Natan Slifkin's Blog, page 21

An Erev Tisha B'Av Disgrace

Last night, on erev Tisha B’Av, I attended a lecture at a big Anglo-charedi shul in Ramat Beit Shemesh. It was delivered by R. Mordechai Neugroschel, a leading charedi outreach figure and spokesperson, and the title was "Gaining Clarity in Confusing Times: Perspectives on Chareidi Army Conscription and an Incisive Outlook on Events in Eretz Yisrael." (Note the first two words in the title, “Gaining Clarity,” and keep them in mind as you read this post.)

When the lecture was announced on a local ...

Distorting and Delegitimizing Opponents

In a previous post, Rome Shmome, I discussed the advisability of going to war against Hezbollah immediately, versus waiting to be in a stronger position. I explicitly did not take sides on this matter. Instead, I made it as clear as I could that while those who want to go to war might well be correct, people such as Ben Gvir seem to be taking this position reflexively and based on religious or political conviction rather than weighing up the pros and cons.

In response, one commentator, a normally...

Moshe Rabbeinu, Hater of Torah

Here’s a page that I came across from a new elucidation of the Torah, “Chumash HaCharedim L’Dvar HaGedolim,” which purports to be based upon unpublicized Kabbalistic teachings that are known only to the Gedolei Torah. Since it deals both with this week’s Torah portion and current events, I decided to reproduce it here:

Fascinating. It’s almost like the complete opposite of what our text says, not to mention being questionable in terms of classical rabbinic sources, Jewish history, and Torah value...

Rome Shmome

Should Israel be taking a more hard-line approach with its Arab enemies? Or should it be concerned about international political repercussions?

On the one hand, the Middle East is a tough neighborhood, where power is respected rather than compromise. In the long run, full victories may cause less suffering overall. Israel has to look out for its own interests; it doesn’t have the luxury of indulging the wishes of Western countries which are not fighting defensive wars on their soil, nor laws that...

Mission: Impossible

Dear Rabbi Hauer,

Shalom, I hope that you are well during these difficult times. After much discussion with colleagues, I feel compelled to write to you regarding your statement "Am Yisrael's Response to Crisis."

No doubt given your position, you have to be accommodating of a broad range of perspectives. Personally, that's the kind of thing that I'm not very good at! But I would like to share some perspectives from people in my circles, including numerous rabbis, which lead us to believe that in t...

Herzl and the Rabbits

There’s a 1972 British children’s book called Watership Down about the adventures of a group of rabbits. Many Americans are unfamiliar with it, but if you ask British people about this book, you will be met with one of the following reactions: Either the person will say that it’s one of the greatest books that they ever read, or they’ll say that it was one of the most traumatic books that they ever read. Or both.

For those who haven’t read Watership Down, it’s very hard to convey just how powerfu...

"Haters of Torah"

The chareidi refusal to share in the immense burden being shouldered by the rest of Israel is not just appalling in it being selfish and dangerous, and in also often being accompanied by a total lack of gratitude or concern for the sacrifice that others make. It’s also disgraceful in its attitude that those who do want them to share the burden are not motivated by legitimate concerns and are instead driven by hatred of God and Torah.

For a striking example, see this post from a graduate of chared...

Wonderful - if it's Kiruv

I have a really great series of posts planned about wildlife and Judaism and living in Israel. But I can’t get to it yet because the charedi/army issue is raging non-stop, and people keep writing to ask me to respond to the latest developments. The Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah released another disgusting Kol Korei about the “malice” of those who want charedim to share the burden of army service, but today’s talk-of-the-town is a video of Rav Asher Weiss, describing his meeting with a dati soldier, a ...

The Eighty Unmentionable Yeshivos

In my letter to Mishpacha regarding Rav Brudny’s accusation, I noted that he was completely negating the existence of over one million Jews in Israel who are shomer Torah u’mitzvos but not charedi. Over the last few weeks, I’ve begun to wonder if perhaps much of American yeshivish Jewry genuinely does not even know that these million Jews exist. And that aside from rabbis and shuls, they have yeshivot and kollels and serious talmidei chachamim.

My friends in Lakewood and Monsey have told me that ...

Rav Brudny's Accusation

Mishpacha magazine featured an article by Rav Elya Brudny, the most open-minded member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, titled “This Will Bring Out Our Best.” I wrote them a letter, and you should, too. The email is inbox@mishpacha.com.

To the Editor:

Thank you for publishing Rav Elya Brudny’s article regarding the High Court ruling. It’s always illuminating to find out in more detail how the members of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisrael feel about various issues, beyond the brief statem...