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Passing of our great Teacher, Leader, Guide and Founder THE SANZ-KLAUZENBERGER REBBE, ZT"L '""!l}'i }'""'I' .M"Mt,t,f'i:C'I' !l..,i:i:i'l'"'l'f'-'l':ib<:C'lQ .,.. ,'lQ"Tb< His clarity of vision and complete dedication to rebuilding 'nnw1 77J have never been needed more. "tJNOn 1::> tJ7 NJ 11N" 11 woe.unto us for we have sinned." We pray that the Rebbe's, zt 11 I, family and the Jewish People be comforted along with the mourners of Zion and Yerushalayim with the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days. .AM.elliC.Otl 5'ittetlds O{y SOtlz Medic.a~ Ce~teJt/LOtliOdo ~osp1to~ M11ro~ ~osRos ~a·o~OM.1 I Write Your nL'Shana 1··ova" Message I in the Box of Your Choosing. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I continue to bringjewish I news & views from a Torah I I perspective to tens of thou- 1 {A) $100 sands ofreaders each month. I I I I I I I just write your ''L'Shana I I (B) $50 Tova" greeting in the box of I your choosing (price indi­ I I cated in lower left-hand I I corner), detach form across I dotted line, and mail the form with your check today.

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THE JEWISH OBSERVER does not assume responsibility for the Kashrus As we go to press, we record with sorrow the petira of any product, publication, or service (passing) of the Klausenberger Rebbe, Rabbi Yekusiel advertised in its pages Yehuda Halberstam, n:n::i?p'i::ii:n. © Copyright 1994 A biographical appreciation of the Rebbe is planned for a future issue. JUNE 1994 VOLUME XXVll I NO. 5 n··::i~ln I. ENGAGING THE DIVINE SPARK said: "That the Divine Spark is found Eretz Yisroel. Moreover, the Taros are with His People has already been ex­ dependent on that Land. It is not pos­ plained to me. But what is unique sible for this special, unique people to n his classic Sefer, HaKuzari 0 about His Land?" respond to the Divine without regard for (Ma amar 2,8), Rabbi Yehuda The Chaver then said, "You are the factor of place. This place-the best I Halevi has the Chaver, a man surely aware that each land produces vineyard land-will grow nothing with­ distinguished in the wisdom of the specific types of vegetation and sup­ out tending. And ifyou are going to tend Jews, say: ports different types of animal life. So the vines of Am Yisroel elsewhere, it is "The Nitzutz Ohr Eloki-the spark too do different locales foster different impossible for them to grow." of that Divine Light (of which he had national, cultural, and social charac­ been speaking earlier}-creates in Am teristics amongst its populace. Each hese are astounding words. Yisroel a predisposition to nevu'a­ produces a different kind of human Does Torah not flourish else­ prophecy. That spark of the Divine being. Should it be so difficult for you where in the world? Isn't it a Light is effective in elevating His to understand that if Hakadosh T given that "Ever since the destruction people, in His Land." Baruch Hu chose this land for this Earlier, the Chaver had explained people, that it has a segula meyu­ of the Beis Hamikdash, G-d has no that "His people"-Knesses Yisroel­ chedes for the Am Segula-that it place in His world other than the four are the heart, the treasure and the end harbors special treasures for His cubits of halachd' (Berachos 7b), re­ purpose of all existence, and that Treasured Nation?" gardless of geographic location? Nitzutz Ohr Eloki affects His People in To this the Melech Ha.Kuzrim re­ What. then, did Rabbi Yehuda sponded, "I haven't heard that the in­ His Land in a singular manner. True, Halevi have in mind? As Rav Saadya all the other lands are also full of habitants of Eretz Yisroel are better Hashem's Glory, but the spirituality people necessarily than people who Gaon said, "Israel is a nation only of Eretz Yisroel is still unique. live elsewhere." through its Taros, .. and this includes Hakadosh Baruch Hu did not entrust The Chaver replied, "Even the best Torah Shel Ba'al Peh, which was this Land to any intermediaries-not of vineyards requires tending. The Jew­ transmitted through all the millennia to any kesuyim, any veils, any ish people, in effect. are the heart of the of our existence. How could the Torah world. And this land, Eretz Yisroel. is malochim, any Sar or Sarim. All the and the Am haTorah flourish in set­ other lands, in that sense uniquely reserved forthem, providing a (kivayachal), cannot be described as special support system for them. Just tings removed from Eretz Yisroel far His Land. No other nation is called His as a whole array of activities is neces­ from the spilitual soil from which it nation. even though He is the Master sary for tending a vineyard, and if one is meant to draw strength? of the world. fails to perlonn them, then the best of Based on the writings of the Whereupon the King of the Kuzrim lands, most suitable for growing vines, Ramban, the Michtav MeEliyahu (Vol. is going to remain fallow, so too do spe­ Rabbi Bulman, noted thinker, author and lecturer, cially designed ma'asim (actions) and Ill) makes it clear that the relation­ serves as Menahel Ruchani in Yeshiva Ohr Toros (according to some Chachmei ship of the Jewish People to Eretz Yis­ Somayach, Jerusalem. 'Illis article is based on a roel while in exile is far different from presentation at the recent National Convention of Yisroel, "Toros" refers to basic con­ Agudath Israel ofAmerica. cepts in emunaand hashkafa) nurture that of the Seven Nations that once

6 The Jewish Observer. June 1994 inhabited the Land and then were ex­ pelled. Those other nations were so Even if other nations depraved in their conduct that the Land could no longer tolerate them; ever did chance to return moreover. there were no longer righ­ teous indiViduals to protect the land's to Eretz Yisroel, its inhabitants from Divine wrath: as a result the Land expelled them, deci­ landscape remained as sively and with finality-just as a per­ son with a sensitive stomach will re­ harsh and desolate for ject tainted food, never to partake of it again. them as when it was By contrast, we Jews were never Tzion until eventually Maskilim totally rejected from the Land. Yes, we totally abandoned. But wrested control of the movement from suffered exile twice: Once for a rela­ the hands of the Torah leadership. At tively brief seventy years, and then for when Jews come back to that point. the same devotion to the close to two thousand bitter years of the sanctity of the Land that had led them Golus Edom But even as we wallow Eretz Yisroel, to associate with the Chibas Tzion in alien environments, our attach­ response of the Land to Movement forced them to withdraw ment to the sacred precincts of Eretz from it. Yisroel still holds fast. Kla1 Yisroel is their return is an The political Zionist movement unlike those others, which have never then emerged, at first concentrating been welcome to Eretz Yisroel since incontrovertible sign that on the settlement and building of a their expulsion. For even if they ever secular Eretz YtsroeL ostensibly with did chance to return, its landscape they were never totally a neutral attitude as to the cultural remained as harsh and desolate for character of the hoped-for "new" Eretz them as when it was totally aban­ rejected. YisroeL until Achad Ha'am and his doned. But when Jews come back to kindred spirits entered the scene at Eretz Yisroel, the response of the one of the early Zionist Congresses. Land to their return is an incontro­ The result. indisputably, was the de­ Their vision of a newly-fashioned vertible sign that they were never to­ velopment of generations of Ovdei secular Jewish People "recreating" a tally rejected. Hashem that populated the four key new soul for Am Yisroel became the The proof: When we Jews return to cities of the Land-Yerushalayim, goal of the Zionist Movement. Kibush Eretz Yisroel, the mother country Chevron, Tsefas, and Tveria. For the hak£hillos (conquest of the communi­ opens up her arms in warm embrace. most part, they were not involved in ties) became a clearly defined agenda All of a sudden, mountains and val­ tending vines or planting fields, only for its educational system, one bent leys open up with song, trees start to with attempting to fulfill their Divine on bringing up a generation with a blossom, and the fields begin to yield strivings. They established an opera­ new Jewish identity void of Torah. At their produce. Such is the Land's re­ tive chinuch system that produced this point. most Gedolei Ytsroel dis­ lationship with us. talmidei chachamim, ga'onim and tanced themselves even further from Our dependency on the Land is the tzaddikim. unearthing the sparks of the Chibas Tzion movement. Their re­ other side of the coin, as Rabbi Divine Light that had been hidden sponsibility for the perpetuation of Yehuda Halevi and the Ramban say. from sfghtfor so many centwies. Knesses Yisroel in its pristine fonn, Great heights in Torah can be real­ demanded such a stance. i7..ed in chutz la'aretz, but one level of Il. SHIFTING EXPRESSIONS OF In a matter of a few years, World attainment forever evades us---that of CHIBAS HAARETZ War I broke out, destroying the ruach hakodesh b'Yisroel, which is kehillos-the communal structure the final rung on the ladder of spiri­ ome 140 years ago, the Chibas that had preserved Jewish communi­ tual ascent of Rav Pinchas ben Yair, Tzion Movement began to take ties over the centuries, in Eastern the ladder on which Rabbi Moshe S shape with the goal of physi­ and Central Europe. After the conclu­ Chaim Luzatto based the Mesillas cally rebuilding and sowing the sion of the War, Palestine was as­ Yeshorim. It was in quest of that lofty Land-at first in keeping with the dic­ signed by League of Nations' mandate goal, in attempt to bring this poten­ tates of the Torah. For decades, this to Great Britain. which entrusted the tial to reach the topmost rung to full movement had the support of many fate of the Yishuv to the Jewish realization. that some three hundred Gedolim of the time, including the Agency, then under the leadership of talmidim of the Ga' on of Vilna and Netziv, Rabbi Yitzchok Elchonon Chaim Weitzman. For the twenty some three hundred followers of the Spektor, Rabbi Yehoshua Kutner, the years until the outbreak ofWorld War Ba'al Shem Tov came to Eretz Ytsroel AvneiNezer, n~U7Cl11:ll, among oth­ II, the Ytshuv was under the control and rekindled the life of the new ers. Over the years, divergent forces of the Zionist establishment, with fi­ Yishuv, each group in its own way. fractured the unity of the Chovevei nancial, cultural, and educational re-

The Jewish Observer. June 1994 7 sources mainly in their hands. With to the Land du ling those twenty years broke out. But if not for the uncom­ World War II came the total destruc­ between the wars. "Your people get promising stance of the Torah lead­ tion of the Torah civilization of Eu­ six percent of entry certificates," the ers of the 20s, the 30s and the 40s, rope, of a thousand years standing. Agency told the leadership of Agudath and if not for their fierce love of the At this point we must register our Israel, with the disdain with which Land, the Torah community would strongest protest against the histoli­ one tosses a bone to a dog. And they not be floulishing in Eretz YL5roel as cal distortion, that all the ga'onimand would make sure that whatever the it is today. tzaddikim of the time did not want their followers to settle in Eretz Yis­ roel. True, they refused to join the The ga' onim and tzaddikim of the time refused to Jewish Agency. They said, "We can­ not hand over the keys ofrepresenta­ join the Jewish Agency. They said, "We cannot hand tion and legitimacy to a body and to a movement dedicated to transforming over the keys of representation and legitimacy to a the total neshama of Kial YisroeL" But never did they surrender their chibas body and to a movement dedicated to transforming Eretz YisroeL If there had been no Gerrer Rebbe, no Imrei Emes yearn­ the total neshama of Kial Yisroef." ing for the Land, would there be that mighty army of Gerrer Chassidim in Eretz Yisroel today? If there had been constituency of the recipients of the ill. THE QUESTIONS THAT WE no L'vush Mordechai of Slobodka­ Balfour Declaration and the Biitish NOW FACE Chevron, and others like him who Mandate, namely, the leaders of the settled in the Land in the 20s, would Jewish Agency, would control the for­ e brief historical survey re­ there be a Slobodka, or Chevron Ye­ mation of the new organism of the ounted above is meant to shiva, and their many offshoots in "Nation that Dwells in Zion .... " serve as the backdrop for a few Eretz Yisroel today? There was a tre­ Twenty years passed under their do­ questions. A single incident can per­ mendous upsurge of desire to come minion, and the Second World War haps convey the substance of these questions: 1he late Ponovezher Rav, Rabbi Yoseif Kahaneman, ?":it, was called upon to Good chinnuch- speak at a protest meeting in Petach Tikva in 1944. A scandalous occurrence had taken p1.ace in Ein Charod, a kibbutz is A Matter of Principal • • • that was the symbol ofanti-Torah senti­ ment in the Yishuv. TI1e Va'ad (governing council} ofsaid kibbutz, made up ofdyed­ in-the-wool neo-Stalinists, discovered that a group of retirees-fathers and zaydes ofthe kibbutznikim-were plan­ A Matter of Principal is the true, I ning to organize a minyan in Ein Clwrod, 1 heartwarming story of Rabbi Binyomin and they had brought a Sefer Torah to i Steinberg, z"l, principal of Bais their secret sanctuary. TI1e Va' ad of the 1 Yaakov-Baltimore for 30 years. kibbutz deliberated the matter and de­ cided that Ein Clwrod could never grant J Rabbi Steinberg brought genuine heart I and soul to Torah education, and in this hospitality to a Sefer Torah, not even for eloquent work by Hanoch Teller, Rabbi one single night So they deposited the Sefer Torah in a wagon-to transport the Steinberg's unique personality and I Sefer Torah safely outside the kibbutz extraordinary approach to chinnuch boundaries. I comes vividly to life. The Ponovezher Rav was then re­ 1 Here is an important book for educators, garded as the tribune of his people. He was an eloquent spokesman, who could 1I parents, and students ... an inspiring L:::======:'.J' and hopeful example of what chinnuch powerfully articulate the deepest senti­ mentsoftheTorahcommunity. So all ea­ H.C. $14.95 is all about. gerly awaited his response: "Morai v'Rabbosail Available at all Jewish bookstores or direct from An impossibly terrible thing FELDHEIM PUBLISHERS v,sa & Mastercard accepted has happened in Ein Charod, We mu.st '1. 200 Airport Executive Park Spring Valley, NY 10977 Send for your free copy take inunediale actionl" Everyone was ~:.I Tel (914) 356-2282/Tol! Free 800-237-7149 of our NEW 1994 catalog certain that he was going to call .for a

8 The Jewish Observer, June 1994 hafgana-a protest demonstration. In­ stead, he caUedfor "mobUizing an army Report From Yagur ofsofrtm (scribes} to write Sifrei Torah, A Mezuza on the Dining Room Door tefillin and mczuzos for the people ofEin Charod!" Since Yagurs founding as a Labor From personal interviews With The audience was certain that the Kibbutz 72 years ago, the doorway to some of the Yaguris, it would. seem Rav had tragically lost his senses, be· its communal dining hall has been that gradual changes have entered cause of the loss of his loved ones, his without a mezuza. That is, until several into the kibbutzniks' mindset. kehilla and yeshiva, in the war. weeks ago. It was then that several Founded by European Jews who had Let us skip thirty, forty years from kibbutzniks approached Yonatan rebelled against the religion of their that incident. In Ein Charod today, Galayin, the director of the dining hall, youth in their ardent embrace of So­ changes are taking place. Some weeks and asked for permission to post a cialism, they passed on their anti-Oati ago, in Yeshivas Ohr Somayach, a sev­ mezuza there. With little hesitation, fervor to their children. Todaywe are enty-year-old kibbutznik stood near Yonatan approved the idea, and dis­ dealing with a third generation­ me at Shachmi.s, da.vening with great patched a committee to the city to young folks who experiented neither fervor. Afterwards, he asked me, choose the "best" [i.e., most mehudar) the way of life of the shtetl of old nor "You've heard ofEin Charod? I've lived mezuza available. the fierce lajection of it that their par­ there for 24 years, ever since I made After it was mounted, there was little ents absorbed from the founders. aliyafrom England. My two sons and comment until a column, signed by "a Todays citizen of Yagur-some 1400 I recently became ba'a1ei teshuva. My little bird," appeared in the Kibbutz Bul­ souls, all told--are open to any and alf sons are now learning in 'Torah letin, saying that "if any individuals wish spiritual stirrings. As a result candle. Ve'Emuna' in Yerushalayim. I need a to decorate their homes with one, thafs lighting on the Sabbath eve is per­ yeshiva for myself." their privilege, but to put a mezuza on formed by almost all, as a matter of (We did place him in a yeshiva that the communal dining hall is unwar­ course, these past few years. And the could serve his needs.) He related that ran.ted religious .coercion." number of those keeping the Yorn KiP, his wife agreed that he deserves a A response, from Yoram Gal, was pur Fast has grown from 50 in 1973 sabbatical after those 24 years, so he quick to come: "How magnanimous of to 300 this past year. will be learning in Yerushalayim for 'little bird' to permit us a mezuza on our Who faces greater challenges-the the year. After that, he'll have reached private hornes! ... But on the dining Chareidi Jew who struggles to keep retirement age and will be able to room entrance,..-never! I would say his set times for Torah study in spite of leave the kibbutz. that whoever forbids a mezuza on the distractions, and attempts to preserve Whal triggered this personal revo· dining room entrance is guilty of reli­ a degree of purity, notwithstanding lution? "Several years ago Rav Shach gious coercion. the current street scene-or Yonatan held a drasha," he said. (I recalled 'The time has come to rnake it clear Kibbutznik, who bravely nails a how the Rosh Yeshiva had expressed that whereas Yagur may not be a reli· mezuza onto the communal dining himself in a manner that we Ameri­ gious kibbutz, we are not anti·reli­ room doorpost? can Jews find difficult to fathom.) gious." YITZCHAK MATISYAHUTENENBAUM,I "Rav Shach said very simple, direct * * * ---HAM-OD/A, JUNE 10, 1991 words. but his message went through me like an arrow, rtght here," he said, pointing to his heart. "He said to us kihbutzniks, 'What does your Yiddishkeit consist of? Davar acher (pork). and raising rabbits?' " (Many INSURANCE BROKERS 6 CONSULTANTS of us may recall that the anger with which the Rosh Yeshiva was greeted Commercial, Industrial, Residential, Life & Health. was awesome. It seemed as if the whole country foamed at the mouth with fury. But unbeknown to the me· dia, something else also ensued.) My visitor continued: "Here and 6010 · 15th Avenue/Brooklyn, N. Y. 11219 there kibbutz members, myself among them, decided to visit Rav Shach. We found a nice aUer zayde • PROFESSIONAL SERVICE • who gave each of us loving hospital· • QUALITY INSURANCE CARRIERS • ity and a warm welcome." • COMPETITIVE PREMIUMS • "Rebbe," he added, "we came out of that encounter as different people. At first we were persecuted for our BARBARA GOLDGRABEN/HESHY SCHWEBEL convictions in Ein Charod, but there

