Tuesday, April 29, 2014

"The Rav and the Rebbe" - Rabbis Zalman Posner and Aron Rakeffet at an OU convention back in '94

Rabbi Posner ע"ה (his introduction, rather) starts at about 29 minutes.

 

FINALLY! The Oylem in the ERCSD is getting their act together and FIGHTING BACK!

It's been years of negative press and outright lies. Years that our blood has been sucked. Years that we've been made to look like thieves stealing from the poor and unfortunate. Taking away their after school programs and daycare. Their band practice. Their football uniforms. The politicians, who are supposed to help ALL peoples in the community, have thrown us to the dogs, rather than change funding formulas or work on a solution. We've become fair game when all other groups are off limits. It's OK to talk about the Orthodox/Ultra-Orthodox leeches who steal our school taxes. The press, of course, is in on this mass-lynching hook, line and sinker. Guys like that "goody-goody" from Uri-L'Tzedek have also chimed in... Many of us have wondered where our so-called community activists are, and why they allow the community to be so viciously maligned?! But now I hear these a concerted effort to fight back.

See what Rabbi Avi Shafran has to say about this issue

Step 1 is the press conference today in Monsey today:

 Inter-Community Press Conference with major announcement regarding the East Ramapo predicament. 

 WHAT: Clergy, elected officials, activists and leaders from a broad spectrum of the East Ramapo family will make a major announcement regarding the East Ramapo Central School District WHERE: The Atrium, 401 W Route 59, Monsey NY 10952.
(between E-Z Line Carwash and Chase Bank) 

When: Tuesday April 29, 1:30 PM

It's a start. Let's see where this get us.


Monday, April 28, 2014

when Reb Avigdor Miller tried to save Reb Mottel Shusterman's job way back in 1953 in East Flatbush























Yesterday (Sunday) was the Yohrtzeit of Reb Avigdor Miller. Not that I keep track of that bit of info, I learned about it from Yeshiva World News, that bastion of useful information. Then, I was reading the memoirs of the late Reb Mottel Shusterman, aka "The Rebbe's Baal Koreh," and owner of the עזרא and בלשן printing companies. He was a chossid from Zhlobin, Russia who survived the war by moving eastward to Uzbekistan and then leaving Russia with the עשאלאנען as a Polish citizen in 1946. Upon arriving in New York in 1949 he took a job as the שמש in the Yeshivas Reb Meir Simcha haCohen shul in East Flatbush. (Rabbi JJ Hecht was the Rov there.) Being a shamash also meant giving shiurim for Baaleibatim, leining, and also davening for the amud. It was after hours that he learned the American style of typeset and printing. [agav, the way he got his visa is one for the ages: He was a first cousin thru marriage to the late Reb Chaim Shtein of Telshe. Telshe Yeshiva in Cleveland managed to obtain 6 visas for Professors of Talmud after WW2. These very precious visas were a lot harder to get than the student visas and basically guaranteed almost immediate entry to the US. Student visas meant you had to get in line and wait your turn... Rebbetzin Shtein made sure that one of those precious six visas went to her Lubavitcher cousin, Mottel Shusterman and family!)

Well: I'll let Reb Mottel himself tell the story....


מורשת חכמי אמעריקא פארטיידיקט דער לוחם מלחמת ה' אין ניו יארק פון מתנגדישע אטאקעס

נאכ'ן אפדרוקען דעם פאסט הער איך אז דוקא אזוי-גערופענע חסידי'שע "רבנים," כמו ה"קנאי" הגדול והנורא מנשה פיליפף, זאגען אז הרב ווידרעוועץ איז געווען א קל. ו"הודו" לו גרויסע "היסטאריקער" כמו יונה לאנדא, וועלכע איז משום מה גאר, גאר שטארק פאליבט אינעם ליטווישען רב הכולל ר' יעקב יוסף און נעמט זיך גאר שטארק אהן פאר זיין כבוד. גיי פארשטיי.... Box.com link

Saturday, April 26, 2014

a real Chossid screams when his Rebbe is attacked!

So said the great Reb Shmuel Salant of Yerushalayim. טאקע ניט קיין חסיד, אבער דאך. כנראה אז ער האט פארשטאנען צו חסידים.

And here I thought that I was being "open-minded" and "tolerant" by allowing it here and in life outside the blog. I thought that by allowing others to speak ill of my Rebbe - כאילו - that I was showing them that I'm not "from the crazy ones." So where do I go from here? What copious amounts of Tshuvah do I need to do?


אוי לי



Friday, April 25, 2014

Lubavitch mourns its elders
















Harav Chaim Menachem Teichtel, 92 - תלמיד הישיבה בהיידע and son of the גאון בעל משנה שכיר הי"ד. RCMT was niskarev to Chassidus Chabad and its נשיאים by the late Reb Zalman Schneersohn, ע"ה. He was one of the few remaining talmidim of the famed Heide Yeshiva in Belgium. Ironically, most if not all, of those remaining talmidim are Lubavitcher Chassidim, having come to Lubavitch during WW2 in France. He leaves behind a beautiful family of Chassidim and shluchim all over the world.

