My friends, The לעז on the FR didn't start in New York about Shanghai....

What we have here is a letter from the Gaon Reb Chaim Ozer zt"l to Rav Shmuel Yitzchok Hilman Hilman of London (Chief Rabbi Herzog's shver) asking him to intercede on behalf of the 3 Million Jews living under the Soviet regime. Seems part of the issue was that people were hesitant to give or help, since people said that the Frierdiger Rebbe focuses on helping his own Chassidim. As if that's a crime. But Reb Chaim calls it a לעז - i.e. to defame him. So what was the issue back in 1929? What excuse did they have back then? The letter is part of a greater dossier (!) of letters found in the State of Israel archives.

The many faces of Ger, 5778

LBJ and RFK campaigning in Boro Park, 1964

a young Yoka Ruv, zt"l on your left

In those days candidates didn't take our votes for granted. Or New York, I suppose. Today why bother? It'll go to the Dem anyway. And who wants to be seen as supporting those Jewish Bible-thumpers anyway?

"יש לנו מדינה יהודית־ציונית נפלאה ומדהימה"

יהודי משה-זהב פותח פה (עט) על דודו הקנאי ר' עמרם ברש"י בלויא ע"ה

זעהט אויס אז אפשר איז סאטמאר רב גאר גערעכט געווען. טאמער וואוינט מען אין ארץ ישראל קען מען זיך נישט האלטען פעסט אין די שיטה. די הצלחה פון די מדינה פארבלענדט די אויגן און מ'מיינט אז אפשר איז דאס  דאס דער אמת. אפילו דער גרעסטער קנאי - און אפשר דוקא די קנאים, ווייל זיי זענען שטענדיג עוסק אין די ענינים, זענען זיי דוקא די מערסטע עממפענגליך צו די ציוניסטישע נאראטיוו. א פארעווער חסיד גייט אים נישט אן נישט אהין און נישט אהער. ער שטימט אין די טריפה'נע וואלען ווייל זיין רבי האט אים אזוי געהייסן, אבער מער גייט אים נישט אהן די ציונות שבמדינה מער ווי זיין גלייכצייטיגער פריינט אדער קרוב אין ברוקלין. משי-זהב איז נישט דער ערשטער און אפשר גאר נישט דער לעצטער וועלכע זעהט אז א מדינה איז אפשר נישט אזוי שלעכט פאר אחב"י. איבערהויפט נאך דער גרויסער חורבן אייראפע.

אסתיר פני | סיפור החורבן והשיקום של חייו של האדמו"ר מצאנז- קלויזבורג וקהילתו

פרישע סחורה - הערשט געבאקען אויף דער אינטערנעץ. א גוט שטיקל ארבעט האבען די צאנזערס אנגעמאכט. מ'ברויך זיי געבן קרעדיט. נישטא קיין ברירה
I just don't see how Sanz goes together with Prof. Leibowitz.

הרב יאשע בער סאלאווייטשיק - נאך אלע מעשיות דער אלט-מאדישער שטעטל איד

הערט זיינע רייד אין תשכ"ח - ביי די יארצייט דרשה

כ'קען שוין נישט ווארטען אויף די חמשה עשר מי יודע.... I'm Kinda Shocked Here

This has been going on for a while now. Every Yomtov they seem to cross the line with their ads. The לוחות in the shape of some Hungarian meat delicacy before Shavuos, and so on. Like some letz is sitting there and popping out the ads and waiting to see the reaction of people. Waiting to see somebody blow up at him. Phone calls to the stores from irritated vayblech and such. But it doesn't seem like it's happening. The meat (!) of the fight between the 2 Satmars seems to be heavily centered on the butcher shops. Lee Avenue has 4 Satmar Fleish Geshefts. The Aronim built a new meat market at the Corner of Ross Street in Williamsburg, it looks like an old-fashioned smoke house. Every weekly publication has ads from both Satmar Meats, and only a sharp eye can discern between them. Maybe that's why the usually zealous Satmars step back and watch the fireworks; they realize there's a lot riding on the meat wars...

חמשה עשר מי יודע? סאטמאר שלומא אליעזריא. חמשה עשר רביא

האדמו"ר מדינוב מכיר בשורשיו

The New פרוכת just installed in the big Dinover shul in Williamsburg has the name of כ"ק מרן אדמו"ר רבי ברוך יהושע ירחמיאל אבדק"ק מונקאטש והגלילות proudly displayed on it. This is a new chapter and brings some closure to years of pain and hurt. I imagine the decision wasn't easy for the Dinover, but he ultimately did the right thing. Let's just that the zealots don't get any ideas into their their warped little heads...

