shall write about a Halocho were the more I think about it the less I can understand how anybody with even a little bit of humanity could have ever come up with such an insensitive ordinance.

OK so here goes.

Jewish Law forbids any sort of sexual relationship outside marriage. In fact Jewish law forbids any sort of relationship with the opposite sex outside marriage. In fact Jewish Law forbids a teenage boy to even think about a girl outside marriage lest something terrible happened. A good frum (religious) teenager may do nothing that might in any possible way excite his natural urges. I could go into even more detail but it's too embarrassing.

So let us imagine a young frum boy aged twenty and a half. His name is Yoinoson. Yoinoson Schreiber. He is about to get married. Throughout his teenage years Yoinoson has been really good. He has tried really hard not to look at girls. He has tried even harder to banish any 'evil thoughts' from his mind. Whenever Yoinoson, God forbid, thinks about a girl or a 'bad thought' crosses his mind he quickly diverts his attention to something else. But today is Yoinosons big day; Yoinoson is getting married. The chuppah has just been and hey presto Yoinoson is legally a wedded man. Together Yoinoson and his bride walk to the yichud room and there once the doors have been closed Yoinoson gives his new wife a kiss on the cheek. The first time he has ever kissed a girl. The first time he has ever so much as touched a girl in a loving way. So far so good. The wedding dinner takes place and a good time is had by all. The newly weds are now on their way to their flat for the night. Really romantic. Now in case you have forgotten allow me to remind you once again, this is the very first time that, Yoinoson, this good frum boy has had any relationship with any girl. Well as I say the happy Yoinoson and his wife go home and do what they do (hint,hint), and believe it or not, Jewish law again forbids the couple to even touch each other for another two weeks (and due to one thing or another is normally more.) So to sum up, they have kissed, done a little more than kissing (hint,hint) and Yoinoson is now forbidden by Jewish Law to even touch his wife for several weeks.

Now doesn't this reflect the beauty and sensitivity of Halocho? Answers on a postcard please.

Slifkin Lost

2005-10-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

GodolHadors fantastic blog conceived and born in the heady days of the Slifkin affair will of course be marking its first anniversary, and he starts off with a post entitled The Gedolim vs. Slifkin: Who Won? Read it. His conclusion seems to be that Slifkin won. Although I agree with possibly all the main points in his post I think his conclusion is wrong. The way I see it Slifkin lost big time. But then again he was always going to lose. It was inevitable. He had the massed ranks of the ortho-fundamentalists ranged against him. It would have been impossible for him to win. He lost with grace. He put up a courageous fight which is certainly not for naught. But he still lost.

To appreciate why he lost one must understand what the battle was about. It was very much a ' what it means to be chareidi ' battle. Slifkins books were published by Feldhiem, a publisher whom the charedi street understands as its own, and marketed to the chareidi community. Slifkin saw himself as charedi even yeshivish; he had gone to mainstream yeshivot, and would have seen himself as an alumnus of that world. He had not done army service, wore a regular charedi yarmulkah and sported a beard. (OK granted he wore grey trousers, bad, but not enough to put him beyond the pail!) Many in the charedi street found him quite exiting. He was interviewed several times by chareidi newspapers including the Yated. He took part in Artscrolls mammoth project to translate shas (the Talmud). My point - Slifkin and his book were chareidi.

The reaction of 'The Gedoilim' (lit. the great ones; leaders) was precisely because Slifkin and his publications were chareidi. 'The Gedoilim' were reacting to that, proclaiming that Slifkins approach was definitely not chareidi. Slifkins interpretation might not be a clear cut case of heresy but that was hardly the point. 'The Gedoilim's job is to guard chareidi theology and Slifkins ideas was threatening chareidi theology. 'The Gedoilim' were setting down markers on how far one can stray from the official line and remain chareidi. And thanks to their efforts we now know what the rules are. The entire universe was created in six literal days. The world is an odd 5756 years old - literally. The sages of the Talmud knew everything. Their comments on anything natural or scientific is always correct and must be understood literally. Anyone who thinks differently might be considered Jewish, they might not even be heretics, but they are not chareidi. And again, for that is the whole point, they are not chareidi.

So who won in the arena that counts i.e. the chareidi street? 'The Gedoilim' won hands down. Have they in the chareidi world silenced Slifkin and his wild interpretations ? Of course they have. Will Slifkin be getting any new interviews with the chareidi press? Of course not. Is Slifkin a byword for ridicule in chareidi circles? Absolutely. Can anyone suggest the world is more than just over half of ten thousand years old or that the Talmudic sages might have got some of their science in a bit of a tangle? Only if they are very very brave, and they are aware that they have simultaneously declared themselves to be not chareidi .

Nuts about Nuts

2005-10-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

I am going to go back to the subject that has exercised me of late, i.e Shtreimel, but I shall give it a chol hamoed break. Today I would like to post about nuts.

