Weather: 55° Sunny skies. Gusty winds during the morning. High around 55F. Winds at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
- After 25 hours and four minutes, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey has yielded the floor, ending the longest speech in the history of the U.S. Senate.
- Florida :Decision Desk HQ projects Republican Jimmy Patronis wins the US House special election in Florida's 1st congressional district for the seat previously held by Matt Gaetz.
- The Pentagon ordered the deployment of additional aircraft carriers to the Middle East and Indo-Pacific.
-WZO while Eretz Hakodesh has claimed to havve had the support of Rav Gershon Eidelstein ZTL, Rav Meir Kessler rav of Kiryat Sefer testified in a letter that Rav Gershon Edelstein zt"l absolutely opposed joining the WZO. Now his son R' Tzvi Yehudah has added his signature. in a letter on the front page of the Israeli Yated Neeman today that his father was annoyed by those active in joining the WZO.
- BDE: Petirah of Rav Dovid Wolpin ZTL from Monsey at the age of 81. A noted talmid chochom and marbitz Torah who was critically Injured last month in a car accident on Saddle River Road. Levaya today at the Stoliner BM off Main street 4:30pm
- Israel has removed all tariffs on imports of American goods.
- The MTA says E-ZPass and Tolls by Mail websites, plus the Tolls NY app, will be offline from April 9 (7PM)–April 14 for upgrades, with no online payments or account access. After April 14, Tolls by Mail merges with E-ZPass, adding live chat and more payment options.
- Senator Cory Booker has been speaking on the Senate floor for almost 15 straight hours now, criticizing Donald Trump's ridiculous policies, vowing to stay on the senate floor as long as he's physically able.
-Kumzing global event tonight at the Ritz Theater in Elizabeth, NJ.Featuring:
Gershi Uri, Naftali Kempeh, Sruli Green, Shmueli Ungar, and Motty Weiss
- Starting today April 1st N.J. cops start crackdown on texting drivers for the next month. towns across NJ received funding for this enforcement, Jackson: $7,000
Lakewood: $12,250, Howell $7000
- Lakewood planning board meeting today 6 pm watch livestream Here see agenda Here Cheshek shlomo day care center application on White st.
- The Lakewood Department of Public Works (DPW) announced that, next week, Lakewood residents will have their trash picked up twice from their homes in order to assist with their pre-Pesach cleaning Director Phil Roux explains that residents whose weekly trash pickup is on Monday; and those whose weekly trash pickup is on Wednesday; will have their trash picked up on both Monday, April 7th and Wednesday, April 9th. Residents whose weekly trash pickup is on Tuesday; and those whose weekly trash pickup is on Thursday; will have their trash picked up on both Tuesday April 8th and Thursday, April 10th.
- SALT steakhouse in a post on LinkedIn say they will no longer be open to the public but will instead become a private only members club. Amounting SALT STEAKHOUSE SOCIAL An elite membership program designed for those who truly appreciate luxury dining at its finest. Membership will be $10,000 per year, and only a select few will have the privilege of joining. #April fools.
- New Jersey Gov Murphy
says his administration has been informed that the federal government is cutting $85 million in infrastructure funding from 20 public school districts in the state. The affected districts include Newark - the state's largest - as well as, Paterson, Passaic, East Orange, North Bergen, Brick, Bergenfield, Elizabeth and Linden.
-As of April 1st, New Jersey now has 6,559,549 registered voters, an increase of 9,232 voters since March 1st. There are 2,449,041 registered Democrats (+717) and 1,619,352 registered Republicans (+5,212). An additional 2,415,997 voters are unaffiliated (+3,370) (onejersey)
is it true that BELZ votes eretz hakodesh?
ReplyDeleteAnd if they do vote why does it bother you? You follow your yesh omrim and they follow their yesh oimrim. There are gedolim and rabonim on both sides. Nobody has a right to protest the other side or create a cancel culture on other side.
