4 minutes that shook the (Litvishe) world

In the following audio clip the Rebbe repeats a statement - at the Purim Farbrengen - about the Chazon Ish envying the simplest Talmid in Tomchei Tmimim because he did not learn Chassidus while alive, and now that he's afen Eylem hoEmes wishes that he did. The Rebbe called the CI a "Godol B'Yisroel," א גדול שבגדולים, געזעצען באהלו של תורה כל ימיו, און געקענט גוט לערנען

The statement was first made by Reb Foleh Kahan soon after the CI's passing, and word soon got out about his statement. Let's listen and be objective about the reasoning behind the Vort. It was also on Purim, כטוב לב המלך ביין. Foleh Kahan (Refoel Nachman) was Reb Yoel Kahan's father. He was imprisoned in Soviet Gulags for spreading Yiddishkeit in the Soviet Union, and was allowed to leave for Eretz Yisroel in 1935. He made the statement at a Farbrengen in honor of Yud Shvat in 5716, and the letters of condemnation soon started streaming to the Rebbe. The Rebbe responded the next Purim, with the greatest respect for the CI, but seemingly agreeing with RNK's statement, at least on Purim. Let's listen.

037 - Purim 5716 with the Rebbe

I tried uploading it with the little media player, just like I did with the Mayanot debate, but the playback speed was way too fast. So we'll need to click on the above link and listen in the media player provided on that page.

See it in print starting from Oys Lamed Ches.

Ya-dee-da-dee-dye

(Gerrer Rebbe marries off his first grandson)

Circus Tent Links

Rafi G goes to the Har HaBayis

Funny how a "regular Joe who learned in Telshe Chicago" would buck Charedi wisdom (and mine) and take the tour of the temple mount. Then again, according to his profile he's got Smichah from Reb Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, son in law of Reb Shlomo Zalman Auerbach z"l. It doesn't get any more Charedi than that.

Tzemach's got a problem with the color of the Rebbe's suit

Now he thinks they colored the Rebbe's suit in the FR's citizenship film to make it look like it was blue, not gray. He also thinks they dyed the beard, since the Rebbe was almost 50 and surely had some white hair in his beard. And he calls me paranoid. He also has a Kashe on the FR (Kevayochel) based on a BeFeirushe TNLR in Italy.

All in all a must read.

MaHaRaSH's Yarmulke

And other interesting and historical artifacts pertaining to the Rabbeyim and Chabad history now on display at the Aguc"h library in Crown Heights.

From COL


(interesting how the Maharash wore a white Yarmulke while ceasing to wear white - even on Shabbos - like his father the Tzemach Tzedek did.)


(the Rebbetzin Shterna Soroh's Korban Minchah Siddur. Do they still make Korban Minchah Nusach Ari Siddurim? I've never seen one.)


(Kittel of the Frierdige Rebbe, with the initials JS embroidered on it.)

Attention Mr. Lev Levaiev

According to this story in YeshivaWorldNews, Rabbi Mordy Neustadt announced at the dinner of the non-existant Va'ad L'Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel (sorry guys, my opinion stands) that they're about to launch a new and exciting project; the translation of the Shas into Russian by Artscroll! I'm not quite sure how much of a market there'll be, but that's what they announced. Personally I think Spanish and French should come first, but then again, I'm just a Chabadsker Zhlob, and what do I know. What remains to be seen is how much will be lifted from the Steinsaltz Russian, and who will actually work on it, it won't be an easy task finding a team for the Russian.

A commenter there (at YeshivaWorld) said they're looking for sponsors, since AS does nothing before it's paid in full, and on top of that they'll charge you Forty bucks. My advice to you, Mr. Levaiev, is to seize this opportunity and put your name on it, whatever the cost may be. Let the Levaiev name be associated with a project such as this, and put the world on notice. You have convictions, and Lubavitch and the Rebbe is a major part of your life. Just as Schottenstein demanded certain things from Artscroll when he paid for that project, and just like he does when it come to Ohio State's stadium, you too should make certain demands of the suits at Artscroll/Mesorah/Shaar Press. Demand that they include the Rebbe's works in their translations, and demand better treatment for Lubavitch and their institutions.

I think that your money will speak loudly here, especially since you're from a former Soviet Republic, and your advice will be seen as that of an insider who knows what he's talking about. The good Rabbis at AS will quickly forget their earlier so-called "convictions" about Lubavitch and the Rebbe. Putting all of your money into the CIS (FSU, former Soviet Union) gets you little attention amongst the Frum world, this will be better, I guarantee it. It'll also increase the level of learning amongst the students in the Yeshivos you fund, that in turn will only help to increase the quality of students that are produced from those Yeshivos. All in all, a win-win proposition.

