The Israel Police Rav of the Northern District, Rav Anshel Friedman, addresses the controversy surrounding Lag B’Omer on motzei Shabbos and chilul Shabbos surrounding the event. Friedman, a Belzer Chossid, serves as the department Chief Rabbi of the entire Northern District.
Rabbi Friedman spoke with Kol Berama Radio host Noam Zeigman on Wednesday, 1 Rosh Chodesh Iyar, explaining if we truly wish to safeguard the Shabbos, then no one will begin before the early hours of Sunday morning and not immediately after Shabbos. If the latter is the case, police must travel on Shabbos for the department must be prepared as soon as Shabbos ends and this he laments, leads to chilul Shabbos.
“I am serving in the department for 28 years and if required, I always spent Shabbos in Meron to avoid chilul Shabbos. Perhaps the tzibur will be angry with me, but I have criticism against the chareidim in particular for there is chilul Shabbos in Meron. Fifteen minutes after shekiya we can see chareidim driving, concerned they must get a good spot. Israel Police must be prepared for this to protect everyone”, explaining these realities lead to chilul Shabbos.
Rav Friedman calls on those who have an influence on the chareidi tzibur to give a psak halacha that no one is to arrive before the early morning hours on Sunday to avoid chilul Shabbos in all sectors. “The police also prefer to remain at home and spend Shabbos with their families” he concluded.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
15 minutes after shekiya?
“To avoid chillul Shabbos”? Will there be “1” religious Jew who’ll leave when it’s still Shabbos? Jewish goyim who do not heed the words of Hashem nor give a hoot of what some old-fashioned Rabbis says, will not wait until night to travel to Meron. They’ll leave in the afternoon before police arrival. So whom is the Rav instructing this to? They probably see people driving about 20-25 minutes after shekiya, not 15 min, which is already maariv in Israel.
What mind altering substance have you been snorting, arye??
What was not clear about what he said?
He is addresing the steera miney ubay between what the “chareidi ” community says, and what it does.
What they say is that shabbos is most important and we will bring down the government if a bus drives in Tel Aviv.
What they do is insist on flooding Meron on early motzai shabbos which neccesitate predeployment on shabbos of hundreds of Jewish police officers who in your mind are not Jewish anyway.
They refuse to consider to push they whole minhag off to Sunday, like the halachickly sensitive non chareidim do.