They say that הכל הולך אחר הסיום.... I'm sure we can make exceptions to the rule. If you try hard enough you can erase that from your memory. Eli Fink loved the event. I too was very inspired. I danced like at a friend's wedding. I learned that I don't suffer from ADD and can sit through 6 hours of anything without getting up from my seat. If you closed your eyes and banished all the evil and impure and אומפארגינעדיגע thoughts in your mind you could be inspired. Which is what I did. But to their credit the Agudah did keep the kudos to themselves to a very bare minimum! Will I begin to "do the daf?" Maybe. Maybe Rabbi Frand - who looked like he was rehearsing in the mirror - inspired me as well, even if he was a paid speaker. I suppose they could've done without the Novominsker and Reb Shmuel K - but I'm not in charge. Reb Shmuel looks to me a little lost.
The dancing was VERY nice.
A VERY strong message was sent to the zealots when they gave Rabbi Lau a VERY strong and loud round of applause. I think the fact that he (and Rabbi Frand) didn't get a "HaRav" next to his name says something, no? Why didn't he get it? Is he less Rov then a Rosh Yeshiva? But at the same time the fact that the Chassidisher Oylam was not well-represented on the dais shows us how in the Chassidishe Velt the kanoyim have won. Everybody wants to be on Satmar's good side, unless you're Ger, Belz or Klausenberg. No Skulener Rebbe, no Vizhnitzer Rebbe, no Skverrer Rebbe. די סקווערע רבי איז געווען וואו, פונקטליך? I'm sure they had prior commitments to attend to... No Pupa either. Imagine if they would. Pretty impressive to pull that crowd together without the aforementioned groups. Oh, and Lubavitch too. The Klausenebrger Rebbe said it well when he referenced the פסוק of מים רבים לא יוכלו לכבות את האהבה. It takes a Chassidisher Rebbe to think of that.
Welcoming the "5,000 Baalei Tshuvah" to the Siyum is sort of like welcoming 1,000 Blacks who came to the Republican National Convention. And I'm a Republican. If I was a BT I'd be downright insulted. Besides for the fact that it's probably not true. How would they know that? The same day that the חק טל expired in Israel... Yet the only one to mention it - just barely - was Reb Malkiel Kotler in his very aydele way. But Rechnitz mentioned the '36 Olympics.. Don't get me wrong, I liked Rechnitz, he was well-spoken and even humble, but I guess the AI doesn't mix into Israeli politics... I respect that. We're in galus after all....
And best of all - NO mention of Dirshu! THANK YOU!!!
א טרונק וואסער וואלט מען געקענט דערלאנגען..... People sat there for hours on end, they paid good money for their tickets, would it kill you to spend another $100k on water? maybe a bag of pretzels and a danish like they had in Citifield? Get some Chassidim in there doing the real organization of the event next time. I mean no disrespect to Reb Lazer Ginsberg, but it was just too much. Maybe he should've switched with the Mincha Baal Tefillah.
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