chiefshmerel

Avira, when I say anti-Zionist yeshivas, I don’t mean Satmar or a yeshiva that had an official anti-Zionist policy. What I mean is a yeshivish yeshiva in which the rebbeim personally had anti-Zionist views AND proudly espoused said views. I prefer not to name any, lest I give too much information to remain anonymous.
The attitudes I was familiar with were of the nature that require a lot of assumptions and specific long-winded scenarios to be true. For example, it was claimed that Herzl would spit at a frum person if he saw them in the street. No one ever accused him of doing such to them or in their sight, and it would be downright false to claim that he never saw a frum person in his life.
Regarding Perfidy, I wasn’t sufficiently anti-Zionist in the views of the hanhala. Without mentioning any ideas such as not building a state before Moshiach, the first line of defense was that I should read Perfidy. There was barely any discussion of hashkafa regarding this anti-Zionism, only passing references to Herzl’s secular lifestyle. He certainly was secular and atheistic, but was on good terms with rabbanim who wouldn’t dismiss him. That’s why he corresponded with the first Chortkover Rebbe, Rav Dovid Moshe Friedman, even though the Rebbe was not a supporter. Of course, Herzl wanted support, but I don’t recall any source that he sought to force his lifestyle on others. Rav Kook and Rav Reines collaborated with Herzl, although acknowledging them as gedolim doesn’t fit a certain narrative. Rav Kalischer and Rav Alkalai predated Herzl, but very much supported practical Zionism.
By the way, Herzl was not the founder of Zionism, Leon Pinsker was. Herzl’s idea was more than a decade later, piggybacking off Pinsker, and certainly involved the “permission of the nations”. That’s why Herzl met Kaiser Wilhelm during the Kaiser’s visit to Eretz Yisrael in 1898; to attract support from the nations.
I have tremendous respect for certain anti-Zionist rabbanim, such as Rav Elchanan Wasserman, who opposed it as a concept when there was no state. I believe he would be more pragmatic (like Agudah) if he lived a few more years. Ditto for the Satmar Rebbe Rav Yoel Teitelbaum, who had tremendous Ahavas Yisrael and practiced the ideal of “hate the sin, love the sinner”.
I’m not going to debate this anymore, but I’m putting this out there because someone reading this who is otherwise unfamiliar should know there is another side to the story. Whoever wants the last word can have it.

I’m not going to debate anything, and will not respond to “questions” that are really opinions. But I cannot be a bystander while an entire portion of the Jewish People is smeared. I’m only responding to questions in the original post because I don’t want to be a bystander and there is an audience who may not here this if no one else speaks up.
Depending on who you ask, it was started by R’ Samson Raphael Hirsch or R’ Asriel Hildesheimer. The current Yekke community (i.e. Breuer’s) will deny the former, hence I’m referencing the latter. Basic math makes it about 175 years old.
Regardless of which of the two you will choose to focus on, don’t lie to me and say that they either was not a savior of Orthodox Judaism in Germany.
The current version that we see in America today is based on the ideas of Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveichik & Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm (not an exhaustive list, but two major ones that come to mind).
The Mesorah is as old as the Torah, as in 3335 years. They are Orthodox and have more respect for Chareidi rabbis than you have for Modern Orthodox rabbis. What they all share is the belief that there is wisdom from the outside world as well; it complements Judaism.
Anything written in the Torah is a must, assuming it applies. (In the sense that not every mitzvah applies unless you are simultaneously male, female, kohen, levi, yisrael, married, single, living in EY & chutz la’aretz, and the list goes on…) Therefore, it is mandatory if written in the Torah; not necessarily mandatory just because one rabbi said it. I believe Tosfos says in Pesachim that one is not required to follow a ruling of beis din if they have a valid source from another rabbi in the period of the ruling’s source or earlier who disagrees. Don’t dismiss this unless you can attest that you learned the entire Pesachim with Rashi & Tosfos and didn’t find it.
A rabbi must be consulted in cases of ambiguity and doubt; that’s what they exist for. Hope I answered your questions. Like I said, I will not debate UJM or anyone else. I will only answer serious questions; not poorly disguised opinions.

I never thought I’d say this as a response to AAQ, but UJM has a point.
YU’s roots are in the Eitz Chaim Yeshiva in the Lower East Side. When the neighborhood continued on the dense path it went on, YU/RIETS decided to move their campus to Washington Heights due to its upper class status (in comparison).
YU may not be for the proletariat but that doesn’t mean that there are no Jews who can afford it. And yes, Manhattan was the center of American Jewish life when YU opened up there.