As a practicing Jew there are many things I do not eat such as caviar. As a culturally tuned-in Jew there are even more things that I do not eat; for example peas or beans on Pesach. Or almonds on the Jewish New Year. The Shulchan Aruch tells us that the accepted custom is not to eat nuts on Rosh Hashonah. Why not you may ask? Two reasons are given - a logical one and a er, well less logical one. The logical one is that nuts make people cough and since we spend most of our New Year in Shul in quiet prayer the coughing would disturb the concentration of those trying to daven (pray). The less logical one is that nuts in Hebrew have the same numeric aggregate as the Hebrew for sin.

I can accept all this. What I find terribly difficult to accept is that so many people I know refuse to eat nuts not only on Rosh Hashonah but all the way till the end of Succos (three and a half weeks later). Nor do they limit themselves to refraining from nuts per se, it seems that anything that contains nuts is also off the menu. So a nut cake is out. And so is ice cream sprinkled with nuts etc. Now to me this extrapolation of a New Year custom is just batty. Its plain nuts. I mean for heavens sake so you don't eat nuts for a month but nuts aint pork and I think you can allow yourself to eat something that contains nuts!!!

Some years ago I was spending Succos at my parents-in-law. A member of the family was in rehabilitation after suffering a serious mental illness. I saw her put all of her available energy into baking a relatively complicated recipe. It came out well and I could see that she got a feeling of satisfaction; something she needed in bucket fulls. But nobody ate it. It had nuts in. They stayed in the fridge till after YomTov. (I say nobody but that is not entirely true. I did eat some. How a custom could be so overblown to result in such plainly callous behavior was beyond me.) And don't think this sort of thing is all that unique. This year my wife was a lucky recipient of a nut cake her friend had inadvertently baked. Her husband would not eat so she gave it to us.

So dear reader how careful are you about keeping away from nuts during this period? How nuts are you about nuts? How many people are you prepared to upset in your quest to keep some obscure custom? Are you prepared to refuse a dish prepared by your wife because it might possibly have a nutty flavor or do you think sholam bayis might be a little more important?

COMPETITION: 'Shtreimel 18 Months From Now'

2005-10-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

pls read my previous two posts; thanks

Hello all.

Hope your Succas are all up, decorated and you have purchased your 'Arabah Minim' . If you are organized enough to have it all sorted you might want to have a go at the competition I have just launched.

Rules:

1) In as many words as you want, tell us what you think Shterimels position will be in 18 months from today. What do you think his religious, secular, mental states etc will be?

2) Try to be logical. Use that part of your brain. (I know it can be hard, but that's the challenge!). Entries that are judged to be merely an emotional rant will unfortunately be rejected.

3) Use whatever language you need to make your point. Do not be insulting, rude or crude just for the sake of being insulting rude or crude.

4) Entries that have something interesting to say will be put up on the main part of the blog in a format still being formulized by the organizers.

I am looking forward to read what you have to say.

Chag Someiach & I hope the weather holds.

YS

More On Shtreimel

2005-10-09T12:04:00.000-07:00

continued from my previous post

For the life of me I can't understand why the vast of majority of the commentators on Shtreimels blog are patting him on the back and telling him what a good boy he is. Don't they realize that at the the moment he is off his rockers. Yes I agree with you that he is under immense pressure but that in itself does not make his current position any less crazy. Do you all really believe that overnight he can become a fundamentalist again after having spent the last two year being an arch skeptic? Do you think that one can switch these things on and off? Do you not realize that his approach can only lead to serious mental illness?

A blogger called ConArtistic has commented on my last post and he has also responded to me on Shtreimels blog. It is there that he is clearer in what he is trying to say so I
quote him from there;

'Mr. Schreiber, there is nothing “irrational” with someone who makes a decision to fake allegiance to religion for his own benefit.' “

My response to that is it does not sound to me that Shtreimel is 'faking allegiance to religion for his own benefit'. Yes if that whats he is doing that would be fine. But that's not what he is doing.
In fact that's exactly what he has been doing till now. He is trying to get away from 'faking religion'. He hates living a double life. He wants the real thing. He wants to to believe in it. Shtreimel is forcing himself to believe something in order to run away from the problems that he has. That I am afraid is a sure way to a complete breakdown. It will not solve any problems. His children once again won't have a real father, although I admit that his children will not be
discouraged to keep in contact with him.

Shtreimel is proving to us that he belongs to a cult (Chasidei Satmer). He is living proof that the system that that particular cult has put in place to ensure members keep within the fold works. It works only too well. Shtreimel has tried to break away but the cult is too strong for him. Shtreimel has been defeated by forces far stronger then he can withstand.

Shtreimel Disappoints

2005-10-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

If you want to an illustration of the sheer power of the cult-like stranglehold that ultra-orthodox communities have over their members take a minute or two to hear about Shtreimel.

Shtreimel is the name of a blogger that until Monday of this week had a fascinating blog called A Hasid & A Heretic. Don't bother navigating there now, as he has removed the vast majority of his posts.

