Chazan Helfgot will be performing at the White House Chanukah party tonight, the first night of Chanukah.
According to the Journal Sentinel, the ceremony is sponsored by the Washington-based American Friends of Lubavitch, and will include performances by internationally known violinist Itzhak Perlman and Cantor Itche Meir Helfgot.
Jack Lew, director of the United States Office of Management and Budget and the Obama administration’s highest-ranking Jewish official, will light the menorah.
(Dov Gordon – YWN)
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10 Responses
Jacob Lew is Orthodox according to Wikipedia and http://haemtza.blogspot.com/2010/07/jacob-lew-orthodox-jew.html
Impressive!
Maybe he should sing Acheinu Kal Beis Yisroel. Afterwards he can explain the meaning of some of the words pertain to freeing those who are being held captive.
#1: So you allow Harry Maryles to define what is a frum Yid?
I wonder if the future m’chitin went with him as well?
epis he’s gonna use a pocket shas or chumash on the plane ride over?
#4,
I certainly am not going to allow an anonymous commenter to define!
#7
almost everyone here is an anonymous poster. Is your name really charlie hall? It may be but it doesnt have to be. So you’re also anonymous. I think i’m the only one who uses his real name. Happy Chanuka!
SO Charlie,
You are agreeing with #4.
However the truth is if we know that the anonymous commenter is jewish, then he would have a chezkas nemanus. however, apparently, the blogger #4 has referenced has long destroyed his neemanus, and therefore, it would certainly make more sense to trust an anonymous commenter than the aforementioned blogger, who it seems has a chazakah of not being honest.
I did not define anyone. As it happens, by following the links and the story, it appears that indeed, he is a frum Yid. However I find it strange that Haemtza, which to his credit is very much not anonymous, is used as a source on this website. It is well known that he uses his blog to slam Chareidi gedolim and their opinions, both in the US and in EY, on a regular basis.
I never have and never will ask anyone to trust what I say based on who I am, as long as I remain anonymous. It is only the merit of my arguments, which people can address or ignore as they see fit, that I put out there. However, just because someone does sign his name, that doesn’t automatically make him right.
Using a name, even if it is the correct one, if no one knows who you are, is still just as anonymous. I could call myself Bob Smith, even if it is my real name, (or even Charlie Hall) but if no one knows who I am, that can hardly be termed identification.
I always find an interesting thing that happens when there is a machlokes between great rebbes in the chassidishe world, or between gedolim in the litvishe velt. Sometimes the followers get out of hand, and extend the machlokes even further. Invariably, certain commenters will say that “I understand the great leaders had valid reasons for their disputes, but what gives the lowly followers the right to argue in that way.”
Yet when coming from the left, it is perfectly fine for talmidim to continue the shitos of their rabbeim, and attack the gedolim on the right. Those same people who go after the Rebbes of Satmar or Bobov, or the Ponovezher Roshei Yeshiva for not getting along, are perfectly happy to take an anti gedolim stance, if that was what they (think they) were mekabel from their rabbeim.
If you don’t know to what I’m referring, please see the header on the above referenced blog.
He is perfectly happy to slam rebbes for not getting along, for attacking other leaders even though they have a different kabala/mesora. Yet he, who had a rebbe who was a great man in Torah, but whose shitos were by and large disputed by the larger Litvishe and Chassidishe Torah leaders, seems to have no problem attacking those same gedolim, all while waving the flag of fealty to his rebbe, zt’l.