Saturday, November 18, 2023

OU Statememt on Washington Rally and Yom Tefilla

Orthodox Union letter by Rabbi Moshe Hauer on Washington Rally and Yom tefilah on Monday in Brooklyn Lakewood and other frum communities. The letter addresses the critique of not having any Torah mentioned at the rally the heter to join with the reform and the Agudah stance against joining 

"Instead of maligning the communal treasure of Agudath Israel and its leadership, let’s focus on becoming a true agudah achas la’asos retzoncha b’leivav shaleim.
 
Painful as it was to leave Torah off the program, we all did so consistent with the principle that allowed us to be at that table to begin with, steering clear of areas where there are for now irreconcilable theological differences. But we shared an enthusiasm to make sure that this political event would prove to be an uplifting religious experience for the Jewish community that would make us all feel our connection to each other and to G-d. The moments of tehillim, the singing together of Esa Einei, Acheinu, Vehi She’amda, and the recitation of Shema were some of the precious moments that uplifted and unified one and all"

Dear Friends,

We have each other and we must treasure each other.

For the nation that dwells alone and has had good reason to feel alone, Monday and Tuesday were days of incredible strength and hope. On both days, we rallied together in the hundreds of thousands and reminded ourselves that we are never alone because Hashem is with us and because we stand together with and for each other. 

On the National Mall on Tuesday, it was reassuring to hear governmental and faith leaders speak with perfect moral clarity in support of our people. It made us feel less alone. But it was even more impactful to see the massive gathering of Jews and to stand with hundreds of thousands expressing our shared commitment to the future of Israel, to our ability to live without fear as proud Jews in America, and to the plight of our beloved brothers and sisters held hostage.

Monday was similarly impactful. While we could not see it with our own eyes, we knew that across our entire community people were dedicating extra efforts to tefillah, that shuls and schools everywhere were saying extra tehillim, and that in places like Brooklyn and Lakewood you would have to search to find a minyan that was not reciting the expanded tefillos of Yom Kippur Katan.

Both rallies were powerful. Both rallies demonstrated with intensity and feeling that every corner of our varied community has a powerful love of Israel and Judaism and a deep concern for the soldiers and hostages. They showed how the Jewish people today, after its most fractious year in memory, have pulled together to focus on what is most important to all of us.

Many thousands participated in both Monday’s Yom Kippur Katan and Tuesday’s DC March. Many thousands more participated in one and not the other, as some would not feel comfortable in the intensely Orthodox environment of the selichos minyan while others would not relate to a gathering with so many Jews and so little Torah. No matter. We should observe with deep satisfaction Klal Yisrael’s overlapping circles of profound care and unified focus.

That is what we must focus on, not the controversies surrounding the statements or decisions of specific rabbanim or organizations. We must learn from the bitter experience of the past year that when we focus on fighting with each other, we lower our guard and become dangerously vulnerable to the threats of our real enemies. The discussions of Klal Yisrael need to go back to where they were two weeks ago, exchanging ideas about the latest creative idea to strengthen Klal Yisrael spiritually or materially, to revive some of the chesed, chizuk and spiritual efforts that have lapsed after the initial energetic rush. We need to stop the internal politicking, the analysis and critique of this or that rabbinic or organizational position and speak instead of the wall-to-wall unity of purpose – if not of method – that we are experiencing. Every part of Klal Yisrael is precious and dedicated to the future of the Jewish people, both those who would not attend Yom Kippur Katan and those who would not attend the DC rally. Instead of maligning the communal treasure of Agudath Israel and its leadership, let’s focus on becoming a true agudah achas la’asos retzoncha b’leivav shaleim.

The Orthodox Union sits together with a wide variety of Jewish organizations at the communal tables of the Conference of Presidents and the Jewish Federations, the leading organizers of Tuesday's rally. We can be at those tables courtesy of something known as the Schindler Doctrine, formulated by Rabbi Alexander Schindler of the Reform movement but critical to our Orthodox sensitivities, committing the Conference to focus entirely on issues that impact the material well-being of Jews and Jewish communities and avoiding religious issues where we cannot expect agreement. That mature understanding allowed us to come together to plan a historic rally that would not and could not be a religious event, but that would prove to be an important political effort to demonstrate support for Israel, the Jewish people, and the hostages across political parties, communities of faith, and individuals of influence and celebrity.

Our partners in leadership across the Jewish community understood the power of this moment. Painful as it was to leave Torah off the program, we all did so consistent with the principle that allowed us to be at that table to begin with, steering clear of areas where there are for now irreconcilable theological differences. But we shared an enthusiasm to make sure that this political event would prove to be an uplifting religious experience for the Jewish community that would make us all feel our connection to each other and to G-d. The moments of tehillim, the singing together of Esa Einei, Acheinu, Vehi She’amda, and the recitation of Shema were some of the precious moments that uplifted and unified one and all.

