Thursday, September 17, 2015

Gedolim in Israel severely criticize those who don't accept their appointment for Meir Seminary

Kikar Shabbat


גדולי ישראל במכתב חריף: "מנסים לסלף ובאים בכוח הזרוע"
לאחר מסע הרדיפה של אנשי 'הפלג הירושלמי' נגד מינוי הרבנית רחל בורנשטיין למנהלת סמינר מאיר יוצאים גדולי ישראל במכתב נחרץ בעניין • "מנסים לסלף את דברי מרנן ורבנן" • פרסום ראשון (בארץ)

סערת סמינר מאיר: לאחר מסע הרדיפות של אנשים 'הפלג הירושלמי' נגד הרבנית רחל בורנשטיין שמונתה על ידי גדולי ישראל למנהלת החדשה של סמינר מאיר בבני ברק, מינוי שאושר באופן חוקי גם על ידי עיריית בני ברק, יוצאים גדולי ישראל במכתב נחרץ בנושא.

"הננו בזה להבהיר בדבר הסמינר אשר נוסד על ידי גדולי ישראל ונוהל רבות בשנים על ידי הרב שמואל מאיר שליט"א ישלח לו ה' רפואה שלמה במהרה.

"היות והנהלת הסמינר פנתה למורי דרכו מרנן ורבנן גדולי ישראל שליט"א, כי יש צורך לחזק את צוות ההנהלה, ע"י הוספת מנהלת פעילה לסמינר ולאחר שהרב מאיר הגיש מיוזמתו את התפטרותו לאחראים ע"כ ברשות המקומית.

"ולאחר בירורים מדוקדקים הוחלט ע"י גדולי ישראל כי הרבנית בורנשטיין תחי' היא הראויה ביותר לנהל מוסד חשוב זה, והננו בזה לחזק את ידיה בהמשך עבודת הקודש בחינוך בנות ישראל לדרך ארץ ויראת שמים.

"צר לנו כי מנסים לסלף את דברי מרנן ורבנן חכמי הדור - אשר הנהגתם הם יסוד אמונתנו - בדבר הסמינר ובאים לפעול בכח הזרוע בין כותלי הסמינר ובין מחוצה לה".

את המכתב כתבו הגאון רבי יהודה סילמן והגאון רבי שבח צבי רוזנבלט ואליהם הצטרפו בחתימתם מרנן הגראי"ל שטיינמן, הגר"ח קנייבסקי והגרי"ג אדלשטיין.

Mendel Epstein's post-trial motion for acquital and prosecutor's opposition






Yom Kippur is about to collide with baseball, but the two go so naturally together

Washington Post    by Mendel Horowtiz

Like a field of dreams, Yom Kippur counts on ghosts to inspire. In Kevin Costner’s role in “Field of Dreams,” his character Ray Kinsella carves a baseball diamond from a cornfield after hearing a mysterious whisper, “if you build it, he will come.” Encouraged by the prophecy and by the spirits of departed ballplayers, Ray in the end discovers his estranged father behind the plate and engages him in a game of catch.

The High Holidays, too, can be stirred by voices of contrition, correction and change. On Yom Kippur, I, too, will carve something precious from a neglected past.

This year, the Day of Atonement falls on the eve of Sept. 23, when the Mets will host the Braves. For the believers in Flushing, baseball might seem delightfully temporal, repentance as distant a notion as spring.

In my synagogue, that holy day will be celebrated as an occasion of longing, an extra-inning playoff of abstinence and prayer. I may not be rooting for the home team that afternoon, but I will be encouraged by baseball’s oddities.

When Yogi Berra quipped “it ain’t over till it’s over” during the summer of 1973, the Mets were in last place, finishing a dismal 44-57. By Aug. 30 the team was 61-71, 6.5 games back with 29 to play. Before the season closed the Mets would claim the NL East, victorious in 21 of their last 29 contests. [...]

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Malka Leifer: Melbourne woman awarded $1.27m in damages over ultra-Orthodox Jewish school abuse

 
A Melbourne woman has been awarded more than $1 million in compensation for sexual abuse she suffered at an ultra-orthodox Jewish school.

The Supreme Court heard the 28-year-old was sexually abused between 2003 and 2006 by Malka Leifer, who was the headmistress at the Adass Israel School in Elsternwick. 

The court heard the woman was abused at school, on camp and at Ms Leifer's home.

Justice Jack Rush said the victim had suffered fear, uncertainty and major lifelong mental injury including self-harm and awarded her $1.27 million in damages.

The school arranged for Ms Leifer to be flown out of Australia in 2008, within hours of learning of allegations made by the victim and at least eight other girls, the court heard.

Ms Leifer is currently in Israel awaiting extradition, and it is understood she could face dozens of charges of indecent assault and rape if she ever returns to Melbourne.

She has been under house arrest in Israel since last September, but nearly a year later there still has not been an initial hearing on her extradition petition.[...]

