Yesh Atid: Ours is the Party of the Future

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rabbi-pinchos-lipschutz-By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

A forgotten chapter of the modern Jewish experience in Eretz Yisroel relates to the vicious clashes that took place regarding tefillah at the Kosel. The Arabs, with the encouragement of the British overseers of what was known then as Palestine, did all they could to restrict Jewish access and prayer at our holiest site.

The issue led to periodic Arab violence. Following one such flagellation during the period of the British Mandate, one of the Englishmen hit upon an idea. He sought to forge a compromise to quell the disturbance. He approached the Jewish Agency, the organized Zionist leadership body prior to the establishment of the state, and told its functionaries that if the Jews would agree to formally relinquish ownership of the Kosel, Arab resistance to their presence in Palestine would significantly simmer down and the Jews would be able to look forward to a peaceful co-existence.

The British diplomat assured the Jewish Agency that the agreement would be nothing more than a symbolic formality. They would sign a worthless document, and be guaranteed that nothing regarding their access to the Kosel would change.

As taken as they were with the proposal, the secular Zionists knew that they needed the Yishuv Hayoshon on board if they were to be able to pull off the stunt. Jewish Agency representatives hurried to Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, certain that in this instance of pikuach nefesh, even the inflexible rov would see things their way. No doubt he would agree to sign the paper and, with that, put an end to the contentiousness and rioting.

Instead, Rav Yosef Chaim heard the proposal and shrugged.

“The Kosel isn’t mine,” he responded. “It’s the Ribbono Shel Olam‘s. I have no authority to give it or take it.”

Frustrated, the politicians ran to Rav Avrohom Yitzchok Kook, expecting his easy concurrence. After they presented the plan, Rav Kook shrugged. “The Kosel isn’t mine,” he said. “It’s the Ribbono Shel Olam‘s. I have no authority to give it or take it.”

There was a time not that long ago when everyone realized that the mekomos hakedoshim, the holiest places in the world, much like the ideals and values of Yahadus, aren’t subject to sale or negotiation, and that matters of hashkofah aren’t things that one barters or bargains over, like the price of a used car.

Times have changed. Now, those who maintain that certain values are more sacred than our limited understanding of them are considered divisive extremists. The others, the self-appointed brokers for the Shulchan Aruch, are the agents of reason and unity.

The Kosel as we know it may change drastically in the coming months. Natan Sharansky, the famed former Russian refusenik who now heads the Jewish Agency, has proposed a compromise to diffuse simmering tensions over the continued untraditional prayers at Judaism’s holiest site. Last week, on Rosh Chodesh, a group of women, no doubt bursting with zeal and passion to pray, were arrested for wearing talleisim and tefillin and thus defiling the holiness of the place. Their arrests came at the same time Sharansky’s solution to the festering problem was publicized.

Sharansky would keep the existing arrangement as it is and construct a new plaza of equal size at the beginning of the Kosel, to the right of the present plaza. That new area would be open to anyone to conduct any type of service they please.

After the arrests on Thursday, the Jewish Agency once again urged compromise. “The events at the Western Wall today are one more reminder of the urgent need to reach a permanent solution and make the Western Wall once again a symbol of unity among the Jewish people, and not one of discord and strife,” the agency said in a statement.

With the makeup of the new government, one expects many such issues to be decided in a way that is contradictory to halacha and Torah hashkofah. Compromise will be the new mantra. The direction the country has been taking since the days of Menachem Begin will now, at least temporarily, be brought to a swift halt. The terrible battles that erupted with regularity and did not always end favorably for traditional Judaism will be the stuff of headlines once again.

In those days, the leftists were in firm control of the country, with the Mizrachi as a fixture of the labor governments. They had the money, power and prestige, while the chareidim, Sefardim and right-wingers had nothing. There were no great expectations from the government, and the role of frum politicians largely consisted of push-back, going to war when the government crossed the line on issues such as giyus banos and nituchei meisim.