So who is Shtreimel? After reading his blog for over a year I feel safe to say the following. Shtreimal is a Satmarer chossid who had become very disillusioned with his life in the ghetto. Although externally he was very much a member of the community he had big problems with the whole thing.

Over the last one and a half years one could see how Shtreimel was developing. His writing got progressively better, he was getting out and exploring how life was lived on the other side. The thing that I liked best about him was his libertarian like attitude. He had realized that essentially all peoples are similar and just because one is born a chassidic Jew does not mean that one is better than the rest of mankind. He realized that men and women of no religious persuasion can also be moral. He realized that people can be left alone to decide how they want to behave and should not be forced to listen to the dictates of a Rabbi or any clergy.

He wrote entertainingly about his nominally big misdemeanors. Of eating kosher food on Yom Kippur and being frightened his neighbor in shul might find out; of his first go at eating non-kosher food; of meeting and enjoying the company of woman something that would have been a complete no-no in his 'real' life. He told us about his disgust at the less than good things that go on behind the ghetto boundaries. The fact that they make a religion out of scrounging, the little real respect for women or womens rights and the way kids are schooled to be racist.

But Shtriemel had a big big big problem. His wife whom, he might not love but has nothing against, knows nought about his wayward thoughts and actions and possibly a bigger problem is that his children go to establishment schools. He himself is part and parcel of the community he grew up in. Can he tell her? - oh no. All hell will break loose. He would lose his wife and kids. He would have to move from the community and try to start again. Who knows if he would be allowed to keep contact with his children. Lately Shtreimel blogged primarily about his big dilemma. He did not want to live a double life and so he would have to make a decision either way. A clean break from his current frum ultra-ortho situ or - em well I didn't quite know what he meant.

Well now we know. And it isn't pretty. Compared to his old self its nutty and fundamentalist. Crazy in fact. It sounds very much as if he is on the verge of a breakdown which isn't funny at all. Yes maybe you should read his last post here. Do you see what I mean? Its a ramble, not coherent -its nuts. Exactly as one would expect from a member of a cult that's cracking up.

Well unfourtunately that's what it is.

Gaza and the 1940's

2005-09-01T00:30:00.000-07:00

I am more than a bit surprised by the many chareidi commentators comparing the Gaza withdrawal to The Holocaust, a horrible example of which you can read here and then here. I had never thought they would cross that particular barrier. But I suppose life is full of surprises.

Writing from England as I do, I shall focus my criticism on the long-time columnist of our own chareidi paper; Ben Yitzchok of the ‘Jewish Tribune’.

In last Friday’s edition Ben Yitzchok proclaimed Gaza as judenrein.

Ben Yitzchok has spent a lifetime on ‘Holocaust-Watch’. Any broadcaster, writer or commentator that mentions a holocaust related word out of its 1940’s context and Ben Yitzchok is on the attack, descending on them like a ton of bricks questioning their professionalism, branding them a closet Anti-Semite and calling for their resignation.

Although not as extreme as Ben Yitzchok, I broadly agree that the holocaust related terms should be kept sacred and should as far as possible be protected from dilution. It defines something specific and unique and should be kept so. It must continue to conjure-up images of skeletal faces and mass starvation, piles of rotting bodies and mass graves, gas chambers and crematoria. It must continue to refer to the pre-planned and organised murder of six million individual men woman and children. It must continue to remind us that a sophisticated nation is capable of breeding young men who will smash a baby’s skull against a wall and then watch as its brains ooze out.

But Ben Yitzchok has seen fit to waver his own rules for the Gaza- withdrawal. He sees fit to use holocaust jargon within the Gaza context and announces that Gaza is judenrein. He has done what so many others have done before him, becoming emotionally embroiled in an issue close to his heart, an issue that includes human suffering, and has reacted by comparing it to the holocaust. In this he has executed the very wrong that for decades he has been accusing other of committing.

Hang your head in shame Ben Yitzchok. How can you ever criticise again anybody who compares his or her own example of human suffering to The Holocaust? You have now given the green light for anybody to use holocaust terminology at will. Well done.

Does DovBear subscribe to Principle Number Eight?

2005-05-18T23:05:00.000-07:00

Number eight of the Rambams (Maimonides) 13 Principles of Faith unequivocally states that one has got to believe that the Torah (the Bible) is the word of God. Every part of it. No ifs and no buts. Every verse and every word. Period.

This principle is known as ‘Torah Min Hashomayim’ or Torah is From Heaven.

Now I really like DovBear. He is a fantastic blogger and I empathise with his worldview. I am sure he is a really great guy. Today though I pose the following question; does DovBear believe in this important principle of faith? Can DovBear claim to believe in Torah Min Hashomayim? Does DovBear believe that Torah is literally the word of God? The answer to all this is absolutely, absolutely not.