Friday, September 11, 2015

Ya'alon: We know who was behind Duma attack


Ya'alon was asked whether security forces had apprehended those responsible for the Jewish terrorist attack which killed three members of the Dawabsheh family, to which he answered, "We know who is responsible, but we will not expose those findings in order to protect our intelligence sources." [...]

Naser Dawabsheh, a member of the family, responded to the statement saying, "Ya'alon's statement is not justified, Israel must immediately expose the murderers. They burned the whole society and not just Duma."

Dawabsheh continued to say, "I know the attack was a major incident for Israel, and that Israel wants to arrest them in order to show the world that it is a country which chases and apprehends murderers." But he also added that, "Even if they will be arrested, what will happen then? The court will just say they are crazy, and they will live out their lives in some hotel like the murderers of Mohamed Abu- Khdeir." [...]

The Dawabsheh family home was set alight on July 31st. An initial investigation revealed that masked men threw Molotov cocktails into two homes, and spray painted "Long live the messiah king," and "revenge" in

The Dawabsheh family was staying in one of the homes, while the other was vacant. The family woke up as a result of the fire, and tried to escape the flames with two of their children, four-year-old Ahmed and eighteen-month-old Ali. The family managed to escape, however infant Ali died as a result of his burns.

Saed Dawabsheh, Ali's father, succumbed to his injures a week later. Ali's mother, Reham fought for her life for over a month, but she too succumbed to her wounds on Sunday. The condition of the family's eldest son, Ahmed, has improved slightly in recent weeks, but he continues to be treated in the intensive care unit at Beer Sheva's Soroka hospital. [...]

Dr. Marc Shapiro: Be careful not to call others ignorant because of hashkofa statements - there are often conflicting statements coming from major authorities

Seforim Blog  post by Dr. Marc Shapiro

3. In my post here I quoted R. Moses Isaac Ashkenazi in his Ho’il Moshe that King David is not to be regarded as a prophet as he only had ruah ha-kodesh.

One of the commenters wrote:

Rashi Megilla 14a quotes a Halachot Gedolot which names David as [a] prophet. Rashi speaks specifically about prophets as opposed to Ruach Hakodesh, and excludes Daniel based on Megilla 3a.

Another commenter was more strident:

Wonderful example how modern scholars have no place in the Torah world! As first commenter pointed out, Dovid Hamelech is prominent in the list of 48 neviim, and there are scores of sugyos based on the nevuah of DH. The makom mizbeach, etc. Pure AmHaaRatzus!

I am not sure if I am the am ha-aretz he is referring to, which in any case would be uncalled for since I never said that David only had ruah ha-kodesh and was therefore not a prophet. All I did was point out that R. Moses Isaac Ashkenazi said this. When I called the commenter’s attention to the fact that his strong words were directed against R. Ashkenazi, he wrote:

I wouldn't start up with Hoil Moshe, but was pointing out the danger of someone reading this post, and then taking it at face value. For anyone fluent in Shas they will find numerous references to DH's nevua. Ruach HaKodesh wouldn't work for all the halachos we learn out from DH. . . . I do thoroughly enjoy your posts, but find them quite dangerous. I would prefer my children at least stick to Artscroll and have their basics –DH's nevua – straight!

Now let me say something that I did not put in the comments because I want the entire audience to see it, not just the tiny group that reads the comments. The commenter just quoted is a perfect example of one who is certain of something, and certain that the opposing position is incorrect, and this leads to very harsh language. Let’s leave aside R. Moses Isaac Ashkenazi who is not an important scholar. All would agree that R. Moses Sofer, the Hatam Sofer, is important and certainly not an am ha’aretz (which is the term the commenter used). Yet the Hatam Sofer is explicit that David was not a prophet and only had ruah ha-kodesh, which is exactly what R. Ashkenazi states and what the commenter so harshly attacks. Here are the Hatam Sofer’s words in Torat Moshe ha-Shalem, Ba-Midbar, p. 74.
הנה לא מצינו לישראל מלך שיהי' גם נביא משולח לעם כי אם משה רבינו ע"ה, דכתיב גבי' (דברים ל"ג ה') ויהי בישורון מלך, אבל שארי נביאים לא היו מלכים והמלכים לא התנבאו, ודוד המלך ע"ה רה"ק הו"ל ולא נבואה, ולכן אחז"ל (גיטין נ"ט ע"א) מימות משה עד רבי לא מצינו תורה וגדולה במקום אחד, דאלו כל הנביאים היו עליהם בגדולה השופט והמלך שבימיו, וכל המלכים אפי' דוד ושלמה היו הנביאים שבדורם גדולים מהם בתורה . . . שהרי אין מלך נביא.

This notion, that the kings were not prophets (other than Moses), is also stated in Zohar, Terumah, p. 154a, and this is presumably the Hatam Sofer’s source. I don’t deny that there are other authoritative sources that contradict this, including passages in the Talmud. Some of them are cited by R. Reuven Margaliyot in his note to the Zohar, ad loc., and we can speculate as to why the Hatam Sofer preferred the Zohar over these other sources. I cite this only to show that commenters should be very careful before labeling something as am ha’aratzus, as you never know whom you might be insulting with this comment.

