The media report surrounding the admorim who met with prominent rabbonim from the dati leumi community “mocked” the rabbis, Rabbi Eliezer Melamed writes in his weekly “רביבים” column in the B’sheva newspaper, affiliated with the dati leumi tzibur.
The rav asks rhetorically “Why didn’t my father [HaGaon HaRav] Zalman [Baruch Melamed Shlita] take part in the meetings in the homes of admorim and how does one show mutual respect in meetings between rabbonim?
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed writes that despite the reports that his father was among the rabbonim who met with admorim, in actuality, he did not participate in any of the meetings. While he was invited he did not wish to take part despite the fact he holds the matter of achdus in the religious camp in high regard. These meetings were not intended towards achdus, but towards accomplishing a mission that is viewed as very important by the chareidi tzibur. Therefore, those wishing to speak with them invited them and accorded the proper kovod.
Achdus is based on mutual respect. This is the norm and it is a fundamental aspect of Derech Eretz. Once a minister of one country visits another; etiquette demands a reciprocal visit at a later date. This holds true among rabbonim as well. One reading about the life of Maran Rav Kook ZT”L remembers that following a visit from prominent rabbonim to Yerushalayim with Rav Kook, Maran HaRav would reciprocate with a visit to their homes. When such a mutual relationship is not the goal, a meeting of the parties is arranged on neutral ground towards achieving the objectives involved, and in such a case, one does not visit the home of another. If one seeks the assistance of another, he then puts himself out to reach the other from whom he requires assistance.
If a rav visits the home of a greater rav, the rav of higher stature is not expected to reciprocate with a return visit. When a rav of greater stature needs the assistance of another rav, he may summon the rav to his home, and this is how the chareidi media portrayed the meetings with the admorim – that the admorim summoned the dati leumi rabbonim, those of lesser stature to come to them.
As such, the chareidi media is responsible for mocking the dati leumi rabbonim, prestigious rabbonim who follow the Torah of Rav Kook ZT”L, those who are no less prominent in stature than the chareidi rabbonim.
It is not my intention to create a rift, but rather to set basic protocol for mutual respect and true achdus.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
15 Responses
i dont mean ti be disrespectful, but Rav Melamed should have written the derech of Harav Kook zt”l and not the torah. It si either Toras Hashem or Toras Moshe.
Rav Eliezer is saying it AS IT IS.
His father Rav Zalman is a Tzaddik, Talmid Chochom and a visit should be arranged to meet with him at Bet El.
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=153553
“Those of us who studied with Rav Tzvi Yehuda [Kook] and heard his comments regarding Agudas Yisrael realize they don’t have Rav Kook’s seforim. They exclude his seforim and their reference to him and us is ugly, and their Knesset representatives wipe us out all the time. Could it be that the tzibur that studies ‘Orot’, Rav Kook’s Torah, and follows his path will vote for the very same people who mock us and walk a different path than Rav Kook, a path Rav Kook was very critical of” Rav Melamed questions.
Rav Melamed continues, referring to the “isolation and disengagement from the nation” by the chareidim and the unwillingness of the Agudas Yisrael community to acknowledge the אתחלתא דגאולה, citing Rav Tzvi Yehuda would raise his voice when addressing this issue. He spoke of the need to relate to “achdus Yisrael” and breaking barriers, not the opposite. “To vote for chareidim is to walk in a completely different direction from the one we are on all the time. This is not the way of Rav Tzvi Yehuda.”
#1 The expression of Toras….. is well used in the yeshiva velt. Toras Reb Chaim….. etc.
With all due respect, the daati leumi have aligned themselves with the enemies of Torah, the rasha Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid ilk.
The chareidi leadership have begged and pleaded with them to break this unholy union with those who seek to rip Torah from the heart of Israel and join with THEM in a united Torah front.
Shas, Degel, Agudah AND daati would be a powerful and influential bloc. But the daati have refused. And now Rav Eliezer lectures the CHAREIDIM about achdus? What could the possibly be more antithetical to achdus than aligning oneself with that rasha Yair Lapid??? I think perhaps his comments are more suitably directed at his OWN community.
#5 – Sorry #5, but you speak anything other than “emess”.