This was a week of true unity of purpose. We should savor that and build upon it. We have each other and we must treasure each other, all of us who were in shul on Monday or in DC on Tuesday. Let’s build together on what matters.

למען אחי ורעי אדברה נא שלום בך, למען בית ד' אלקינו אבקשה טוב לך

Have a wonderful Shabbos.

Rabbi Moshe Hauer 
Executive director

47 comments:

  1. Shhhhhhh
    agudah requested from him to formulate this message together .

    political massaging at it's best

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  2. Beautifully Said !!
    Let’s focus on the good , on the Blessing , that is Klal Yisroel.
    The Hamas want to murder every Jew regardless of his Shul or Rebbe .
    Let’s Love and care for every Yid!!
    In the days of the wicked Rasha Achav , the Yidden went to war and won
    Because they were united !

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    Replies
    1. Show even once in Nach when achdut sufficiently trumps dissonant ideology


      Achav generation is poor proof as it eventually led to millennia of catastrophe for .That once again endlessly distorted chazal all out of longer term tragic context

      The first Beis HaMikdash was destroyed,(undiscussed in comparison to the second) despite the multitudes of righteous , because there was too much acceptance of sinners (i.e the guise of achdus)
      cf. Kovetz Ma’amarim (R Elchanan Wasserman -chofetz chaim)

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    2. Canaan told his descendants on his deathbed to "love theft,love znus" against each other but also "love each other"

      Achdus is what?

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    3. So some reached a point where the lack of machlokes is considered a negative? If some guy(s) in Lakewood got involved in a major financial scandal and the MO rabbis were screaming about how we need to disassociate ourselves from such people all the Lakewood kanoim would forget their haskofas about standing for Torah instead of achdus

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  3. Sad that Agudah at the last minute called for a yom tefilla only signing on to a letter by the gedolei Eretz Yisrael that was already published for a week.
    They were too busy with electing Avi Schnall and lost focus on the matzav in Eretz yisroel

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  4. I honestly don't understand the premise that there needs to be Torah or Tehillim at such an event.

    This is an event of hishtadlus for the sake of hatzalas klal yisroel, trying to impress upon our elected officials to continue helping and to help more.

    Those who prefered to stay home and say Tehillim were being mevatel an important mitzvahs aseh.

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    1. Agudah has failed in attempting to teach the next generation. The lesson our youngsters will learn is that we must not participate with others who are part of Am Yisrael unlessss their agendas and hashkafos MATCH EXACTLY our own. They have now been taught TO WRITE OFF EVERYONE ELSE,i,.e.-- 95% OF ALL JEWS

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    2. There is a great distance between irreligious and not exactly matching our own hashkafos.

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    3. So with your reasoning we should not write them off, oh even more so should actually go with the majority.....chillul shabbos and all???

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  5. Just because we are in danger it does not mean that the MO Rabbis of YU and OU are kosher. MO Lecturers are not welcome in our holy city of Lakewood. They can go to the Five Towns and Teaneck amongst the other modern communities where they are welcome!

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    1. Rabbi Hauer has semicha from Rav Ruderman. Who is yours from?

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    2. Big deal. He was considered weak then.

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    3. Not sure why his Semicha is relevant. He called a Reform person Rabbi.

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    4. Rabbi is just an English title He didn't call him a Rav. Rav Moshe Feinstein in Igros Moshe also refers to reform and conservative rabbis as "rabbis" using the English word rabbi

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  6. "His best known and most controversial pronouncement was his call for Jews to accept patrilineal descent (recognizing the children of Jewish fathers as Jewish)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_M._Schindler#cite_note-Steinberg-1 The guy "Rabbi" Moshe Hauer calls Rabbi.

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    Replies
    1. Lakewood calls anyone who is married (or went to beis aharon even if not married) a Rabbi

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  7. Comic pathetic.Aguda was so insistent to conquer this community a couple weeks ago that they left their flanks open leaving the out of towner base unhappy.
    Now they asked OU to help cover the rear so they can develop some alibi
    Hold on.It'll be here soon
    Mishpacha article at your door

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  8. Animal Farm alright

    Even Squealer couldn't manage better than this

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  9. Rabbi Rudermans yeshiva allowed college while Reb Aron did not. It sounds like you are familiar with the hashkofo of bnei torah.

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    Replies
    1. True Bnei Torah are machsiv those who have semicha from people like Rav Moshe, Rav Yaakov, Rav Ruderman over those who don't and probably couldn't get semicha from them. Even though all of them allowed college in their Yeshivas. (actually Rav Yaakov did not sign any semicah because he felt American semicha standards are too low for him but that had nothing to do with college)

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    2. The real chashuvim back then generally wouldn't get semicha.davka.

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    3. My roommate in ner Israel switched to bmg since ner makes it extremely difficult to do college while it is officially approved but bmg doesn't know what's flying and he was able to go to Rutgers from there

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    4. That is recent.Then it was different.
      By the way, most the semichas mentioned were pretty easy to get

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    5. There were always two kinds of Semicha - the רכוב ומנהיג and the יור יורה.