The Jeivish Observer, June 1994 9 were others like us. Now we have a depends on zechus (merit) and chov minyan And there are a lot of Jews (liability)-i.e., if we have zechusim, How does a thing like who fast on Yorn Kippur." then Eretz Yisroel can give us a full How does a thing like this happen? measure of spiritual bounty; but if, this happen? Kedushas Kedushas Eretz Yisroel did it. Not chas v'shalom, we lack the zechusim, compromise, nor sophisticated ratio­ geography per se cannot transform Eretz Yisroel did it. Not nalism. Simply the response of the vacuous people into loftier beings. We Jewish neshama to the persistent subscribe to the latter approach. Yes, compromise, nor kedushaofthe Land. the Land possesses that Nitzutz Ohr Eloh--the spark of Divine Light. But sophisticated rationalism. The Changes Taking Place only people and their supporting ac­ tions can make the Land into a posi­ Simply the response of ecause of the dangers to our tive, potent spiritual force. prtnciples of faith, which were At this critical juncture in history, the Jewish neshama to B posed by those who deviated we can take stock of the battle for the from Torah, we have at times soul of the Land, and come to the con­ the persistent kedusha of deemphasized sacred components of clusion that we are winning, one step our tradition. (Study of Tanach is but at a time. We are winning tens of the Land. one notable example.) Once secu­ thousands of children, we are taking larly-miented Jews embraced the as­ over "their" institutions, we are popu­ pecially in terms of its two major ideo­ piration of Return to Zion, religious lating "their" cities-which is perhaps logical underpinnings: Jews necessarily began disassociat­ why our "secularized" brothers are so First. the concept of "J am in con­ ing themselves from espousal of that angry. This is not solely a matter of trol of my own destiny," which tmplies eternal Jewish hope. In the interim, the growing strength of the Torah that we are capable of ushertng in a there have been heated debates as to community. We are also witness to redemptive state through human ef­ whether living in Eretz Yisroel is per the failure of the Zionist dream*-es- forts rather than through Divine provi­ se an automatic stimulus towards a '"At the same time, some Leftists have beome more dence, has failed. The current unrav­ Torah life, or whether Eretz Yisroel radical in their views: see next article. eling oflsrael's control oflarge portions of Eretz YisroeL certainly puts this view to rest. The other is the belief that we are now in the era of As'chalta d'Ge'ula-the first stages of redemp­ tion, endowing the State withrelig!Dus, messianic signif1eance-this, too, is fading from favor, for the same rea­ sons. The broad masses as well as po­ litical and intellectual leaders are com­ ing to recognize that control of Israel, the land and the state, is not firmly in NEWFAOM their hands. Many concessions lie ahead for them to maintain even par­ tial control over both. Uaiia Gtu&t As a result. many religious Zion­ ists, among them even those affiliated Jn thirty-three heartwarming, with Merkaz HaRav and the Yeshivas uplifting essays, noted author YAFFA Hesder, with whom we have had GANZ looks at the special moments strong differences in the past, have and everyday events that are the 'cinnamon & myrrh' of life: the sweet stopped saying the tefilla for the and bitter, the joyous and the tragic. Medina. What a change this repre­ sents, what a crisis in the mindset of Full of wisdom, humor, faith and many who had staked their lives on 1'.nspiration, these touching, insightful the conviction that the Medina has vignettes invite you to take a new transcendental metaphysical signifi­ look al your own life-in a way you will always be grateful for. cance. Now they are beginning to say, "We see that the chilonim are not at all H.C. $14.95 faithful to Eretz YisroeL They seem ready 'to give it all away.' So perhaps again we need to come close to our Chareidi brothers. We need to con­ nect with 'your' yeshivas."

10 The Jewish Observer. June 1994 Perhaps we should undertake an roel. Beit: Ani lo tzioni. Achshav atta in-depth investigation to identify the meivin?" ("Sir, please listen. One: I love Yes, the Land possesses inner fermentation among those who Eretz Yisroel. Two: I am not a Zionist. had once believed in the Medina as Now do you understand?"] that Nitzutz Ohr Eloki­ As'chalta d'Ge'ulafor "religious" rea­ Are we capable qf making the smne sons for forty, fifty years. Perhaps distinction for ourselves? the spark of Divine Light. they are inwardly shattered to the de­ This brings us to a piercing ques­ gree that they would respond to an tion regarding our own genuine feel­ But only people and open hand from the Torah camp, of­ ings toward Eretz YisroeL a question fering brotherhood and possibly even that was powerfully articulated by the their supporting actions spiritual community to them without Yaavetzin theSulamBeisKeL the fa­ compromise. Perhaps, for openers, mous introduction to his Siddur, can make the Land into we should engage in an open dia­ which he wrote over 200 years ago: logue, for we have much in common "We are suffering because of the a positive, potent with them. For certain, if these two sin of thinking that this or that city in camps were to find a way to reunite­ Germany, or Prague, or some other spiritual force. city can replace Yerushalayim! We taking into account that beyond built palaces and stone houses in doubt chiloniyut is on its last legs in these places. Because of this terrible Israel-we may be on the threshold of sin we have been experiencing a re­ tunes) once "walked on foot" across anew era. newal of antisemitic persecution, so Europe, many of them falling victim much overt hatred once again.·· to plague and violence along the way, Recapturing the Initiative It had happened at the end of the to be buried in alien soil. But they had Middle Ages, and after a respite, there seen a possible opening in the walls t this point let us return to our were suddenly new outbursts of that had excluded them from Eretz earlier premise, and the chal­ antisemitism, writes the Yaavetz, YisroeL so they stormed heaven and enges it presents: 'There was a "Because we have forgotten earth to reach the sacred shores. ttmewhen because others preempted Yerushalayim!" Three hundred of the Where are we? We are the real Bnei our attachment to Erelz Yisroel and chachmeihaTosefos(l2th-l3th Cen- Eretz Yisroel! Why should there be secularized it, we felt threatened, and distanced ourselves from open ex­ pression of chibas ha'aretz-.forjusti­ fiable reasons. But things have Simply the clearest, changed since. Sometimes a chance occurence can convey a major shift of perspective in most convenient and microcosm Ten years ago, ivhen I still lived in Kiryat Nachliel, in the Galil, we used the services of an electrician wlw easy-to-use English was an old Vilna maskil. He was as proud ofthe random quotes he could cite from theGemora studies ofhis youth as language he was ofthe "new" path he had chosen for himself. One particular time, he came to my apartment, clearly agitated. guide fo '"There is a six-year-old child downstairs wlw really upset me," he reported, re­ counting thefollowing exchange. The old the laws maskil had asked the child, "Do you love Eretz YisroeJ?" Thechildansweredhim "Yes,Ido." of proper "If so, then you are a Zionist," the old man said triumphantly. "No I'm not," he replied. speech~ UBut you love Eretz Yisroel, don't you?" They repeated the little dialogue once more, at which point theye!ed stretched himself to his fell height. He looked up at the old man's face and said to him "Adoni. Aleph: Ani oheiv et Eretz Yis-

The Jewish Observer, June 1994 11 among us a dimming of this holy spark, a dimtnution of this hallowed "I wish to bring these tidings to you; that you be flame? ls it because of the fact that we were involved and we will be involved inflamed with a passion, be filled with a yearning for in battle after battle for our spiritual integrity? There is so much that the Land, thirsting for it as a parched person thirsts needs to be done-there, by us. for water.... That it be the burden, the challenge of A Summons From Fifty-seven Years Ago your soul, and the sweetest of your dreams, even

eb Moshe Schonfeld, ?"YT, when you are awake."-Reb Moshe Schonfeld wrote an essay before World War II, addressed to the last R spiritual senses, to enable you to rise Knessia Gedolah (International Con· halbrah. on contemporary issues.) to a higher level, to imbibe kedushas gress) of Agudath Israel before World I wish to bring these tidings to you; that you be inflamed with a passion, be ha'aretz. {If you are not prepared to War II, which was held in Marten bad in filled with a yearning for the Land, lead a loftier existence than over here, 1937. Reb Moshe Schonfeld was the thirsting for it as a parched person no one will urge you to transfer your light hand of the Chazon Ish and the thirsts for water.... That it be the bur~ piece of America there.-N.B.J You will Blisker Rav, and his biilliant wlittngs, den, the challenge of your soul, and make it possible for us also to broaden which transcended polemics, were rec­ the sweetest of your dreams, even our boundaries and to protect our people, that they not sink into the mo­ ognized as piercing analyses of what­ when you are awake. Let this love not be simple rhetoric. Let it be crowned rass that surrounds them. !He was ever topic he approached. (TIJe follow­ with ma'asim-with actions, let it speaking of "our camp," which was tng is translated directly from a chap­ come to full realization. Go up to the then but a tiny minority, while today ter in Sefer Hashkafaseiru.1. which is land so that our communities may we are an anp.y.-N.B.] Through such recognized as contatntng definitive per­ flourish there. No, do not rush impul~ actions, you will be securing your fu­ spectives of chachmeihaTorah. the rec­ sively, with lightmindedness. Prepare ture, for you too will be coming to join yourselves in both the material and us. Mobilize yourselves to form a ognized leadership of the olam united front for Eretz Yisroel. We need people who are obsessed with this one thing, who will dedicate themselves to it with all their hearts, with all their souls, with all their might. Every­ where, let it be heard, proclaim it "The Land is good!" It is not prudent to talk too much about stirrings of the soul, because too much discussion risks desecrating them. This is my final request: Tell it, declare it, proclaim it wherever Jews Join the girls of Bais Yaakov are to be found: "Ki tova ha'aretz me'od.. me'od The Land is very, very as they prepare for the good, for we shall go up and inherit it." highlight of their school year-the annual concert. The Reb Moshe Schonfeld ·swords were not meant as a call for mass aliya on only problem is-that due to a the part of Chareidi Jewry, without slight blunder-it just may not communal and individual consulta­ take place! tion with Torah autholities. But what a stirling call they were to the core of / n Miriam Elias' new book for the Yiddishe neshama! B teen readers you'll meet some old friends and make some new ones as everyone busily prepares for a concert that's H.G. $12.95 P.8. $9.95 been called off.

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12 The Jewish Observer. June 1994 The Lubavitcher Rebbe, RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL ScHNEERSON, ?"Yr

we go to press, we note with t must be noted for the record that nuinbers of Jews closer to their arrow the passing of the many segments of the Torah heritage. Mubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi I camp had deep differences with History will record that in some of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, ?"YI, various aspects of the Chabad move­ the darkest periods of Communist on 3 Tammuz, June 12th. His lead­ ment during his tenure as I-lebbe, Russia, Lubavitch played a leading ership and scholarship rebuilt the particularly with the tragic rise of the role in keeping the flame of Chabad movement from the destruc­ misplaced Messianic fervor that sur­ Yiddishkeit burning brightly in the tion of Churban Europe and molded rounded him and consumed so many hearts of many Soviet Jews. World it into an important presence on the of his Chassidim The separatism and travelers will testify that Chabad is conte1nporary world Jewish scene. isolation of Lubavitch from the large frequently the only Torah presence in Rabbi Menachem Mendel mainstrea1n Chareidi community ciUes and comml1nities across the Schneerson became the Nossi of the was also a source of pain and fnistra­ globe, providing religious facilities Chabad movement in 1951, a year tion for many Torah leaders. and services where none might oth­ after the petira of the previous erwise exist. These noteworthy Lubavitcher Rebbe, his father-in-law, the same time, it is broadly achievements, and others, are an ev­ Rahbi Yosef YitBaal Teshuva Lubavitch gained many new adher­ movement, including the dispatch­ ay Hashem comfort his ents and achieved broad influence in ing of unprecedented numbers of many n1ourners among the many circles beyond the strict con­ shlichim to far-flung corners of the M mourners of Zion and fines of its own constituency. world, efforts that brought large Jerusalem. •

The Jewish Observer, June 1994 13 Yonason Rosenblwn

Theodor Herzl greets Max Nordau at the First Zionist Congress The Chickens Corne Horne To Roost Zionisms Internal Contradictions and the Peace Process

I. THE ORIGINS OF MODERN pated Jews relished their entry into trasted the situation of his contempo­ ZIONISM the mainstream of Western intellec­ rartes with that of a pre-Enlighten­ tual life, they were forced to recognize ment Jewish community, which had Products of the Enlightenment that the Enlightenment, and the po­ provided a secure refuge for its mem­ litical emancipation to which it gave bers: "Here [within the Jewish com­ odern Zionism is a result of birth, had not fully resolved the "Jew­ munity] were the associates by whom both the "success" and the ish question." Above all, it had not one wished to be valued ... : here was M failure of the Enlighten­ done away with hatred of Jews. the public opinion whose acknowl­ ment-its "success" in weaning Jews The Dreyfus affair revealed that in edgment was the aim of Jewish am­ from their religion by granting them the very birthplace of the Enlighten­ bition .... [The members of this com­ the full tights of citizenship and its ment anti-Semitism remained as munity] were harmonious human be­ failure to thereby end anti-Semitism. powerful as ever. But this was a dif­ ings, not in want of the elements of The founders of modem Zionism, ferent form of anti-Semitism. What normal social life. "2 in the words of Professor Shlomo horrified Herzl about the Dreyfus Avineti, lacked, by and large, any tra­ case was not the anti-Semitism per Nationalism versus the ditional religious background. They se, but that thewrath of anti-Semites Enlightenment "were products of European educa­ was directed at an emancipated, tion, imbued with the current ideas of secularized Jew. e eighteenth century was the the European intelligentsia."' Yet for In some respects, political emanci­ ge of the Enlightenment; the all that these secularized, emanci- pation had in fact made the position nineteenth century, to a large of the Jew vis-a-vis the hosWe outside extent, the age of nationalism. The 1 The characterizations of Zionist thought and lead­ ing Zionist thinkers in this section rely heavily on world even worse. By granting tights basic tenet of nineteenth century Eu­ Professor Avineri's The Making ofModemZionisrn: to Jews as individuals, while ac­ ropean nationalism was that man­ The Intellectual Origins ofthe Jewish State. Profes­ knowledging no social grouping be­ kind is divided into numerous races, sor Avineri is a former Director of the Foreign Min­ low the level of the state, the Emanci­ and that each race is entitled to its istry, one of Jsrael's leading academic political philosphers, and an ardent Zionist. pation fostered the breakdown of own nation in which to maintain its Jewish communal structures and the homogeneity and in which its indi- Yonason Rosenblum Uves in Jerusalem and is a regular contributor to JO. He is the author and fraternal bonds between Jews. Jews 2 Nordau and his contemporaries were, however, translator of many works, including most recently were thus left to confront the hatred too detached from their religious tradition to rec­ The Vtlna Gaon. published by ArtScroll. He is cur­ of the non-Jewish world as individu­ ognize the extent to which his descrtption of the rently at work on a biography of the legendary Reb als, not as a community. Max pre-Enlightenment communal life still reflected the world of Orthodox Jewry. However nostalgic they Elimclech "Mike- Tress. This article is based on a Nordau, a best-selling German au­ presentation at the National Convention of might wax on the past. these emancipated Jews Agudath Israel of America and has been updated thor and Herzl's second in command could not conceive of themselves returning to a pre­ for publication. at the First Zionist conference, con- Enlightenment world.