Financial support for yeshivos was non-existent, but Ben Gurion’s status quo on religious issues preserved several cardinal areas of traditional Jewish conduct. Shabbos, marriage, divorce, kashrus, geirus, rabbonus and botei din were, for the large part, left alone. There was never a serious attempt to extend the compulsory draft to yeshiva students.

But it’s a new era now. Everything is on the table again. The ruling coalition revels in the image bestowed upon them by a deferential media – a media of open-minded progressives – while the traditionalists are out-of-touch extremists. They have very effectively marginalized us and corralled us into a corner, where we can do little more than shout.

The party founded and propelled to success on its promise to pull yeshiva bochurim away from their shtenders has as its token chareidi a young man who learned in yeshivos. Thus, he is considered an authority on Torah, on mesirus haTorah, and on what is best for chareidim. The former yeshiva talmid who sold his soul for a bit of attention and relevance arrived in America being hailed as a conquering hero. This man, who proudly sits on the wagon that every single chareidi rabbinic leader has denounced in the strongest terms, was given a warm Orthodox and secular welcome.

In case you are wondering what he is about, we will let his own remarks speak for him. Dov Lipman, the so-called chareidi member of Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, doesn’t mince words about his philosophy in comments published by Times of Israel:

“This whole daas Torah phenomenon, where a rabbi decides everything in my own life, is something that I think is also foreign. People ask me: which rabbi did I ask before I joined Yair Lapid? I made a decision. I spoke to some people for advice, I did talk it over with some people, because I wanted to make sure, but I didn’t ask for a p’sak. It’s not halacha. Halacha is: is this pot kosher or not kosher? If you don’t know the halacha yourself, you ask the rabbi for that. The idea that the control over our community, and this degree of getting involved in politics – we never had this before.

“In the Hasidic community, I think you had it more. If you study history, a lot of this started happening during the Enlightenment, where the Hatam Sofer [coined the phrase] that chadash assur min haTorah. That’s where all this originates from, for sure. I just feel that the lack of willingness to study basic history and understand what our rabbis used to be like – the average kid in a Haredi school doesn’t know who the Rambam was…

“They’ll open up a Talmud and they’ll read a line in the Talmud. And then they’ll read the Rashi and then they will read the Tosfot and then they will read the Rishonim on it and then the Aharonim on it and they’ll spend a day analyzing that line of the Talmud and all the commentaries, and that’s it… Nashim and Nezikin: Women-related issues and damage are the two primary issues that the yeshivas deal with. I would have a much harder time making my argument if we saw tens of thousands of the most brilliant Talmudic scholars who mastered every possible classic text and were writing great works of new thought and ideas. I’d still argue my case, but it’d be harder for me. But we don’t see that. You don’t see the results…

“While they learn, maybe, all of a sudden in the middle of the page, you’ll have a statement that relates to what you are learning about being a nice, good person. But that’s not the focus of it. The whole notion of derech eretz kadma leTorah – I don’t see it.”

The arrogance of his certainty that he has what it takes to make decisions that will affect the future of the yeshiva community is frightening and reminds me of something that Rav Aharon Kotler once said.

The Lakewood rosh yeshiva was meeting with several rabbonim and laypeople, discussing the course of action in regard to a particular issue. Rav Aharon heard the opinions of the various participants and then related the manner in which he thought they should proceed.

The rosh yeshiva spoke and the people listened, realizing that his words weren’t mere conjecture, but rather daas Torah emanating from a Talmudic giant with a brilliant mind infused with Torah greatness and a heart that pulsated with responsibility for Torah. One layman argued with Rav Aharon. Responding to him, the rosh yeshiva related his position once again, explaining the Torah’s directive as to how they should act.

“I’m very sorry,” the man persisted, “ubber ich farshtei nit. I don’t understand your opinion.”

The blue eyes of Rav Aharon flashed fire. “Un ah Tosafos farshteit ihr yoh? And a Tosafos you do understand?”

The debate was over.