Delete
DeleteEverybody of all sides should aggressively keep up confrontationally challenging hard against those they assume to be promoting sheker.Only through that means will the truth grow
Pluralism was/is anti Judaism and was the ways of the ancient peoples
they serve in the knesset as well
DeleteBelz, Klausenberg, Stolin and Vizhnitz are VOTING. Chabad some yes, and some no.
Delete10:13 so basically your cancelling anyone that says there are no 2 sides such as rav dov landau who said “there is no tzad heter” got it
DeleteAs do the Sephardim since 2010 when Harav Ovadia Yosef zatzal paskened Shas should join the WZO
DeleteWell, Litvaks also vote Eretz Hakodesh.
DeleteReb Eliyahu Levin voted, and tells people to vote.
rav eliyahu levin is telling people not vote, you can confirm that with anyone in his kollel.
DeleteJust to point out bells are not voting EH they're voting Likud
Delete(maybe they'll say that Likud 'does more' for yeshiva bochrim than EH)
I confirmed it, not with 'someone from his Kollel' but with Reb Eliyahu Levin himself.
DeleteHe said to vote.
Why can't your 'shitah' survive without lies?
Can someone provide a reason why it’s mutar to vote? Based on what?
Delete12:13, That is shoddy.
DeleteDeri unscrupulously joined since he as usual wanted goodies
He chose not to stop them,as the Sephardic society wasn't as familiar the longer background issues
Glad you asked. (Maybe Hefkervelt can post this as its own post)
DeleteChapter 1
The Chafetz Chaim's issur
In the 1920s, Klal Yisroel was in flux. Life in Russia, the center of Judaism, had just undergone an upheaval, with all institutions defunct.
Out of the ashes, various organizations attempted to step in the breach. The plan here was not parochial and limited, each of them wished to adopt the leadership of Klal Yisroel. They saw Klal Yisroel and their energy, messiras nefesh, and hopes. Gedolei Yisroel attempted to rebuild Klal Yisroel through Agudas Yisroel, Yeshivos, and newly built Kehillos. The dream of Zionism was seductive, both Jewish and universal at the same time, and promised great returns. Klal Yisroel was in serious danger, and Agudas Yisroel was founded in order to organize those that wished to keep Torah as they always had. They had no problem with building Eretz Yisroel, encouraging aliyah, or taking care of social issues, but the central focus, according to the Litvishe Gedolim, was Yeshivos and Torah.
When the Zionist movement realized that Agudas Yisroel was a formidable force, they attempted to have them enter the umbrella of their organization, granting them control over Yeshivos and access to the energy, hopes, and messiras nefesh of the Charedim of the time.
Although the Litvishe mindset was always against parochialism and narrow parties, and the idea of separatism was anathema to them, the Gedolim transcended this belief and refused to join this organization, even at the price of the support of Yeshivos.
The idea that the Chafetz Chaim's pesak has any bearing on the world nowadays, is only possible if someone doesn't understand why he ever forbade it in the first place. Unfortunately, seeing as we have no written pesak from him, nor any clear mesorah about it (someone who was about 10 when Reb Aaron was niftar is not a source for anything, especially when he too is not really quoting his words), people have this mistaken idea that there was a 'technical' issur of joining an organization called the WZO, which flies in the face of everything Gedolei Yisroel have written about the topic of התחברות לרשעים, including Reb Chaim Ozer, the Chazon Ish, and the actions of all talmidei chachamim in all countries of our galus.
Now, we have a vote in front of us. Nobody is asking us or our mosdos to submit to their authority, and there is no sugya of uniting Klal Yisroel under one authority. Zionism exists as it is, and is not at any crossroads. Voting means having a voice in how a charity foundation distributes its money. Either we have a voice or we don't. Nothing more than that.
Chapter 2
DeleteThe Board of Rabbis
Some have hung their hat on the issur on joining the Synagogue Council of America and the New York Board of Rabbis. This was an attempt to unite the Rabbis of all streams of Judaism as one.
