Libi BaMizrach

Although January 1 is an important date on the secular calendar, it usually has little significance in the Torah community. Other than getting used to writing a different number on checks and having an extra day off (in Chutz LaAretz), it generally does not engender much excitement. This year, of course, is different – it will be the date of the grand Siyum HaShas.  It marks a time to celebrate the Torah in an almost unprecedented way, as hundreds of thousands join in celebrating the tremendous accomplishment of so many tens of thousands of learners. This is very important in several ways: We have not only survived – we have grown and prospered and have truly arrived as a community! We are a huge, dynamic, and growing force – indeed, we are the present and future of the Jewish people!" First, the many sold-out stadiums are a dream come true beyond the wildest dreams of the survivors of the Holocaust just a generation ago. They were incredulous at the thought that th...

Hyper-partisanship has claimed yet another victim – this time a person who – in normal times – would be considered a tzaddik; a saintly man.  And while the vultures crow over their misbegotten victory, we are all the sadder for it. Rabbi Elimelech Firer is a phenomenon in Israel.  A Belzer Chasid without standard medical training, he has developed an encyclopedic and in-depth knowledge of both state of the art medical procedures and the best practitioners.  For over forty years, he has used that knowledge to give expert advice to countless people who have turned to him, absolutely free of charge.  Widely recognized for his work, he has won a richly deserved " Israel Prize " awarded to a prestigious group of select citizens who have made outstanding lifelong contributions to the betterment of Israeli society.  Here is how the website of Ezra LeMarpe , the organization which carries out his vision, describes his work: Ezra Lemarpe is a nonprofit medica...

Apparently, it is one of the most important mitzvot.  There is no other mitzva for which we have an absolute annual Torah-level obligation to hear directly from the Torah, and one of only six that we are required to think about at least once a day. But frankly, at least from the perspective of Jewish outreach, it is one of the most difficult for us to relate to. We are required to remember what Amalek did to us as we left Egypt, and therefore never to forget to exterminate the nation of Amalek from under the Heavens No matter that according to most Poskim the nation of Amalek no longer exists as a discernible entity after the extensive transfers of population by Sanheirev no matter that in virtually any practical case of meeting an actual Amalekite we would refrain from performing this mitzvah due to the entity and antisemitism it would cause  no matter how difficult this would be for virtually any Jew to perform The obligation to concentrate on this mitzvah remain...

This past summer has not been kind to my erstwhile friends in Forest Hills.  Within the space of a few short months, five members of the Young Israel of Forest Hills whom I loved and cherished passed from the world. Three of them survived the Holocaust, and I wanted to share my thoughts about how special each of them was.  This morning Eugen Gluck, last week Sam Weisinger, last month Ruth Summers עליהם השלום. May we know no more sorrow -------------------------------------- Eugen Gluck ז"ל We all knew that this day would come.  Man does not live forever, and nothing can stop the inevitable processes that are the end of us all.  Even as in the middle of my writing of this hesped, my daughter Ashira gave birth, and once again brought to mind that דור הולך ודור בא (Generations come and generations go - Kohelet 1:4), and the world goes on.  Even the most alive, passionate, successful and thriving people eventually go to the Olam ha Emes.   The ...

    I wish that I could say that the esteemed Rosh Yeshiva -- whom I am privileged to know a little bit, having been the lucky Rabbi of the shul that hosted a weekly shiur from him for many years -- ever read this blog, or even heard of it.      But when I read this Dvar Torah of his today, I wanted to place it here, in order to honor his Divrei Torah, and because he mentions the famous statement from where I took the name.     For those who cannot follow the entire discussion, the bottom line is that despite the shrinking of the world given the advanced technology of transportation available today -- in which one can literally go from one end of the world to the other in less than 24 hours -- North America may be considered truly far away from Israel geographically (and spiritually).     I will also note that I sometimes tell people that I when I started this blog living in Oregon, I truly felt that I was בסוף המערב (the end of the west),...

Sometimes you wonder what Hashem makes of all this. In recent years, elections have become truly insane – both in Israel and in the United States.   The anger, vitriol, and malicious vilification by all sides of the other sides is staggering.  But, in at least one way, they did one thing more effciently in Israel.  In America, they are trying to undo an election for over two years.  Here it was undone in only five weeks! After all the Sturm and Drang, the victory proclamations, the claimed vindication of Daas Torah by the Chareidi parties, the humiliating defeat of those who did not pass the threshold — we get to throw out that result and start over again.  Everyone has an opinion on who is to blame (most blaming Avigdor Liberman), and more importantly, what is likely to result.  Will the next election result in a strong majority coalition of at least 65 votes, or will be back at square one once again? Here is what seems likely to this observer. ...

Last night I was privileged to take part in the Yom HaZikaron ceremony, commemorating family members of Lavon residents who fell in the wars of Israel.  As one who not only did not serve in the IDF, nor did anyone of my close family (With the exception of Lonn's two American nephews Ari Roth and Yisroel Weisberger who volunteered to serve), I am very aware that my experience -- and that of most Haredi families -- is very different than that of virtually all Israeli families, almost all of whom have a close friend or family member that was a military casualty.  This gap is one of the major reasons that there is such a large chasm between the two sides - which on an emotional level is very hard to bridge.  All the more so when images of Haredim speaking with contempt of the army and attacking Haredi soldiers -- it is hard to imagine the fury this provokes on the other side. I am so grateful that I was given this opportunity to say the memorial prayer for these heroes of t...

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of having my article “ No, Rabbi Kahane was not a Racist ” published in the Jewish press.  In that article, I argued that not only was Rav Meir Kahane הי"ד not a racist, but certainly the leaders of Otzma Yehudit, whose platform is far milder than some of the more controversial things Rav Kahane said, are not racist, the Supreme Court of Israel notwithstanding.  I received several comments which I would like to respond to.  In particular, some asked me to explain why I thought it was important to defend Rav Kahane’s reputation, given that the vast majority of the Jewish world, both left and right, religious and secular, rejected him and his views. I want to begin by referencing an insight of Dr. AJ Heschel (probably not a Kahane fan) in “ A Passion for Truth ,” his treatment of the holy Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (and, lehavdil S ø ren Kierkegaard).  In introducing him, he said that the extreme, total and unforgiving passio...