14 The Jewish Observer. June 1994 Assimilation on the individual level was impossible. But by achieving statehood, Jews would be able to collectively assimilate among the other nations of the world as equals no less deserving of respect deity in the universe to which one K'Chol Hagoyim Yisroel should sacrtfice these two most valu­ than any other people. able jewels," he preached. He accepted he acceptance of nineteenth the right of each race to maintain its century nationalism further racial purity, and thus became a fer­ T alienated westernized, Jewish victual genius can flourish. The equa­ vent champion of the flowering of intellectuals from their roots. tion of nationality and race, of course. Ukrainian national sentiment despite Nationalism's emphasis on the pos­ left the Jew out in the cold. No matter its strong anti-Semitic component. "I session of a land and state as the how assimilated, a Jew could never am a Zionist," he wrote, "because the highest expression of the destiny of be a Frenchman in the same way as Jewish people is a very nasty people, the race only served to emphasi7£ the the descendants of the ancient Gauls. and its neighbors hate it, and they are anomalous position of the Jew in Ex­ Even conversion was no solution right: its end in the Diaspora will be a ile, without a land or state of his own. since changing one's religion did not general Bartholomew Night, and the As other people won their indepen­ change one's race. onlyrescuelies tn general immigration dence, the tides of history seemed to The grant of political rights to to Palestine." be passing the Jew by. Exile, wrote Jews, wrote Nordau, had been an ex­ For many Zionists, the successful Leo Pinsker, had deprived Jews of ercise in the formal logic of Enlight­ warfor Italian independence provided their active role in history and turned enment principles: "Every man is the heroic model for which they were them into objeets and not actors. born with certain rights; the Jews are searching. Thus Moses Hess began Above all, the Zionists sought to human beings; consequently the his Rome and Jernsalem: "With the prove that the Jewish people were as Jews possess the rights of man." But liberation of the Eternal City on the worthy as other races that had such abstract prtnciples unaccompa­ Tiber begins the liberation of the achieved nationhood. Of necessity, nied, as they were, by any fraternal Eternal City on Mount Moriah." this process caused them to feeling for individual Jews, were un­ Though the raeial thinking that deemphasize Jewish religious identity able to withstand the view that Jews underpinned nationalist thought was and to attempt to portray Jews as no constitute an alien race, a threat to the cause of anti-Semitism, that less brave and strong than other national homogeneity. same nationalism seemed to offer the races. In their efforts at Jewish self­ Rather than rejecting European solution to ongoing hatred of the Jew. definition, they paid scant attention to nationalism and its underlying racial­ If hatred of the Jew was an inevitable the great expressions of Jewish reli­ ist premise&-which rendered them consequence of his being an alien gious life over three millennia, and perpetual aliens in the lands of their raee in his host country, then the so­ their treatment of Jewish history birth-the Zionists embraced that na­ lution lay in the creation of a state of tended to ignore the extent to which tionalism with a vengeance. Vladimir his own. Assimilation on the indi­ that history is one of the preservation Jabotinsky is but the most extreme vidual level was impossible. But by offaith under condiUons of adversity. example. "Every race seeks to become aehieving statehood, Jews would be In general, the sptritual character of a state ... becauseonlyinitsownstate able to colleetively assimilate among the Jewish people was viewed as a re­ will it feel comfortable .... There is no the other nations of the world as flection of the effeminization caused by value in the world higher than the na­ equals no less deserving of respect the artificial conditions of Exile, and it tion and the fatherland, there is no than any other people. was systematically downplayed.

The Jewish Observer, June 1994 15 In the words of Israeli historian Hazaz. one of the leading Zionist writ­ number of proofs that no such con­ Anita Shapira: ers put it pithily, "When it is difficult tradiction exists. "But," he continued. The lost pride of the Jewish people for a person to behave like a Jew, then "sometimes there exists a hidden was the subject that almost obses­ he becomes a Zionist." Even Rabbi contradiction in the depths of the soul sively occupied Pinsker, Herzl. and Avraham Yitzchak Kook was forced to that leads to rejection of demands of the rest of the generation. [Their goal was] to see the rise of a admit, 'The writers ... connected the faith even if there is no obvious con~ generation from whom spiritual char­ success of Zionism and its flowering tradiction. !That was true of the En­ acteristics would be completely shed; among our people with the uprooting lightenment! and it is true of Zionism. one that would be outstanding in its of the Torah and its laws." It addresses the whole of Judaism as lusts, it physical bravery, and its bel­ Ahad Ha'am, viewed by many as a complete system: it is not merely a ligerence. the spiritual mentor of modern Zion­ drtve to settle Eretz YisroeL" Thus from its inception Zionisrn ism, was once asked whether there is One of the central doctrtnes of na­ developed as an alternative to the tra­ an inherent contradiction between tionalism was that each race pos­ ditional conception of Jewish nation­ Zionism and Judaism. He replied sesses its own unique character that hood in religious terms. As Chaim that it would be possible to brtng any can only flower under conditions of national sovereignty. But the visions of the future state portrayed by Zion­ ist wrtters were frequently nothing more than projections of various con­ temporary European ideologies, owing nothing to Jewish sources. Thus the hero of'Theodore Herzl's utopian novel Alteneuland tells his fellow commune members: "Don't imagine I am jesting when I say that Neudorf (i.e., the ideal Jewish community) was not built in "SHAllBOS AND TECHNOLOGY" Palestine, but elsewhere. It was built (6/22/93) in England, inAmertca, in France and R..-ibbi Yehoshua Neu\Virth Rabbi Zechariah Gelley, Chairn1an in Germany. It was evolved out of ex­ "GODOL HAS HOLOM" (9/20/92) 2 tapes $10.00 periments of practical men and Rabbi Shlomo Brcvda dreamers who were to serve you as Rabbi Dovid Gold\:vasscr "KOL YISROEL AREIVIM object lessons, though you did not 2 tapes $10.00 ZEH BOZEH" (9/12/93) know it." A.D. Gordon's Religion ofLa­ Rabbi Shlomo Mandel bor, which inspired the kibbutz move­ "HILCHOS REFUAH B'SHABBOS" 1 tape $5.00 ment, was little more than warmed­ (3/2/93) over Tolstoy in his prophetic mode. Rabbi Pesach Eliyahu Falk "KOL YISROEL ARE!VIM 1be most common vision of the Zion­ ZEH BOZEH" (9 /12/93) Rabbi Shlomo Miller ist state wa<;; some form ofsocialism­ Rabbi Dovid Kviat, Chairman Rabbi Chaim Dov Keller whether of the utopian socialist or 2 tapes $10.00 Rabbi Yaakov Solomon 2 tapes $10.00 Mandst vartety. "TORAH SEMINAR FOR MENTAL In sum, Zionism was the product HEALTH PROFESSIONALS" "YOM !YUN KINUS TESHUVA" of Jews shaped by one set of Euro­ (5/3/93) (9/21/93) pean ideas-the Enlightenment­ Rabbi Nosson Scherman Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer who were inspired by another set of Rabbi David Cohen 1 tape $5.00 European ideas-nineteenth century 2 tapes $10.00 nationalism-and whose visions of SEV!lNTH S!YUM HASHAS· the state they wished to create were Manhattan Center (1975) "THE CHALLENGES OF THE almost wholly derivative of contempo­ ORTHODOX JEWISH WOMEN IN (2 tapes) $12.00 THE WORKPLACE: HALACHIC rary European ideologies. EIGHTH S!YUM HASHAS- PERSPECTIVES" (6/9/93) Felt Forum (1982) (2 tapes) $12.00 Rabbi Chaim Kohn II. INTERNAL CONTRADICTIONS Mrs. J~a Mark, Moderator NINTH S!YUM HASHAS- 2 tapes $10.00 Madison Square Garden (1990) Jews without Judaism (2 tapes) $12.00 ontradiction lies at the very cart of Zionism. On the one and, Zionism claimed to be a movement of Jewish national revival. On the other hand, its values were, as we have seen. almost exclusively de-

16 The Jewish Observer, June 1994 rived from contemporary European culture.3 Yossi Bellin. one of the lead­ The attempt to divorce Jewish nationalism from ing architects of the current peace process. is a typical product of an ide­ Je-.'lish religion has proven futile. Thus the Zionists ology devoid ofJewish content. Asked recently how he would explain to his have consistently had to appropriate traditional children why they should not inter­ marry, he admitted that he had no religious symbols. That is why the creation of a Chief ready answer. 4 The contradiction of a Jewish na­ Rabbinate as an arm of the state was of such tionalism devoid of any intrinsically Jewish content did not go entirely importance to the founders of Israel. unnoticed even by the early Zionists themselves. Herzl's state, warned Ahad Ha'am, may be a State of the Jews but it will not be a Jewish State. But confronted with the enormous most established cheder of the old challenges of building a country from yishuv in Jerusalem, barely a hand­ 3 Amos Oz. Israel's besl-known novelist and sonie­ scratch, Zionism managed to sweep ful remained religious. time spokesman for Peace Now, permits himself a its philosophical problems under the But for all its original power, the long diatribe on Zionist history in the middle of his non-fiction work, In the Land ofIsrael In the course rug for a time. Zionist ideal proved also to be one of of that harangue, he identifies Zionism exclusively Indeed, few ideological movements the shorter-lived in Western intellec­ With European humanism dating back to the Re­ have proven such an initial success. tual history. Though the chareidi naissance. Not once does he seek to imbue it with With the creation of the State oflsrael, community in Israel continues to fear any specific Jewish content. 4 Beilin's response represents no betrayal of tradi­ who could gainsay that the tides of the contaminating influences of the tional Zionist values. Prior to the F1rst Zionist Con­ Jewish history were with the Zionists. "street," there is no fear of Zionism as gress, Her.ll wrote to Nordau that he should not fear There was scarcely a house in Me'ah an ideological movement appealing to that his gentile Wife would impair his service to the She'arim in which a child was not lost the idealism of religious youth. Zionist cause. In -the Jewish state." Herzl assured to the Zionist cause. One of Israel's With the task of state-building him. there would be nothing wrong with intennar­ rtage and the offspring of such intermarriage would leading roshei yeshiva recalls that of largely behind it, the contradiction at be fully recognized as Jews. his classmates in Eitz Chaim, the the core of Zionism can no longer be

The Jewish Observer, June 1994 17 ignored. Its manifestations are found the creation of a Chief Rabbinate as everywhere in Israeli society today. 5 an arm of the state was of such im· The attempt to divorce Jewish na· portaoce to the founders oflsrael. To· tionalism from Jewish religion has day the Kosel is the scene of military proven futile. Thus the Zionists have ceremonies, and t11e Maccabees are consistently had to approprtate tradi· the greatest of national heroes. Con· tional religious symbols. That is why veniently forgotten is that the Kosel is the painful reminder of the intimate 5 The treatment of the definition of" Jew" under the connection with Hashem that the Israeli Law of Return is an example of the ideologi­ Jewish people once expertenced and cal confusion of Zionism. Consistent with ortgins which has been lost. and that the of Zionism in European nationalism, the definition Maccabees were preeminently lead· is racial, not halachic: anyone with a Jewish father or grandfather is automatically entitled to Israeli ers of a civil war against Jews who citizenship. Another strand of Zionist thought is had appropriated the ideals of the also reflected in the judicial interpretation of the dominant Hellenistic culture. reverence for physical labor and sac· Law. Zionism has always made identification with Israelis today sense the ersatz na· rtfice for the greater good-has devel· the Jewish people-preeminently expressed by liv­ ing in the Jewish state-the most impo1tant deter­ ture of this approprtation ofreligious oped into one in which drugs are rtfe. minant of one'sJeWishness. Under the Law of Re­ symbols. The furor With which they pornography produced by the turn, anyone who expresses any sort of nebulous respond to the challenge to define country's leading newspapers is the . identification through "conversion" under the what other than the accident of birth standard teenage reading fare, and auspicies of one of the so-called "streams" of Ju~ makes them Jewish is in direct pro­ the courts have ruled that adultery is daism is also eligible for Israeli citizenship. (Given the lack of halachic mooring to these conversions, portion to the discomfort the question not against public policy. the conversion requirement makes little more causes them. The nadir, hopefully, was reached sense than permitting a personal declaration of this past February when two young one's JeWish identification.) Loss ofMeaning teenagers from affluent Tel Aviv sub· Such confusion of JewiShness With identifica­ tion with the State of Israel is common in lsrael to­ urbs murdered a fifty-year-old cab day. Witness the furor that erupts whenever the e Widely noted loss of idealism drtver, and father of three, purely for religious authorities balk at burying non-JeWish mong Israeli youth and the the thrtll of it. Perhaps most shocking IDF soldiers in Jewish cemeteries. What is less of­ allure to create any indigenous was that they boasted of what they ten noticed is that Jewishness as identification di­ Ti Jewish culture both point to the had done to their friends and prtnted rectly conflicts with the racial definition of Jewishness. A race is not something that can be empty vessel that Zionism has proven up cards With the logo Murder, Inc.. joined at Will. Interestingly, Absorption Minister to be. The kibbutzim-by far the most Without fear of disapproval or of be· Yair Tsaban, of the left-Wing Meretz party, has re­ ideological sector of society-are un· ing turned in to the police. Comment· cently expressed the fear that Israel w111 be over­ able to hold half their young people ing on the incident, the former head run With immigrants if it agrees to prOVide refuge to anyone willing to live there no matter how spu­ today. What was once a relatively pu · of the juvenile division of the Tel Aviv rtous their claim to being Jewish. rttanical society-particularly in its police said, "I envy the Palestinian youth. They still have something they believe in." YOUR There is unfortunately no comfort to be had in the loss of idealism CARIN among Israeli youth. Though Zionism RENT-A-CAR I SR A EL may have lost its hold, nothing has replaced it besides emptiness. Con· LS templating the pictures on the walls TYPE OF CAR 8/4/94- 31/7/94 of Acco prison of six J ew!sh boys hung by the British for their activities A FIAT UNO STING 126 in the Irgun, one has no trouble dis· PEUGEOT 205 AC 175 cerning the Jewish soul in their eyes. c• CITROE:N ZX 1.4 224 c·• MAZDA323 245 On the streets today, all one sees are c• PEUGEOT 405 1.6 280 FR& CELLULAR PHONE blank stares, dead eyes. • MINIBUS FORD 476 On the verse prophesying the return N SUBARU BABY BUS 322 IN EVERY CAR of "all the lost ones from Assyrta and • PAYMENT FOR USE ONLY AT THE END OFl!IE RENTAL PERIOD those who have been pushed away D CHARADE1.3 231 from Egypt," the Ishbitzer explains that E MAZDA323 294 F NISSAN SUNNY 322 SPICIAL CAlS POI HANDICAPPED DRIVRS the "lost ones" refers to those who de· G SIERRA1.8 420 ••6MVATION A ,,.flllAYMllNT liberately rebelied against G·d, while K GMC SAFARI PS "those who have been pushed away" ... U•A A CANAOA x PEUGEOT 4051.9 476 800-938-6000 refers to those who have lost all concern XL MITSUBISHI GALANT 2.0 ... With Hashem by virtue of having be· sx VOLV0940 630 IN NYt .21.2·6.29·6090 come mired in material pleasures. But