Reb Aaron Kotler with another 10 Roshei Yeshiva firmly forbade it, and Reb Moshe has a teshuva about it. American Jewry at the time was still undefined, and people considered all three 'streams' as legitimate. Just like most of us see different chassidus or darkei halimud as equally legitimate, even as we push our own beliefs. Orthodox Shuls were turning Conservative at a frightening rate, and the lines were quite blurred.
On this backdrop, the Gedolim attempted to create consensus about the borders of acceptability in Orthodox Judaism. Although many people may not be yeshivaleit, they still keep mitzvos, and they could not rely on people's kanna'us to keep them away from the heretical ideas of heterodoxy. Joining an organization that represents Rabbis and includes 'rabbis' like the conservative and reform clergypeople is a blurring of those lines.
For various reasons, full consensus could not be reached, as the RCA and Rav Soloveichik did not come on board. It is difficult to assess the outcome of this lack of achdus and failure to set the fence's parameters. On the one hand, the heterodoxical movements did not really affect orthodoxy as a belief system. But individuals were surely confused about this, and we cannot know how many Orthodox organizations lost members and had to close down because of this.
However, this too was not a technical issur of התחברות לרשעים, there was a clear objective and issue in front of them, and the prohibition was based on these considerations. Rav Soloveichik had a point when he did not wish to write Yidden out of Klal Yisroel, even if they were not religious. Nobody thought he was a rasha or avaryan for his disagreement, they were merely upset with him for not joining them in their campaign.
Again, this has nothing to do with the matter at hand. At stake here is the board of a large charity fund and how to distribute it. We can either control that money and steer it to pro-Torah ideals, or we can allow it to reach anti-Torah actions and plans.
Chapter 3
DeleteThe danger today
In recent years, the reform movement has become less and less relevant to Jews. Their adoption of leftist ideals as their primary religion has locked out half of their constituency, and their lack of true ideals has rendered them unimportant to their own base. Americans rarely live their 'shitta', and will never get excited about anything that is not food or a ball flying through the air.
Israelis, on the other hand, are idealistic and driven. Their energy spells a future and their army service grants them energy and drive that is unmatched in the US. If the reform movement could harness that to their train, they believe they can revitalize their dead movement.
But Israelis are not as foolish as Americans, and it is hard to sell watered-down pap like the reform religion to crusty sabras. The reform movement needed to get in at the ground floor, and have been laying the groundwork for years. First, they needed to get into schools and universities. So far, the only Judaism the secular Israeli recognizes is Torah Judaism. Now, they will see reform as an alternative. Reform religion doesn't have the baggage of corrupt politicians and lack of army service that Torah Judaism has, and Israelis may accept it, even though they know it stands for nothing.
Another plan of the reform movement is to control the message in the US. When Zionist organizations take Americans for a trip to Israel, they need to be sure that they are only inspired sufficiently to revitalize their connection to their reform temple, not anything else. By controlling those trips and ensuring they see IDF bases, night clubs, factories, and the few reform temples Israel has to offer, they limit the chance that the Israel trip will backfire.
The WZO money was a means to this end, as they will control the purse strings to push their agenda and approve their plans.
The Modern Orthodox communities, at least the idealistic among them, see the reform threat for what it is. Although reform Judaism isn't infiltrating Cheder Ohr Torah or Orchos Chaim in Lakewood, they are a factor in 'out-of-town' communities, and those with a connection to Eretz Yisroel starkly perceive this danger. Rabbi Pesach Lerner is almost singlehandedly credited with the prevention of female Rabbis' infiltration into the MO orbit, and he is a true fighter of their community.
Eretz Hakodesh is their way of fighting back. Their delegates are far from a serious minority, let alone a majority, in the WZO Board. But they have gently steered the decisions in our favor. No rational person will expect them to achieve total utopia, but if visitors to Israel go to the Kosel during their trip, that is an achievement. If money is directed to helping Chutzniks in EY, including seminaries and Yeshivos, that is an achievement. If the message of the WZO can include some Judaism, that is an achievement. And these are all steps in the right direction.