The chareidi parties have for years sold themselves to the highest bidder, being more than willing to align themselves with the most anti-Torah elements in order to advance their narrow self-interests. They certainly had no problem entering coalitions with parties which unlike Yesh Atid were anti-Torah across the board. Now that the electorate has finally awakened from its slumber and the chareidim realize they may finally (and hopefully) be excluded from the coalition, they suddenly have “discovered” the Torah Zionists they despise so much.
R. Melamed (father and son) are 100% correct. If you read what R. Eliezer wrote in the original Hebrew, you will see that he doesn’t object to the ideal of a united religious front. He simply wants such discussions to be held in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Obviously that is too much for the chareidim to bear, and therefore achdus shall remain a faraway dream.
Bennett doesn’t speak for all dati leumi! There are many who are dati leumi do not like this Lapid arrangement at all.
#5 – Yesh Atid’s #2 is a serious talmid chacham and well regarded rabbi in the D”L community. Another of Yesh Atid’s MKs is a charedi with smicha. Several other of their MKs are either observant or mesorati. Yair Lapid himself has spoken repeatedly of the importance of limud torah and the yeshiva world, and of the need to ensure that all Jews, orthodox and secular alike, learn torah, including gemara. He is not observant but he is certainly NOT an enemy of Torah or of observant Jews. From his point of view, as well as from HaBayit Hayehudi’s point of view, requiring charedim to serve and work is uite the contrary, actually.
As for the truly disingenuous complaint of the charedi parties that HaBayit Hayehudi should form a block with them – for achdus, no less – who can forget that those same parties shunned and destained and refused to enter into such a block with the various D”L parties who repeatedly sought to form such blocks in the past. Now they are rolling their eyes and mouthing ‘achdus’? For shame.
For decades, gedolim the likes of the Steipler threw up their hands in powerlessness and weakness versus the horrid malignations of the Mizrachi media, and now they are complaining of abuse?!?!
[In Gemara Megilla, chaza”l say ‘Les man d’yada lishna bisha k’Haman’
That is no one knew how to malign like Haman.
The Zionists’ media of the past century likely would have been deemed close second.]
All in all, Rabbi Melamed is a rather good man; therefore, I presume his words are being willfully misconstrued by his “gatekeepers”
To all those who seem so concerned about the honor of Rav Kook ZT”L,
I pose you this challenge:
Who blocked Rav Simcha HaKohen Kook, the chief rabbi of Rechovot, from being appointed to the highest rabbinical court just 2-3 years ago?
Ah,
Mizrachi-Mafdal
(now reincarnated as Bayit Yehudi).
The reason?
He was too strict an adherent to halachah.
#6
Eh, try that one more time.
Who sat in government in every stripe and color for decades irrespective of their militant secular bent?
Mafdal
And who stayed out of all those governments despite being offered the skies?
Go ahead, guess.
#8
Please refrain from lecturing us who is a scholar
just bc someone has semicha in yesh atid does not make him the champion for hafotzas limud hatorah
I have tried to understand why the Rabbanim of the national religious sector, dress like haredi Rabbanim.
It seems to me, they want to be accepted by the haredim.
They want to be taken seriously.
Why maight they worry about this? Because they represent their kehillot. I for one, would like to hear these Rabbanim adress the spiritual state of the young in the national religious camp. Their camp, harbours alot of young people who have zero respect for tsniut and shomer negia. There is a lot of sex going on in their camp, outside of marriage, and outside of mikavah.
I believe this is why the national religious Rabbanim feel they must dress like haredi Rabbanim in order to try and be taken seriously. Seriously, rather then dress up like aredim, do something to bring your young people closer to the standards of the haredi world in regards to sex while niddah, and sex outside of marriage. YOu guys have big problems in this regard, and need to grow up, and adress yourselves.
#13 Not sure anyone should be maligning any kehilla. There is lack of tzinuus, abhorrent drinking, complusive gambling, $ fraud, drugs which is quite rampart in kehillas that would be called Charedi.
The Rabbanim dress like Rabbanim, nothing to do with Charedi levush. Their only concern is to be taken seriously by Hashem it is not a ‘like me’ Charedi want-to-be. The only Charedi/Torah Rabbanim who dress differently are those from Sephardic upbringing.
Before RZs speak of achdus, they must renounce the betrayal of 1902 and submit to daas Torah. Then we’ll see.