The Obligation To Work

Chananya Weissman wants us all to go to work

Rabbi Blumenkrantz's Chabad angle

Every group likes to show hoe somebody in the news has some sort of connection to them. Chabad is no different, and isn't when it concerns Rabbi Avrohom Blumenkrantz o"h. I guess the news must've reached Israel only after Shabbos, because tonight COL reported on his passing, and had some interesting pictures. Shmais, to their credit, had it on Thursady Night, and had the Chabad angle first, including the above photo.

I always admired Rabbi B's patience and availabilty, at all times of the day and night. The picture here surprised me a bit, as he seems to be loud, which he never was when I heard him. At all times of the week, and the night, he'd be on the radio with Zev Brenner and Country Yossi (Reb Country Yossi) answering all kinds of Shayles, including some really childish ones. He'd have an answer for anybody, and be very patient at it. I imagine in those days he didn't get much sleep. You'd be hard pressed to find another Rov who gets on the radio and deals with all kinds of people like that. For most other Rabbonim Volt es nisht gepasst. M

Some of the Chiddushim I read about Rabbi B was that he Talmid of the Lubavitcher Yeshivah in New York, and had a Kesher with the Rebbe. He also was told by the Rebbe once on Chanukah while receiving Chanukah Gelt to learn Likkutei Torah when others were instructed to learn Tanya. (I'm not quite sure what that means exactly, but that was a comment on COL's story.) He also invited the Shliach in Far Rockawaty to come give a shiur Tanya in his shul. Obviously for a partisan "hack" like myself these anectodes about Rabbi B only increase in my admiration for him, although seeing Shaitel ads with his Hechsher on them always rubbed me the wrong way.

While on the subject of Rabbi B: After telling an acquaintance of mine on Friday morning that Rabbi B had passed away, he asked me "who's gonna print the book on Hilchos Pesach this year"? to which I responded that the book is surely ready for this year. His response was the following story: In his Yeshivah the cook passed away on Erev Shabbos. That Shabbos the boys in Yeshivah ate the food that he had prepared, and the Rosh Yeshivah told the Bocherim that the Nifter has a Z'chus that the Talmidei HaYeshivah are eating his Macholei Shabbos. So too Rabbi B, Klal Yisroel is using his book after he paassed away, and that Zchus zol em Bayshtein!

Debate at Mayanot

What we have here for your listening pleasure is two parts of audio of a debate (for lack of a better term) between Rabbi Immanuel Schochet of Toronto and a Rabbi at Or Someach in Yerushalayim. His name is not mentioned as far as I remember. The student was seemingly perplexed, and at a crossroads in life, not knowing whether to go learn in Maayanot Yeshiva or go to back home to the States (or was it Canada?) He was told by his Rabbeyim at OS not to join Chabad because they're basically not accepted by the Torah World. (He includes Breslov in that category.) The student lists all the Taynes that his Rabbi had against Lubavitch and the Rebbe. Well worth a listen.

Part I needs to be listened to with the volume turned up, Part II is much better. It seems like the tape ends just as they were getting into it, which seemingly is always the case, I guess the guy didn't bring enough tape with him. Rabbi Shochet seems to be the right guy for this task, owing to his Litvishe Heritage - He Shtams from Telz - and his relationship with many, many of the Litvishe Rabbonim and Roshei Yeshivah of today and yesteryear, including many of the supposed anti-Chabad.

Part I

Part II

Let me know what you think. Thanks to Akiva of Mystical Paths for helping me out with the uploading.

Revisiting Chassidic History

Issac Balbin mentioned the story of the Holy Belzer Rov's Droshoh in Budapest the night before he fled to then Palestine. It has been written about in the Israeli papers, negatively of course, and was later refuted, or responded to, by Charedim in Israel. I never wanted to mention it since I knew what could arise from starting such a discussion, and I wanted no part of it. I do not like to bad mouth Tzaddikim, believe it or not, and I will not do it here either. However, now that it's been mentioned let's explore it.

The common perception was that he basically said that the Hungarian Jews have nothing to fear, since there will be no holocaust in Hungary and Transylvania. Let's not forget that although Allies of the Germans, the Hungarian Government did not allow Hitler to deport his Jews, although forced labor was in full swing by 1940. So the Hungarian Jews lived in semi-bliss, thinking that here it will not happen, despite the rumblings that told them otherwise. When the Belzer Rov was about to leave for Palestine he spoke in a Budapest Shul. A few lines of that speech were omitted when printed later. Like the Nixon, LeHavdil, tapes that got people thinking, and they said that what was omitted were those words where he "promised" them that no harm would befall them. We all know what actually happened.

Now if you're a supposedly "objective" guy, not one who drinks the proverbial "Kool Aid," you would think that they backtracked and rewrote his speech upon seeing what actually happened, no? That he cut and run when he learned that he had to get out of Hungary immediately? Chas VeSholom to say that, and if you do you're an Apikores!

