About a thousand Rabbanim from all stripes gathered for an emergency Kinos and atzeres tefillah against Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana’s religious reforms at Binyanei Haumah in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening.
The kinos began with the recitation of Tehillim. HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef HaGaon then spoke, saying: “We have all stripes here, kipos srugos and kipos shechuros – wonderful unity. We’re all declaring that we’re following the Shulchan Orech. There’s no giyur without kabbalas mitzvos, there’s no such thing.”
Addressing Kahana directly, HaRav Yosef continued: “Religious Affairs Minister, get yourself together already, follow after all the Rabbanei Yisrael. Stop your derech. You ruined kashrus and now you want to ruin giyur? Hashem should help that he does teshuvah.”
HaRav Yisrael Zickerman read the letters of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky and HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Zilberstein. HaRav Chaim wrote that “it is a mitzvah to fight [against the reforms] as much as possible.”
Former Chief Rabbi HaRav Yisrael Meir Lau spoke and then Rosh Yeshivas Ateres Yisrael HaGaon HaRav Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi spoke via teleconference from the US, where he is currently on a chizzuk trip, followed by HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Ezrachi, one of the Roshei Yeshivos of the Mir, and Bnei Brak Rav HaGaon HaRav Massoud Shimon, who read the letter of the Nasi of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah, HaGaon HaRav Shalom Cohen.
HaGaon HaRav Avigdor Nebenzahl spoke next, followed by HaGaon HaRav Tzvi Yisrael Tau, Rosh Yeshivas Har Hamor and HaGaon HaRav Yaakov Ariel, the Rav of Ramat Gan.
HaGaon HaRav Dovid Lau then spoke, followed by HaGaon HaRav Shomo Amar, HaGaon HaRav Yaakov Shapira, Rosh Yeshivas Mercaz HaRav, HaGaon HaRav Asher Weiss and HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Eliyahu, the Rav of Tzfat.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
In other words, there were Rabbanim and also “Religious Zionist” Rabbanim.
You meant KINNUS which is a gathering. KINNOS is what we say on Tishaa B’av.
Kahane the Raschah will not get back,he wants to destroy Jiddischkeit.
“Shulchan Orech” that’s at the seder. It’s Shulchan Aruch.
Not sure tefillah resolves hashmad. This is an ineffective response.
HaKatan – while the Rabbanim there, as Rav Yitzchak Yosef, Shlita, said, all follow the Shulchan Aruch, you, apparently, do not. Your lack of Derech Eretz for major Talmidei Chachamim is disgraceful. I may not follow the Shita of many Rabbanim there, but I acknowledge that they are deserving of the utmost Derech Eretz.
netzhachamah – the word for gathering is actually a Kenes, not Kinnus or Kinnos. It’s the Hebrew word used for any sort of conference/gathering, including professional seminars, etc.
As to the general issues regarding Geirus – there is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed. Minister Kahana is trying to address it, albeit in a way that the Rabbanim here do not agree with. It would be good to have a discussion about the Halachic issues and ways to address it, rather than just say that this way is not good (and no, I’m not saying that Minister Kahana’s way is correct). One of the stated goals of the Rabbanut is to address the religious needs of Klal Yisrael – even those who are not (yet) Shomrei Torah u’Mitzvos. Making sure that some Masorati Israeli, who has a warm feeling toward Yiddishkeit but doesn’t really know much, does not inadvertently get involved with a non-Jewish Israeli is a serious matter for the Tzibur and needs to be addressed.
We can’t just say that it’s not my problem, since my family is Frum and will check out every Shidduch – after all, “Kol Yisrael Aveivim Zeh l’Zeh”.
an Israeli Yid
anIsraeliYid:
From the time that Zionism was founded, to the great misfortune of the Jews, every major gadol (i.e the Chofetz Chaim, Chazon Ish, Brisker Rav, et al.) has ruled that “Religious Zionism” is idolatry and heresy. Period.
It’s not complicated. We have a Torah, and it is complete. (Toras Hashem Temima…) If you add anything to the Torah, or remove anything from it, you are not anymore observing the Jewish faith. It’s that simple.
The Brisker Rav noted, and the Gerrer Rebbe and many other gedolim signed on to the same, that the “Religious Zionist” education was a “sea of heresy mixed in with a drop of religion”.
So, no, the “Religious Zionist” rabbanim effectively have their own “Shulchan Aruch”, which happens to contain much of what is in our original.
Hakatan. An apt name. Especially as it relates to the intelligence of the one using the name.
“We’re all declaring that we’re following the Shulchan Orech. There’s no giyur without kabbalas mitzvos, there’s no such thing.”
The Shulchan Aruch does not require approval of the Israeli government or of any central authority to perform conversions. The proposed reforms are in fact according to the Shulchan Aruch, and the way the Rabbanut restricts things today is not.