מרן רבינו הגרי"ש שליט"א עם הוריו ז"ל
It seems like the Urim VeThumim is really one of us after all. A man who was born to a father and mother just like the rest of us! And his mother wore a sheitel (gasp!) I'm kidding, of course. We all knew that to be the case, but we had very few details about his life, other than the fact that he was the Leshem's eynikel, he sat and learned all day in a shtiebel in Meah Shearim and he was a member of the Beit Din haGadol of the Rabbanut, headquartered in the infamous Heichal Shlomo building. Only after retiring did we begin to hear about him - we outside the Holy Land, that is. Now, a new book, named השקדן, brings you a first glimpse into the formerly unknown life of Rav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv, who is in his 100th year and going strong, ohn ayin hoRah. No, this is not a hack job on Rav Elyashiv, I don't think there's anything really "juicy" in the book. But if you've lived in the dark and think that the Olam HaLitai veHayeshivot HaKedoshot is all one big happy family led by one Gadol HaDor who is all powerful and all are his subjects, then maybe there will be some news in the book - other than the family details, that is.
You might ask yourself, why then is Tzig profiling the book if not for the fact that he likes the juicy bits in the book?" The truth is I have yet to see the book. But all you need to know about is that a quasi ban was issued in the Israeli Yated - not to be confused with a newspaper of the same name in America, which has no connection to its Israeli counterpart - saying that al pi horoas HoRabbonim one should not buy the book. They have no signatures, not even photoshopped ones, but they ask you to trust them on this one... Don't buy the book, they say, it has no Haskomes and is full inaccuracies, they say. It seems like they're worried about the Chasam Sofer who warns against buying a book sans Haskomeh and they want to save you from burning for it... It's not clear to me which parts they consider inaccurate or untrue or not LeFi Kevodo, at least when it came to the MOAG we knew who was upset and what upset them. Here it's anybody's guess. I don't think they expect a biography of him NOT to mention his long stint in the Rabbanut even if they say that he did Tshuveh for it when he finally left. What follows here is an interview with the anonymous author of the book in the Israeli Sha'ah Tovah magazine. They say that Tuvia Rotberg of Tuvia's in Monsey is the man behind the book. (I expect a nice gift from Tuvia next time I'm in the store for the free plug he got here.)
Click on the images to enlarge. Many thanks to an anonymous reader.
The "ban"
"It seems like the Urim VeThumim is really one of us after all. A man who was born to a father and mother just like the rest of us! "
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning I though you may be talking about ...., you know who, than I realized that Lubavitchers don't believe that
I did buy the book recently in Brooklyn.. It claims to have been published by Tuviahs in Monsey But that has been denied.
ReplyDeleteThe book is in trouble for 2 different reasons. It was printed in the lifetime of the Rav and that is a no no.Only men like the Rebbe and Rav Ovadya have bios published in their lifetimes. But the publishers couls no longer wait ...
Secondly it just states the truth Rav Elyashev was a dayan in the rabbanut , he ignored the Brisker rav's cherem against the heichal Shlomo. His shul Tiffereth Bachurim was a bastion of Hapoel hamizrachi in Meah Shearim of old. While I have grave differences with the Chabad war on Rav Shach, Chabad was not off the mark with its claim that many of the Maran and rabbanan were in fact employed by Mizrachi in their younger years. To me this means naught, but I guess the kannaim in di Yeshiva velt have to wonder why their leaders Rav Shach Yiblach rav Elyashev and others both in Israel and the US were employed by Mizrachi (like like rabbi Yerucem Gorelik in the USA). Perhaps there was no Yeshivish kanoish velt. Perhaps it was a creation of the Hungarain influence over the Yeshiva world begining much later.Remember after all that the son of the Chofetz Chaim rav Leib was the PRESIDENT of Mizrachi in Poland.
Does anybody have an image of the ban in the Yated Neeman?
ReplyDeleteWow, you're quick!
ReplyDeleteDear Schneur,
ReplyDeleteYou are mistaking on the biography facts,The book Hamafteach Beyodio a biography on Harav Shach was printed in his lifetime when he was still well, Wasn't the Sefer Hayovel on Reb Shimon Shkop a biography on him too?
Shneur,
ReplyDeleteR CHAIM OIZER WAS NOT A KANOI???cHOFETS CHAIM WAS NOT AGAINST MIZROCHI?R'Elchonon?
Yes, der helmisher Yiden were mizrochi, but not the gdoilim.
Der Shlith"a zoogt............
ReplyDeleteOy what happens when you take a Hungarishe naar and you turn him into a Lubavitcher...you turbo power his tipshes times 10.
Dear Schneur,
ReplyDeleteYour whole theory that Kanoas in Israel is a Hungarian product,is false, since the Neturai Karta was led by Kantzanelenbogen real Litvak and Amram Blau a grandson of the Keren Oirah,Oishe Zelig Margolies a Poilisher, Reb Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld was far from being a Kanoi.He had his view regarding the rabanut in the hands of the non religous,but in his nature a very amicable person.
Who wrote Rav Shach: Mafteyoch Beyodoh? What was his religious affiliation?
ReplyDeleteThe Sefer HaYovel printed L'Kovod R' Shimon Shkop during his lifetime was indeed a controversial move then, read the hakdamah, they had to do it because the Yeshiva had no money and they printed the sefer as a fundraiser... Intrestingly, if I remember it has Torah from Rabbi Unterman, Rav Moshe Shatzkes, Rav Leib Malin, Rav Shlomo Mattos, and others, a large spectrum...
