A rare video of HaGaon HaRav Gershon Edelstein speaking with great emotion about the immense happiness with which a Jew should recite Shelo Asani Goy was published on Thursday.
“Shelo Asani Goy, we say it lightly but it’s a madreigah!” the Rosh Yeshivah said with great emotion. “What simcha! What happiness! Shelo Asani Goy!”
“We don’t feel it. Ashreinu, how wonderful is our lot!”
“We say Shema Yisrael. Our emunah – that’s Ashreinu, the Torah. Baruch Hashem that Am Yisrael exists with its madreigah.”
The Rosh Yeshivah then referred to Jews who haven’t had the zechus of being raised with Torah and mitzvos. “U’Bezras Hashem, there will be Siyata Dishmaya that not only Shomrei Torah U’Mitzvos…that Acheinu Bnei Yisrael who are distant will be zocheh to be on this madreigah.”
The Rosh Yeshivah emphasized that even Jews that aren’t yet frum have Jewish characteristics. “They have the quality of ‘rachmanim,’ they have the Jewish characteristics, they are rachmanim, baiyshanim v’gomlei chasadim, but they don’t have a happy life,” HaRav Edelstein said. “There should be rachamim from Shamayim that all of Jews will have a happy life.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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21 Responses
I once heard that the gomlei chasadim are the agents who bring together the rachmonim (who don’t know who to give) and the beishanim (who are ashamed to ask).
Please note that the correct נוסך is שלא עשני נכרי hence 1st things 1st:- Get the text right!!
The same point the Rosh Yeshiva shlit”a made about Shelo Asani Goy equally applies to Shelo Asani Uved and to Shelo Asani Isha.
Because of the internet, everything we say or do is quickly revealed to the entire world.
Jews have enemies who read Jewish newspapers and Israeli newspapers, in search of news articles that they can use to propagandize against Jews.
For example, Nazi web sites often quote “HaAretz”, a popular Israeli newspaper.
What will non-Jews think, when they read what Rabbi Edelstein said?
So also the same enthusiasm and joy when saying “she’asani kirtzono”
Jews that aren’t yet frum, don’t JUST have Jewish “characteristics” (aka midos) like the quality (aka as ma’alos) of rachmanim, baiyshanim v’gomlei chasadim!
Chazal tell us that (besides the characteristics/midos of bnei Avrohom – which are not from the 613 mitzvos but from מילתא דחסידותא בעלמא), they also have MANY actual and practical mitzvos mi’d’oraysa and midrobon!
“ריקנים שבך מלאים מצוות כרימון”
ראה עירובין יט,א. חגיגה בסופה. ושם נסמן.
Let’s not take away their zchusim in mitzvos by simply acknowledging their midos tovos.
To number 147: before I posing your “נוסך” on us maybe learn Hebrew. It’s נוסח.
ברוך אתה ה אלוקינו מלך העולם שלא עשני גוי
עבדו את ה בשמחה, בואו לפניו ברננה
Ah like always, the Gedolim on the bottom of a Yeshiva Workd article are back at it again! You all probably know Shas baal peh and are a maluch Elokim like Reb Eidelstien. It’s an honor for us to hear all of you pearls of wisdom which you are most probably sharing from your toilet. Keep going guys!
פושעי ישראל שמלאים מצוות כרימון
ריקנין שבך מלאים מצוות כרימון
?צ”ע אם מלאים, כיצד הם ריקים
?כיצד נקרא לו “פושע ישראל” אם הוא מלא מצוות כרימון
Regarding “gomlei chasadim”:
וירח את ריח בגדיו – [בוגדים שבישראל נוהגים גמילות חסדים לבריות, אבל רק מפני הגיון אנושי ולא מפני מצוותיו של הקב”ה, ואעפ”כ שיבח אותם יצחק] – נצי”ב, העמק דבר, בראשית כז, כז הרחב דבר
A side note:
[יש ג’ מדריגות בסוגיא: סוגה בשושנים, והם [א] הסנהדרין – [ב] ריקנין, ולא פושעים – [ג] בריוני, אפילו הם פושעים]
– מרגליות הים, על דף לז ע”א פסקא ט”ז
We can ask why don’t we thank Hashem for not making us malachim? And similarly for not making us animals? But the meaning is clear, the groups we mention are very close , only a small difference between us. That is why the censors did not object. I think.