I think DovBear will take umbrage at this; he tries to claim that he does believe in it. But that is patently false. Take a good look at this post, the whole thing but especially point 1. In fact I will quote point 1 verbatim here;

mabulNo idea. It could have been a local flood. It could have been a global flood. It could be moshol. Or it could have been a local myth that found its way into the Torah post-revelation during the period (see the Books of Judges and Kings) when the Jews were almsot all idol worshippers and the book Moshe recieved was largely forgotten and ignored. The burden of proof, incidently, is on those of you who say that it was a global flood. You need to explain the inconsistancies in the story, and you need to explain the absence of physical evidence. Not a slam dunk.

Let me ask you DovBear, how do you understand the principle of Torah Min Hasomayim? It certainly is nothing like the way Maimonides understood it.

Let us take a look and see what the Rambam actually says;

(The relavent Rambam is in Pirush Hamishnayos; I have abridged it. But please look it up. He says what I say. )

The eighth principle is Torah Min Hasomayim. This means that one must believe that all parts of this Torah that we have today is the Torah that was given to Moishe who got it in turn from God himself. It is as if Moishe was a scribe writing verbatim what was being read to him. There is no qualitative difference between any parts of the Torah. Every part of it is literally the word of God. If any person is of the opinion that any anecdote or date is superfluous he disbelieves that Torah is Min Hashomayim. If somebody claims that all of the Torah is the word of God, besides but one verse that is not the word of God except Moishe said it himself, such an individual is a heretic.

I say to DovBear the onus is now on you to come out and explain how you reconcile your enlightened and modern approach to the text of our Torah against that classic article of faith that proclaims that all, every word is literally the word of God.

Yated & Cross Currents Answer Why Chareidim Reject Yom Hashoa

2005-05-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

Even when I was a fully paid up member of the Ultra Orthodox camp I felt it odd that a day wasn’t set aside to mourn the great tragedy that was the lot of European Jewry between 1935-1945. After all we belong to a community that has days and rituals to commemorate various events practically all the time. We know how to do it and we do it well. As master bloggers DovBears brother Yitzchock Eyezik notes in his own inimical style we are at this very moment mourning the loss of 24,000 Talmudic students that died some 2000 years ago. We are not listening to music, cutting our hair, wearing new clothes or getting married; and all this for 33 days!! As I say we know how to do it. We have experience. We have very good precedence’s. Within such a context the absence of anything, and I do mean anything, for the Shoa is nothing less than pretty extraordinary.

And so each year as the non-chareidi world prepares to solemnly remember the unspeakable horrors of the holocaust on Yom Hashoa, their embarrassed relative that is the chareidi world is hard at work producing an apologetic which will explain why they cannot, sorry must not, take part.

This year I had the benefit to read two sets of such apologetics. I suggest you read them as well. I can assure you that you will be left with nothing but respect for their position. The first set is on the Yated Neemans website and the second is at Cross Currents.

In case you do not have the time to read them fully I will summarise the main points, as I understand them.

1) The only, and let me reiterate, the only reason why Yom Hashoa was instituted was to commemorate the attempt to fight the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
2) Yom Hashoa is not really concerned with the vast majority of Jews that perished. We would rather forget those that went like sheep to the slaughter.
3) Chareidim are of the opinion that the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was a disgrace and a grave sin. The ‘Gedolim’ were against it. (I assume that these are the same ‘Gedolim’ that promised their followers that the war will never happen and that they should certainly not attempt to flee. YS.) It was collective suicide and nothing but scorn should be poured on that whole episode and those wild unthinking Jews that took a part in it. Chareidim therefore eschew Yom Hashoa (see No 1).
4) Chareidim are of the opinion that one should never fight against their enemies. If a nation wants to get rid of Klal Yisroel, then so be it and we should all go like sheep to the slaughter. Chareidim therefore eschew Yom Hashoa (see No 2).
5) Kibutznikim are cowards. They prefer to forget those who did not fight back (as per No 1 & 2) and yet when one went to kibbutzim at night in the immediate post war years one could hear from the huts the screams of survivors as they relived their torments during nigh time nightmares.
6) Chareidim are by their very nature more sensitive than other mortals and mourn more deeply and more painfully than anyone else.

For more of this type of stuff please read the original. As for me I am feeling rather depressed. I wonder why?

Countering the 'Judaism Is Super-Tolerant Brigade' - Part 1

2005-05-02T01:50:00.000-07:00

There is out there among many a belief, that Rabbinical Judaism is tolerant of other religions and faiths. That Rabbinical Judaism is not all that elitist. That to be a 'good' gentile is perfectly acceptable.

This notion is all but wishful thinking and has been spun by interested parties. Over the next few posts I am going to counter what is as far as I can see a big myth.

One of the main 'proofs' that the 'Judaism Is Super-Tolerant Brigade' are always more than happy to bring is the halachic principle that Rabbinical Judaism is extremely reluctant to accept geirim (converts). This is indeed true but after examining these halachos within their proper context one sees that far from being an indication of tolerance they are symptomatic of a creed that is intolerant in the extreme. I shall expose this over the next couple of posts; I start here.