18 The Jewish Observer. June 1994 There is unfortunately RECENTLY PUBLISHED AND AVAILABLE FOR SALE! no comfort to be had in The much talked about report on the loss of idealism "BELIEFS, OBSERVANCES AND SOCIAL among Israeli youth. INTERACTION AMONG ISRAELI JEWS" Though Zionism may The most comprehensive study yet conducted on the Jewishness of Israelis have lost its hold, by Dr. Shlomit Levy, Hanna Levinsohn and Prof. Elihu Katz of the Louis Guttman Israel Institute of Applied Social Research nothing has replaced it Full report including Questionnaires and besides emptiness. Distribution of Responses (339 pages) $25 Highlights of the report (24 pages Tables and Displays) $10 if so. he asks, why are "the lost ones." who are halachically the greater stn­ ners of the two, the first to return? He Order {ram: AVI CHAI, 52 Vanderbilt Avenue answers that even those who rebel New York, NY 10017-3808 •Tel: (212) 697-8836 agatnst G-d rematn spirttual beings. Today they are lost, but, like anyone who has lost somethtng. when they find it, theywillonceagatn be whole. Those. however, who have lost the spark of Subscribe now to sptrttuality-"who have been pushed away''--cmnot be made whole agatntn the same way and will be redeemed The Jewish Observer with much greater difficulty. Israeli culture today resembles nothing so much as a poor man's imi­ _and$AVE tation ofAmertca. In the weeks imme­ diately following the signing of the Oslo agreement, more Israelis turned ------SUBSCRIPTION SAVINGS CERTIFICATE out to see the respective concerts of THE~2!___ Suite 1200 • 84 William Street two American pop culture icons­ ~EH New York, N.Y. 10038 both known for the unabashed de­ pravity of their private lives-than D YES! Please enter my subscription for: USA 'OUTSIDE demonstrated for or against the ONLY USA agreement. This aping of Amertcan 0 3 years-at 47% off the cover price $48 0 S84 culture cuts to the very heart of the 0 2 years-at 40°/o off the cover price $36 0 S60 Zionist enterprtse. In traditional Zion­ D l year- at 27% off the cover price $22 D 534 ist thought, wrttes Professor Avinert, •Price reflects S 12 extra per year to defray air shipping costs. Foreign Israel could be the normative focus of payment must be made in U.S. dollars, either by check drawn on a bank Jewish identity only if it succeeded in in the U.S.A. or by Visa or MasterCard. offertng a life different from Jewish life NAME (Please print), ______in the Diaspora. That it patently has notdone.6 ADDRESS------CITY, STATE ______ZIP ____ 6 Professor Avinert claims that "to tum Israel for Arnelican Jews into what Ireland and Italy have D Enclosed: $ D Charge my 0 MasterCard 0 VISA been for Jlish-Americans and Italian-Americans is a tremendous revolution." Yet it is hard to see how the centrality of Israel. Md, it should be added, the ~~ct.I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I l Holocaust. to American Jewish identity reflect any­ thing more than the lamentable shallowness of Expiration date: (month) (year) thatidentity. Upon hearing of the Balfour Declara­ [IJ [IJ tion, the Chafetz Chaim said, "We did not wait two Signature ______

thousand years to be another Albania.~ In response The Jewish Observer is published monthly except July and .-.ugusi. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. to Professor Avine1i, it might be added, ~Nor did we wait for our own St Patrick's Day or Col tunbus Day parade.~ ------~------·

The Jewish Observer, June 1994 19 Early Zionist thinkers tended to ism of the Labor Party. He and his der discussion. emphasize the supremacy of public, Meretz allies are preeminently the Ever since J 967, Israeli foreign communitarian, and social values at champions of individual rights, with policy has been characterized under the expense of personal ease, bour· scant regard to communal responsi­ both Labor and Likud governments geois comfort, and the good life for the bility. In short, Israeli yuppies. by certain fixed principles-no return individual. That value preference may of the Golan Heights, retention of the today characterize religious commu · ill, THE PEACE PROCESS Jordan River as Israel's security bar· nal life, as it has always done, but ev· der, no Palestinian state, and the in­ erywhere else those value preferences An Overnight Revolution in divisibility of Jerusalem. Not one of are in retreat. Chaim Ramon, who in Israeli Policy these principles still seems sacro­ a few short weeks managed to wrest sanct today. The government has control of the Histadrut Labor Fed­ is is hardly the forum for a made all but explicit its willingness to eration from the Labor Party for the ull·blown consideration of the withdraw entirely from the Golan first time in history, represents the Tiegotiations begun in Oslo Heights in return for full normaliza· new Israeli politician. Far-left in his with the PW. But a brief overview of tion of relations with Syria. And views on the peace process, his eco­ the distance travelled over the past though the government continues to nomic views, like most of those in nine months is in order prior to a con­ insist that it opposes the creation of Meretz, tend to favor free-market sideration of the relevance of that a Palestinian state, such a state is the capitalism over the traditional social· journey to the trends in Zionism un- logical conclusion of all that has been conceded thus far. The Palestinians ls your son a BRIGHT, VNMODVA1ED have already been granted many of the trappings of sovereignty - the 8th, 9th or 10th GRADER right to issue passports, territorial waters, their own flag and uniforms, who needs MORE! • .• etc. And that is only an interim agree­ ment. Broader grants of territorial {f the answer is YES, authority to the Palestinians are explicity contemplated under the then your son needs ... terms of the agreement. Having • • raised the expectations of both the Mesivta High School Palestinians and the rest of the world as to further far-reaching territorial concessions, it is hard to see how the of Bradle Beach genie will be put back in the bottle. I I V\J'> J ') 1:1 , 1 Nn:i ') nn Israeli negotiators profess surprise at the audacity and self-confidence of '~ llnique Appro11eh to Ah11v11s H11tor11h.!1 their Palestinian counterparts, but only their surprise is surprising. ENDORSED _By i;EADING RABBO~IM &_ ROSHEI YESHIVA In the last weeks, the degree to Stimulating Limudei Kodesh program directed toward which the current government feels it has passed the point of no return has acquiring practical skills, lifelong interest in Torah, and become all too apparent. Having sold nurturing excitement and "Geshmak" in learning. Arafat to the public as a worthy ne· gotiating partner, Rabin and Peres • Creative Secular Studies with Vocational Training have no choice but to turn a blind eye to all evidence to the contrary. Thus • Professional, warm Rebbeim and staff Arafat tells a Moslem audience that he is engaged in jihad-" a holy war • Personalized attention to each student undertaken by Moslems as a sacred • Supervised dorming facilities duty"-for Jerusalem, and the Israeli Foreign Minister allows him to hide • 20 min. from Lakewood; 1 hour from Bklyn. behind the skimpiest offig leaves and clarify that he only meant ajihad "for We are currently accepting enrollment for the 94-95 peace," something heretofore un· known to scholars of!slam. school year for 9th grade. Limited enrollment is still 1\vo days later, it is revealed that available for the comin 10th & 11th rades. Arafat publicly compared the agree· mentwithlsrael tothatofMohammed with the Koreish trtbe in Mecca, which Mohammed unilaterally abrogated

20 The Jewish Observer, June 1994 The State has embarked on a course in direct contravention to the supreme value in national religious inevitably be spilt as long as we are barked on a course in direct contra· thought-a value perceived as occupiers in others' ter­ vention to the supreme value in na­ ritory. He seems incapable of grasp­ tional religious thought-a value transcending even the ing that, to the Palestinians, every transcending even the command to inch of Israel is occupied territory, preserve Jewish life-the sanctity of command to preserve and that is precisely what Arafat the Land. The clisis reached a head meant in his call to jihad. two months ago when the three lead· Jewish life-the sanctify What does all this tell us about the ing rabbinic authorities in the na­ state of Zionism today? tional religious world, including of the Land. former Chief Rabbi Avraham The Blow to Religious Zionism Shapiro, issued a p' sak that soldiers two years later, plior to wiping out the are halachically forbidden to obey or· tlibe. This time the government does ne of the first casualties of the ders to remove Jewish settlers from not even bother to respond. In his ex­ peace process was Religious Hebron. That unambiguous cha!· pressed view of the Cairo Accords as OZionism. From the beginning lenge to the autholity of the State sent merely expeditious for the time being, of the State, the National Religious the National Religious Party's politi· Arafat, incidentally, fully represents Party has imbued the State with reli­ cal echelons into emergency session. Palestinian opinion. In a survey by an gious significance. Once the State it· At the end of the meeting, the party's Arab sociologist, 92 percent of Pales­ self was granted intlinsic religious Knesset faction was unable to agree tinians say that if Palestinian goals value, it became much easier to ac­ on any position. The party in short could be achieved by other means they commodate the demands of the refused to endorse the position that would favor doing so. Peace has be­ halacha to the needs of the State. halacha, as interpreted by its leading come for Arafat and the Palestinians Today, however, the State has em- halachic authorities, takes prece- war by other means. The same week, two Israeli r.esel"\!­ ists are killed by Palestinian terrolists at the Erez checkpoint outside of Gaza and the murderers flee back into Gaza. To date not only have the Palestinian police not apprehended the terrolists, there is no indication that they have attempted to do so. But of course that response was in­ evitable. Arafat has no interest in be­ ing portrayed as the agent of!srael or in precipitating a blood bath among Palestinian factions, unless it is to further his own authority. That is particularly true when the govern­ ment has made it clear that he will not be held to account for the failure to control terrorism against Jews, YOU ARE! There is so much you can do. To find out more just as he has not been held to ac­ about your closest kiruv organization. Torah study center. the next count for the terrorist actions of his scheduled outreach program or weekend, or for the closest own Fatah legions since the begin­ Judaica center call our Kiruv Information Hotline. ning of the current peace process or for his failure to even condemn the 1-800-KIRUV-84 Afula and Hadera bombings. I -X00-.5..i 7-XXX-J All the Plime Minister can tell the A Project of Agudath Israel of America· 84 William Street· New York NY 10038 public is that more Jewish blood will

The Jewish Observer, June 1994 21 dence over the laws of the State. 7 better than at present. How else can Palestinian negotiators the ""red lines"" one explain the government"s deci­ beyond which they cannot pass. The Attempt to Rekindle sion to rescue the politically and fi­ The presence oflsraeli artillery on Lost Idealism nancially bankrupt PLO from the the Golan Heights poised within easy brink of oblivion, at a time when range of Damascus has preserved e peace process to date seems Arafat enjoyed pariah status in most quiet on the Sylian front for more more a leap of faith than a Arab capitals and American pressure than twenty years. Yet in return for Tiard-headed political bargain­ on Israel had never been at a lower the promise of a ""full peace'" with ing designed to protect Jewish lives ebb? The military was completely left Syria, which might last no longer out of the negotiations leading up to than it takes the ink to dry on the pa­ 7There is another, more subtle. way in which the peace process has called into question NRP ideol­ Oslo. and time and again since then, per. the government is prepared to ogy. The NRP has always taken the view that fully upper echelons in the army have pro­ give up all the stategic advantages the participating in all aspects of national life-in par­ fessed surplise at government posi­ Golan Heights afford. and which were ticular the army-is the best way to positively in­ tions inconsistent with the army"s won at such a high plice in Jewish fluence non-religious Israelis. Yet from the begin­ strategic thinking. blood. Never once has the govern­ ning of the process. settlers on the Golan Heights have enjoyed a far greater degree of public support Though it is the Arabs who have all ment explained why we should pre­ than those on the West Bank. That difference in the tangible gains from the process. fer "'full normalization of relations"" support, argues Jerusalem Post columnist Yosef it is the Israelis who have negotiated with Syria-shopping in the bou­ Goell, is explained by the fact that the West Bank as if a failure to reach agreement is tiques of Damascus?-over the de settlers are perceived as being mostly rel1gious and unthinkable. Thus rather than start facto peace prevailing at present. those on the Golan Heights are perceived as mostly non-religious. Thus, after more than forty years of negotiations by stating the optimal "Peace treaties" have taken on a life full participation in Israeli life. the wearers of knit­ Israeli position, Israeli negotiators of their own in the government's ted kippot remain Mthe other." content themselves with telling the thinking. as if they could be somehow divorced from the men and women whose lives will either be saved or sac­ PINCHAS MANDEL lificed as the dynamics of the peace Over 40 Years Experience In Kvura In Eretz Ylsrael process unfold. In return for a piece Personal Responsibility Throughout Service-NO AFFILIATES of paper stamped ""Peace Treaty, .. ORIGINATOR OF THE PRESENT METHOD signed by a negotiating partner Highly Recommended by Gedolai Hador - Here and in Eretz Yisrael viewed even by his Arab brothers as notoliously untrustworthy. the gov­ 1569-47th Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. 11219 ernment has granted the Palestin1ans Day & Night Phone: (718) 851-8925 power unimaginable a year ago. In all this, one senses some des­ TYO'l:)Ni~l:)Nj' Yl"i' - 7•i::i iNl nil:)ltY •il~ perate attempt to once again create Chased Shel EMES with Meslras Nefesh. .• as understood and practiced by something grand and epic in Israeli one active in the industry tor more than half a century, life, to lise to a challenge comparable - Taharas Hanlftar Should Never Be Commercialized - to draining the Hula swamps and tri­ umphing militarily over numerically superior foes. The peace process is thus a hoped-for antidote for the loss of idealism in Israeli life. The open­ ended Oslo agreement with Arafat, [iJ Ruth Wisse has wtitten. was an at­ tempt by the government ""to stir mes­ sianic longings within a population ( ~PITOL starved for peace.·· HOTEL t MOTEL WEEKEND Zwnism's Dark Secret LAKEWOOD, NEW JERSEY BAR MITZVAHS e dark secret in the Zionist Madison Avenue; Corne1 of 7th Street closet is that most Israelis are SHEVA BROCHOS ot really sure their land was SHABBATONS not stolen from the Arabs. Having re­ (201) 363-5000 jected, or not even being aware of, the SEMINARS first Rashi in Chumash, in which 1-800 CAPITOL (227-4865} Rashi makes plain that the Jewish claim to the Land is predicated on Catering under supervision of KCL Vaad HaKashrus of Lakewood Hashem's absolute dominion over the entire world and His light to give His

22 The Jewish Observer. June 1994 Land to whomever He chooses, they and understanding gather to discuss must base thetr claims solely on the the great issues of the day. Rather prtnciples of nineteenth centuiy na­ than being looked upon as in the van­ tionalism. guard of political liberalism, as it was But if the Jewish people seek to in the heady early days of the State, have their national claims recognized until it made the mistake of winntng by the nations of the world, consis­ one too many war, Israel has become tency requires that they also recog­ the most frequently condemned na­ for approval. Surely that represents a nize the national asptrations of other tion on earth. higher level of independence than the peoples, however belated the develop­ The peace process is Peres' and modem Israeli who boasts of his pow­ ment of thetr sense of national iden­ Beilin's means ofrecapturtng Israel's erful army and yet still finds himself tity. Thus Jewish nationalism has to lost lustre in the eyes of the world. As constantly looking over his shoulder recognize the parallel claims of Pales­ New Republic editor Martin Peretz, a for the approval of the non-Jewish tinian nationalism. Once both claims skeptical supporter of the peace pro­ world. 10 have been put on the same level, the cess, put it, in the first days afier Oslo: Zionism today is a spent force. It issue of title to Eretz Yisroel boils These Zionists acted as they did has lost all power to stir the spiritual down to the question of who got there because theyvalued something more longings of the collective Jewish soul first, i.e., squatter's rights. But when than territory, more even than the in a matter ofjust a few generations. protection that territory gives. They But just as a wild animal tn its death dealing on the basis of squatter's wanted recognition of their legiti­ rights there is a limit to the kinds of macy.... This is perhaps a weakness of throes is never more dangerous, and sacrifices one is willing to make. 8 the Jews worrying far too much may lunge and strike with great force The Prime Minister's own casual ref­ whether others acknowledge at any moment, so may the death erence to our occupation of land be­ their peoplehood.9 throes of Zionism, which the peace longing to others with respect to terri­ process in many ways represents, tories seized in a defensive war in 1967 prove dangerous to all Jews living in reveals how tenuous is his own sense he peace process is the Holy Land. • of the Jewish claim to Eretz Y1SroeL 11 ' As a young man. the Pri Megadim was !nVited to thus a hoped-for Berlin to rekindle the religious enthusiasm of the Allfor the Approbation ofOthers Jew:ish youth. While there, he ran afoul of Moses antidote for the loss of Mendelssohn and his followers. One day, two ofthose s we have argued, the fatal followers approached him and asked him to explain the meaning of the verse, "Timna was the concubine weakness of Zionism is that its idealism in Israeli life. ofEliphaz" (Bereishis 36,l 2). He told them !1ehad no A ultimate source of values is explanation for them, They promptly went to the Rav the Western intellectual tradition and of Berlin and told him to di<;miss the Pri Megadim not Judaism. Zionists left Europe for The Zionists always laughed at the since he had shown himselfunfamiliar with the com­ mentaiy of Rashi to the verse. Palestine in order to prove themselves "Ma YafisJew" who sang and danced The Rav summoned the Prl Megadim and equal to the other nations of the to avoid the beatings of his drunken asked for an explanation. The PriMegadtm replied world-possessors of their own sov­ poritz. But theJewwho paid external that Rashi explains that Tirrma preferred being the ereign state. Only when they had obeisance to the poritznever doubted mistress to the lowliest of Avraharn's descendants achieved that. argued Pinsker in Auto in his heart of hearts that he was the to being a princess among the nations. This leaches us how elevated are the Jewish people, the Emancipation, would they be worthy member of a people infinitely superior chosen descendants of Avraham, over all the of the respect of the other nations of to his oppressor. Never would it have peoples of the earth. But for those for whom the the world. occurred to him to look to that poritz gentiles are evciything and the Jews nothing, there By adopting the values of Europe is no explanation of the verse. 9 Shortly after the Washinb'1on signing ceremony It is our nlisfortune today to be led by those for as their own, the Zionists made them­ between Prime Minister Rabin and Arafat, I hap­ whom the gentile world is everything and the Jew­ selves dependent on the good opinion pened to meet an advisor to the Justice Minister ish world nothing. of the bearers of the Western intellec­ on international law. He explained lo me how im­ tual tradition. Since 1967, the portant it was in the govemn1ent's eyes that Israeli Shimon Peres's and Yossi Beilin's­ troops leaving the Gaz.a Strtp be defined as "with­ drawing~ ratherthan "redeploying." for then Israel men of culture and broad secular would cease to be a "belligerent occupier" under the m:i;v n1<1!11; ;;!lnn;1 11~;; Ml learning-have been galled to find tenns of the Geneva Convention. When I askt--d him ,.,,n 1y:i themselves representatives of a na­ whether a country that seizes land in a defensive tion that is the subject of widespread war could really be a belligerent occupier, he re­ plied with a straight face that "we fired the first opprobrium wherever men of culture shots in 1967." n~;w ;N1'V' O''n HRabbi Zvi Wainman, a leading student of Zionism. No othe.r nation in the world. it is safe to say, argues that Peres and Rabin may have felt forced would have been so caught up in the minutiae of '") ,, i11''V 1l into the current peace process by their perception international law when It felt il<> vital national in­ that there Will soon be few Israelis Willing to under­ terests to be at stake. Certainly the U.S. was not take the sacrtfices ofwar and onerous reserve duty. when it mined Nicaraguan harbors. That is just one In such a situation, they decided to cut a deal while more example of the conccm With what the nations the PLO is comparatively weak. will think.