@147 pretty funny tht you spelled נוסח wrong while pontificating about having the correct text.
@Rebbitzen Goldenpickanicerscreenname it isnt referring to non frum jews when it says מלאים מצות כרימון. its referring to simple amei haaretz.
@147 שלא עשני גוי is universally used, only real “yekkes” using the “Rodelheim” Siddur with the nussach of Wolf Heidenheim say שלא עשני נכרי.
Dear 147:
Before you correct Rav Edelstein about the proper נוסח you should probably first make sure that you know how to spell the word נוסח correctly!!
@147: I do not know where you get your information from, but firstly, Nusach is written נוסח and not נוסך, secondly, you might think that שלא עשני נכרי is the right גירסא, mind you that your opinion is at odds with: the Tosefta in Mesechte Brochos and the ירושלמי, Rav Amram Gaon, Rambam, Abudraham, Shibolei Haleket, the Rosh, the Tur, the Rif, the Machzor Vitri and the Vilna Gaon.
So before looking like a total עם הארץ maybe you check your sources first.
SQUARE_ROOT:
There is no reason to be ashamed, G-d forbid.
Jewish men praise G-d for giving them a soul that carries more spiritual responsibilities, than that of a gentile, eved/half-Jew and even than that of a fully Jewish woman (who has responsibilities to her family/children and, therefore was not burdened with the spiritual responsibilities of Jewish men).
While conversion to Judaism is highly discouraged, primarily because of those responsibilities and because conversion is a one-way street, Judaism does accept sincere converts.
byy – “it isnt referring to non frum jews when it says מלאים מצות כרימון. its referring to simple amei haaretz.”
You are mistaken to say that it is referring to simple amei haaretz.
These days, the average yeshiva avreich (let’s say 99.99% of all yeshiva avreichim and bochurim) IS definitely NOT an talmid chochom. They are ALL simple amei haaretz (even if they heard shiyur on 6 blatt in a few yeshivishe meshechtos when they were in basis hamedresh or in kollel).
Yet, as frum yidden OF COURSE they are מלאים מצות כרימון, so what is the Chazal telling us?!
Even a person who does not learn AT ALL R”L but keeps all mitzvos, like kashrus, shabbos, tefilah, tzitiz, tefillin, brochos, bein adam l’chavero mitzvos of chesed and gemach, hachnosas orchim, tzedakah…of course he or she is filled with mitzovs!!
More so, they are called פושעי ישראל!
147 – the נוסח of שלא עשני נכרי was suggested in שו”ת זכר יהוסף (ח”א סי’ יג) and also followed in ויעתר יצחק, but is not the normative נוסח in most communities of klal Yisroel.
In fact, in Tanach, the word “נכרי” means “stranger”, not necessarily a non-Jew, but even a Jew who is a stranger to you, as in משלי (כז, ב): יהללך זר ולא פיך, נכרי ואל שפתיך
(וראה גם קהלת ו, ב, איוב יט, טו).
@147, Rav Schwab זצ”ל made it clear that Roedelheim got that one wrong. So even if you are one of those yekkes that likes taking on the Torah world, this is not a case you should use.
I once asked a Gadol: Why don’t we also make a brocha to thank Hashem שלא עשני בהמה?
He answered: For some people, it would be a ברכה לבטלה!
Hakatan, it is not true that “conversion to Judaism is highly discouraged”. On the contrary, if you look at hilchos giyur you will see that we are warned that when testing a potential ger’s sincerity we must be careful not to scare him off. We must be honest, and make full disclosure of the difficulty of being a Jew, not because we don’t want the person, but because we need to make sure he knows what he’s doing. But at the same time we must also stress the advantages of being a Jew, and make sure he understands how welcome he will be if he decides to proceed. The bottom line from the halacha is that we very much want gerim, but only ones who will stay with us; what we don’t want is gerim who will leave as soon as they realize what they have got themselves into.