      If the Semicha says that he is worthy of being a רו"מ, that Semicha is pretty much worthless. It was given so that parents wouldn't pull their sons out of Yeshiva, to show a parent in law that their prospective sil was not some bench presser, and to impress the young wives.

      Only יורה יורה meant that the candidate knew his stuff. But I don't think the tests were in any way rigorous.

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  10. An amateur moment for Agudath Israel. They should have found out the details of the program of the rally before they gave their support and not have to backtrack at the last minute. Even better, they could have influence the organizers to change the program to include speakers (not necessarily Rabbis) who spoke words of Torah. A lost opportunity to inspire hundred of thousands of Jews to observe more mitzvos and learn Torah.

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    Replies
    1. 1) The list was not released until the night before.

      2) What great prophesy has told you that they could have influenced the organizers and their pressures, as to who speaks?

      3) what opportunity to inspire?

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    2. Ho ho

      They like to claim tremendous influence- except when it backfires on them?

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    3. To the guy dressed up in a red suit:

      What are you talking about. Be clear.

      הרוצה לשקר, ירחיק עדותו
      You are definitely distancing your 'proof', but are very clear about who you're attacking. Enough

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  11. "Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Israelis on Saturday concluded a five-day protest march to Jerusalem, urging the Israeli government to make hostage-release its highest priority, never mind the costs.
    At this point it’s not clear where the families of the hostages end and where the familiar, extremist “Kaplan armies” begin. The slogans sure sound like remnants from the interruption campaign we all thought had ended on October 6.

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  12. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the event. The more American it looked the better. Yes, it wasn’t designed for the yeshiva crowd. So what? So don’t go. But to vilify it with the harsh language that was used is just wrong. See Netziv M’D 1:44.

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    Replies
    1. Who used harsh language? who vilified? no one.

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  13. Torah was off the table but LGBT was front and center.

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    Replies
    1. As it should be. Daas Torah instructed us to vote for the pro toaivah marriage party.

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  14. Was there evidence of it

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  15. The mesora from gedolei yisroel is that daas baal habayis kneged daas torah so the more am haaratzim who show their tipshis in this forum its a bigger siman what the true daas torah is.
    If your yidishkeit comes from reading mishpacha ami or hamodia, or worse sources then its a big rachmonis on you.
    A ehrlicher yid needs to learn sifrei neviim on achris hayomim as Yeshayohu, Yirmiyohu etc or for practical guidance and hashkafa, the seforim of reb elchonon, the steipler, chazon ish, satmar rav, rav shach, brisker rav, chofetz chaim, bais halevi etc.

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    1. You have arbitrarily decided that YU Gedolei Yisroel aren't Gedolei Yisroel. You assume that the Yeshiva your father arbitrarily decided to send you gets to decide who is and who isn't a Gadol.

      That isn't a proper litmus test.

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    2. The latter comment was very valid.
      The first less so. They chose ease over sacrifice. Like the moetzes now

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    3. None of the names you cited would allow you to own a computer or Smartphone so you're mezuyaf mitocho.

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    4. that is the latter sentence in last post

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    5. Excus me
      Doctor heal thyself
      Every signatory against internet is surrounded by their employees & donors using all that stuff
      We on the other hand use blockers & techloq

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  16. Most of the names mentioned wouldn't even use the term DT
    & when they would it wasn't for this sort of crowd

    Daas baale habayis is aguda & manhigim
    (as an alte yid holocaust survivor used to term them once: american chocolate eaters)
    How many of them can quote nevi'im?
    How many are capable of finding relevance from them?

    They get their cues based upon chubby real estate hockers (&from where the public seems to holding in in the weekly magazines soon to be trash)

    This is all from personal experience
    Like so many you rather keep getting it totally upside down!

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  17. R' Moshe Feinstein and R' Yaakov Kaminetzky zatzal were manhigim of the Agudah and they were infinitely greater than anyone aive today. Just curious, who today has proper daas Torah in your parochial view?

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    1. In their day they couldn't control the aguda agenda nearly as much as people like to now assume.

      But nowadays is what everybody seems to be discussing
      Devorim 26:3
      What if there isn't any Kohen
      What if somebody is somewhere (or in a generation) & they have a nega.However there just isn't any Kohen to show it to.
      It's just reality.Same here

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  18. Mr Are Roster
    Not sure what you mean by YU Gedolei Yisroel. That sounds like a contradiction.
    If you consider the main three pillars of earlier gedolei yisroel, namely the baal shem tov, vilner gaon, chasam sofer and their talmidim and their talmidim and talmidei talmidim then you will get it otherwise....
    If you learn mesilas yesharim, chovas hatalmidim, nefesh hachaim, yosher divrei emes and their likes you can aquire the holy hashkofos of the torah.

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