Brit-Am Judaism (6 March, 2015, 15 Adar, 5775)
Wherefore square brackets appear within a quotation, sic. [..] it means an editorial edition of our own.
Contents:
1. Yeshiva Education? Extracts from:Â "Into the Trap" by Doron Beckerman
2. The Moshiach Must be a descendant of David through Solomon!
3. A False Messiah is Liable for the Death Penalty.
4. Someone who is called Messiah by Others and Does not Protest Needs to be Whipped, Fined, and Ostracized!
5. Rebbe: Gays deserve no rights, just like murderers by Kobi NachshoniÂ
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1. Yeshiva Education? Extracts from:
Into the Trap
By Doron Beckerman, on February 27th, 2015
http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2015/02/27/into-the-trap/
Extracts:
In two places in his responsa (Igros Moshe YD 3 82; YD 4 36:1 [the latter responsum is from 1982]), Rav Moshe Feinstein discusses the verse in Psalms (1:1): 'Praised is the man who did not walk in the counsel of the wicked.' He explains that this refers to people who prematurely concern themselves with the future need for parnassah. They take sources from Chazal which state that one may not rely on miracles, and they are superlatively stringent in that regard, to the point of abandoning singular focus on one's Torah studies during one's formative years.
In the earlier responsum (YD 3 81), R' Moshe states that in places where there is no need to establish High Schools (primarily because there is no risk that the children will otherwise attend public school) it is forbidden to establish them. In the next one (YD 3 82), which addressed those in charge of Mesivtos (Yeshiva High Schools), he adds that it is strictly forbidden for those youngsters engaged in full time Torah study to take away any time at all for secular studies. Thus, as I indicated in my own comments to my previous post, the halachic and ideological burden of proof necessary to shoulder the responsibility for abolishment of Yeshivah Ketanah, almost as an eis laasos ('an abandonment of Torah for the sake of its preservation') rests extraordinarily heavily on those who seek to do so.
So let us examine the options.
It is agreed that a significant percentage of those in Yeshiva Ketanah will indeed become those who support themselves from within the Torah world. As Rabbeim, Rabbanim, Rashei Yeshiva, Mechabrei Sefarim, Mashgichei Kashrus, Toanim Rabbaniyim, Sofrim, Kiruv, and perhaps some others I've failed to mention. Let us further recall that if we look at the setup Hashem envisioned for the Jewish people entering Eretz Yisrael, He purposely made it so that Shevet Levi, some 8% of the populace, would not have land, making it virtually impossible for them to earn a living. Thus, it became the responsibility of the nation at large to provide these Torah leaders, teachers, and students with Maaser. As R' Hirsch explains, Hashem issued a Biblical prohibition against abandoning the Leviyim (Chinuch, Mitzvah 450) [Deuteronomy 12:19] due to concern for potential bitterness against the financial burden on the nation at large. He adds that the length of our days upon the Land depends on our appreciation of the Leviim, and allowing them to influence the spiritual development of the nation.
The Mitzvah to support the Levi applies nowadays, as per Chinuch there, to those who study Torah and cannot take the time to earn their keep. The Chafetz Chaim (Torah Or 11) asserts that the primary address for one's Maaser money nowadays must be those who toil in Torah. There's much to say about the centrality of the Torah learners, but I'll choose a quote from the Ohr HaChaim, (Bereishis 1:1, 5)"[The world was created] for Torah, called 'Reishis', and thus, one who merited Torah has merited the entire world, and one who has not merited Torah should not benefit from the world even to the extent of setting foot in it, unless he serves a supporting role for those who toil in it."
It is further agreed that about 50% of those who attend Yeshiva Ketanah do manage to crack the pre-academic tracks and go on to earn degrees. Who are those 50% (comprising, for the most part, those who are not the most successful in Yeshiva and Kollel)? As I stated, this needs to be studied. One commentor went to far as to question my intellectual honesty in even raising the question, while apparently failing to realize that he likely provided one cornerstone of the study, what level of secular studies was there in the subject's elementary school! Other factors I mentioned may very well play a role as well.
It is further agreed that many Charedim who went to Yeshiva Ketanah do have jobs. Granted, not extremely well-paying ones. but jobs: electricians, technicians, shopkeepers, clerks, bank tellers, security guards, cab drivers, bakers, real estate agents, moneychangers. In aggregate, many such jobs exist. This is a workable fallback option that has to be taken with open eyes, but does not contradict one's responsibility to have a means of livelihood. The final Mishnah is Kiddushin states that one should teach his son an honest and easy trade, and then daven to He who owns all wealth and possessions, for all crafts have those who are poor and those who are wealthy (and my experience in a matzah bakery this week, meeting someone with a doctorate kneading dough [double entendre unintended], eloquently bears this out).