Rabbinical Judaism is fully aware of the difficulty of leading a halachic life. The list of laws is endless and creeps into absolutely every area of life. What and when to eat, when and how to pray, if and whom one may marry, when if and how one may have sex with ones own wife, how to go to sleep, how to get up etc, etc, etc, etc. Chazal (the rabbis who thought all this up circa 2000-2500 years ago) had enough problems in insuring the prevailing Jewish population kept all the tens of thousands of halachos; many couldn't keep up and they became an underclass of their own (the Am Haaretz - man of the land/peasant). Chazal were extremely suspicious of anybody wanting to join this sort of system. And right they were. The chances of people really prepared to comply had got to be small.

A major issue Chazal had to contend with when considering conversion and its consequences was the 'once a Jew always a Jew rule'. There is no way according to Rabbinic law for a Jew to lose his/her Jewish status. In fact the last person who managed this was Esau the brother of Jacob. We as the children of Jacob no longer have the right or ability to halchically opt-out. This is equally true for any convert to Rabbinic Judaism. Once the convert crosses that threshold and becomes a halachic Jew there is no way back. The ger is stuck with his/her new status and as importantly we the Jewish people are stuck with this new ger for eternity. When as is more than likely the initial enthusiasm of the ger wanes and the convert slips in his/her compliance of halaocho Rabbinic Judaism will inevitably be a loser. Chazal had no interest at all in recruiting Jews who’s Judaism will lapse sooner rather than later. They had enough as it was. They didn’t want more.

The Gemorrah (Talmud) expresses this argument with the following statement which it repeats often: ‘ Geirim are as irritating to the Jewish nation as is a plague of tzoraas.’

This essay is based on the Rambam Hilchos Issurei Biyah Perek 13. Please check it up before attacking me if you can.

When I Threw In The Towel

2005-04-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of each year I gingerly turn the pages of the calendar for the coming year to see when and how the 'Yomim Tovim' fall. The primary purpose of this ritual is to determine any occurrence of a 'Three Day Yom Tov'.

There are lots of things that make a Three-Day-Yom-Tov an uncomfortable experience; for me though it is the horror of facing three days of festivities, where showering or taking a proper bath is considered sinful.

I have to shower each evening. If I don't I cant sleep. By the time morning comes I am already feeling awful. The only thing I can think of is having a bath. Things get progressively worse until I can barely function. I feel like a soul that has somehow been placed in the wrong body.

Till recently I was pretty pedantic about keeping Halocho. Taking a proper bath on a Three-Day-Yom-Tov was just out of the question. I can only describe it as hell; dragging around my greasy body from one meal to the next and from one Tefillah to the next. Any spirituality I had felt on the first day of Yom Tov was more than cancelled out by my feelings on the next couple of days. How could G-d allow this I asked myself. I was a comforted somewhat by being pretty certain that soon when Moshiach comes he would permit it.( Chazal in Roman times outlawed bathing on Yom Tov. The Torah itself is more liberal.)

Over the last couple of years I have been going through a metamorphosis. I do not treat Halocho like I once did. Slowly but surely the repertoire of sinful acts that I commit grows. The first big really bad sin I committed was showering on a Yom Tov; hot water yes but not my hair and only liquid soap. The next time I was even more daring and washed my hair.

Over this coming Yom Tov I shall be really bad and very sinful. I shall take a bath whenever I need. I will wash my hair properly and I will even use a bar-of-soap. If I must I might even switch on the boiler.

Wishing you all a clean and hygienic three-day-marathon of a Yom Tov.

A Big Step In Our March Rightward

2005-02-06T15:20:00.000-08:00

Something big has happened in the Anglo-Jewish Orthodox secondary school scene during the last couple of weeks. Something that I think will have ramifications for the future. The Jewish papers have reported it but nobody has commented upon it; so I will have a go.

We have in Golders Green a set of schools (3 –17 years) called Menorah. There is a Menorah Primary School, a Menorah High School For Boys and a Menorah High School For Girls. These schools follow in the tradition of Torah Im Derch Eretz taking secular studies very seriously but most parents who send their children there would consider themselves chareidi as opposed to MO.

Although the primary school gets most of it’s funding from state aid, the high schools are funded entirely from fees. The current girls high school premises are less than modern and they really need to move to a purpose built site. They applied for state aid and their application succeeded. They were offered £3,000,000 for a new building and a yearly grant that would have substantially reduced the £4000 per annum fee. You would expect there to be a round of le’chaim’s; but no. The school governors have rejected the grant. They say that following the official regulations as one must in a state aided school would jeopardise its rigorous religious ethos.

The Menorah school governors (I am sure they had help from a Rav or two) have come to the conclusion that state funding and a Torah Im Derech Eretz style school are incompatible. They are saying that even a school that takes secular studies seriously, that appreciates a ‘good education’ has to refuse an offer for funding. At a time when the orthodox community is growing with leaps and bounds, at a time when the current educational facilities are full and under funded, at a time when decisions have to be made about a new generation of educational institutions this is something that should make us all stop and pause for some thought.