The Jewish Observer, June 1994 23 A Sacred Call for Support of the Mitzvah of Shmittah from Roshei Yeshiva Throughout America

The S~enth Year - the Year of Slunittah - is with us. We take special pride in the report that some 4000 thousand fanners and vintners, in close to 240 yishuvim (settlements) •!:rt"I'.) are keeping the laws of Shmittah with great self-sacrifice, without compromise or leniency iiiui:i whatsoever. How precious is a mitzvalt preformed in its prescribed time! As is well known, the C•Hitj) Gedolirn of the previous generation, n:>.,:J' n>~ - whose charge has been reiterated by our H!l!:r current Torah leaders, N""'''U - consistently urged all Jews to meet their obligation to contribute their share towards the observance of the mitzuah of Shmittah ~ a mitZUQh that in nirv!:r the breach is punishable by Golu1.;, and in its fulfillment is rewarded with the Geulah Sheleimah. 7ii' Through their heroic commitment to abandon their fields and vineyards. their primary n•v•.:iU>ri source of livelihood, for a full year, the "mighty men of valor" - as farmers who observe Shmittah are described -- bring reward to us all. Morever, they •ct as the representatives of t-=>itlnt all Jewry in the fulfillm~nt of this mitzvah. It is thtrefore incumbent on us t() help sustain them and their families. and to encourage them to sbmd fast in meeting the great challenge that 'lliHn faces them, M.:>i"l'n!:r I