See Here





























Harav Yitzchok Zalman Posner - Great Orator, Author and Shliach. Rabbi Zalman Posner was one of the most prolific and creative Jewish writers of our time. He was sent by the Frierdige Rebbe to Nashville, Tennessee way back in 1949 and remained there until his failing health kept him from performing his Rabbinic duties several years ago. (Above vintage pic: The Rebbe and RaSHaG at RYZP's wedding in Kislev, 5710)

Passing of RYZP, 87 (Shturem)
Collive
























Reb Velvel Zalmanov, 98

הרב זלמנוב שלא הכרתם

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Some of us have a hard time letting go of YomTov

The minhag of ending a Yom Tov with the same acts as the opening of the Yom Tov is a minhag for itself.  In Satmar they do נענועים with the Sefer Torah.  Many Chasidim read the הגדה at ne'ilas haChag. In Slonim they do hakafos with חומשים on Shabbos Bereishis, and in Chabad (u probably heard about it since they like to hang posters) they drink ארבע כוסות by Seudas Moshiach. It's some kind of instinct by Jews. Maybe they can't depart from Yom Tov;  They need some achiza grip on the Yom Tov at the end. We're a very unique people, ב"ה.


 

'חסידות מלוקטת עמ"ס סוטה - מס' ד

לכבוד ימי הספירה we bring you some of Reb Akiva Shavrick's latest work: Chassidus Meluketes on Maseches Sotah

Sunday, April 20, 2014

'הוספה לחסידות מלוקטת דף ד

לכבוד ימי הספירה we bring you some of Reb Akiva Shavrick's latest work: Chassidus Meluketes on Maseches Sotah

Monday, April 7, 2014

Pravda 2014 - Red Journalism is alive and well in Rabbi Mottel Neustdat's world























A reader writes:

 Reb Tzig: this is a new book revising the history of the Jewish revolution in Russia. There is no mention of chabad shluchim at all. 500 chabad shluchim with mosdos covering all of the former USSR are not mentioned. All chabad chasidim from the era of the Frierdiger Rebbe to the Rebbe are not mentioned. When they did this kind of hagiography about Torah in the USA they ignored the Frierdiger Rebbe and the Rebbe, but at least in the US there is still some logic to such glaring omissions, you still had a big Yeshiva world that will give credit to RAK etc... Rabbi Berel Wein (who is ironically now ostracized by the charedi world) did alot of their farbisene dirty work.. But in Russia, where there all they have is 3 holes on 4 walls... to ignore Chabad... is real old fashioned Pravda journalism. Nothing less. Did Rabbi Matisyahu Solomon know in 1976 how many mikvaos were functioning in the USSR? Was he interested to know how many shochtim there are Leningrad? Did Rav Pam have Jews traveling from city to keep the fire of Torah burning, under the noses of the KGB? Did they stay up nights crying about their brethren in the USSR?.... It's simply shocking that in 2014 such obvious lies should be printed in hard cover form by a Jewish, frum, publishing company. Whoever they may be. But anything goes and no holds are barred when it comes to bashing Chabad, even if it is by omission only.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

סקווערער רבי זצ"ל טוט "מבצע תפלין" מיט ניו יארקער טעקסי דרייווערס אין די פופציגער יארען - לכבוד היארצייט ב' ניסן



סימן כה סעיף ד: צריך שיהיו תפילין עליו בשעת ק"ש ותפלה 

כ"ק מרן אדמו"ר (מסקווירא) שליט"א דערציילט: "אין די ערשטע צייטן ווען דער טאטע (אדמו"ר ר' יעקב יוסף) ז"ל איז געווען אין בארא פארק, פלעגט ער אסאך מאל פארן מיט טעקסיס, און ווען ס'איז געווען א אידישער טעקסי, פלעגט ער אסאך מאל כאפן א שמועס וועגן לייגן תפילין! און פאר דער וואס האט נישט געהאלטן ביי גארנישט, פלעגט ער זאגן: נאר 'וידבר' און 'קריאת שמע'... ער זאל אנטון די תפילין און זאגן וידבר און קריאת שמע. גליון בחצר הקודש מטו"מ תשס"ד

 ענליך דערציילט הרה"ח ר' ישעי' משב"ק שליט"א: "ווען דער רבי ז"ל איז געווען אין צפת ביים חתונה פון יבלחט"א כ"ק מרן אדמו"ר שליט"א, איז מיין ברודער הגה"צ ר' יצחק שלמה זצ"ל - גאב"ד חוג חתם סופר מיטגעפארן מיט דעם קאר פונעם רבי'ן ז"ל. האט ער געהערט ווי דער רבי ז"ל האט געבעטן פונעם טעקסי-דרייווער אז ער זאל לייגן תפילין, האט ער געזאגט אז ער האט נישט קיין צייט. האט דער רבי ז"ל גע'טענה'ט: 'ווי לאנג נעמט עס? נאר זאגן קריאת שמע מיט שמונה עשרה!' "שפעטער נאך אסאך יארן, איז מיין ברודער זצ"ל געווען אין תל-אביב, הערט ער ווי עמיצער שרייט אים נאך: כבוד הרב, כבוד הרב! דאס איז געווען יענער טעקסי-דרייווער, און ער זאגט אים: "אני מניח תפילין כל יום!" פון דעמאלטס אן האט ער געלייגט תפילין! אגב, בנוגע הלכות תפלין, האט רבי משה בן משה ווייס ז"ל דערציילט אז דער רבי ז"ל האט אים אמאל געזאגט: כ'האב אלץ געוואלט וויסן, פארוואס מען פירט זיך נישט ביי א געוויסע הלכה ווי דער רב שלחן ערוך אין הלכות תפלין. איינמאל האט רבי משה געטראפן אין א זידיטשובער ספר א מקור צו דער וועג וויאזוי מיר פירן זיך, און ער האט עס צוגעוויזן פאר'ן רבי'ן ז"ל, האט דער רבי ז"ל שטארק הנאה געהאט

מפי הרה"צ רבי אהרן מנחם מענדיל (בן כ"ק אדמו"ר) שליט"א



(see page 7 for the original text)

Box.com link