It was only a short ten years ago that the middle-of-the-road chareidi institutions (and I don’t mean MO) came to the conclusion that the only practical way to sort out the perpetual funding crises in our schools is to fight for state aid. Many schools have done so over the last decade. But the process has recently slowed down and with the Menorah decision has all but come to a halt. If Menorah can’t do it nobody else can. Nobody else will even bother.

I think its sad. It’s a step backwards. The consequences for educational funding are enormous. It’s difficult for me to criticise the governor’s decision. I am not privy to the reasons. But I suspect it is closely related to the relentless move to the right by chareidi Jewry. We seem all caught up in its wake. Like so many chareidi institutions the Menorah schools, that nominally find their inspiration in the writing of Rav Shimshon Refoel Hirsh, are not immune from the pressures to veer right and slowly but surely this is what’s happening.

Mordecai Plaut: Hypocrite & Liar

2005-01-23T13:00:00.000-08:00

Mordecai Plaut believes that the world is billions of years old. How can I be sure of this? Answer: because he says so himself in this article. I shall summarise his ideas for you. Here goes;

Plaut attempts to clear up a discrepancy. Torah tells us that the world was created in six days. In addition if one follows the Torah chronology from creation to our present day we arrive at a total of 5765 years. The problem is that science tells us that the universe is an odd 15 billion years old.

Along comes Plaut and tells us that there is no contradiction. One must not start counting 5765 from the beggining of creation. We get the 5765 total by counting from Adams terrestrial arrival. The world was there billions of years before that, according to Plaut. Don’t ask, continues Plaut, that the Torah says the world was created in six days (sheishes yomim). That’s not a prob. The Torah does not mean actual days (yomim) as we would understand it. In the first few verses of the Torah ‘days (yomim)’ are metaphorical. They refer to a given unit of time. The world was made with six of these units (yomim). Each unit can be made out of billions of days.

So there we have it. Plaut is of the opinion that the world is millions and millions of years old.

The problem I have is that Plaut is also the editor of Dei'ah Vedibbur which is basically the Yated on line. As you will already be aware the Yated is in the forefront of the campaign to ruin Nosson Slifkins life . Read the article that Plaut put out here. What is Slifkins crime? Well the crime mentioned in the announcement is that in Slifkin holds the heretical view that the world is older than 5765 years (afrah lepumei). In other words Slifkin agrees with Plaut.

So there we have it. I have scientifically proven that Plaut is a hypocrite.

Now take a look at the last few posts on this great site. Pay carefull attention to this post . Look at the comments. Can you see one from Plaut. Read it. I think you will agree with me that Plaut is not only a hypocrite but a liar as well.

The Slifkin Affair - My Pennies Worth

2005-01-20T00:30:00.000-08:00

A blogger commenting on an ongoing story can only speculate whether a particular event will have any long-term significance. It is for historians to decide whether the blogger was right or had totally misread what was happening.

So I stick my neck out and declare that in my opinion the ‘Slifkin-Affair’ is a very big story. A story that will have long-term repercussions. A story that will redefine the parameters within which Torah can be interpreted to fit into to current scientific knowledge. A story that will sow seeds of doubt in many a mind.

Are our Gedolim really worldly-wise or are they just a bunch of reactionary clerics? Do Gedolim always behave in a less than professional manner (signing declarations before having read the books et al) or is this an unfortunate aberration. Can science and Rabbinic Judaism coexist or are they after all mutually exclusive?

Slifkin is not an eccentric absent-minded professor sitting on the margins of Chareidi Jewry. Slifkin is one of us. He went to the same black-hated Yeshivos as we did. We learned with him ‘bechavrusah’. We can’t recall anything about his behaviour that would foretell a future career as a heretic poisoning the mind of the Torah-true masses. Is it possible that many of those other heretics whom we have been taught to hate, and appear in our minds eye as a cross between a devil and a gangster were really just soft-spoken intellectuals sorts?

How is the ‘kiruv’ industry that relies so much on Slifkin and Slifkin-types going to cope? How are all the black-hatters that feel compelled to find a way of interpreting Torah according to science but at the same time feel compelled to conform to daas-Torah going to manage? Is Artscroll going to pretend that Slifkin did not have a major input in many of their flagship projects?

These and others big questions are significant because they expose to rational introspection extremely delicate areas of the whole ‘charedi’ belief system. Reading some of the blogs over the last week I think the process has began. Only time will tell how all this will pan out.

A Tale of Two Conversations

2005-01-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

I had two conversations last week with two people I know from my yeshivah days. Both have brains and both use them. One of them is more courageous in where he allows his brain to take him. Although I had considered both of them friends, since last weeks’s conversation I have demoted my relationship with one of them to a mere acquaintance.

Anyway here is a report of the conversations and I will let you decide with whom I had to alter my level of friendship.