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farmers in Eretz Yisroel who Address are observing the Shmitah. City ______Enclosed is my contribution State/Zip ______of$ Rabbi David Weinberger What 7'o You Sa11 Clo Clhat? ~'" ~~ ~J~ I ' . I I I • • I I I ~r--.....~~~

~~~, ~~'~ ~ T h e How often has it happened that that even a slight differentiation could a shidduch was broken or a give rise to a different halachic re- Chofetz Chaim potential business deal shat- sponse, I specifically am gotng to out- Heritage Foundation tered because someone said some- line the halachic issues surrounding has been responsible for thing detrimental about the other the question, andnotofferadefinitive the furtherance of Shmiras pariy? Yet, we are all aware of the fact halachic answer.) that there are Umes that we are obli­ Halashon awareness in gated to divulge information to others 1. A woman called saying that she many ways, including to avert a potenUal calamity from oc­ was asked about a shidduch for a publications, seminars, curring. Keeping silent in certatn in­ parUcular boy whom she knew well. regular telephone shiurim, stances is in clear violation of the Bib­ An interested pariy had asked her all lical prohibition of "Lo sa'amod al types of quest;ons regarding the per­ and their increasingly popular dam rei'echa-Do not stand by when sonality, intelligence and middos of Machsom L 'fi (a commitment your friend is at risk" (Vayikra 19, 7). the boy. The woman knows that the to self-discipline in speech, It is virtually impossible for one to boy has a serious illness, and if she scheduled during the Nine speak on matters that involve others discloses this information, the until one is totally familiar with the shidduch will never evolve. ls she per­ Days and intrtcate laws of shmiras halashan mitted to relate this information? during the The Chafetz Chaim.,.. ~. authored the Answer: The Chafetz Chaim states Aseres Y'mei definitive sefer, Chafetz Chaim, in explicitly that if one is aware of a seri­ which he delineates in great detail ous disorder or illness (that is not Teshuva). various real-life scenarios that con­ overt), not only are you allowed to tell Recently, the front us on a day-to-day basis. Tilis a perspective inquirer, but you are Foundation halachic masterpiece must become obligated to do so. The Chafetz Chaim has instituted part of our very fiber for us to speak adds that you should offer this infor­ in keeping with the halacha mation even if it is unsoliCited. There an additional In the interim, the hotline offers are four conditions, however, that tool in the anyone the opportunity to discuss must be met before you can relate furtherance of delicate issues with a rabbinic au­ this to another pariy: s h m i r a s thority who will guide, advise and tn­ a) It must be ascertained that in­ struct the questioner as to how to deed it is a serious illness. halashon: the deal with these complex questions. b) The information being told is '"'·; S h m i r a s The following is but a brief sam- said with extreme accuracy, without H a l a s h o n piing of some of hundreds of ques- any distoruon or exaggeration. Hotline, which tions that have been called tn to the c) The tntent of the communicator Shmiras Halashon Hotline over the should be solely for the benefit of one has opened a past few months. (Please Note: Due or both parties involved, and not, venue for people to the sensitivity ofhalachic ques- chas v'shalom, out ofrevenge or spite -R-ah_h_, ___D_o_v_i_d who want to ask a tions in general, and the fact of the prospective chassan kalla, or Weinberger studied many she'eifa of an expert in their parents. years in Yeshiva Chofetz d) The person sincerely believes Chaim. maintainingaclosne- this delicate and sensitive area. that he will accomplish somethtng lationship with the Rosh Yeshiva. A · d · 'd l b b d Rabbi Henoch Leibowitz, H"~. A n 1n 1v1 ua may e em arrasse to beneficial by relat;ng the information. popu1ar1eciurcrandsem1nruyteach"'. ask his own Rav a she'eila in shmiras Rabbi Weinberger also seived as Rav in a halashon, which may involve a family member, 2. A woman was asked to set up Manhattan congregation. and then as Assis­ a young man with a parUcu­ tant Rabbi of MThe White Shu!" in Far another congregant or a friend. Additionally, Rockaway. Author of numerous seforim. notably lar girl who she knows Shema Beni, on the halachos of child rearing, not every Rav is well versed in the complex has a physical defect Rabbi Weinberger is currently co-authoring a laws of shmiras halashon. The Hotline (e.g., a limp or a slight Siddur for a house of mourning, to be published stutter). Can she rightfully jointly by the U.O.J.C.A. andArtScroll. offers total anonymity for both the 26 caller and expert rabbinic authority. Sefer Chofetz Chaim delineates in great detail various real-life scenarios lhat confront us on a day-to-day basis. This halachic masterpiece must become part of our very fiber for us to speak in keeping wilh lhe halacha. set them up without divulging this in­ Answer: The Chafetz Chaim very nity to think clearly about what you formation, or must she tell about this clearly prohibits negative information are answering and what you are al­ problem in advance? to be passed on to the shadchan !tis lowed to say. Don't be caught off­ Answer: It seems quite clear from the more than sufficient to say "This guard! Chofetz Chaim that the only type of shidduch is not for me," or "It just blemish that can be discussed is one didn't work out, and I'm not inter­ 6. A girl from a co-ed high school that is hidden and would otherwise ested in pursuing it." The only situa­ called before Rosh Hashana as to how not be seen or known to the prospec­ tion where it would be permissible is she can do teshuva for the issur of tive spouse. One should not speak in if the information is relevant to the lashon hora. advance of a defect that is visible, for shad.ch.an for some future reference Answer: The Chofetz Chaim states they will later see it on their own and about this party. However. once that the sin of slander is to be viewed determine if it disturbs them. Telling again, the intent to relay this informa­ on two levels. One aspect is a trans­ such information in advance could tion must be pure, accurate, and even gression between man and G-d, re­ quite often deter the potential of such then, the shadchon may only specu­ gardless of whether people believe or a shidduch ever evolving. In some late about the veracity of the state­ totally disregard the evil gossip and cases, however, the person to be in­ ments mentioned, without accepting negative slurs that you might have formed may be deeply upset for not them as absolute truths. said about someone. To repent for being told of an obvious handicap in In general, it is good advice, when this part of the sin, you must advance; in such cases, a Rav must someone calls about a shidduch, not a) have total remorse of your past be consulted. to offer unsolicited information about actions, the person, but rather to respond to b) confess to Hashem for your in­ 3. Is one obligated to relate informa­ specific questions from the inquirer. iquity, and tion regarding a minor illness (for ex­ This method affords one the opportu- c) accept with total resolve that you ample, strict diet, or some stomach­ related disorder)? Answer: A minor or acute illness, which would not alter the shidduch after being made known to the pro­ spective spouse, would not be allowed to be told.

4. A boy calls about a particular girl who, he was told. was 22 years ofage. In reality, she is 24. Can the shod­ chon conceal this fact from him? Answer: In regard to age, there are numerous poskim who permit a mi­ nor distortion-something most people would not mind in reality. There are poskim who permit a year of two differential, unless you know that the boy or girl is insistent on knowing the actual age, at which point it would be prohibited to deceive them. Please note: It goes without saying that once a prospective chassan and kalla are already en­ gaged. there is a major difference about what one is allowed to say. See Chafetz Chaim for specific details.

5. ls it permitted for the boy or girl (who are not continuing with the particular shidduch) to tell the shadchan the negative traits of the other individual?

The Jewish Observer. June 1994 27 will not speak slander in the future. 7. A friend comes over to you saying, will come to a child as a result of this The other part of this sin is bein "Did you hear what Chaim, our next­ conversation. Clearly, however, if in adam t'chaveiro-between man and door neighbor, did to the landlord?" any way in the future there could be man. 1bis occurs when one's evil words Should you listen to this story, be­ detriment to the child, it would be are accepted, and hence some type of cause it might be relevant to you as a prohibited. damage can occur since the person has tenant in the building, or perhaps it been denigrated to the listeners. A sin should be viewed as outright slander 9. A mother calls her married daugh­ between man and man can be absolved against Chaim? ter and constantly speaks critically only if one goes to the person spoken Answer: The Chafetz Chaim gives us about her other daughter. How does about and asks for his or her forgive­ some general guidelines to follow in she deal with this situation? ness. If, however, one would be dealing with people who approach us Answer: It is quite clear that there is a ashamed to specify what was said, or with conversational pieces regarding prohibition of lashon hara when it would pain the subject to hear the others. First and foremost, question speaking about relatives. It is self-evi­ details of the slander, it would suffice the person as to whether this infor­ dent that she should not listen to what to mention that las hon hara in general mation is relevant to you or not. If the her mother has to say, for there is no was spoken about them. and proceed response is in the affirmative, then obligation of kibud ao v'eirn (honoring to ask for mechilla, forgiveness. you may listen to what is being said, one's parents) when they are in out­ It should be noted that mechilla is taking the precaution of only suspect­ rtght violation of an issur. In the event necessary only if one's evil words re­ ing the information to be correct, and that this is not feasible, she should at­ sulted in definite harm to the one spo­ not accepting it as conclusive until tempt to listen in order to find a limud ken about In the event that no clear­ checked further. If it is irrelevant, you zechus Oustification) to correct her cut damage has occurred as a result should say that you are not inter­ mother's jaundiced outlook about her of the slanderous words, it would ap­ ested, or that you are not allowed to other daughter. With the intent of pear that one is not obligated to ask listen. (If one is in an unavoidable bringing peace between mother and the person for forgiveness. However, situation where he must hear evil daughter. it would actually be a mi.tzva it definitely behooves the speaker to gossip, see Shmiras Halashon, 6:5 for to hear what her mother has to say. go back to his audience and correct further details.) Yet, in the above sce­ Once again, she cannot, under any his negative remarks or find meiit in nario, if you feel confident that by lis­ circumstances, accept what is being the actions of the person spoken tening to the slander, you can find said as definite fact. about previously. merit or correct the misconception of ·-·-··-·---il the rumor-monger, you then have an t is clear from the above situa­ obligation to listen. It is a mitzva to tions, in addition to hundreds of correct any maligning that is based I other real-life scenarios, that we upon misconstrued or misunder­ all serve as dayanirn (Jewish judges) l~ST!~ I stood circumstances. Once again, at one time or another. Literally, even here, you cannot accept what is people's lives prosper or falter based being said as definitive fact, but only upon what we say to others. It is my as speculation. fervent hope that we become sensi­ tized to safeguarding our most lethal 8. Since almost all children are mis­ weapon-the tongue. In this zechus chievous at one time or other, is it per­ we will not only spare much unnec­ missible for people to relate what a par­ essary anguish and agony, but we ticular child did to his or her siblings or will purify ourselves, our families, This is not just a summary. other children? ('This question presup­ and Klal Y-isroeL thus meriting the 1 Each tape consists of approximately 5 Blatt poses the fact that there is no benefit coming of Moshiachin our day. • in their entirety for only $3.00 (plus S&H)! that will be gleaned from this informa­ (13)C"iil (6 )l"l'l!Jl"I tion, e.g., tokeepyourchildrenfromas­ soclatingwith this child, etc.) (ll)i'Tl (8)il7°'ID Answer: Generally speaking, the '. The. Sh!"-iras 1.ft:dashon (lO)iW'ltl (6)]0ji ~ Chafetz Chaim seems to feel that it is H~tllne hours ~~ Mon~ay (t9)rtTl

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The Jewish Observer. June 1994 29 Rabbi Yosef GaVIiel Bechhofer Problems Frequently Encountered in the Construction of Eiruvin in Modern Metropolitan Areas

ertain poseik once took my as long as they are man· havrusaand me on a field trip made, poses few prob­ .Nound the eiruv of an urban lems. It is the use of commurrity. He began by taking us to overhead cable which a specific street marked on the eiruv causes most of the map as the border of the eiruv and of· problems encoun- / F.'-F-IG_U_RE_l-':::.:-1 fering us ten dollars if we were suc· tered in contempo- cessful at identifytng the lines of the rary urban eiruvin. eiruv. Needless to say, we did not earn that ten dollars! THE TZVRAS HAPESACH It might come as a shock to any· one who has erected a plivate back· e Torah forbids us to carry in yard eiruv to realize that buildtng a any area defined as a reshus communal eiruv usually entails little Tiharabbim (a public domain) on installation of wire. For the most part, Shabbos. Chazal extended this pro· resourceful eiruv committees spend hibition to include any unenclosed Shulchan Aruch, Drach Chaim weeks and months identifying pre· area. The most popular method of 362: ll)(fig. I). existing structures to serve as part of enclosing an area al pi halacha is a This halacha poses a formidable the communal enclosure. Such tzuras hapesach (literally, "the form problem when utilizing overhead structures often are actual walls: of a doorway"-the familiar two poles cable in the construction of an eiruv. fences, embankments, riverbanks, with a wire across the top and the Although occasionally the cable does sides of buildings, etc., but over· valiations on that theme). The ratio· in fact go from the top of one pole to whelmingly consist of overhead cable nale of this solution is that a door the top of the next, more often than belongtng to the electric or telephone frame is a halachically valid form of not, the cable is attached to the side utility companies. As a result of the enclosure (Eiruvin l lb). Eiruvin of of the pole. Frequently, the same expediency of ustng these pre-exist· this sort enclose areas as small as a cable will weave back and forth, go· ing structures-stemming either back yard and as large as entire ing from the top of the pole to the side from concern over funds or over mu­ neighborhoods. of the next one, out on a crossbar and nicipal regulations-urban eiruvin of· The most basic halacha of tzuras back again in quick succession! ten follow what seem to be illogical hapesach. which the poles and wire In Israel, where the municipal au· patterns, separating sidewalks from comprise, is that the wire which tholities are cooperative, the problem streets, cutting through alleys, or en· crosses over the poles (the of tzuras hapesach min hatzad is compassing broad areas with few "lechayayim'1 must pass over the top usually rectified by plactng wide bar· Jews. The use ofwall·like structures, of the poles, not on or over the sides rels which are at least ten tefachim Rabbi Bechhofer, RoshKoUelofthe Noble Kollel of of the poles. Crossing over the side of high underneath the overhead cable. Yeshivas Bets HaMidrash LaTorah in Chicago, is the pole constitutes the p'sul of tzuras The halachic plinciple of gud asek the author of Sefer BigdeiSheshon MasechtaBava hapesach min hatzad ("on the side"), mechitza (the wall is lhalachically] ex· Basra and Eruvin in Modem Metropolitan Areas. explicitly invalidated by the Gemora tended higher) then allows us to draw This synopsis of several common problems is based on the latter work. in Masechta Eiruvin, ibid. (and an imaginary line directly up from the

30 The Jewish Observer, June 1994 top of the barrel to the cable, allow­ Some Rabbonim will, nonetheless, considered part of the lechi (the ing us to view the barrel, not the uW­ pennit the use of gud asekin the con­ halachic device of"lavud" allows us to ity pole, as the lechi (vertical pole) for struction of an eiruv based on utility regard objects within three tefachim the tzuros hapesach (fig. 2). poles. In order to prevent the bent of each other as connected). If, how­ pole problem, they require the use of ever, the lechi ends more than three a surveyor's tool or a plumb line in tefachim beneath the box, then the r·-----··---··-·····--1_FIGURE2 order to determine that the lechiis di­ box is a hefsek which interrupts the ', rectly underneath the overhead gud asek (Mishna Berura, Orach cable. At best, however. this is a haz­ Chaim363:112). [ ardous approach. A single invalid Due to all these considerations. lechi can render an entire eiruv in­ "state of the art" eiruvin do not utilize valid. An average-sized urban eiruv gud asek lechayayim, but rather w1 may contain hundreds of lechayayim build the lechi all the way up to the attached to telephone poles. The sur­ overhead cable. In such a case, no veyor (usually a utility company em­ imaginary line need be drawn, as an L______~ ___ J ployee or a hastily-trained member of actual line goes all the way to the the local eiruv committee) must me­ wire. Actual lines may be bent at an In chutz la'aretz. however, the au­ ticulously check every pole-a time angle and remain halachically valid. thorities are not as cooperative, and consuming, tedious, and sometimes (The lechiitself, however, must be rea­ will usually not allow such obtrusiVe expensive task. Unless one's yiras sonably straight, not pronouncedly tikkunim. The usual approach here. Shamayim is very strong, diligence crooked or bent. An angle of more therefore, is to bolt a plank, a rod, or tends to erode over time. A further than approximately 25 degrees is tubing to the utility pole to serve as problem is that any pole may become problematic.) (fig. 4) the lechi wherever one is necessary. bent over time, necessitating con­ stant surveillance. USING A ROD AS LECJH Another problem which may arise when gud asek lechayayim are used e problem encountered most is that often a utility company box frequently as a result of the use may be attached to the utility pole be­ T:fa narrow object as lechiis in tween the lechi and the overhead the application of gud asek. The cable. If the lechi is built all the way Chazon Ish (Orach Chaim, Eiruvin up to the box, or to within three 71 :6) rules that the imaginary line is tefachim of it, then the box may be always drawn straight up, regardless of the angle of the lechL Many utility poles are warped or bent at an angle, either as a result of carelessness in ARE YOU MOVING? the original construction, weather IS YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS PRINTED conditions over time, or being hit by INCORRECTLY ON THE JO MAILING LABEL? cars or trucks. The lechayayim at­ tached to such poles bend with them We need your help to ensure proper delivery of the 10 to your home. Please at the same angle-yet gud asek still attach current mailing label in the space below, or print clearly your address draws the imaginary line straight up and computer processing numbers that are printed above your name on the from the top of the lechi (the Chazon address label. I sh also rules that gud asek begins only at the top, not the middle of a ADDRESS CHANGE FORM iAffix label here) pole) (fig. 3). In such a situation the gud asek is meaningless, as the line drawn from the top of the lechiwill not hit the overhead cable. ~10------l imaginary

Name ______~ I 1-gud asek /) I 11ne • - cable Address - lechi _ lechi City, State, Zip------­ I Date Effective------I ut1l1ty pole ' Please allow 6-8 weeks for all changes to be reflected on your maihng label. WE Will NOT BE L----1~~~=1-_"l_GURE..:_J RESPONSIBLE FOR BACK ISSUES MISSED unless you notify us 8 weeks prior to your move. The Jewish Observer. June 1994 31 THE OVERHEAD CABLE hapesach definitely invalid. It is worthwlllle emphasizing again that he Mishna Berura (Drach one p'sul can invalidate an entire Chaim 362:66) cites a dis­ eiruu. T agreement as to whether the FIGURES cable must be absolutely taut or may THE POSITION OF THE POLE sag and/ or sway in the wind between the lechayayim (fig. 5). The trend, everal problems arise in regard based on the AruchHaShulchan and to the position of the utility others (OrachChaim362:37), is to be straight from lechi to lechi. The S pole and/ or the lechi attached lenient-as long as when there is no Chazon Ish (Drach Chaim, Eiruvin to the pole. Occasionally the path of wind the cable at rest runs due 71: 10) considers such a tzuras the utility cables requires the place­ ment of poles on private property. In and of itself such positioning is not a problem: however, often such prop­ PATHWAYS OF THE PROPHETS erty is surrounded by a fence which Rabbi Visroel Reisman the eiruv is thus forced to cross (fig. 6). The Mishna Berura (Drach Chaim Join America's most popular weekly shiur 363: 113) and others rule that such a as halachic and hashkafic issues are applied to contemporary times. FIGURE6 -1 A collection Of the all-time favorite Navi Shiurim arranged by topic and packaged in a custom binder. I Each series consists of six tapes.