למעלה מן השמש - ראיון יחיד במינו עם כ"ק האדמו"ר מאמשינוב שליט"א

   קרוב אליך - עבודת ה' ברוח החסידות by Hirshel Tzig on Scribd

Please help אחב"י in Virginia פראווע פסח

Verified cause.

we did this last year as well.

Received via email:

Hirshel: I turn to you once more, as I've done in the past. Your readers have been very kind in previous years and I hope they can be kind again this year. I am on my way with a few others to a small town in Virginia to bring the Festival of Liberation ככל משפטו וחקתו to a Jew who hasn't celebrated it in 9 years. Yitzy, (not his real name) lives in a shack without running water or a bathroom. He comes from a prominent religious family and is still frum but suffers from mental illness and is isolated from his family and society. This is but one of several endeavors that me and a few others have undertaken; namely, to help those that would otherwise be forgotten.  The expenses are great and I won't be able to afford the whole thing alone. If you can please PayPal Nathan2000@aol.com you will have helped me with this great mitzva.

 A tax deductible receipt is available upon request.

Thank You and a חכ כשר ושמח

'חסידות מלוקטת עמ"ס סוטה - דף ב

Shalom Uvracha, 

 As we approach Pesach and Sefiras Haomer, please find attached a beautiful compilation of Chassidus and Kabbalah on Meseches Sotah (Daf Beis). Much time and effort has gone into this wonderful Kuntris, your financial support would be greatly appreciated!

 Donations are now possible via PayPal

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Wishing you a Chag Kasher Vesameach

 Akiva Shavrick

חסידות מלוקטת, סוטה דף ב', מהדורת תשע"ח by Hirshel Tzig on Scribd

"מ'זאל נישט מאכען פון די מצה א פרעס"

Leave it to the שארפע in Prszyscha to get straight to the point, so that even גראב יונגען like us can understand. Although as I'm writing this I can't help but think that it wasn't the חפצא of the Matzoh that he didn't want made into a fress, but rather the whole inyan of Oneg YT and פלייש, etc. But maybe I'm just delving too deep. Try to explain this to a non-chossid and you'll get lots of blank stares. or maybe he'll tell you how it's עונג יו"ט to have Matzoh brei/farfel/toast and kneidlakh. יהי להם אשר להם. I fargin everybody his simchas YT. The interesting thing is that in today's day and age it's specifically the "Heimishe", i.e. Chassidim that seem to be so heavily invested in the פרעס. Even without the gebrokts. Just check out the circulars and the Charedi publications. And the whatsapp clips from the various supermarkets לולי דמסתפינא we would eat a simple gebrokts and less of the meats and pesach cookies.

What excited young Yoshe Ber בר"מ Soloveitchik on the seder night...

Hirshel. 

Here's a piece you may have missed if you don't read the OU publications. I assume the highlight of the night by regular chasidim is probably the piece of zohar that all the angels and the shechina are coming to the seder. It helps that it's at the beginning of the seder, when people are still excited. By others it's the matzoh. With some others it's the kneidlach or the brisket. כל חד לפום שיעורא דיליה. In Brisk - at least the Khaslavich/Boston branch thereof - it's the halachic concept of יקנה"ז. And already at such a young age! Gei farshtey what excites a Brisker. Read the drama of the kiddush with the tall athletic uncle.

Sorry about the food stains...

Government Intervention for Chassidic squabbles

Hirshel:

First, let me say how happy I am that you're kind of back to doing what you do best.

The most recent עלי זכרון has a good piece. If you don't see it regularly you should. They take pieces from the old Hungarian newspapers and translate it. Here they have a news clip that the Munkach/Belz rift was so harsh that even the government could not take it anymore. Looks like it's from the  Zsidó Újság = Jewish Newspaper. They coordinated a peace summit in the city of טשאפ between both sides. The government criticized the holy Munkacher Rov (could be a Belzer drelnak is behind the report?) It seems that afterwards there was peace in the land.  Some 2 months later RYD of Belz passed away and Reb Ahrele Belzer took over. Things were a bit different with him. But it seems nobody can take much credit and receive the Rabbi Sruel Hager Peace Prize, since it was government enforced. This is an important piece of info.