Rabbi Lipman, we really are very sorry for you that you so misunderstand what goes on in yeshivos. You don’t comprehend what they are teaching in yeshivos or why chareidim aren’t nicer or more pleasant. You don’t appreciate why we humble ourselves before Torah leaders and why we follow their directives. You don’t grasp the role of chareidim in society or why you aren’t viewed as a savior by the Olam HaTorah, whom you claim to care for.

There is something that goes beyond reason, something truer than the math and science that you revere. We are frum and committed to each word of the Torah and each nuance of halacha, because it was given to us by Hashem, not because it meshes with science and not because it is popular or wins us accolades.

Just as we perform mitzvos with reverence and joy, cherishing the minhogim and mesorah without thinking or caring about whether or not Mayor Bloomberg is happy with them, we learn Torah not to please you, Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennet, your party or your government. We do it because we are links in a chain that stretches back to Har Sinai, when we received a gift and a mandate of vehogisa bo yomam volaylah.

The chaver Knesset recalls a period in his life when he merited tasting amal haTorah:

“Studying Torah day and night is what I went through one year when I was in yeshiva – one year, when I left the beit midrash at 1:30 in the morning and was back in the beit midrash at 6:30 in the morning. I was just on fire in learning, so to speak. And then after a year – I loved it but you can’t do more of that… It’s not a normal thing for a human being to be studying Torah, full-fledged, day and night. It’s hard to do that. How many kids can really do that?

“I think it’s the other way round: The guys who study Torah on the train on the way to work in Tel Aviv every morning are the princes of the Jewish people. They’re the princes of my world. Because they’re in a difficult environment to both work and maintain their [study schedule], but they’re studying and praying on the train… And that’s why I am fully comfortable in Yesh Atid, and I am certainly, from my end, encouraging that we stick this out.”

As he does every year, the Yerushalayimer rosh yeshiva, Rav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, addressed a gathering for hundreds of talmidei hayeshivos the Shabbos following Pesach. There was a key difference this year, however, Rav Ezrachi is suffering from a heart ailment and is extremely weak. He was advised not to make the trip and not to speak. He responded that he could not stay away. He attended, he said, “in order to charge the soldiers in what will be a victorious battle against the machshevet haresha.”

“Can those who wish to legislate when, where and how much we should learn ever comprehend the turmoil within a bochur who can’t understand a Rav Akiva Eiger?” Rav Ezrachi cried out in pain. “Do they know what it means not to sleep a whole night over difficulty understanding a Gemara, or a Rishon, or an Acharon? Do they know what amal haTorah means? There is no way they can understand that.

“I cannot explain to those who live in darkness, yoshvei choshech, mah zeh ohr yom, the light of Torah,” he continued.

“They want to shut our faucets and cause that no money will flow to yeshivos. Doing so will cause them to dry up. Although it may be difficult temporarily, we will persevere. Hashem will find a way to provide for us. They will be facing drought.

“Our response must be to study Torah with a bren, with fire, and to know that when we are learning and have a kushya, the world exists upon that kushya. We will fight and defeat them by appreciating Torah, by not resting until we understand the real p’shat of what we are learning. That is what must envelope our being.”

The message to the politicians and activists is that, just like the Kosel, limud haTorah and the values and beliefs of lomdei Torah are neither ours to negotiate nor theirs to analyze and develop. They are not subject to compromise.

Rav Bentzion Halberstam, the Kedushas Tzion of Bobov, led one of the most prestigious yeshivos in Galicia. He was told about a bochur who had begun conversing with young Maskilim in town, hanging around them during his free time.

The boy maintained his learning and davening schedule, and other than sitting in conversation with the others, there was no discernible impact on his conduct.

The rebbe called him in and asked him why he was socializing with these Maskilim.

“Look at me,” said the bochur. “It doesn’t affect who I am. I am the same person whether I hang around them or not. What’s the big deal?”