Would any G-d fearing Jew think that the Belzer Rov would make a promise that would be kept? Would they think that he knew better but did not care as long as he got out? Shomu Shomayim! not in his wildest dreams. Nor would he think that the Gerrer Rebbe, the Imrei Emes, didn't care about the untold thousands of Chassidim he left behind in Poland. Why not? because they know better than to say that about the giants of Yahadus Eyropa. Do they have proof for their assumption? Could it be they were wrong about them, and all they cared about was themselves? (Chas VeSholom) Well, my friends, people like that need to take a good, long, hard look at themselves and come clean. Because once we decide that certain people are guilty based on so-called evidence discovered decades later, then there's no stopping, and no differentiating between this one and that one.

No matter who they may be.

Help uploading audio files

I have some interesting audio files, big ones, 60 plus MB each, That I'd like to upload. If any of you would be able to help with this monumental task, I'd be much obliged.

Thank You Very Much.

Yohrtzeit

From Shturem

I believe he was Rav Gifter's Melamed?
Rav Avigdor Miller's mentor?
Anybody with more info?

Obviously that's not his claim to fame, but it does make for interesting conversation.

"Rebbe Postcards"

The Rebbe at a Chupah in the late 5710s.
Right is the Deizher Rebbe z"l of BP (Reb Meilech IIRC)

I'm not sure what his opinions were of Lubavitch later on in life, I'm sure he was Noyteh to Satmar somewhat. But I recently heard that the Rebbe paid for the Mikveh that he built, and that picture won't go away neither.

See Here

There goes the Country

No more bungalow colony or camps in the Catskills?!

The panic is on amongst the Yeshivos, summer camps, and "askonim", they see it all crumbling before their eyes. Governor Spitzer has turned his back on the few Yiddelech who voted for him, and will allow the Indians from upstate to manage casinos in the "heilige country." Why is this so terrible, I ask? Will all action now move from Woodbourne to Monticello Raceway's slot machines? Will Main Street Woodbourne cease to exist? Will young Heimishe men now blow the rent and mortgage money playing poker and blackjack? I don't think so, and quite frankly, it's degrading to see all these proclamations that make it sound like everything that a young man learned in Yeshivos will go down the tubes once there's a silly slot machine within a few miles. Is all that education that worthless? Have we no inherent fear of G-d, and do we not know about right and wrong once the big temptation comes a bit closer?

We all know that many in our communities frequent Atlantic City. I learned this years ago, first while going through people's books and bank statements in the course of work, and then again while spending summers in VERY Heimishe Bungalow colonies. Stories of young men doing "all-nighters" in AC every single week during the summer shook this young, naive goat to the core. I thought the worst thing a guy could do was watch a movie or something, and boy was I wrong. But then again, those guys don't need slot machines in Monticello, and they wouldn't go there anywhere. They need to have more action than that, and they don't want their nosy neighbors to see them there. So we really don't need to worry about them spending much time there. So who exactly WILL spend their time and money there? Is it all about the traffic now? Have we become so reactionary that we need to jump out of our seats like that before we even truly understand the consequences?

People ignorant of history.

An anonymous comment to What I'm supposed to believe

(Edited for clarity)

"They said the same things about R. Simche Binem of Pshis'che, who also went into the secular world of Germany, in fact to very intersting places there. He knew a lot of languages, medicine etc. Un men hot ihm baredt azoi vie dem heiliken Libavitcher Rebben, until much later they caught on to his unbelievable avoidas hakoidesh in avoidas habirurim and kiruv rechoikim. So there's nothing new under the sun. The gadlus of certain kedoishey elyoin is far beyond the comprehension of little minds, with tzimtzum hamoichin, especially in the so-called "frime velt." Baal Shem Tov, Pshis'cher, Libavitcher - leis machshuve tfisse bohem klal uklal. Let the dogs bark, as R. Akiva said to Rashbi: dayoch she'ani u'boracho yod'im koy'chacho!"

The best words yet, and seemingly Davke Nisht fun a Lubavitcher!

What I'm supposed to believe

by Menachem Friedman, Shimmy Deutsch, Satmarer Chassidim, and the Oylem HaTorah

Prof. Friedman and co. says I've been lied to these 2 decades, and he's about to break the real story in a soon-to-be-published book. He's decided that whatever we've been told was a great lie and this is what I'm supposed to believe based on his years of pure, unbiased, objective research: I'm supposed to believe that the Rebbe, who spent his last 44 years living for others, never spent a day on vacation, never went to see any of the thousands of institutions his people built up, (save for 3 trips to the Catskills, visits he "regretted" later) never traveled to other cities to make Chassidim like all others do, sat in his room all day learning and answering letters, spent hours upon hours countless times speaking Torah, both Nigleh and Chassidus,and Sippurei Tzaddikim, encouraging his people to increase in all aspects of Torah and Gemilus Chassodim, spent no money on himself, wore the same clothes for years and years as opposed to other Tzaddikim whose wardrobe look like Louis XVI, spent hours in the searing heat and biting cold praying for his fellow Yid, performed miracles for thousands of people, from blessing those who could not bear children to healing the sick unlike anything seen since the days of Baal Shem Tov,