Chapter 4
DeleteMoney without the court
However, the underlying issue here, that has not been discussed, is the source of most of the problems facing Charedim in Eretz Yisroel. This is the Bagatz. The Supreme Court in Israel is quite powerful and quite leftist in orientation. Of course, as Torah Jews, neither the 'right' nor the 'left' represent us. But the leftist orientation of the court does not allow many Charedi initiatives to survive, including, but not limited to, the ability for a person to learn Torah instead of going to the army. The WZO does not directly influence the court, but has two distinct features that could help us in these battles.
First, the Supreme Court controls the government's purse. If a Charedi town is proposed, or a security measure that will benefit all Jews, the progressive court is likely to overthrow it as discriminatory. WZO is not subject to the court's oversight, and can do what its board decides. This means that many initiatives that would not withstand court scrutiny can be undertaken. Additionally, the WZO can control the public discourse, and the reform movement is by and large against the judicial reform that might currently rescue our brothers in EY from the draft. Controlling those purse strings means preventing money from being used for demonstrations and other activities that would limit this reform.
There are more benefits to voting, but the basic idea is that the WZO has power and influence over Yidden, and we either exert influence or cede the ground. As Reb Reuven Grozovsky writes in Be'ayos Hazman, the job of the Aguda is to join the boards of local organizations to ensure that they are not detrimental to Torah ideals.
Hitchabrut laRasha -- does that allow Agudah of America to partner with Catholic Church (for tuition aid in NYS)?
DeleteTypical yeshivish pseudo sophisticated answer. Your head is in the clouds so ideological but the reality is not much has been done in the last 5 years even according to the proponents. Second of all the WZO is not more than a conduit of funds from the UjA federations etc there is no power vested in them and they can make no binding decisions it's only the power of their money which is provided to them by other organizations. It might sound very democratic to have a voice and a vote but the reality is as soon as the reform conservative et al see that they are getting outvoted in any what way they have more than one avenue to provide the funds to their favorite causes and organizations without the WZO. So the question is why would it benefit the reform to have an orthodox slate and at what point will they put their foot down and just have an easy workaround by providing the money directly to the organizations they love
DeleteRav Eliyohu Levin as soon as he was told what the vote is about, what the vote is for, the eligibility to vote - he said NO to vote
DeleteAnon 10:07 - Although this thread is like hamantashn after Purim, it would be wrong to allow that canard to stand. Reb Eliyahu has not told a single person not to vote, it is just untrue. He told me to vote, and he is still telling people to vote.
DeleteThe salt post was an April fools post. Gotta know LinkedIn a little bit
ReplyDeleteחוקת ה?
DeleteSenator Booker represents the democrat party not the constitution not the electorate or taxpayers of NJ. He is an embarasement to this state.
ReplyDeleteOk
DeleteA majority of the electorate and tax payers of nj are members of and support the democrat party.
DeleteHe only represents the Newark residents, and askanim (Jewish and not) all over the state.
DeleteHas he come to Aisle-9 or SALT to have some chulent Thursday nite?
Did he bake us some matzot?
Did he help arrange (some) tuition relief?
Did he fix traffic on RT 9?
Did he test the kindergarten boys and girls on parsha? (He knows the parsha).
12:35 Are you trying to make a point or just rambling?
Delete3:09 -- I'm 12:35. Just pointing out he doesn't represent anything having to do with regular citizens, Jewish or not
DeleteI used to live in a very upscale very liberal town, not far from Newark. Never a peep from him there, for anybody. Of course, they love him anyway, and hated President Trump in 2016.
MOST politicians are an embarrassment to whoever elected them
DeleteIt’s a great time to start enforcing traffic laws— the roads are terrifying during bein hazmanim. But why do they need a bonus just to enforce basic laws?
ReplyDeleteFor this (giving out tickets) they have money.
DeleteFor schools (public and private) -- nothing.
Booker just launched his presidential campaign
ReplyDeleteHe has the wrong persona for the coming election.Gavin Newsom has already elbowed him out
ReplyDelete