SERIES I: STARTING A FAMILY: SHIDUCHJM. MARRIAGE & CHILDREN <- Shiduchim: Finding The Right Match + Yichud; Mltzva Tantz; True Love +The Marriage Ceremony situation is invalid. A similar problem + Children: He!plng Them Grow Up +The First Year Of Marriage; Naming Children applies in a case where a hedge which + Patience With Children; One Body: Parent and Child is larger than the allowed measure­ Dedicated by Mr. & Mrs. Oav1d H. Lasky In loving memory of his parents ments has grown to surround the ri"V !IPV' ., ll!I ;1.. io l't•n + l'l"V 1inN cni!IN ., )!I Vl!lll'I• ., lechi (fig. 7). The Avnei Nezer (Drach Chaim no. 291), however, tends to be SERIES II: MOODS +Moods: Getting A Hold of_Yourself +_Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness: Inner Strength +-Shalom Bayis l -cable~ + Facing Uncertainties: Bitachon and Fear ut111ty _ I + Controlling The Mood--Deallng With Insults polo +Actions Set The Mood I Dedicated by Mr. & l\llrs. Alex Gross in loving memory of his parents l'l"V D"M ~,.,, ., 11:. ,,,., + n•v :.pv> ,N,1!1• :.in 1:. p~• .,

Send $29.95 for each series ordered (shipping & handling included) lenient so long as the height of the Make checks payable to: lechi exceeds the height of the sur­ Agudath Israel of Madison rounding fence or hedge by at least 1812 Avenue R ten tefachim. The lechi is then re­ Brooklyn, NY 11229 garded as a distinct wall above and beyond the surrounding fence whose significance cannot be nullified by an imaginary gud asek. Other poskim advance somewhat more lenient po­ sitions, but even the position of the Avnei Nezer is cited as a hetter b'she'as hadechak-a leniency one may rely upon in a difficult situation.

32 The Jewish Observer, June 1994 TRANSFERRING FROM FENCE TO CABLE It might come as a shock to anyone ue to the many problems in­ who has erected a private backyard volved in the use of overhead D cable, it is obviously prefer­ eiruvto realize that building a able to utilize fences and other such wall-like structures wherever possible. communal eiruvusually entails little Usually, however, it is difficult to rely only on fences. For example, inevita­ installation of wire. For the most part, bly fences must be interrupted in or­ der to allow streets to pass through. Jn resourceful eiruvcommittees spend order to insure that the continuous line of the eiruv encompasses the city, weeks and months identifying pre-existing the enclosure must travel across the street, either by way of erecting a structures to serve as part of the communal enclosure. tzuras hapesach across the street. or, as is often the case, by jumping to an overhead cable which crosses the carry in the streets on Shabbos. Al­ side by the Third Avenue elevated street. The problem which frequently though the Jews of Lithuanian de­ train line. An elevated train line looks arises is that the poles are usually be­ scent generally did not rely on the just like a classic tzuras hapesach hind and not within three Lejachim of Sherpser Rav's helter (one of the the support beams might be seen as the fence (fig. 8). This presents the founders of Yeshivas Rabbeinu 1echayayim and the overhead train Yitzchak Elchanan. Rabbi Yehuda tracks might be seen as the lintel. A David Bernstein, wrote a pamphlet, similar approach is quoted by the FIGURES "Hilchasa Rabasa L'Shabbata," dis­ She'arim Mitzuyanim B'Halacha cable-----~ puting the hetter), people still were (82:9) in the name of the She'eilos ' ---e----Lower East Side was surrounded on lechayayim and lintel be distinct from ally unsuitable for use as a lechi (see three sides by the walls which front the walls of the structure to which below), so drawing the gud asek line on the East River. and on the fourth they are affixed. The She'arim up from the fence will not help. In the case we have presented here, a lechi would have to be place on the fence di­ YESHIVA TORAS rectly underneath the overhead cable (thus creating a gud asek). CHAIM/DENVER A BEIS MEDRASH AND MESIVTA ELEVATED TRAIN LINES offering an opportunity for a Yeshiva bochur who AND BRIDGES has a bren for learning and wants ...... IIto develop in Torah and midos ... to be in a true Torah atmosphere bbi Yehoshua Siegel, com­ •. -.- to develop a- derech in learning ... a vibrant ruach of shteiging .•• chaverim who are B'nei Torah ••• dedicated Rebbeim who really care monly known as the Sherpser R the Yeshiva Toras Chaim Talmudical Seminary/Denver Chief Rabbi of New York, who was of 1400 Quittnan Street, P.O: Box 4067, DCnvci, Colorado 80204 Lithuanian extraction. In 1907 the Rabbi Yitzchok Was~crman Rabbi Yisrocl J\1dr K.'lg:m Sherpser Rav published a pamphlet. Tl..1Hh Ye.rhiv11 JV1.1h Ytrbil'n. Rabbi Ychoshua Gutman "Eiruv V'Hotza'a," which allowed the Afen11htl residents of the Lower East Side to Applicatkms accepted frtJln all Jewish youth, il>ithtJut regard to rnu, tofor,·nationtil or ethnic origin.

The Jewish Observer, June J 994 33 Mitzuyanim B"Halacha therefore Almost inevitably, the construction of an eiruv in an rules that a bridge or overpass may be considered a tzuras hapesachonly urban setting becomes a matter of controversy. Almost if it has features (such as protruding girders or supports) which may be re­ as inevitably, the issues involved in the controversy garded as distinct from its wall.

cause much confusion and strife, especially among CONCLUSION

those not familiar with Hilchos Eiruvin. most inevitably, the construc­ ion of an eiruv in an urban AJ etting becomes a matter of controversy. Almost as inevitably, the issues involved in the controversy cause much confusion and strife, es­ VISITING pecially among those not familiar with Hildws Eiruvin. The focus ofsuch con­ BIG troversies usually centers on the NEW YORK? APPLE halachic definition of a reshus COPY & PRINTING harabbim, i.e., what constitutes a Comfortable accommodations CENTER public domain which cannot be en­ available, including breakfast, A.C, closed al pi halacha with the device of 87 NASSAU ST. maid service, quiet residential area tzuras hapesach. A common miscon­ NEW YORK, NY 10038 5 mins. from Baro Pk. and Flatbush. ception is that once the reshus Single $40, double $50 per day. (212) 962'4282 (212) 267-9478 harabbimquestion is resolved, the ac­ Strictly Kosher, Cholov Yisroel. tual construction of the eiruvis a rela­ CALL: (718) 859-4769 tively simple and straightforward mat­ ter. Perhaps our review of only a few of the possible issues involved in the con~ struction of an eiruv in a metropolitan area dispels that misconception! Why da bright children Many sources stress the advisabil­ iiy and importance ofbuilding eiruvin wherever possible (Shemiras Shabbos sa alien lail? K'Hikhassa, 14:21; Halachos of the Emu, "BemakomHakdama'J. A posi­ Too many children are robbed of success, day by day, by being mistakenly tive attitude towards eiruvinis exhib­ labelled as underachievers, unable to concentrate or simply lazy. The villain ited by many poskim. The positive at­ may be a learning dysfunction which can prevent even the most gifted child titude in theory does not, however, al­ from enjoying their full potential. ways translate into a positive attitude in practice. The reasons for this in­ Arrowsmith-Cohen Learning gives children the opportunity to work towards consistency should be clarified, at their dreams by improving their learning capacities. This leads to full least somewhat, by our discussions. academic and life success. The nature of Hikhos Eiruvin is such that not only must poskim who are To learn more about our unique program please call: well-versed in the halachos be con­ ARROWSMITH-COHEN LEARNING sulted in all cases, but that they must be broughtfor on-site inspections of (718) 745-1607 the area and the eiruv prior to, dur­ ing, and after construction. Only in this way can the theoretical positive You are invited to attend an Information Night: attitude be translated into practice, and only thus will enhanced oneg DAYS INN Shabbos not be attained at a cost of Liberty, NY - Rt. 17, exit 100 diminished Shemiras Shabbos. •

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acknowledge G-d's reign over us from all directions­ all this is also part of our experience not paper over ir­ in our exacting performance of mitz­ reparable differences. vos. Moreover, the prescriptions of We must. 11owever. take note of the the "how" chart the only path for information sheet, wl1ich describes bringing us closer to tl1e "what." If our ere is a conviction among the topics on the agenda, and in­ brothers who have strayed from that rious groups within Jewry cludes, among other items: 'The sab­ path fail to appreciate this, it is indeed 'Ethat the over-arching com­ batical year in Israel suggests an ad· tragic. We owe them the light of our mand of our time is to respond to the ditional subject for discussion: the experience, but no apologies for our call for Achlius. While the Chareidi disparity between 'the letter and the fidelity to Shulclwn Aruch. communities regard Achdus as a spirit of the law.' The contrast be­ Shmittah is a mitzva that is re­ worthwhile pursuit, there is a basic tween the lofty imperatives of the markably obvious in how its n1ere requirement-that is. commonality of Bible and their reduction to mere ag­ performance summons up the re­ belief. As mucb as "Vayichan sham ricultural and dietary restrictions in sources of mesirus nejesh in the soul Yisroel neged hahar-and Israel en­ rabbinic tradition invites a careful of every Jew who honors it. These camped (stngular form) opposite the understanding of the interpretive men are described by Chazal as mountain IStnaij'" conveys that acting process and how it can go wrong." "[G-d'sl messengers, mighty in valor" together as one unit was a prerequi­ (Tehillim I 03,20): they cease and de­ site to receiving the Torah, tl1e con­ ow, there is among deviant sist for an entire year from any agri­ verse is also true: this pasuk demon­ groups a long-standing cultural activity that they would nor· strates that the single unifying factor N stratagem of denigrating me­ mally pursue to earn their daily of Kial Yisroel is the fact that the ticulous mitzua-observance as an in­ bread, mortgaging their future to people are approaching Sinai to re­ volvement in the mechai1ical minu­ G-d's blessings that are promised for ceive the Torah (ali other descrtptions tiae oflegalisms at the expense of the the eighth year of the cycle-pro· of Jewish encampments are in the spirit of the law. This fiction was claimtng with tl1eir halachically pre· plural). To those others. however, the hurled at rabbinic Judaism by the scribed restraint that, indeed, the call for Achlius transcends ali consid - Christians, at the Orthodox by the earth is the L-rd's! erations: We all must be one in a reli­ Reform, and-most recently-by Who told the oracles of the gious context in spite of all sorts of dif­ "Clal Yisroel" Jews against the Hartman Institute that the ferences---whether in degree of reli­ Chareidirn. Yes, we do measure the Shmittah observance has been gious commitment, specific theologi­ square centimeters of the "Motzi-and­ "reduce(d) ... to mere dietary and cal outlook, or chosen lifestyle. Matzd' matzos, we unfurl our marror agricultural restrictions in rabbinic l)'piml is the Interdenominational leaves (well inspected for insects) on tradition"? Who are they to judge Rabbinic Study Seminar, to be con­ graduated squares to assure mini­ the "mighty men of valor" as vic­ vened this coming July in Jerusalem mum size, and then we pace our tims of "an interpretive process" by the Shalom Hartman Institute, chew-and-swallow maneuvers to that has "go[ne) wrong"! which is headed by Rabbi David conform to the halachic time require­ We will be following the delibera­ Hartman. In a letter accompanytng a ments. Yes, we race the clock to say tions and weighty pronouncements of press-release to this effect, the direc­ "Hallel" by midnight. Yes, we are on tl1e Hartman Institute with less than tor of the Institute urges editors ofvari­ the alert for extraneous ululations bated breath. In our pride in the ous publications to publicize the rel­ when blowing shofar, and we pull out growtng ranks of Shmittahadherents, evant tnformation "to let the Jewish our loupes to check our esrogim for we unabashedly applaud the 4,000 public know that in this pertod of po­ tiny flaws. But the fervor of our Halle[ farmers who bonor Shmittah. the rab­ larization there are also sparks of rec­ al the Seder, the way we are trans­ bis who guide them, and the hun­ onciliation and friendship within the ported to Egypt with each bite of dreds of thousands of consumers Jewish rabbinic fold." We must disap­ matza and marror, the manner in who respect its dietary restrictions. point the folks at the Hartman Insti­ which the shofar's call lips open our And to those in the philosophical tute; we will not be urging people to be hearts, and how the esrog. tn concert grandstands, we plead. "If it ain't there. Rhetoric of togetherness does with the other three species, helps us broke, don't fix it.'' B

The Jewish Observer, June 1994 37 AviShulman

My Child, My Disciple, and My Dis­ has lived for several decades, and are chinuch insights-virtual gems­ ciple, My Child, by Rabbi Noach seems to have a deep appreciation of from the Vilna Gaon, Reb Tzaddok Orlowek (Feldheim, Spring Valley. their special world, as well. HaKohein, Rabbi Simcha Wasser· N.Y., $13.95 and $14.95) The book for parents, My Child, My man, ':>"Yr, and n"?;i> Rabbi Shlomo Disciple, has 18 chapters, some just Wolbe, N"V":rel, all presented in a con· noted educator once told me a few pages in length, each of which text of positive, practical application. that when he lectures to par· provokes and molds our perception of The topics range from How to Dis· nt groups, invariably some­ Jewish parenting. Woven into each cipline, How to Criticize, Reward and one says, "I only wish my child's chapter (especially in the footnotes) Punish, to Keeping Your Cool. and teacher could hear that!" And when he addresses groups of educators, Considering a move someone always says, "Why don'tyou tell that to the parents!" . to MOJVSEY? Rabbi Orlowek presents us with two books, one addressed to the par· ents, and the other to Rebbe'im and for careful attention to your Moros. While each book is written from individual needs, call us today! its own vantage point, the books are written in tandem, with interlocking (914) 354-8445 thoughts. If a child's needs and prob· Iems are addressed in a disharmoni­ ous way at school and home, instead of reinforcing each other, parent and Is proud to announce the opening of a teacher can contribute to the conflict. When reading books on chinuch written by professionals (such as child l'•ACHER psychologists), one often feels that their perspective is grounded in a '.lj?}P.. n''.l secular discipline, and that they are ATERETn!DY l'llAINING quoting selected Chazal to justify this TORAH n11n or that position. By contrast, Rabbi Orlowek's writings seem to flow natu· SEMINARY rally from vast Torah knowledge and for the year 5755 lifelong experience in Torah education and guidance. While Rabbi Orlowek under the leadership of lived and taught in the U.S. long Harav Yosef Harari·Raful.~"~ enough to understand the pressures and hanied lifestyle of our country, he also lectures effectively to yeshiva and For applwation and information, please call seminary students in Israel where he (718) 382-7002 Mr. Avi Shulman is director ofTorah Umesorah's SEED and Aish Dos programs. He wrttes and lec­ Rebetzin Zahava Braunstein-Menahelet tures on educational topics.

38 The Jewish Observer. June 1994 Watching Your Health. The fact that Prepare, How to be Calm, ... Punish. portunity to teach. Rabbi Orlowek each topic is covered in a few easy-to­ ... Review, etc. In addition to the has equipped us better for both tasks, read pages with no technical lan­ scores of ma'amorei Chazal in its no matter which hat we wear. guage or psychobabble makes the pages, the book resonates with de­ book not only accessible, but enjoy­ cades of practical teaching experi­ able as well. The summary at the end ence-a gold mine of ideas. of each chapter helps guide the reader to practical applications. f you are a teacher, I would sug­ gest that you read both books, be e book for teachers, My Dis­ I cause the best teachers are the iple, My Child, is the con­ ones who see each student as his or ensed essence of Rabbi her own child (and thus will do better Orlowek's educational courses in if they understand the parenting role Rabbi Hillel Mandel's Torah Educa­ even as they teach); and as a parent, tors Institute in Israel. Each chapter you read both books, because as par­ is a self-contained lesson on I-low to ents we have the obligation and op-

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The Jewish Observer, J!lne 1994 39 } context, discussion of a machlokes which may infuse a halachic discus­ (dispute) between Ri.shonim makes sion with an aura of excitement, but sense. For our purposes, however, actually compromises the loftiness of one would have done well to begin by the subject matter. quoting the l<.ambam whose word is The whole set of terminologies­ the basis ofour count, and then tak­ "mystery," "the next piece of the Letters to ing note of every word that he says. puzzle ... provided by a verse in In the chapter on Shmit.tah(l 0:4), the Melachim," "partial resolution, but Rambam in his holy clarity, puts it problems remain"-are an indignity the Editor this way: "Hence one learns that the to the subject matter. year when the Second Bayi.s was de­ In addition, it surely is odd to read stroyed, and whose start is in Ti.shrei. "that this calculation [placingAvrohom about two months after the Avinu's birth in 1948] is verified by THESHMl'ITAHCOUNT Ghurban... that year was the year af­ Rashi etc." Does a count, so clearly fig­ -NOT AMYSTERY ter the Shmittah." It is in this manner ured out in Bereishi.s and Noach, really that the Rambam explains the need the hechsher of Rashis verifica­ phrase of the Gemora in Ta'anis 29: tion? Similarly, should the source of To the Editor: "the year after the Churban." Bayi.s Ri.shon's standing 410 years be I found publication of "Mystery of Now the Bai.s Yosef Darkei Moshe quoted as "RashiBavaBasra3b" when the Missing Years" (Jan. '94) truly (written by the author of the RMA on it is so often clearly mentioned in mystifying. Is it the role of The Jew­ Shulchan Aruch), and the Bach all Ghazal? (Yoma 9, etc., elc.} ish Obseroer to confuse readers and write that the Rambarn and the Rih Furthermore, some of the ele­ undermine their trust in the authen­ (one of the Tosafists) are of the same ments in the article's attempt to find ticity of halacha? This year is opinion (Shulchan Aruch 67). This a proper count, such as the whole Shmit.tah. as had been determined by means (unlike Rashfs view) that the business of starting the count from our authorities centuries ago. Ghurban of the Bayis Sheini took Creation, instead of from the In a popular journal of information place 421 years after its construction, Ghurban, or dealing with Sluws Toh1.4 and opinion, one normally begins in the year 3829. To this the Rambarn when the Rambarnand the Rih(bases with the halacha and then proceeds adds "that the year starting two for our calculations) obviously do not to discuss the implications from that months after the Ghurban, starting do so, would be considered a Red point on. Any exploration of back­ with the following Ti.shref' (2830) was Herring in any bonafide mystery. No­ ground and differtng approaches be­ the year after Shmittah. mentioned in where in Ghazal do we find any refer­ longs in a halachajournal. In such a Ta'anis 29. Hence, the previous year, ence to the year that something oc­ 3829, was Shmittah. Add 275 seven­ curred-the Mabul (in 1650), year cycles (or 1925 years) to the date, Avraharn Avinu reaching age 52 (in and we clearly have our present 2000), Yetzias Mitzrayim (in 2448)­ Shmit.tah year of 5754. as anything but Shnos Adam. No­ And thus, the Rambarn continues where do we see these events counted (Shmitiah 10:4), "the present year in the context of Sluws Tohu (1651, 4935 (1107 after 3828) is Shmittah." 2001, or 2449, respectively). --~·~---- Add to this 22 Shmit.tah cycles (154 May I plead with our gilled teach­ -----~--·~·· years), and one comes to the year ers to please not get carried away with 5089. Thus the Darkei Moshe con­ American-style flippancy. Let us treat SECLUDED cludes that "according to the sacred subjects with all due dignity. Rambam 5089 was a Shmit.tah year." RABBI SHLOME ROTENBERG OCEANFRONT VILLA Add 95 cycles to that (or 655 years), Brooklyn and again we clearly have our present Rabbi Rotenberg is author of the three-volume ON TROPICAL ISLAND history, Toldos Am Olam. Shmittahyear of 5754. • Secluded pool The above count is apparently • 200 ft. private oceanfront what the DarkeiMoshe explains in his DUAL SOLUTION TO THE • 7 rooms/ 1hacres usual brevity. And thus, "the Arith­ "MISSING YEARS" • Stocked pantry with Kosher metic Mystery" is solved. From the Rambarn, through the DarkeiMoshe, groceries to today. To the Editor: • Staff of 3 including cook Rabbi Ylsroel Reisman's excellent Weekly rentals $1.000 The Undignified Packaging article, "Mystery of the Missing Years," clarifies a difficult topic lucidly Call for free brochure Now 1 would like to address an ad­ and eruditely. (718) 376-5400 ditional grievance with the article: the As you are surely aware, however, make-believe type of packaging, he leaves a perplexing question unan-

