Natan Slifkin's Blog, page 7

The Charedim Officially Secede

Finally, the fig leaf is off.

No more can it be pretended that this is about protecting Torah study. Nor can it be claimed, as Rabbi Moshe Hauer of the OU did, that charedi leaders are secretly working on army integration for charedim who are not in yeshivah. And it certainly can’t be claimed that they are quietly open to change on a slow pace.

Leading figures of the major chassidic sects - Gur, Tzanz, Vizhnitz, Belz - along with a major Sephardic authority and R. Machpud have signed an announceme...

And Now They're Calling Us "Antisemites"

(Pictured above: Antisemites, or outstanding Jews?)

In the previous post, we discussed how the “Gedolim” branded anyone who wants charedim to help relieve the crushing burden on reservists rather than increase it as “persecuting the world of Torah.” Now the charedi establishment has gone even further, branding us all as antisemites.

This followed the unfortunate event in which some unidentified crazy person set fire to a synagogue used by former Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef. The motives are unknown,...

The "Gedolim" Slander the Rest of Israel

I have some posts in the works about such fascinating topics as medical cases involving pigs and the rationalist/ mystical divide, and a Chinese scam involving leopards and specifically religious Jewish victims (which is not the one I posted about a few weeks ago!). But these will have to be put on hold because there is a relentless progression of appalling things happening with charedim and the army draft that need to be called out.

Last week, the “Council of Gedolei Torah” of Agudas Yisrael in ...

The False Dilemma

The charedim are finally seriously threatening to bring down the government, due to it not passing an “Enlistment Law.” The reason why such a law has not passed until now was originally due to opposition by Yoav Gallant; since Bibi got rid of him, Yuli Edelstein is the last Likud member standing in the way, and he is more difficult to dislodge.

Typically, there is all kinds of misinformation being spread. So here’s some mythbusting.

The “Enlistment Law”

The so-called “Enlistment Law” (chok giyus) b...

"Rav Chaim Can't Be Wrong!"

In a recent argument with someone about charedim avoiding serving in the IDF, my disputant brought what he thought was a dispositive proof for his position:

Torah is the ultimate Divine source of wisdom

Rav Chaim Kanievsky knew the entire Torah

Rav Chaim held that yeshiva students shouldn’t serve in the IDF

QED!

You might wonder why he mentioned Rav Chaim Kanievsky in particular. (And it is actually somewhat ironic, because Rav Chaim himself served in the army, back in 1948, albeit doing little more ...

To Become a Jew

My neighbor told me a hilarious story. She asked ChatGPT to come up with topics for a podcast about conversion to Judaism. It came up with: “Conversion and the Orthodox World: Stories & Halachic Challenges. Bring in BTs, gerim, and poskim to discuss the beauty and complexity.” Very impressive! It further suggested some guests for the podcast: “Anonymous ger tzedek voices and converts like Rabbi Dr. Natan Slifkin.” !!!

Now my neighbor knows that I am not a convert (she not only knows me, but also ...

Yeshivos: Blight or Blessing?

As we approach Chag Matan Torah, let’s consider whether the institutions professionally dedicated to Torah - yeshivos - are a blight on society or a blessing.

I spent many years in yeshiva. At the time I was, of course, convinced that I was in the greatest environment in the world, doing the best possible thing. Completely isolated from wider society, I was dedicated to doing nothing other than learn Torah every day until late at night, including Fridays and Motzai Shabbos. And the yeshiva made i...

"You're Just A Charedi-Basher!"

Lately there has been a spike in those who condemn me for criticizing (or, as they call it, “bashing”) various aspects of charedi society. “It's lashon hara!” “It’s a chillul Hashem!” “You just have an axe to grind because your books were banned!” “You're just preaching to the choir, what can your blog accomplish?!” And so here’s my response.

“It's Lashon Hara - it's forbidden!”

No, it isn't.

Relating negative facts about others is permitted when it is beneficial. It is extraordinary that the works...

CENSORED: Yom Yerushalayim

In my numerous years spent in intensive study at various charedi yeshivos, I was never once aware when it was Yom Yerushalayim. There were no celebrations, no speeches about the significance of either the extraordinary military victory or the liberation of Jerusalem, no Hallel, and we said tachanun as usual. It wasn’t one of the most momentous days in history for the Jewish People in the last 2000 years, it was just another Monday.

You might think that this is no different from the charedi studio...

A Tour for Gur

Six groups of Gur Chassidic kids came to The Biblical Museum of Natural History for tours today. But of our five wonderful guides, one got married yesterday (to our receptionist), one is the father of the guide who got married, one was just called back to army reserve duty, one fell down the stairs last night and can't walk (I seem to recall that this is the second time this has happened), and one is female and unacceptable for Gur.

And so the administration staff hauled me out of my office, wher...