The rebbe looked at him lovingly and said, “Please translate the following words from the tefillah of Velamalshinim in Shemoneh Esrei: ‘Vehazeidim meheirah se’aker useshaber usemager.'”

The bochur replied that it is a request that the enemies of our people be uprooted and cast down, with us asking Hashem to destroy them and lower them.

“Yes,” said the rebbe, “that is the translation of se’aker useshaber, but what about the word usemager?”

The bochur responded that he did not know what that word meant.

The rebbe looked into his eyes and, without telling him what the word meant, taught him a lesson for life. “Just admit to me one thing,” said the rebbe. “If it’s next to se’aker useshaber, it can’t mean anything too nice, right?”

The boy got the message.

Whatever the new chaver haknesset may or may not believe, and however sincere he might be, he should take a moment to look at the people around him, his dear friends in the party with whom he proudly serves and claims to enjoy “such unity.” The truth is neither their guide nor primary interest: The advancement of the fallacious agenda is.

He should look at the coalition partners and their stated goals and take a moment to reflect on the Bobover Rebbe’s question.

Those who welcomed him to their shuls and schools and grant him favorable publicity would do well to ask themselves what flag they are waving when they applaud him and which value system they are subscribing to when they share drinks and backslap “se’aker useshaber.”

We, the legions of bnei Torah and our families, led by our courageous, selfless leaders, have a path with a rich past and a rich future. We know who we are and we know where we are headed. In short time, the new chaver haknesset will have outlived his usefulness to the people who put him in power, and then, when he’s cast aside like yesterday’s leftovers, he might remember, with a pang of guilt, the year that he spent learning day and night. He will be welcomed to return, because we – our yeshivos, shiurim and chavrusos – will still be here.

Because we are the ones who have a future. We are the ones of yesh atid. Ours is the party of the past, present and future, the avar, hoveh and atid. Times ahead will be difficult, but we will not be parched. They will be. As they stumble about in darkness, without the light of truth, we will be basking in the glow of Abaye and Rava, Rashi and Tosafos, the Rambam, the Ramban and the Rashba, the Ketzos and the Nesivos, Rav Chaim and Rav Aharon, as well as the giants of our day.

Heimoh koru venofolu va’anachnu kamnu vanisodad. Hashem hoshiah hamelech ya’aneinu.

{Matzav.com Newscenter}


44 COMMENTS

  1. very kind of Rabbi Lifshitz to call Dov Lipman a “Rabbi’. In fact, he does have semicha from Ner Israel in Baltimore. This fellow’s whole claim to fame is simply that he has a charedi semicha- whay not pull the rug out on him??

    I thik people should call out on this!

  2. Your article misstates the law… No one is being forced into the army, you just don’t get state money if you don’t serve. Please source direct quotes from the law that support your position otherwise you are just propogandizing.

  3. Rabbi. Liphschitz,
    By claiming that the Torah belongs only to those who study in Yeshiva full time, you are belittling our ancestors who for over 2 millennia have survived in Galus by working hard for a living, and keeping a “Kevious”
    for learning Torah, before or after work. This is how we survived the Galus, and this is how thousands of Erliche Yidden live their lives today. By claiming that the only way to learn is by being in Yeshiva all day, you are remaking history, and offending all the many thousands of committed Yidden, who’s only crime is that they want to earn a living!

  4. Wonderful article. The Rav eloquently explains the beauty of life immersed in Torah. However, I think this rav for yesh atid also has good points. Not everyone is cut out for learning all day every day. Some people are doers, some are teachers, others are musically inclined, or poetic, or love nature and the berish. All these passions must be channeled towards avodas Hashem, rather than telling kids they’re only good if they’re in kollel.

  5. The sinas chinam continues unabated.

    Dov is spot on in his analysis and he is not alone.
    Rabbi Dov Lipman is a hero. He represents a growing trend of charedim who are tired of the status quo. Where were you when the girls were being spit on and harassed??! Dov was there fighting the kannoim and you were here writng op-eds defending them.

    Boruch hashem for Dov for speaking truth to power and making a difference.

