Natan Slifkin's Blog, page 5

Charedi Idealism and Sacrifice

I’ve heard two arguments about why even if one disagrees with the charedi avoidance of serving in the IDF, one should nevertheless respect them and/or not harshly critize them.

The first came from Rav Aharon Lopiansky, a charedi Rosh Yeshivah who I used to know well and who I still respect as a very fine person who tries to change things for the better. In a lecture in Ramat Beit Shemesh, he argued that one should appreciate the fact that charedim do not adopt their path out of a desire for wealt...

Meeting the Maleku

This week I was combining business with pleasure - celebrating my 50th birthday with a trip to Costa Rica, but also using the opportunity for recording various videos for the Biblical Museum of Natural History, along with acquiring some wonderful artifacts for exhibit. I saw many fascinating animals and plants, including sloths, kinkajous, toucans, basilisks, enormous tarantulas, and poison-arrow frogs (don’t worry, I washed my hands very carefully afterwards).

Yet the highlight of my trip was me...

The "Three Weeks" Fraud

Remember how it used to be absolutely unthinkable to talk about sexual abuse in the Orthodox world? And then some people start talking about it. But others told them that it was lashon hara and a chillul Hashem, and nothing was done. Finally, the people reporting it went to the press. And finally it was acknowledged that, yes, it was a very, very serious problem, and the only reason it began to be addressed was because of public exposure and the pressure that it created.

The same thing is happeni...

Who Wants Airport Arrests?

With summer vacation starting, many charedi yeshiva students in Israel will be traveling abroad. Those with Israeli citizenship are theoretically subject to arrest at the airport for draft evasion. So far this almost never happens, probably due to the current government’s reluctance to antagonize charedi politicians.

I think that most people in the Dati community would be very happy to see this happen, along with lots of other sanctions. Certainly I myself would want to see it happen, including ...

The Torah "Holocaust" Libel

Most people in the Dati-Leumi community, along with virtually everyone in the non-religious community (aside from those devoted to keeping Bibi in power), are of the opinion that yeshiva students are just as obligated in army service as everyone else. Still, as a practical matter, many people would settle for a compromise in which charedi yeshiva students receive an exemption (but not financial benefits) as long as charedim who are not in yeshivah would enlist.

The absolutely crucial IDF need is...

The Rot Runs All The Way Through

Trigger warning: If you care about Israel and the Jewish People, this post will be deeply disturbing.

While soldiers are killed, while soldiers commit suicide, while reservists are away from their families for nearly two years due to the manpower shortage, causing the shattering of careers and family life and sometimes marriages, charedim continue to refuse to help ease the burden. These are things that I’ve been writing about steadily, but here is a shocking video interview with several charedi ...

Adventures in Exotica

Preparing one of our exotic feasts for the Biblical Museum of Natural History is always an adventure. And by “adventure,” I mean something with thrills and excitement along with intense stress!

There was the time that the yeshiva walk-in freezer in which we were storing a swordfish suddenly broke, leaving me frantically calling around different yeshivos until we found another, and having to get samples of the fish tested for safety. There was the time that some very special geese escaped, which ...

"It's The Least I Can Do"

There’s a story circulating regarding one of the tragic IDF soldier deaths last week. Someone making a shiva call saw a chossid also in attendance. Since the chossid looked a little out of place, the person asked if he was related or had some other connection. The chossid replied that he had no connection at all. He said that he was making a shiva call because “it’s the least that I can do.”

I saw several people sharing this story as being something inspirational, which shows not just the greatne...

The Lions are Out!

The IDF may just have concluded Operation Rising Lion, but some other lions are also rising up on behalf of Israel. My new book The Lions of Zion: Biblical Natural History and the Significance of Israel just came off the press!

It’s all about the animals and plants of the Bible and Jewish tradition (along with minerals and other aspects of nature), and how they demonstrate the connection of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel. The second part of the book delves into history and politics, sho...

Bnei Brak's Fatal Mistake

With the Iran war being concluded (at least for now), let’s look back at some of the theological messaging that was presented. Right after the first wave of missile attacks, the US edition of Yated Neeman published an article by their correspondent from Israel, Tzvi Yaakovson. He wrote as follows:

“In Bnei Brak, unlike elsewhere in the country, residents were calm. The Chazon Ish famously said that the zechus of Torah learning will prevent missiles from landing in the city, and they relied on his...