ReplyDelete1.anonymous is right. the biggest kanoyim were / are ( including those that went to iran )not hungarian but litvakes
ReplyDelete2. R Eliyashiv s turning 100 ( zl er derlebn moshiachn ) n alef nisen ( in a week )
Not brisk
ReplyDeleteI believe Hindu
Gevezener
ReplyDeletethe Iranian crazies are Hungarian, but Yakov Yisroel Dahan was Scandinavian
Reb Chaim and Reb shneur
ReplyDeleteIn this day and age when all the Gedolim are covered on a daily basis with glossy centerfolds on a weekly basis and video of their davening for the Omed that are streaming in their face, the discussion of biography is irrelevant, since they were covered multiple times by the charadie media, the only difference now is that its a hard cover and the ill famed Heichel Shloma saga is covered at length with half baked excuses and lies. Since the Brisker Rov led a obsessive war and RAK in the US made a Assifa to give him Chizuk, and then comes the Maran of our generation and Fieft Zich Arien
You knew R'Moshe Goldman, the Bobover baal menagen?
ReplyDeleteBest niggunim by far inmho
Was in the Bobover Camp when he led the music
Don't get this Heichal Shlomo "problem"
ReplyDeleteRav Elyoshiv was not a kanoi and was close to Rav Kook, his mesader kidushin who was rebbe of his shver, the tzadik R'Aryeh Levin.
Rav Frank , the Har Tzvi was also in the Rabbanut as were many other choshuveh yidden.Rav Elyoshiv, is 24 years younger the the Brisker Rov, but is allowed to follow his rabbonim on top of being a world class posek already at the time.
For Lubavitchers to bring up Heichal Shlomo is ridiculous!
Dovid
ReplyDeletenobody claims that he did anything bad, I was just explaining the dilemma that the historian has with the Isreali yeshiveshe masses, they became very right wing, so they got to make retroactively everyone follow the party line
Rav Frank daughter died of starvation and then he went to work for the Rabanut because of lack of money which is why they all did like moshe grandson said better to work for Avodah Zarah then to come on to Tzedakah
ReplyDeleteAnon 816
ReplyDeleteThere was no tzeddakah!!
Anon
ReplyDeleteThe rav frank story is a lie, he was a admirer of Rav Kook, and so were many gedolim,
The book Hamafteach Beyodio a biography on Harav Shach was printed in his lifetime when he was still well
ReplyDeleteHamafteach beyado was written by a no-longer observant journalist, so it was anyway out of the pale.
You guys are getting sidetracked !!!!
ReplyDeletethe only reason the "B'nai V'chosnai" are against this is that they have their version sitting at the printer, waiting for the last day. Follow the money........................
DLZ
ReplyDeleteI believe he was a talmud of Maran
Firstly as someone mentioned the bio of Rav Shach writen in his life time was written by a shona vepireshnik. The Sefer hayovel about Reb Shimen S. was done al apo vechamoso of the subject, but he relented because it was to be a money maker for a starving yeshiva.And if you ever bothered looking into it , its basically a collection of Tore essays and shiurim.
ReplyDeleteReb Hirsch Pesach Frank was neither a Mizrachi or a Kanoe. He thought of himself as continuing the Besdin of Reb Shmuel Salant who I think was his grand father in law. Reb Frank was accepting of rav Kuk as chief rabbi of Jslm. but had reservations about the national chief rabbinate. There is much to write about this subject and it was only much later that the Neki chapaim of Jslm accepted the eda besdin, originally the shechita of rav Frank was much more chashuv especially since Rav Ramm was its rosh hashochtim and the rav hamachshir.Ask any honest Yerushalmi of a certain age about this !
As far as kannaus goes all the Jerusalemites you mentione rabbi Blau etc were desc. from mixed Lithuanian and Hungarian families and were under the influence of the Brisker rav Diskin who truely was akanoe.
No Reb Chaim Ozer was no kanoe and was mechabed rav Kuk. According to his talmid rabbi Toviah Goldstein ZT"l Reb Elchonon was a mesige Yid and even if we are to accept tht he was so what Lita had some kanoim. But lets think was Rav Moshe a kanoe, was the Alter of Slobodka a kanoe, was the Dvar Avrohom a kanoe, how about the Marchesheth, and how about the Torah Temimah, or how about the Ponovieszer rav ? Sure there were a few kanoim , but the rov of rabbonim in Lithuanai and White Russia were geshtimt to the Mizrachi, and despite rav Chaim Ozer and the heilige Chofetz Chaim there was hardly an organized Aguda in the Kressy area of Poland, because few orthodox Jews were anti Zionist despite their strong haerotza to the chofetz Chaim and Reb Chaim ozer.
I know that he was a shoona vepereshnik but I know for a fact that he was friendly with the Yated editorial board and the people surrounding him
ReplyDeleteI thought Yakov Yisroel Dahan was a Bulgar?
ReplyDeleteSchneur
ReplyDeleteThe people that instigated Rav Diskin were all from the Lita as Orenstien a lubavicher chosid a FIL of Reb Yitzchok Shloma Blau father of Reb Moshe and Reb Amrom, so the streak of Kanoas by the Blaus is total not Hungarian genes,
Schneur,
ReplyDeleteYou have interesting things to say but your typing needs improvement. "Reb Elchonon was a mesige Yid"? What is that?
As for Tuvia, I suspect that he's trying to take credit for all controversial seforim that appear.
ReplyDeleteAn Ailmisher
ReplyDeleteMesige, is a yiddish word not a typo
ah, מעסיג, as in moderate. Sorry, I have trouble reading yiddish in Latin letters.
ReplyDeleteThanks