Yes, ultimately, there are poor people in the Charedi world. Some of them, heroically, choose to stay poor and dedicate their lives to Torah. Others do not. But one might think Israel is a country comprising solely wealthy non-Charedim and poor Charedim. There is severe poverty among other subgroups in Israeli society. And they, sadly, don't even have Mishpachah magazines with glossy adverts for expensive Pesach resorts and upscale homes in Central Jerusalem to trumpet it. Many of them don't even have mishpachah to help them out.
In sum, before undertaking this battle, it must be firmly, virtually unequivocally established that it is unreasonable to expect to earn a living coming out of Yeshiva Ketanah, or at least to come up with a set of solid predictive factors. Considering, for example, that among my siblings, the one who attended Yeshiva Ketanah fares the best financially, a blanket rejection is simply a non-starter.
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2. The Moshiach Must be a descendant of David through Solomon!
# The Moshiach Must be a descendant of David of the seed of Solomon #.
See:
Rambam: Commentary to Mishna, Sanhedrin, Chelek; Sefer HaMitsvot, Lo Taaaseh 262; Igeret Temen part 3.
1-Kings 1:
29 The king swore, saying, 'As the Lord lives, who has saved my life from every adversity,
30 as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne in my place', so will I do this day.'
1-Chronicles 28:
4 Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me from all my ancestral house to be king over Israel for ever; for he chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah my father's house, and among my father's sons he took delight in making me king over all Israel.
5 And of all my sons, for the Lord has given me many, he has chosen my son Solomon to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.
6 He said to me, 'It is your son Solomon who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him.
7 I will establish his kingdom for ever if he continues resolute in keeping my commandments and my ordinances, as he is today.'
2-Samuel 7:
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings.
15 But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
16Â Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me;* your throne shall be established for ever.
For more sources and a short discussion see:
"Sefer Chemdah Tovah", by Chaim David Moshe Halperin, Lakewood, NJ, USA, 5772, p. 251 ff.
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3. A False Messiah is Liable for the Death Penalty
# If someone, even if they are well-known for their sanctity, will come and delbierately [i.e. who is not insane] claim to be the Messiah he is liable for the death penalty. This person has contradicted the Torah which describes the greatness of Messiah but he would be diminishing it and bringing it into contempt. # "Sefer Chemdah Tovah", by Chaim David Moshe Halperin, p. 288, quoting Rambam: "Igeret Teman" ; Commentary to the Mishnah, Chelek.
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4. Someone who is called Messiah by Others and Does not Protest Needs to be Whipped, Fined, and Ostracized!
# Someone who it is said about that he is the Messiah who keeps silent and does not protest Needs to be whipped, fined, and ostracized! #
 "Sefer Chemdah Tovah", by Chaim David Moshe Halperin, p. 289, quoting Rambam: Appendix to "Igeret Teman" (Kapach Edition p.59).
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5. Rebbe: Gays deserve no rights, just like murderers by Kobi Nachshoni
Published: 03.05.15
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4633772,00.html
Extracts:
Grand Rabbi Mayer Alter Horowitz, leader of Boston Hasidic dynasty's Har Nof branch, says religious homosexuals have two options: To suppress their sexual desires or marry a woman.
A prominent American Hasidic rabbi says the LGBT community is not entitled to equal rights, just like it would be unthinkable for murderers to unite and demand rights regarding their violent tendencies.Â
"There is a community which wants to murder other people," he said. "It's their nature and they must murder, so we should give them equality? Why give them equality, because they are murderers?"
The Rebbe stressed that he was aware of the distress of the LGBT community members, particularly the religious ones, but that violating the Torah's commandments was unthinkable. "Just like we have agunot (women chained to their marriage), Â isn't that unfortunate? Don't we want to find a solution? If we have a solution, we implement the solution. If we don't have one, we don't."
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Sometimes a person had to sacrifice himself for things which are fundamental in Jewish life, rabbi says.
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He added that only 2-3% of the public had homosexual inclinations, and that religious gay men had two options: To suppress their sexual desires or marry a woman. "Some women want sons, and they don't care how they do it," he said. "Some women don't really want a relationship with a man, so it's possible." He stressed, however, that they must be informed about the inclination, "just like any other shortcoming."
The Rebbe said he had personally met haredi homosexuals who chose the solutions he suggested. "I know observant guys who I wanted to offer a match, and they refused. They likely refused for that reason. But they lived in total devotion, to protect the Torah. Sometimes a person has to sacrifice himself for things which are fundamental in Jewish life.
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"I personally know one man who really has these tendencies. He got married and had sons, and they already have their own sons. I don't know how it works. I don't know if he changed his reality. I have spoken with psychologists. There is a division of opinion between psychologists over whether this reality can be changed or not."
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