    By the way “usmager” means to cast down.

  6. Rabbi Shmuel Lurie Shlita of Balt relates that when Yeshivas Ner Yirael was still on Garrison Blvd a rat crept it`s way into the Beis Medrash the startled American bochurim did not know what to do. There was a Yid from der heim who learning in the Beis Medrash . The bochurim thought that perhaps someone who grew up in a shtetel would know how to better deal with this. So they asked him how do you get a rat out of the Beis Medrash he answered- no problem give him semicha uhn er vert gliech arois gayin !

  7. “You don’t comprehend what they are teaching in yeshivos”

    I suspect that Rabbi Lipman, with semicha from Ner Yisrael, knows very well what gets taught in yeshivot. The question is really on Rabbi Lipschutz — this essay is a spectacular example of lashan hara and motzi shem ra.

  8. No.4 !!!!
    I am sure that you are well meaning. However, to call Sharansky a fraud is an outrage. He is more of a Jew than you, I, and everone here mentioned or cited – combined!! His sacrifices for Yiddishkeit eclipses these petty discussions. He is married to a true Tzadekes. His perspective is more global, eteranal, and historical, gained at great sacrifice. Do not discount him.

  9. Typical Liberal response! Sharansky is not a Shomer Sabbos so how can you state that he is “more of a Jew” than all of us Frum Yidden combined?! You are a fool

  10. I agree with practically nothing that Dr. Charlie Hall says. However, I am in agreement with him here. The article clearly comes from a place that has much more to do with hating the “other” rather than love for a fellow Yid, however misguided or otherwise.

    Can we disagree in a civil manner? This will bring nobody closer to Yiddishkeit, but will serve as fodder for those who want to actively dismantle the Torah infrastructure as it currently exists. Not a smart move, in my opinion.

  11. I would like to just second the comment by “torahis1” (#9) . This post is classic sinat chinam that will lead to the destruction of the Jewish soul. Furthermore, This post is very reminiscent of the kind of animosity that existed within the Jewish community that ultimately brought down the Beit HaMikdash. We should all learn from our own history and not keep repeating our mistakes. Never give up one scintilla of Halacha but do so with class, love, respect, understanding and kindness.

  12. The louder those of the ilk of Rabbi Lipschutz squeal and froth at the mouth, the more those of us who are trying to prevent Judaism from turning into another Islam know that we’re on the right track. I’m proud of my friend Dov Lipman and very impressed with Yesh Atid for their part in helping to normalize this country and wrest from the jaws of fanaticism.

  13. #10 Ridiculous mashul with zero basis.

    Rav Lifshitz would have been a tormented individual living with the 12 shevatim.

  14. Dear Rav Lipschutz Shlita
    Perhaps I have not been as fortunate as you to become an expert in Torah, but the little Torah that I have learned included that one should not judge a person until he has been in his place. Since I assume you have never served years in solitary confinement in a Russian prison I would caution you in passing judgement on Natan Sharansky.
    The tone of your attack on a fellow Rabbi discourages me from learning more Torah and is a chillul shem shamayim barabim. You are entitled to disagree with Rabbi Lipman and even to challenge his position. However quoting statements out of context in order to disparage a Rabbi and to support your own view is not the way of Torah debate. If people see that this is the way of Torah scholars they will chas vshalom not yearn for the keter Torah. In your righteous zealousness to protect the Torah you have publicly trampled on a Rabbi, a moseir nefesh, and the Torah itself. I urge you to protect Torah through ways of peace and pleasantness. Es Vaheiv Bsufa

  15. The tone of this article by R. Lipshutz is really very disturbing. This comes very close to sinat chinam in my book. As a Torah-observant Jew I am very concerned for Klal Israel when I read things like this coming from leaders within our community. There is of course a place for disagreement but it should really be done with kavod in the spirit of ben adam l’chavero, and I think R. Lipshutz failed in this regard.

    For what it is worth, I for one think Rabbi Lipman should be praised, and he has my full support!