@mdd1, I apologize if I wasn’t clear enough in referring to Western Ukraine as Western Ukraine. It is correct to say that Galicia was Austria. What is not correct is that other regions were all Russia. Poland was larger before WWI, controlling areas such as Volhynia. Lithuania was larger before WWI, controlling areas such as Kyiv and Odessa (which are not near each other; my point exactly).
As a descendant of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine, my ancestors declared their birth country when filing for naturalization in the early 1920’s as Poland. I.E., Congress Poland, which I realize was part of the Russian Empire, but was Poland at the time of the Tach ve’Tat massacres that non-Russian pro-Russian Jews are fond of bringing up. Khmelnitsky was not Ukrainian; he was a citizen of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (later and presently Ukraine).
Does the Pale of Settlement mean anything to you, by the way? Just curious if you realize that Jews were restricted to that area, also known as apartheid. All Russia’s doing. Don’t try to spin the story.

If only the pro-Russia folks on this site would realize the following:
Yes, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union (not Russia proper) until 1991. The only reason that stayed until so recently was due to WWII; Hitler invaded Ukraine (which was Austria & Poland at that point). Stalin won it at the end of the war and hence added it to the Soviet Union.
Stop unwittingly supporting Nazism.

@ujm, Have you ever learned מסכת עבודה זרה? Already in the beginning, there are opinions (פירושים) which, when discussing the relationship one can have with an ‘עובד ע”ז, תוס says it is permissible to do business with them even on their holidays, for the same reason. Despite the גמ’ saying otherwise, משום איבה. But I doubt you know that because you probably haven’t learned it. The basis for entering a church under some circumstances comes from the same general area.
@common saychel, I refer to Rabbi Sacks ZT”L and Rabbi Mirvis Shli”ta when I refer to people who are greater talmidei chachamim than anyone on this site.

At the wedding of William & Kate (also in Westminster Abbey), Rabbi Sacks ZT”L attended due to fear of Chillul Hashem if he didn’t.
Considering Rabbi Mirvis is representing the Jewish people at the funeral, as a rav in his own right, I don’t see him not going. משום איבה.

@ujm, if it were being done because Bush and Reagan were Christian (I intentionally exclude Trump from religion), by people who hated Christians, then yes.
Face it, George Soros is a dream come true for neo-Nazis.

Totally taken out of context. Full sentence:
“We can only reelect Donald Trump if we get engaged in this circular firing squad. It’s got to be a positive campaign, so join us.”
A half truth is a whole lie.

I’m no fan of Obama. I don’t think he was such a good President, not that he didn’t do anything good.

I’m sick of this whataboutism. If Trump does something wrong, but Obama also did it, does that make it right?

Joseph, are you advocating deporting natural born American citizens?

What’s the recipe?

Famous people I met:
Jill Biden, AOC.
Famous people I kinda met:
Chuck Schumer, we made eye contact at the Israel Day Parade.
Famous people I saw:
Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Mitt Romney, as well as every other sitting U.S. Senator with the exceptions of Booker, Bennet, Harris, and Gillibrand.
Famous people I will see, or possibly meet in the future:
Cory Booker, I intend on going to his August 7 rally in Philadelphia.

Is that a question?

I read the entire Torah.

There was no commandment of ‘thou shalt not be liberal’.

Leibidik Yankel, vaccines don’t have a 100% effective rate. I wouldn’t care about anti-vaxxers if they did.

But there’s something called herd immunity, which means that at least 95% of the population needs to be vaccinated for a disease to be eradicated.

I remember getting the flu shot last year and still getting the flu. That’s because it doesn’t work all the time. Yet I got it again this year because I’m not stupid. I know that just because it doesn’t work once doesn’t mean they don’t work.

The only people who should not be vaccinated are babies that are too young and people for whom it poses health risks. If you use Judaism for a “religious exemption”, you are turning it into a cult. Venishmartem Me’od Lenafshosechem.

It’s not censorship. Censorship is from the government.
Apple, Twitter, etc. are private companies and don’t need to host him against their wishes.

And then they expect a peace plan.

Peace will not come without concessions!

Meno:
1. If your analogy was the case, nothing would be worth money.
2. Actually, this guy thought he would lose money. But once the minimum wage went up, businesses started paying their workers more, and the workers could finally afford an occasional night out. They went to this guy’s restaurant, and he made more money and opened another five, all with new workers.

Bottom line is, a $15 minimum wage works for everyone.

@coffeeaddict, He wasn’t married. His father was also Barack Obama.

On April 22, Trump tweeted:
“Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Fake News NBC just stated that we have given up so much in our negotiations with North Korea, and they have given up nothing. Wow, we haven’t given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearization (so great for World), site closure, & no more testing!”.

“Sleepy eyes” is an anti-Semitic term. Chuck Todd is Jewish. Such an oheiv yisrael…