One of them is training to be a Rov. As I said he is clever and uses his time well. He understands what he learns and has already begun taking on a rabbinic role. We were speaking about the tsunami. He said to me that he doesn’t begin to understand why some people ask how Hashem could allow this. It is obvious he says, almost all goyim deserve to be killed anyway. Any goy, he assured me, who doesn’t keep the seven Nohadic laws is punishable by death, and since few goyim keep the seven Nohadic laws they all deserve to die. So I asked him if he thought that the goyim of our neighbourhood deserve to die and he said yes. So I asked him if he would support the killing of all people that don’t keep the above mentioned laws and he said yes but he couldn’t see how it would be practical at present. So I asked him in what way was he different to Osamah-Bin-Laden, the Taleban and suicide bombers. He answered me that there was a massive difference; they were wrong – they only had to think logically and they would realise that they were wrong. So I asked him how he knew he was right. At that point he got upset. Of course he was right. Anybody who thought that he was wrong was a heretic. End of conversation number one.

In the second conversation with a second colleague, the tsunami came up again. My second friend made what I think was a very pertinent comment. He said that if people in the chareidi community would have televisions and would actually see bloated bodies on the beaches, would actually see the mass graves, would actually see the crying fathers, would actually see the wailing mothers, would actually see the orphaned children, would actually see the enormity of the collective suffering and pain, would actually the see the great destruction – having seen this they would no longer be able to continue claiming that Hashem allowed this to happen due to the peoples deviancy and idol worship. As it is so many of these fundamentalists don’t even listen to the radio. Many get their current affairs updated in the mikvah changing room. And that brings me to the end of conversation number two.

A Generation of Reincarnated Pre-Deluvians

2005-01-02T01:29:00.000-08:00

The Torah informs us that God brought the great flood (mabul) because of robbery (Genesis 6:13). The Rabbis in their infinite wisdom know that the Torah doesn’t really mean robbery. Rather the Torah means sexual sins.

Having grown up in a chassidish/yeshivish world I am always conscious that the generation I live in is synonymous with the ‘doir hamabul’ - the generation of the flood. Isn't it obvious to an objective observer? The ‘doir hamabul’ were sexual deviants – God snapped and wiped them out. What are the peoples who inhabit the world today if not sexual deviants? After all just take a walk down the high street on a summer’s day and see how woman of our generation dress.

It is clear that the only reason why God hasn’t brought another ‘mabul’ is because he has promised not to destroy the whole world again (Genesis 9:11). He could certainly destroy part of the world. He hasn’t promised not to do that.

For a long time I davened in a nice chasidisher shtiebel. The tunes were good and the herring was good. Our Rov returned to this, his favourite theme on countless occasions. Sometimes he would recount the following story;

Once when the Baal Shem Tov ascended to a higher spiritual world he found them to be building an enormous container. The Baal Shem wanted to know what it was all about? The heavenly answer given was thus:

The world was closing in on the Messianic era. The time had come to allow the souls that had inhabited the ‘Doir Hamabul’ a second chance and they would be reborn into the coming generation. It was their last opportunity to correct their ways. Many would not pass the test and would make the same mistakes. On dying their souls would be tossed into this new structure that was being built.

The generation of the 'mabul' has been reborn into the present one. We are the 'doir hamabul'. We are being tested again. Are we going to make the same mistakes as our last terrestrial sojourn?

Last week that mini flood happened. I think many a Rov will say 'I told you so'. And so they did. We all know why it happened. The beaches of Asia are the very places were some of the worst deviancies take place. Have you ever heard of a rave? Do you have any idea how these reincarnated pre-deluvians sit on the beach?

I shall leave you with a quote. It's the last paragraph of the main Tsunami article in our very own (UK) chareidi newspaper:

Hashem in his kindness has sent us a warning from a far away land that does not directly affect us, in the hope that he does not have to bring the warning closer to home. Are we listening?

DovBear, Tiferes Yisroel and the Woolly Mammoth

2004-12-26T18:30:00.000-08:00

Reb Yisroel Lipschitz of Danzig (1782-1860) was the author of Tiferes Yisroel , the popular commentary on the Mishnayos which can be found in many a home and probably every Shul.

Dov Bear is a prolific blogger; go there you’ll enjoy it. On a couple of occasions he has posted that the Tiferes Yisroel is supposed to have written that the world is a lot more than 5765 years old. The last time he mentioned it was last week in a post entitled “Depends What You Mean By Modern”. Have a look at what he says. Intrigued I asked DovBear for the source and within an hour DovBear had responded. It is an essay called “Derush Ohr HaChayim” (Homily on the Light of Life) and is printed after Maseches Sanhedrin. I studied it over Shabbos and I present my findings below, which naturally I dedicate to DovBear.

In this Derush Ohr HaChayim the Tiferes Yisroel debates the eternality of the soul. The first two parts are pretty much the same as one would expect to find in any traditional commentary. In part three he suprises. He asks what is the point of Techiyas Hameisim (Resurrection of The Dead)? Why can’t the soul remain wherever it is? Why does it have to return back into a body?