40 The Jewish Observer, June 1994 swered. In footnote 1 (pg.19), he states Both Dates Should Be Used fos). This is imperative, so we not be­ that a teacher who uses the accepted come confused regarding all current date of 1948 for the btrth of Avraham It is my firm conviction that both Shmittah calculations, for all ( 1943 in the footnote is clearly a typo­ dates should be used. I have clarified Shmittah calculations are based on graphical error), which follows the cal­ this matter at length in Legacy of Cheshbon Tohu. (See Rabbeinu culation fron1 Adam's creation Sinm pp.18-19, note 1, citing many Zerachiah haLev~ in Sefer haMa'or (Cheshbon Adam), and at the same sources. I will explain bliefly: haGadol on Avoda Zara 9b.) time refers to this year as 5754, which All early historical Biblical dates. While the Shmittahcalculation is a follows the c.alculation from creation of as rendered in Tanach, follow complex one. and is based on a vari­ heaven and earth (Cheshbon Tahu), is Cheshbon Adam since the Torah's ety of factors, the end result for con­ being inconsistent. chronological calculation begins with temporary purposes can be arrived at What, then, shall the teacher do? the creation ofAdamHarishon. Thus, very easily. We can simply divide the Shall he (or she) change the accepted the Torah stipulates that Adam was Jewish calendar year by seven. For date of 5754, and wiite on the black­ 130 years old when Shes was born; example, our year, 5754, a Shmittah board that this year is 5753? This is, Shes was 105 when Keinan was born; year, is divisible by seven (5754 + 7 = of course, ludicrous. At the same etc. It is clear that the Torah does not 822). This, however, is only applicable time, it is equally untenable for the include the Shenns Tahu, or the Zero to Cheshbon Tahu, which we cur­ teacher to change all accepted dates Year in this calculation, nor would it rently follow in our calendars. of Jewish history, and stipulate, for be proper to do so, since the Torah is example, that Avraham was born in stipulating Adam's biological age NOW 1949, Yitzchak in 2049, and that here. It is on the basis of these dates Mal.tan Torah was in 2449. Clearly, that all our chronological calcula­ AVAILABLE this is no solution, since almost all tions, such as 1948 for Avraham. TO AGUDATH ISRAEL authentic Torah sources render these through 3828 for the Churban Bayis MEMBERS dates as 1948, 2048, and 2448, re­ Shein~ are rendered. spectively (as in Avoda Zara 9a, and This should not be changed by the COMPREHENSIVE Rashi ad loc). Torah teacher under any circum­ 1 was confronted by this dilemma stances. Minhag avoseinu beyadeinlL MAJOR MEDICAL when I began to wiite Legacy q{Sina~ When we come to the post­ HEALTH INSURANCE which is a history ofTorah transmis­ ChurbW1era, however, we mustrevert sion, from Creation through the close to the dating system based on PROGRAM

of the Geonic era in 4798 (1038 c.e.) Cheshbon Tahu, by adding one year Available to New York State residents only TI1is question arises on almost every to our calculations, much as the For Information Call: page of this book, particularly on the Rambam (Hilchos Kiddush haCho­ numerous charts in this book. ~rhe desh 6:8: Hilchos Shmittah veYovel 212-797-7388 approach I took to this question is, in I 0:2; see Kesef Mishna and Bi'ur my opinion, proper fbr every teacher MahariKurkus, ad. loc.) and Tosafos Between 9:30 AM and 12:30 PM and interested layman. do (Rosh Hashana 8a-b, sv., Liteku- JSR A EL

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The Jewish Observer. June 1994 41 Since all of our calendars follow Hashana (139, 5, p.465), he explains cording to minyan shetaros-the cal­ the Cheshbon Tahu in regard to all that the Torah does not include the culation that dates back to Alexander dates following the Second Churban, Zero Year in its chronological date be­ the Great. The Iggeres Rav Sherira one year should be added to dates cause "it is not proper to include the Gaon and other important prtmary based on earlier ealculations (i.e. the year of Tahu in the calculation of the history sources follow the calculation dates of the Purim miracle, Chanuka, genealogy of mankind." At the same of the minyan shetaros exclusively. etc.) to take into account the Zero time, the Cha7-0nfshstates unequivo­ The Rambam refers to minyan Year of Cheshbon Tahu. Churban cally that the Shmittah calculation shetaros, as well (Hilchos Kiddush Bayis Sheini is a reasonable cut-off does include the Tahu year as the Year haChodesh 11: 16). point for this purpose. One (ibid.; also p. 468, s.v. ;o';;i l'Jl"I), In sum, one has good basis for us­ as we have clarified above. ing a dual approach in the classroom, The Chazon Ish Concurs The teacher need not be concerned with no sense of conflict; and stu­ The Chazon !sh, ?"Yr, concurs with that this approach will confuse the dents take well to the rationale for it. this approach. In his Hilchos Rosh student. I have used this dual ap­ ZACHARIAH FENDEL proach with high school and semi­ Rabbi Fende[ is author of a number of pub­ lished works on Jewish history, hashkafa nary students for years, and they The Yitti Leibel (world-view), andmussar {ethica[ teachings). have found it fascinating. HELPLINE As Torah Jews, we are certainly No Problem Is Too Big .• accustomed to various dating sys­ Rabbi Reisman Responds: No Ptob1em ls Too Smalt.. tems, used for different purposes. For 0 Is there some terrible thing happening in your example, we follow the opinion of I am very honored that a world re­ family that you are afraid or ashamed to tell any0t1e? Rabbi Eliezer (Rosh Hashana !Ob) nown historian such as Rabbi 0 Are you a teenage or young adult having that the world was created in Elut/ Rotenberg would take the time to problems that are too difficult for you to Tishre~ at which time we observe comment on my article. I am surely handle?? Rosh Hashana, and proclaim, not qualified to disagree with him on 0 Are you single or-married, and experiencing "Hayom haras olam--Today is the matters involving Jewish history. personal or inter-pers6nal conflicts?? birthday of the universe." (See Thankfully, Rabbi Rotenberg's objec­ 0 Are you simply confronted with a situatiotl that requires you to find an objective listener? Ramban, V"T1 ;r; Bereishis 8:5; Ritva, tions do not center on the histortcal Some of the Torah community's highly skilled Rosh Hashana 27a ]~r.l~ ;rT). Never­ accuracy of my article, but on its style therapists are av11.ilab1e to talk to you on the theless, we recognize Nisan as "Rosh and presentation. On these topics, I phone, with total anonymity. chadashim-chief of all months" must respectfully disagree. To ad­ H*O*U*R*S (Shemos 12,2). Indeed, the first dress the points raised: Monday-Friday (Day) 8:00 AM-12:00 Noon Mishna Rosh Hashona l. Rabbi Rotenberg suggests that we Monday-Thursday {Eve.) 8:00 PM-11:00 PM in teaches us Sunday 9:00 AM-12:00 Noon that Arba'a Roshei Shanim heim­ prove that this year is Shmittah by 9:00 PM-1 l:OO PM there are four different New Years beginning with the Rambam, etc. Tills DIAL (718) HELP-NOW (435-7669) Days-each for a different purpose. misses the point. The purpose of this Even more significantly, for centurtes article was not to prove that this is In Chicago call 1-800-BELP-623 Ill New Jersey, Can 1·908-363-UUO Jews have calculated the years ac- Shmittah (does anyone doubt that it

TIUs project has bConnecticut. LA MER VILLA BARONE OFF PREMISES LEONARD'S STOUFFER$ INN OF GREAT NECK WHITE PLAINS QUEENS CATERING SEPHARDIC AT THE LOCATION OF MARRIOTT RYE TOWNSHIP YOUR CHOICE INCLUDING UNIONDALE RYE TOWN JEJrt~!J v~f~~sER C~i~ cfA~~~::-:;AM HILTON YOUR HOME, TEMPLE, CONG. SETH SHOLOM SUFFOLX COUNTY CLUB OR OFFICE. NEW JERSEY WHITESTONE HUNTINGTON LONG BEACH HILTON SOMERSET JEWISH CENTER TOWNHOUSE ONE CONVENIENT HIL TOO MEADOWLAND 4916 13th Ave., B'klyn, N.Y. 11219 LITTLENECK All LEADING TELEPHONE NUMBER CONNECTICUT JEWISH CENTER N.Y.C. HOTELS HILTON PARSIPANY CONG. AGUDAS (718) 854·2911 SH!R~TON CLIHRRishonim do nal, not in the JO. I beg to differ. An this type of approach to appreciate refer to this counting-see, for ex­ article that breaks no new halachic the complexities of halacha but the ample, Rambam, Hilchos Shmittah ground, but seeks only to explain the rest of us would do well to seek out 10:2-1 assume Rabbi Rotenberg is accepted halacha, would seem to opportunities to find excitement in referring to Talmudic and Midrashic qualify for inclusion in a 'journal of our learning. In my view, this is a sources which use Cheshbon Adam information and opinion." There is positive ingredient (of which we need exclusively.] I certainly accept this precedent for this type of article. The more), and not an indignity. point. but this leaves me with a prob­ late Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's "A Get in 4. Rabbi Rotenberg questions why it lem: why does our calendar use Monsey" (JO Dec.'76) is one example is necessary for me to quote a Rashi Cheshbon Tohu? To me (forgive me for that comes to mind. in Avoda Zara to "verify" that saying this), this mystery remains. 3. Regarding style: on this I must dis­ Avraham Avlnu was born in 1948, In regard to Rabbi Fendel's letter­ agree most strongly. This article in­ since I had already shown that this once again, I am truly honored to cludes no "make-believe packaging." can be calculated from the Chwnash have had my work reviewed by a rec­ It is an honest chronicle of my own itself. This is a valid point. However, ognized scholar. 1 concur with Rabbi personal attempt to find answers to the Chumash:s determination is not Fendel's suggestion, which, I believe, the questions posed. Yes, to me this explicit: it is arrived at by adding the is common practice among teach­ was a "mystery" and I worked hard to ages of twenty different indiViduals ers-although they should point out put together the "pieces of the puzzle" mentioned in Bereishis and Noach. to their students that two methods of which clarified a complicated issue. 1 One might argue that the Chwnash calculation are being pursued. found this interesting, and was is simply rounding off their ages to Rabbi Fendel mentions that happy to share my experience with the nearest year, and that the "miss- Shmittah years are divisible by ------·---··-··-·------1 seven. It should be made clear that this is purely coincidental and is not The first 3 volumes of the MISHNAH I intrinsically related to the use of Cheshbon TohlL BERURAH are now available in the I RABBI YISROEL REISMAN

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The Jewish Observer. June 1994 43 sible (within the bounds of permis­ will call them "Alice" and "Barbara": the Mideast, she passed through sible speech, of course) so that pro­ • Alice comes from a thoroughly Jerusalem, where she was ap­ posed matches will at least be in the assimilated, liberal upper-class Jew­ proached by a kiruv professional at ball park. ish family from a city in the Far West. the KoteL The end result was a visit I have two single friends who are She met a non-Jewish medical stu­ to Neve, a drifting apart from her hus­ truly lovely young ladies, yet each rep­ dent in college, whom she married band, ending in divorce. She is today, resents extraordinary circumstances with her parents' begrudging con­ at 27, an outstanding ba'alas that limit thetr chances in the field. I sent. On a trip through Europe and teshuva, but not suitable for a Kohein-not because of the "divorce" BS"D (which was not a get strictly speak­ ing), but because of the short-term • ~~~~!~~i~~~~J!fPrr "maniage" to a non-Jew. •Barbara's maternal grandmother Can't find IJllllr size? had converted to Judaism in 1945 to Want an extra pair 111 pants? marry a Jewish soldier stationed in .Need 111ix-111atth sizes? her community. The conversion was under Reform auspices, therefore not tlAYBE ... YOU'UE JUS'I' 'l'IUEH 011 halachically valid. Their children were brought up Jewish, and they in • .Na Shatnez tesfin11 turn-especially Barbara's mother­ Just call us • Hi11h Prices imbued their own families with a tor the most • lnsllffitient QKaliflJ strong Jewish identity. Barbara at­ & tended co-ed Day School (her name is inexpensive convenient • .Mediatre Sales Staff Goldstein, her mother's maiden shopping experience available name was Levy; what could be amiss?), and went on a post-high Please have your measurements ready & call: 1-800-764-SUIT school B'nai B'Iith Youth trip to Is­ lli)(Jhtt dwp. i.H. a diM.e if «Je ~ d bi. 'fJ#4 Jruv,,111 rael. She ended up in Aish Hatorah, where she discovered that she needed No hassle returns • All major credit cards accepted • Mordechai Bamberger giyur(halachicconversion). She too is a "real catch," but not suitable for a Kohein. Instead of embarrassing the Alices and Barbaras with up-front ques­ tions relating to their past, it would be so much more considerate if the shadchanimwould tell them, "I've got a great guy. He's 29, a Harvard Law School dropout, now in Chaim Ber­ lin. He's a Kohein, wants to go into the rabbinate, and his parents, not yet loving granddaughter r:ecaOs ... .frum, are supportive. He's 6'2" and ---·------has red hair." There is enough information for In this warm and loving memoir, a devoted Alice or Barbara to respond to nega­ granddaughter paints a portrait of an tively without revealing personal in- extraordinary grandmother ... whose trials and tribulations; character, integrity, and high ideals-helped to shape, not only the future of her own famJy, but of Kial Yisroel as well. With grace, skill, warmth and charm, the author tells tbe inspiring and unforgettable story of Mrs. Devorah Sternbuch.

44 The Jewish Observer, June 1994 formation that is relevant, but per­ M.B.D., playing football, while she en­ MORE STRESSFUL FACTORS IN haps embarrassing when dealing joys sewing, reading about sewing and THE SlMCHAEQUATION with a shadchan that is less than a the music of Michael Streicher. (How very close fiiend. does that saying go? "Opposites At­ I was taught that "tzeddek tzeddelc tract." They sure know what they're To the Editor: tirdof implies that worthwhile goals talking about!) Your article, "The Ultimate must be pursued by using worth­ Mywifo's checklist read something Shidduch." by Rabbi David Willig while, non-offensive means. With a like this: A quiet boy (I am, during the (Dec. '93), brought out some excellent bit of thoughtful consideration, I be­ Shemoneh Esrei), a lawyer (I'm in points. l would like to add something lieve that we could all manage to do chinuch). serious (I am. on Tisha to the "set of stressful questions" on justice to the needs of our single B'av), a summer city person (1 went the part of the guests. friends, in every phase of the to C.T.V., Ohr Shraga, and Dora What about the question, "If you shidduch. Golding), would go out in a nice car (I invite us to your simcha, can we af­ NAME WITIJHEW By REQUEST dated sometimes by the F Train, ford to invite you back to our New York City which was clean and air-condi­ simcha?" After all. that is the prevail­ tloned), would go to fine restaurants ing protocol in our circles. The prob­ COMMENTS ON WIKLER'S LIST­ (the roast beef sandwich at Kosher lem is that there are many well­ REVISITED Delight was great) .... meaning hosts who can afford to My point is that the main check­ make large chasunas, and therefore list should be compatibility in mlddos like to have everyone they know share To the Editor: tovos, derech eretz. personality, their simcha Perhaps they overlook Before I got manied, I had a fan­ chessed, hashkafos. etc .. and that the possibility that some of these tasy checklist of what kind of girl I the person's looks be beautiful in the people, who would not have invited wanted to marry: a color war general eyes of the beholder-in your eyes. them to tl1eir own simcha, now feel (winning team, of course), camp ac­ not necessarily your friend's eyes. obligated to do so. (Examples: Rela­ tress (comedy or drama), choir leader, It's good to speak to a Rav, Rosh tlves and family of mechutanim old guitarist, soloist, sports fan (Yankees, Yeshiva or Rebbe if there is a ques­ friends to whom they haven't spoken unless of course the Cowboys). tion regarding hash.lcafos, disregard­ in years, people whom they see in Litvish. Yeshivish, having learned a ing the fact that the person never shuL bungalow colony acquaintan­ year in Eretz YisroeL not from Bora went to camp and can't play guitar. ces, married friends of their older Park (I come from there), not Hungar­ AVJGDOR KAlZAV married children, children of their ian ... etc., etc. Brooklyn fiiends etc.) I am, Baruch Hashem, happily Trends that are hard to stop are manied toaBoroParkgirl whose fam­ GREAT POEM, BAD PLACEMENT often started by people who just want ily is Hungarian, Chassldish(although to make others feel good. Another ex­ my wife is more American). She never ample of this would be a friend who went to camp, does not play guitar To the Editor: bies to get everyone to "chip in" for (she types instead), acted in a Bunga­ Miss Liba Sebrow's poem and her good friend's baby present, not low play as the witch in Snow White comment (JO. Jan. "94, p. 38) don't realizing that now her good friend will (she was four years old). does not like belong on the last page squeezed in have to buy baby presents for all the country. enjoys shopping and between advertisements, but rather those who "chipped in" for her reading instead of a ballgame (she they should have been highlighted lo present. must be joking!). 1 enjoy The Jewish all readers on an earlier page. It is for this reason, and the other Obseroer and she enjoys The Jewish AHRONGHEEN reasons pointed out in the article, Press (I win that one), I enjoy learning, Ziirich that ba'alei simcha should not only

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The Jewish Observer, June 1994 45 consider carefully whom to invite to This ideology, however, as well as sented by the shared repertoire in Is­ their simcha, but who not to invite. the study commissioned to confirm it, rael of Jewish symbols; on the con­ NAME WIIBHEW BY REQUEST is not only flawed but potentially dan­ trary, this only creates spiritual con­ Brooklyn gerous to the spiritual welfare of all fusion and foments division. Israeli society; the irony is that the YOELABRAMOVITZ "GOOD NEWS FROM ISRAEL?": findings that the study laud are the Sullivan County, NY A MISINTERPRETATION very elements that have created divi­ siveness between observant and Correction secular groups in the first place. To­ To the Editor rah-observant Jewry in Israel is fight­ In the article on Rabbi Mordechai Although Yonason Rosenblum is ing for the purity of its spiritual iden­ Schwab, 7")1!, thenameinfootnote#6 most incisive in his criticism of the tity. That distinction, with all its pre­ (p.31) should have read: Dr. Robert Guttman study in his article "Good cious and exacting nuances, be­ Guggenheim. News From Israel?" (JO, April '94), I comes threatened when its ritual think that he understates the assault trappings devoid of their Torah con­ on Torah values and the extent of the tent are coopted by a competing reli­ danger to Torah society in Israel posed gion of secular and national identifi­ Unde Moishy, by the study and its proponents. cation. It is precisely because Jewish Mordechai Ben David, The study was commissioned with symbolism devoid of content per­ and other top-of-the-line a specific agenda: to demonstrate that vades Israeli society that the Torah the friction between the observant and observant in Israel are instinctively so Jewish entertainers secular in Israeli society is created by strident in their rejection of the secu­ are available the false perception each side has of lar community. to visit the degree to which they Jack shared Indeed, observant and secular values. The foregone conclusion of the Jews do have much in common, but seriously ill Report is that since "in reality" they this commonality is not at all repre- children share much in common, the obser­ thanks to vant Jews need only to learn more tol­ ~ ~,~~,~ mnnrnw erance to facilitate Shalom and benefi­ """",,r, ~ !lf'))''-i l"Cl'tlM cial interaction-an approach that is AChessed projett run by in consonance with a certain prevail­ Agudalh Imel ol Alllerlca: ,, '. ing religious ideology in Israel. ln conjunction with '). • ., Suki & Ding Produc.tion~ ··: ' ~ AUTHORS & ~RTISTS ~ To s:et up an appointment, call~ , i,, (112)797-9000 txt.75 • M-F. 9-5 --- Rabbi Aryeh Schechter SOFER S"TAM authors and artists to submit manuscripts and artwork for 15584htSt. evaluation. We seek manu- t scripts In all areas of judalca rJ fJ publ!shing with originality, ' Sll~IGfR'S creativity and high literary standard. Our editors develop and highlight the individuality of the author and our graphics department gives each book t its own identity. TJ We welcome the opportu- Ii ~- 1"t1:l nity to work wtth you. I CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST +f!) DR.BENZION Jackets! SOROTZKIN N.Y. SfATE LICENSED ,. $35 and up ADULTS .. AND 180 Park Avenue• Lakewood NJ 08701 1769 Slst Street· (718) 854-1196 CHILDREN In UK 01-809-3723 (718) 633-3248 .,,:• In brae! 02 53&935 (718) 219-3867 ~,.~,;: ~

46 The Jewish Observer. June 1994 Jewish history may be lying around in your basement. Don't let it be lost to the world.

Thousands of documents and photos are languishing in trunks, attics and forgotten drawers in private homes and basements. Now is the time to retrieve this precious material­ before it becomes dust instead of history.

Your help-the public's help-is needed in this effort. Do you have any relevant old photos, documents, or records?

THE CATEGOHrns OF ITEMS HEQUESTED:

,. Documentation of Orthodox Jewish rescue work dur~ • Documents and photos pertaining to Orthodox activ- ing the Holocaust. ism in the social service and civic action fields. • Photos depicting life in the shtetl, the Orthodox com­ • Photos of Gedolei Yisroel past and present. munities of the cities, the yeshiva world, and Chassidic • Sets of Orthodox journals an.d periodicals. centers of Europe before the Holocaust. • Documents aud photos relating to the religious Yishuv ~ Documents 1 records 1 letters, journals and newspapers in Eretz Yisroel, its institutions and straggles for that portray Torah life in Europe as it was, and cast Jewish life. light on the issues and problems facing Jews at the time, • Documents and photos pertaining to world-wide Agudath Israel history, all Knessios Gedolos, and the • Documents, records, correspondence, newsclippings, development of the American Agudah movement since journals, memorabilia, and photos depicting Orthodox 1922. life in the U.S. from colonial times to the present. (If you are hesitant to part with. cherished items, arrange­ • Documents and photos pertaining to the. development ments can be made to reproduce certain kinds of documents of yeshivos throughout the country. and pkoWs, leaving the original, in your possession.)

AS A COMMl.INllY, WE MUST PRHERVE THIS HGACY nuu WIU OTHERWISE IE l05'1' TO HITIJIH: GENERATIONS.

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