Thursday, March 11, 2010

Meanwhile... at Hazon Ish 5 -----




Shimon Peres
- Nesi Medinat Yisrael - visited Bnei Beraq yesterday and saw the sights. Some zealots weren't happy and poured oil on some roads to deter the cars of his motorcade, but that did a lot of good... not. He was shown the Ponovizher Yeshivah and spoke to the Roshei Yeshivah as well as to some bachurim there, visited a software company ( I guess to disprove the myth that Charedim don't work ) and then participated in a big reception in his honor hosted by the Mayor of Bnei Beraq, Yaakov Asher. You may or may not know that Mr. Peres/Perski is a close relative to Reb Isser Zalman Meltzer, zt"l, by way of his zeide Reb Zvi Meltzer. He's also an eynikel of Der Heiliker Reb Chaim Valozhiner, zt"l. IIRC Reb Zvi was the shver of Maran, no? (No. Maran was an eydem by RIZM's sister, not brother - HT) There are several to the story here, not that this is the first time that a President of the State of Israel visited a Yeshivah. There's - of course - the Lubavitch angle, where Lubavitch gets bashed for hosting Zalmen Shazar and here besides for a few zealots we see and hear no outcry, other than from the usual zealots in Willy and Me'shorim.



We know that the Chazon Ish zt"l met with DBG, but that was to stop a gezeiroh of giyus banos. Here there is no major issue hovering over the heads of the frum populace in Israel. At least not that I know of. We also see that Peres met Reb Aron Leib (Steinman) but not, say, Reb Chaim Kanievski or Reb Michel Yuda Lefkowitz. I figure there's a cheshbon to that too. Maybe they figured he's an easy going guy, and he would make the best impression on Peres. Maybe the other wouldn't hear of meeting with him, especially since it was basically a photo-op for SP, or maybe he needed to get out of the house as per the doctor's orders. He's no spring chicken anymore. I'm not Reb Aron Leib's lawyer, nor does he need a lawyer for his deeds, he fends for himself very well, b"h, even without the (Israeli) Yated vouching for him. So what was he thinking when he agreed to see him? I do not know. But we now can agree that some of the big taynes against Lubavitch are falling apart at the non-existent seams. They were nothing more than hot air. Despite the fact that maybe they're taking advantage of him in his old age.



My only question is: Will the excuses be made like they were when Reb Yoel Kahan visited him? is it better or worse than the Reb Yoel visit was, since people will now think that Chabad is OK, whereas they'll never think that being a Porek Ol is acceptable? Is Reb Yoel Kahan really worse than Shimon Peres, a man who never put on Rabbeinu Tam's tefillin in his life? But come to think of it, we never actually see Reb Aron Leib and the President making eye contact, so maybe there really was no visit after all... I think we can all agree that we need to make compromises sometimes when the situation calls for it, even if the zealots - who very often either have no needs or need no money, like Satmar, which is totally self-sufficient - would like it otherwise. Actually, if the zealots had nothing to condemn would they still be "zealots?" don't they thrive and survive on the acts of others that they so despise? Is it not crucial to their very existence? Living in a medinah that supports Torah institutions and allows for those that learn to go about life without worries does call for a grain of Hakoras haTov every once in a while, even if doing that is a tad uncomfortable, and even if they may have all the wrong reasons in mind when they do hand out the cash.

18 comments:

schneur said...

Thats a Chabad man Rabinowitz from the Kossel next to Perski ?

yakov said...

Why do you claim that R'Tzvi Meltzer, Peres' grandfather was "Marans'" (do you mean Rav Shach?)father in law?
Firstly, could you source your claim that Peres is related to R;Isser Zalman Meltzer?Secondly he was not Rav Shachs father in law for sure.

schneur said...

I think Reb Isser Zalman was the father in law of Reb Aren of Kletzk- Lakewood . Reb Isser's niece a educated trained nurse married Maran rav Shach.
I very much doubt that Perski is an eynikl of the Nefesh Hachaim.ZTL. His Perski's family came from Volozhin but I never heard him talk of any family relationship.
I recall a secular writer claiming that Shazar Z"L was an eynikel of the baal haTanya ZTL.Nice photos I understand that Mrs. Peres is a traditional woman who observes Jewish customs.

