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Can a ‘Lefty’ Rabbi Save Yeshivat Chovevei Torah?
Posted on: August 29th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahRabbi Asher Lopatin, who will succeed Rabbi Avi Weiss as head of YCT, is most definitely on the left side of the Orthodox spectrum. Nevertheless he can keep YCT from sliding too far to the left and cross the line of Orthodoxy. YCT founder Rabbi Avi Weiss candidly admitted that he has parted ways with his Rebbe on the approach to these issues. And he has incorporated it into the philosophy of his Yeshiva.
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Posted on: August 28th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-Emunahצאנז 111 from bhol on Vimeo. Not being a Chasid of his (or Chasid of any kind) I don’t really know much about the Munkatcher Rebbe. But if he is like most other Chasidic Rebbes, he will have a huge blowout of a wedding next Monday for his grandson – similar to the one in [...]
Posted on: August 27th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahImagine a Moetzes that included a broader spectrum of rabbinic leaders. And a population of educated Jews that can make a decent living in all fields – including the field of Torah study.
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Posted on: August 23rd, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahThe truth is that Orthodox Jews are all lumped together as having the same attitudes in life. So that for example a Chasidic Jew in Williamsburg will be treated the same way a Modern Orthodox Jew in Teaneck. They are both seen as Orthodox and their worldviews are more or less seen to be the same: decidedly anti-modern. But this viewpoint doesn't reflect the reality.
As the Pendulum Swings – Ever Rightward
Posted on: August 22nd, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahFact is there is of course nothing wrong with raising standards of religious observance. As long as it is voluntary. But when schools start making new demands along those lines, they completely ignore individual choice. Being Machmir should be an individual choice and not forced upon anyone. These strictrures have nothing to do with basic Halacha. They have to do with image.
Posted on: August 21st, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahThese people are no better than the arsonists of who set fires during the '68 riots that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King . Then Mayor Richard J. Daley gave police the green light to police to shoot to kill anyone seen attempting arson. People who throw firebombs into cars are murderers. There is no justification for targeting innocent people. These terrorists ought to be treated accordingly. That no one died yet from that act is a miracle.
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Posted on: August 19th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahHow in heaven's name does a pedophile who is convicted and registered sex offender get a job delivering milk late at night to a summer-camp full of children? Don't they do background checks?
Posted on: August 16th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahDespite the fact that major Poskim spanning several generations declare that the lack of Metzitza B’Peh does not invalidate Bris Milah – some even requiring alternative safer methods - the fact remains that there is a strongly held view mostly among Chasidim that Metzitza B’Peh is an absolute requirement of Bris Milah.
Posted on: August 15th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahI generally do not respond to patronizing comments on my blog. However, the questions raised by a recent commenter are common ones and deserve answers.
Posted on: August 14th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahI recently saw a picture of the first Agudah convention taken almost 100 years ago. There were people in all manner of dress: light suits, dark suits, vests… some had hats, some caps, some just plain Kipot. Many clean shaven, few with peyos… All were there and all were the equivalent of the Charedi world we have today. This was the Agudah of Yesteryear.
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Posted on: August 13th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahThe public the Shomrim serve trusts them more than the police. They ought to be disabused of that notion. Shomrim should be an auxiliary to the police, not the other way around.
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Posted on: August 12th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahAs currently defined, an Orthoprax Jew tends to follow Halacha, but may question the existence of God or whether the Torah was given to us at Sinai .
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Posted on: August 8th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahHow does one reconcile greatness with evil? Is it possible that one can be a great contributor to society and have a dark side? And how are we to look at such a person? Does abusing someone sexually - even only one or two times to one person - negate all the good he has done?
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A Modesty Request in Williamsburg – Or Is it?
Posted on: August 7th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahA couple of years ago as I was walking down Williamsburg’s famous shopping district of Lee Street, I recall seeing a sign in one of the stores that had a message written in both Yiddish (Hebrew characters) and English. The English sign said “Closed”. The Yiddish sign said “Offen” – which is Yiddish for “Open”.
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Political Correctness Run Amok
Posted on: August 6th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahWhat seems to be happening here goes far beyond understanding and tolerance. It goes far beyond treating our fellow man with love and compassion - regardless of the human condition that causes man to sin against God. Is there alive a man today that has not sinned? But the agenda of some gay rights activists is not about respecting human dignity. It is about celebrating homosexuality!
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Posted on: August 2nd, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahThe highlight of the evening was a brief but inspiring video of the history of Daf Yomi from its inception at the first Agudah convention via until the present. Over all, The Siyum was a job well done I thought. At least here in Chicago.
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Charedi Intolerance of Modern Orthodox
Posted on: August 1st, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahA few years ago, Rabbi Michael Broyde wrote an analysis of the Halacha requiring married women to cover their hair. Although he in no way said that a married woman may uncover her hair he suggested that it is possible to say that there were Halachic sources that may have permitted it in certain social circumstances.
An Analysis of the Presidential Candidates
Posted on: July 31st, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahI have come to the conclusion that where it matters the most to me – the security of the State of Israel and the overall welfare of the Jewish people, there is virtually no difference between them. Both President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney would be “good for the Jews.”
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Posted on: July 29th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahWe all sin. But not all of us sin the same way. By being so repulsed by people who have same sex attractions, we end up turning these people away - leaving them with a feeling of abandonment and being hated by their fellow Jews. Jews who are otherwise decent people. When decent society rejects you... how are you supposed to feel?!
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Who Has The Moral High Ground?
Posted on: July 25th, 2012
Blogs → Emes Ve-EmunahWe too have our Joe Paternos. Only they are not football coaches. They are rabbis who have been just as guilty in cover-ups as Paterno was. In at least one case, a Rosh Yeshiva tolerated sex abuse by one of his Rebbeim for many years and did nothing about it. He knew it was going on and yet allowed that teacher to continue teaching and continue abusing his students. He is still around – as is his Yeshiva.
1Printed from: http://www.jewishpress.com/blogs/haemtza/memo-to-the-president-compromise-on-the-budget/2013/02/20/
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