    We exclaim: “Am Yisrael chai!” not just or only am charedi…

  16. This continuing spewage of Loshon Hara, Motzei Shem Ra, and hatred towards other Jews only proves how worthless the current-day Haredi education is.

    Rabbi Lipschutz is a poor example of Haredi Rabbonus.

  17. Perhaps Rabbi Lipschutz should do some more studying and he will learn that v’higisa bo yomam v’laila was not part of our chain back to Sinai because it was not taught at Sinai but in Yehoshua!

  18. #6 you can go on and on- this will not change the pride of hakb”h are the bnei hayeshivos that also need to make a living but are willing to skimp on all excesses so as to be dah-vook ba-hashem ?? ??? ??? yes the people who take off theirglasses so as not to see shmutz in the street as opposed to people who have no problems riding big city mass transit and subject their neshanos to such filth. ???? ???? ? ?? ??? ???

  19. #13 “his sacririces for yiddishkeit…”

    he doesnt know what yiddishkeit loks like-pressing an agenda to have women wear talleisim and tefillin what yiddishkeit is that!

  20. I just want to second the comment above from insider.
    Nathan Sharansky spent 9 years in the Soviet gulag being moser nefesh for Judaism. No one sitting in their comfortable chair reading matzav has the right to call him a fraud.

  21. This article couldn’t be more divisive and hateful. Go perform your beloved metzitza b’peh somewhere where Bloomberg won’t find you.

  22. Others have pointed out Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz’s vitriol toward Dov Lipman. I feel compelled to point out that his claims about “the secular Zionists” agreeing to renounce any claims to the Kotel to be a complete distortion of what actually occurred during the late 1920’s. Those interested in the truth can easily research and find the historical facts.

  23. wow beautiful article!

    # 6 All throughout Galus we were sustained by those who were moser nefesh to learn torah whether full time (YES they were even then!) or even kovea Itim. Halevai that today with ALL the chareidim learning full time we should reach the amount of hours that they learned.

    If we all agree that the torah is the main focus of our life, I’m not really sure how someone that dedicates his life to learn torah ALL day, becomes the shaigetz………..

  24. “We are the ones of yesh atid. Ours is the party of the past, present and future… as they stumble about in darkness, without the light of truth, we will be basking in the glow of Abaye and Rava, Rashi and Tosafos, the Rambam, the Ramban and the Rashba”

    How can you possibly argue this openly?

    Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam both were wine merchants, Rambam a physician and philosopher , Rashba a financier

    They all worked secular occupations to make a living…and were also great Torah scholars at the same time.

  25. I have no doubt, Rabbi Lipschutz, that you are sincere in what you say. But I must agree with the comment that described this article as a spectacular example of lashon hara and motzi shem ra. You presume to know what motivates Rabbi Lipman and impute to him the lowest possible impetus (“sold his soul for a bit of attention and relevance”)? Great job of being “dan l’kaf zechut.” I have no doubt that if you did the menshlich thing and sat down with Rabbi Lipman for a few hours, you would walk away with a very changed perspective. And you know what, while we are at it, let me take you on a walking tour of numerous chareidi yeshivos, and we can observe together just exactly how many of the talmidim are really sitting there and shteiging away. This whole argument of “ripping talmidim away from their shtenders” is phony, a classical straw man, an unbelievable distortion of reality. So very many of those so-called talmidim wouldn’t even be recognized by their shtenders, having hardly ever met in the beis medrash. But worst of all is that your hubris apparently prevents you from having the slightest comprehension of the extent of the chillul Hashem being caused by all the vitriol and sinas chinam being spewed now by so much of the Chareidi leadership. And by the way, here is a news flash: you might want to take a bit of a survey of the average Chareidi man in the street; I assume that you would be shocked at how much of the Chareidi hoi polloi secretly supports what Rabbi Dov Lipman and others are trying to accomplish now. In my humble opinion, your time would be much better spent in trying to build bridges and achdus among Klal Yisrael rather than writing articles that will only inflame the situation further.