Eli said...

Schnour,
Check this genealogical link and see that Peres is (apparently) an eynikel of R'Chaim Volozhiner
http://toladot.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-post_08.html.

Tzig, maybe you could be more original than copying off of Chadrei Chareidim and adding some incomprehensible stuff to it?

Anonymous said...

Schneour ,R'Isser Zalman WAS R'Aharons shver, and if I"m not mistaken, Rav Shach married his sisters daughter

PSOL said...

The last Aydem of R' Benzion of Bobov hy'd was niftar yesterday.

Anonymous said...

Gelt, Gelt, vee shlect es is un gelt. He wasn't there to discuss Toira. The snag yeshivas are breaking under the burden of too few shekels for their bench kvechers. Peres and the medina are sick of giving without anything in return. As is well known the likes of Peres love KOVOD so I guess the great Roshei Yeshivos figure that a little kovod can be a magnet for a lot of Shekels

Anonymous said...

Was the Bobover eidem who was nifter named Wiss or Yakoba (I assume in London....)

An Ailemesher said...

R. Shteinman met Peres to show the world that when he meets someone doesn't mean he holds from him, so people shouldn't think that he held from R. Yoel because he met him.

(Tsig, this is just to help you work on your מדת הכעס. I'm just kidding)

BTW, the only ones that had taanos against the Lubavitcher Rebbe for meeting Shazar are the crazy Hungarian kanoim.

Anonymous said...

very simple!Chabads chanifah ad fawning over Shazar (fun unzerer) and the cordial but distant meeting with Horav Steinman is the difference.Bkitzur its the attitude more then the actual meeting.Taamu Ureu

Ma Rabbi said...

I have little use for super-leftist Shimon Peres. But if he came into my home,I would still receive him cordially. I think thats what Rav Shteinman was doing as well.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:46 said..
Gelt, Gelt, vee shlect es is un gelt. He wasn't there to discuss Toira. The snag yeshivas are breaking under the burden of too few shekels for their bench kvechers.

Buddy, the Chabad yeshivas are in the same hole in EY and elsewhere. Take away the tumedike medina and all the yeshivas can close shop tomorrow. There's good reason to give kovod to SP as nasi. BTW, @ the holtzberg levayah he was allowed to speak bec they needed his help with israeli gov't security people to secure chabad houses around the world. It's the way it works and there's nothing wrong with it.

Abt shazar, he was by the Rebbe before he became pres several times. When he visited the USA as nasi hamedina, it was very controversial because per protocol a president does not officially visit private people. He asked if the Rebbe could come see him at the waldorf & the Rebbe declined. He then decided to come to 770. It created a huge uproar in EY, and he said that to him the Rebbe is like a foreign president so he can go visit him. He arranged as a personal favor to the Rebbe the system of "kvutza" that allows chabad israeli bochurim to learn one yr in 770 before army.

Goose said...

"Shimon Peres, a man who never put on Rabbeinu Tam's tefillin in his life"

I'm not mekabel!

PSOL said...

The Eidem was R' Yisroel Dov Weitz, the levaya was yesterday in Yerusholayim.

Anonymous said...

But come to think of it, we never actually see Reb Aron Leib and the President making eye contact, so maybe there really was no visit after all
The same thing is true of the CHAZAN ISH and his visitor but he said it is assur to look at the Ponim Of a Rasha"

Anonymous said...

it was not about money.

Peres zol zayn shtorben was trying to get the rov's assistance in some conversion related matter (ie trying to con him into going against halacha). I don't think he succeeded.

shelo asani charedi said...

Anon and anon: you're both right. It's well known that it was about conversion. Both the secular Israeli Yediot and the chareidi American Hamodia said what the meeting was about. (Both conspicuously left out Rav Shteinman's response) However there was obviously another angle too. Otherwise they wouldn't have arranged for the unusually large (especially secular) press coverage.

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:31
please don"t learn too much in to one pose of Rabbi Stienman, were you there by the entire visit, in order to conclude a major fact?