פטירה פון כ"ק דער מאנסי-וויזשניטצער רבי'ן זצ"ל

א ביאגראפיע מיט פיינע בילדער

אז ס'קומט צו כאסידעס זענען אלע בעלי דעה, אפילו דער קאוונער דאקטאר ראבינער'ס א זון

Not that I'm the last word on all people, but I haven't found anything on Reb Eliezer Zvi Revel, except the seforim that he wrote, and this kuntres is not listed there. I also don't see any interest in Chassidus attributed to him, but what do I know. One thing we CAN say is that he was a HUGE fan of his father. רשכבה"ג. That's touching. And why did I call Rabbi Revel Der Kovner Dokter Rabiner?" I couldn't answer that honestly. It just came to me. Now, if only I could figure out why the image is lopsided...

Rabbi Dov (Bernard) Revel

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What's Shimmy Meller up to in his new book on Reb Meir Soloveitchik?

Chortkover/Husyatiner Chassidim are up in arms. In their מחאה they don't mention the quotes that appear in the book, saying that they're not be repeated, that's how bad they are. Something he says there about הרה"ק ר' ישראל מהוסיאטין זצ"ל.  UPDATE: Here is the quote. Typical Brisker לשון הרע באיצטלא של קדושה. No difference than two chassidim sitting over a cholent Thursday night in your local deli or gas station. As if to say that the Chofetz Chaim in שמירת הלשון doesn't apply to them because they're discussing רשעים. The joke of it all is that the son-in-law, whom he calls "רציני" and would go up to the shul to learn after going to the Mikvah on Erev Shabbos was his successor as Husyatiner Rebbe, Reb Yakov of Husyatin, a FIRST RATE MIZROCHIST who said Torah in Ivrit on Hey Iyar. But Reb Meir האט גוט גיקענט דער... because he saw him in the Mikvah... נישטא ווער זאל לאכען....















Not sure why Shimmy sees the need to publish such statements; Is the matzav there so bankrupt that they need to laugh at others just to keep the people in line? 

Then there's Agav piece. Once we're attacking the Rebbelach let's go all the way. After all, they were Mizrochnikes, and Loshon Horah is a Mitzvah when it comes to them. The צושטעל to the Brisker dayan and that story is classic. Apples and oranges is an understatement.

הרב ר' אברהם יהושע סאלאווייטשיק calls the bluff of certain American Roshei Yeshiva and the ארץ ישראל'דיגע ראשי ישיבה that came here to tell them how "terrible" life is there

Two clips, 10+ minutes each. אין א זאפטיגער אידיש. Blasting the American Yeshiva system among other things. Blasting the System in America in general, High School, college, degrees, tznius, blue shirts, etc. The guy with the בלויע בלוזקע learning a little בזמן שאינו יום ואינו לילה. But the main point is the bluff of the Rosh Yeshiva from the "Peleg" who came to New York and told the bochurim sitting here על סיר הבשר that the matzav haRuchni in Eretz Yisroel is mamish terrible. Stay home, he says, if things here so terrible.

We find Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin not being honest when it comes to Gedolim and Hespedim in Yeshiva

YRCB is having a hesped to mourn the passing of Rav Shmuel Auerbach. They're bringing all the Mechablim in America, Reb Elya Ber and Reb Malkiel, as well as R' Shmuel Markovitz, the Mechabel from Ponovezh. Which is fine. I'm just a little surprised that they're thumbing their noses at the leadership in Eretz Yisroel, Reb Chaim and Reb Gershon Eidelstein, etc. But that's their problem. The only problem is that just a few weeks ago, after the passing of the leader of עולם התורה Hagaon Reb Aron Leib Shteinman, zt"l, there was no such hesped. Why? because the Rosh Yeshiva at YRCB said despite being "the Rebbe B'Yisroel" he had no influence over the Yeshiva on Coney Island Avenue. Nor over the Rosh Yeshiva. But when RALS came to NY they shlepped him to the Yeshiva to speak, even at 95 years old. I wonder how much influence Reb Shmuel had over them.... Where's the intellectual honesty, folks?

RALS and יבלחט"א RAS upon his visit to YRCB

See this story, when RALS passed away

Reminds me of this gem on the blog, way back when...

Here's Rabbi Schechter: (Yiddish & English)