In answer he quotes a “Midrash Rabbeinu Bachya”. Bachya ben Asher (1255-1340), a younger contemporary of Nachmanides, was one of the most prolific biblical exegetes of his era. In addition to his many scholarly writings, he functioned as a dayan (judge) and preacher in his hometown of Sargasso, Spain. Bachya writes that the world is due to last for 49,000 years or seven sets of seven thousand years. Each set of 7000 years is made up off 6000 years of ‘normality’ and 1000 years of ‘Shabbos’. Year 50,000 is the jubilee year and everything sort of ends there. Bachya does not say much more than this. To me it seems clear that Bachaya understands that we are at present in cycle number one.

The Tiferes Yisroel uses this Bachya but adds more. Although he does not bring an actual source he says that books on Kabbalah state that we are at present well into cycle number four. (I.e. the world is 26765 years old). He then goes on to say how the recent (recent for his time) archaeological findings had proven that this was indeed the case. Archaeologists had found four distinct layers of strata – a stratum for each cycle. Each stratum had remains of different animals. The earlier the stratum the more crude the animal (dinosaurs); the later the stratum the more refined – the world gets better and better in each cycle. The previous cycle he claims had seen the first type of human (Neanderthal Man ?)– we are the second sort of human to walk the earth and better than the first as our minds are far more developed. At the end of each cycle a cataclysmic event takes place destroying all that has been before. We are reborn into each cycle which is the meaning of "Resurection of the Dead" and answers the initial question. The story of Genesis refers primarily to our cycle – number four. The first letter of the Torah is a beis and in the Torah scroll this beis has four verticall on its topmost tip. Beis equals two which represent the fact that we are the second sort of human, while the four lines infer that we are in cycle number four.

Phew. That’s about as summarised as I can manage. If you want to see more take a look. The Bachya is at the beginning of Leviticus 25 and the Tiferes Yisroel is where I said it was.

Bloggs - A Prediction

2004-12-19T13:00:00.000-08:00

In its end of year issue The Economist treats its readers to some fascinating essays on various subjects. One article this time round entitled ‘The Writing on the Wall’ discusses graffiti.

There are two sorts of graffiti. The puerile, and the sort that attempts to makes a point be it political or on a taboo subject etc. This post concerns itself with the latter.

Allow me to repeat two points that are blog-related.

Number 1:

Instances of graffiti have gone down in the last decade. Why? The Economist proffers what I think is the obvious answer; The Internet. People who want to make anonymous points can do so far better on the Internet.

Number 2:

In the 1970s American academics began collecting graffiti from the walls of university lavatories. They were puzzled with finding that the most hateful anti-black graffiti were found on the walls of the most progressive institutions, while in the conservative universities there was hardly any offensive graffiti at all. Strange?

The answer is again pretty clear. There is no need for graffiti were people can express their feelings openly. Graffiti exists were people are afraid to express themselves; were they have to be carefull about what they say on a given subject.

Well now for a bit of ‘lomdus’. If graffiti is an expression of pent up ideas and blogs are the new graffiti then the ‘chareidi’ community is going to see lots and lots and lots of blogs. There is more than a handfull of people in the community who are totally fed up and only need to find an anonymous forum to vent their frustrations. They now have one. We have already seen some fantastic blogs– all barely ten months old. The quality of some of are fantastic and a few are refreshingly subversive. Have a look at this: theshaigetz/ or this: mis-nagid/ for starters.

Gob smacked?? There will be a lot more.

Bring Back The Rod

2004-12-11T07:29:00.000-08:00

‘Another Stream’ is a fortnightly opinion column in ‘The Jewish Tribune’, the UK’s indigenous chareidi newspaper. (Sorry no website. Now or ever.)

The author a well-known communal know-it –all, tackles a range of important issues such as the playing of the wrong type of music at chasunnes (weddings), the plummeting levels of derceh eretz youngsters have for their elders (so unlike when he was young), the scarcity of shadchonim (matchmakers) resulting in too many young women left on the shelf, and other such topics. You get the gist.

This weeks subject was corporal punishment, which he enthusiastically supports. Scripture, Gemorrah (Talmud) and the Rambam (Maimonodies) are all on his side he assures us as and all back it as a pedagogic tool. He is currently enthused by the topic as he has found an ally in the Christian Fellowship School.

Well well.

I am an alumnus of chareidi school/cheider system. And take it from me it was violent. The bruises have healed long ago but as an adult I still suffer the side effects of being hit at school. The reason why I have confidence taking my children to school each morning is because I know that hitting is now illegal and looked upon seriously by the courts. Even chareidi staff fear the enraged parent rushing off and informing the authorities. They are conscious that parents faced with protecting their children might well overcome the prevailing fear of being branded malshinim (informers).

No! Banning corporal punishment was a great step forward. What upset me was that the chareidi community could not have seen reason to unilaterally remove it from its schools. I am gutted that some are agitating to have it reinstated. Schools today are far friendlier places – and it shows. I suspect even King Solomon, who famously suggested that ‘ He Hates His Son He Who Withholds The Rod’ (Proverbs 13:24 ) would readily approve.