WARNING: Death of couple from using blech in a sealed air conditioned room


A frum couple was found dead in their Jerusalem apartment this week which was filled with the strong smell of gas. Initial report said that they died from the gas not being turned off - which is unlikely. The gas was being used for the blech. Other reports claim that the aluminum covering the blech did not allow adequate oxygen to the fire so it produced carbon monoxide poisoning. That also is not likely.

The latest report from the fire department is that a gas fire blech was being used in an apartment that was well sealed because of the use of air conditioning. Most Israeli air conditioners provide no fresh air from the outside and thus the amount of oxygen is fixed and limited. Thus as the oxygen level became depleted from the flame, the gas flame started producing poisonous carbon monoxide instead of carbon dioxide.

WARNING: WHEN USING A GAS FLAME MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS FRESH AIR COMING IN THE ROOM

Pruzbul forms


Thursday, September 10, 2015

Rav Kanievsky's psak: Is a chicken bred to have no feathers acceptable?

Ladaat
see also HaMaayan

גאב"ד 'יורה דעה' הגאון הגדול הרב שלמה מחפוד שליט"א הציג בפני מרן שר התורה הגר"ח קנייבסקי שליט"א 'עוף קרח' תוצאה של מחקר ופיתוח ישראלי שנמשך כ35 שנה ודן עמו בנושא ההלכתי שבדבר.

כמידי שנה גאב"ד 'יורה דעה' הגאון הגדול הרב שלמה מחפוד שליט"א נכנס למעונו של מרן שר התורה הגר"ח קנייבסקי שליט"א להתברך בברכת השנים, ולהעלות בפניו את שאלותיו אודות מערכת הכשרות אותה הוא מנהל. תחילה הציג את בנו הג"ר בניהו שליט"א דיין מומחה בב"ד חשובים בארה"ק וסיפר למרן שליט"א כי הוא יד ימינו ועוזר לו בפיקוח הדוק על השחיטה המהודרת שתחת השגחתו.

בפני מרן שר התורה הונחה שאלה עקרונית הקשורה למסורת העופות הנהוגה בידינו דור אחר דור, ולדין "גלודה".
ל שולחנו של מרן שר התורה הונח תרנגול ייחודי. חי, ונקי מכל פלומת נוצות. הגר"ש מחפוד שליט"א סיפר למרן שליט"א ש"עוף קרח זה", הוא תוצאה של  מחקר ופיתוח ישראלי שנמשך כ35 שנה על ידי פרופסור אביגדור כהנר מהפקולטה לחקלאות ברחובות.
[...]

 אולם התלבטותו של הגר"ש מחפוד שליט"א הייתה בשתי שאלות מרכזיות:

א.      האם אין איסור "גלודה" חל על עוף זה, או שמא דווקא בנקלף עורו אמרינן "גלודה".

ב.       האם ניתן לסמוך על מסורת אבותיו הקיימת, וגם אם נאמר שכן, האם רשאים אנו לשנות את צורת העוף המסורתי בדמות "עוף שגדל ללא נוצות",

לאחר שהתפלפלו בסוגיא זו, כשהג"ר בניהו שליט"א מציע ראיות לכאן ולכאן, מרן שליט"א פסק: שאין לנו לשנות ממסורת העופות הרגילים בידינו ואין לקבלו עתה, גם אם הוא נראה כעוף רגיל בכל שאר תכונותיו.

Haredi IDF officer exposes leaders of anti-haredi enlistment harassment campaign


A haredi IDF officer who was one of numerous ultra-Orthodox military personnel subject to harassment by haredi extremists hired a private investigator to expose the people behind the harassment campaign.

Radical elements in the haredi community have in the past few years waged a vitriolic campaign of incitement and harassment  against haredi IDF officers involved in recruiting haredi conscripts, as well as enlisted haredi IDF soldiers.

The campaign has taken the form of posters, pamphlets and booklets with cartoons and other images that incite readers against haredi officials involved in promoting IDF service. These publications routinely depict such people as pigs and malign elements attempting to corrupt haredi youth.

In July, extremists published a booklet containing the names, photos and contact details of the most senior haredi figures community promoting haredi enlistment, as part of efforts to harass and delegitimize them. [...]

As first reported by Channel 2 on Wednesday night, Glickman became frustrated with the lack of progress and hired a private investigator to expose the people behind the campaign of harassment. 

The investigator, David Gabai, who cost the Glickman and his wife tens of thousands of shekels to hire, was able to gain access to the leaders behind the campaign and recorded four of them discussing the campaign and efforts to stage protests at Glickman’s home. [...]

On the basis of the recordings, Glickman has filed a civil suit against the four extremists for slander claiming NIS 2.4 million in damages.