Rabbi of the Kotel and Holy Sites Shmuel Rabinowitz called it “chilul kodesh” (desecration of the holy), referring to a siddur picked up at the Kosel by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz, who realized someone had crossed out the tefilos for the state and for IDF soldiers.
The IDF commander was quite angered by the find, so much so that when he took part in a bar mitzvah event at the Kosel a number of hours later, he discussed his visit to the holy city, mentioning the siddur incident as well. He explained that he wished to recite the tefilos and realized someone took a pen and crossed them out.
Rabbi Rabinowitz was asked to comment and he told Yisrael HaYom it was a “chutzpah and chilul kodesh”, condemning “the despicable action of an anonymous individual”.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
Whether he says one tefillah or no tefillos, the fact that he can look in a siddur and see that yidden don’t appreciate the sacrifice that he and other soldiers are making breeds sinas chinam and a lack of respect for Torah and yiddishkeit.
Whoever crossed it out wouldv’e brought him closer, instead, by adding in a kvitel with a personal tefillah to keep all those who protect eretz yisrael and b’nei yisrael safe from harm.
“Selects the Wrong Siddur”? Did he pick up a Satmar siddur instead of an IDF one?
Desecrating a siddur is a CHILUL HASHEM to the nth degree.
It doesn’t mean the wrong TYPE of siddur. It means that of all the siddurim to pick up, he picked up the one that ended up causing a Chillul Hashem. Of course, since Hashem made him pick that one, it really can’t be the ‘wrong’ one.
No matter what their personal opinion of those tefillos, no one has a right to be a mazik by damaging other people’s property, and especially not the property of the Tzibbur.
Clearly it was either a Naturei Karta or a Satmar. or perhaps a Gaavad sympathiser who after looting in Meah Shearim looted a Siddur at our only remaining remnant from the Beis haMikdosh.
But any Shul which doesn’t recite the Prayer for Medinas Yisroel every Shabbos & Yom Tov {even if they recite one for Acheinu Yoshevei Yisroel} should feel ashamed of themselves.