I'm supposed to believe that all that is for naught because he studied in University? And one of the Universities he says he studied in has no records of him? And he lived in a non-Jewish neighborhood and had Chinese neighbors? and because he had an hour's walk to shul on Shabbos? and because he had a younger brother-in-law without a beard, and because his older brother-in-law should've become Rebbe? and because his nephew didn't like him after being treated like a prince by his aunt and uncle? and because he had a different appproach on how to deal with irreligious people, and how to bring them back to the fold? And he had a somewhat different approach on how to deal with the Israeli Government and the policies it adhered to? And I'm supposed to believe this why? Because some people, obsessed with the quest to bring down Lubavitch for some reason, decided that creating a new image of the Rebbe would suit them better, and would make their job alot easier. That no matter the Rebbe's accomplishments he still needs to prove himself by passing some kind of test instituted by his detractors, which of course will never happen.

And I'm the fool here?

Tzig and family in Kfar Chabad

(Behind 770 in Kfar Chabad)


(enjoying the early Israeli spring weather)

א פרייליכען חודש אדר

Photos by YaakovRochman - HydePark

"צהר לאור הצפן"

A Glimpse of the hidden light
80th Yahrtzeit
תר"ט- כ"ט שבט תרפ"ז
Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel zt”l, The Alter of Slabodka

A Publication of Project Growth and Greatness

Read The Article here. Definitely not mainstream Yeshivish. When writing of his talmidim who were later Marbitzei Torah on their own, he includes such notables as the Rosh Yeshivah of RIETS, Skokie and other non-black hat institutions of higher learning. A very impressive resume, indeed, had Reb Nota Hirsh. I just wonder if the fact that he was named Der Alter has anything to do with the legacy he left. Or is it the fact that he didn't sit in shul and learn on his own, but rather was proactive, and spread Torah to many cities.

Machlokes Haposkim about Miami

(Exhibit A, via Hydepark)

Chassidishe Rebbes have come out against any "young" person traveling to Miami Beach. They've also signed on all kinds of rules and regulations as to where you're allowed to visit in Miami, even if you're old. Places like the Boardwalk and the Zoo are off limits, as are condos facing the ocean. Read the Kol Koreh for the complete set of rules. North Miami Beach is permitted, according to the poster. The fact that every single flight to Miami and its environs is packed with seemingly G-d fearing Jews who supposedly respect and honor Rabbonim and Bnei Torah is somewhat puzzling to this blogger, but maybe you guys have an answer.


(Exhibit B, via YeshivahWorld)

Next we have an invitation to a Yarchei Kallah event organized by the Miami Beach Community Kolel, a satellite of the BMG at Lakewood. Some of the speakers there include a young Reb Malkiel Kotler, a few very young Avreichei HaKolel, a very young Rosh Hakolel, a very young Rosh HaMechinah Rav Zvi Eliyohu Meir Schmelcer, and presumably young people living in Miami Beach. There will shiurim for men and shiurim for women, and shiurim on all kinds of subjects. It seems to me that the Yarchei Kallah was made to coincide with the mass influx of Jews from New York coming to rest up in Miami Beach, otherwise why not make it in May or October? So not only are they not listening to the Vizhnitzer and Skulener Rebbes, they're encouraging people to come! So what's a guy like me to do; I'm nisht ahin and nisht aher, not a Skulener or Vizhnitzer, and not a "Ben Torah," what am I supposed to do, not go at all, or go and also go to the Yarchei Kallah. My travel agent is waiting for an answer.

New Hate Mail on old Discussions

Sometimes people find old posts of mine by Googling words like "Rav Shach" and "Lubavitch." Here are 2 comments that were posted today by a very brave young man who's not afraid that people will see what pent-up rage he has, and was kind enough to give us his name, occupation, and city of residence. He seems to be on the Misnagdic fringe, the equivalent of a Lubavitcher Meshichist. I thank him for his comments, and was told by a Landsman of his that he's a "very nice guy."

See the Misnagdic Love

There's more!

In both cases click on the link and scroll down to the end of the page for the last comment, it'll be worth the clicking and scrolling in both cases. I apologize to the Lubavitchers amongst us for printing such Apikorsus, but he shows us what we face daily.

"Der Munkatcher"

Photo snatched from BittulZman

I thought had seen them all, but this is a beauty. A full length picture of an Amolige Rebbe like that is hard to come by. Visible are the Vaise Zoken and Fertel Shich that is spoken about in Darkei Chaim V'sholom. A true find. Must be clicked on to appreciate fully.