  26. This whole essay is silly. No one is proposing anything that would prevent a Yid from learning or following Halacha as much as they like, as long as they have a way to feed themselves. If they can’t then they will have to earn and learn.

    Since he lives in New York, he will have to awaken to the fact that B”H there are now 6,000,000 yidden living in Eretz Yisroel and someone has to pay the bills.

    Has the modern Haredi credo become “I’ve already got my Olam Habah, everyone else can go to gehinnom”? Moshiach will only come when people care about their neighbors Olam Habah more than they care about their own.

  27. Wow you have gotten all the Lipman sympathists out of their caves with authentic daas Torah once again. Good on you, rabbi.

    Great story with Bobover and great tzushtell.

  28. Dear Rabbi Lipschutz,
    Please re-evaluate the purpose of this kind of article. We are in a struggle for the yeshiva world but this battle will never be won with loshan hara.

  29. To all who question the article please see Mishna Yoma 38a regarding those who wish to diminish kvod shomayim & the appropriate pasuk that we are to associate with them. Also see Shemesh Marpeh Y”D 52 where Rav Hirsch Zt”l applies the rules of chochom sheasar to austrit. Not like our MK who rules this applies only to pots and pans. In addition see Igros Moshe O”C 4:32 that there is a mitzva medivrei kabalah of chaver ani lechol asher yeraioocha. In the MK`s version it probably says it`s a mitzvah to be chaver leish mashchis & connects this with the MK`s Rambam. What exactly was he doing in the Beis Midrash until 1:30am term papers?

  30. Reb Pinchos

    I would recommend that the next time you go to Eretz Yisrael, you get out a bit. Go to the Hesder Yeshivos in Shaalvim and Yerucham and hear an Iyun shiur based on a Reb Chaim or a Ketzos. Also, make sure to stop in on a high tech facility that invents medical devices that enhance the quality of Yidden and all humanity. (That’s where the Daf Yomi learner from Raanana was traveling to on the train.)

    Then, re-write the essay and try to fit all of this into your worldview and reality.

  31. Dear Rabbi Lipshutz, I understand your concerns about the strong possibility of changes to the status of Charedim in Israel.

    I understand why you are concerned, you are quite simply afraid. And why are you afraid? Because you have been raised to believe that there is only one way to be Jewish…your way. And since Jews have exclusive title to the word of God and you are the only real kind of Jew you must in fact be wearing the robes of the king himself. Thus clothed with the word of God you reject all discussion, all debate with anyone unlike yourself.

    But in doing so you reject the methods of Chazal, who so revered opposing opinions that they did not let any drop from the Sacred Talmud. You also deny the fundamental truth of Tzelem Elokim.

    I am sorry indeed that your Judaism has no room for other people in it, because a Judaism without room for other people surely has no room for God.

  32. Beautiful article, Rabbi Lipschutz. As far as where Rabbi Lipman got his smicha doesn’t matter. He and the other Rabbi Piron, both associated with this notorious new party, Yesh Atid, are no Rabbis. They wear ‘masks’. It was evident when the so-called religious Naftali Bennett stubbornly paired himself up with this guy, Lapid, the son of his notorious father, Tommy Lapid, who literally hated the religious Jews, that something was rotten in Denmark. Jews must become aware of what is now transpiring in the State of Israel. They are literally trying to make it a state of its citizens, uniting the so-called
    ‘faiths’, Judeo-xtian hookups (literally) with the missionizing going on both openly and covertly, with the help of many MK’s in the knesset and hierarchy in the IDF. What is going on is more sinister than what the average Jew reading his newspapers reads, hears and understands because you won’t find these fact there. Recommend very highly that all begin reading JewishIsrael.com on the web, to get all the news that’s really fit to print. Excellent website to get an understanding of current events in E.Y. To the posters here who think they know better, they better open their eyes and learn the truth. Yesh Atid is a No-Atid party.

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