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September 2, 2024 3:15 pm at 3:15 pm in reply to: Terrorists Murdered Hostages Shortly Before They Were Located #2310899smerelParticipant
I don’t even get question. How does the tragic brutal murder of these hostages change the equation and situation any more than the tragic killing of Israeli soldiers does? It is true that if Israel does not give in to Hamas’s demands more of the hostages may be murdered R’L. It is true that Israel had the option to give in to whatever Hamas wanted long ago and save some more hostages. Therefore what? It was even a lot more clear before the Israeli response to October 7th started that there would be Israeli causalities fighting Hamas. Every single neutral miliary analyst back then gave us a MUCH higher estimate of what the casualty amount would be. They also told us that Israel would accomplish far less in fighting Hamas than it did. But with the exception of the pro Hamas crowd everyone agreed that it made sense for Israel to respond despite the inevitably of Israeli soldiers getting killed fighting Hamas R’L. It was understood that not doing so will cause even more casualties R’L over the long term. How does the murder of six hostages change that equation in the slightest?
smerelParticipant>>>Decades ago, the Satmar Rav wrote that if the Zionists actually cared about Jewish lives, then the Zionists could go to the UN (yes, that UN) and tell them that they want out, and that the UN should figure out a way to keep all the Jews safe
Can you give the exact source for where the Satmar Rav wrote that nonsense.?
Back in the days that I was faithfully believed in all the anti-Zionist rhetoric my first seeds of doubt were created when I read In one of the Satmar Rebbe’s seforim his opinion that Israel did not need to fight to the six day war because their adversaries weren’t really interested in war. But of course my real disillusionment really kicked in when I came in more contact with people like your self
>>> The Brisker Rav noted that the Zionist State is the greatest achievement of the satan since the eigel.
The Brisker Rav never said anything of the sort. I learned in Brisk for three years and never heard anyone make such a claim. It is only people who made a new religion based on their opposition to Zionism who could believe such a thing. Yeruvem Ben Navat forcing the majority of Eretz Yisroel to worship actual idols? Menashe burning every single sefer Torah in Eretz Yisroel? More recently the Soviet Union shmading three million Yidden? etc.? Nu, still not as bad as what the Zionist did. But only according to those who believe in the new religion of hating Zionists. No Torah Jew could believe such a thing. Not only that the Brisker Rav was of the opinion that the anti-Zionist view that attributes all Zionist successes to the Satan borders of kefira R’L. It believes the Sotton has independent power .
smerelParticipantPeople drive dangerously and nothing happens to them either . Not every sakana ends in disaster and sometimes people lose zchoyus as the result of placing themselves in sakana.
שומר פתאים ה׳ according to some is only about a danger that isn’t apparent but known through statistical data. According to others it only applies to a danger that is COMMONLY ignored. Neither of them apply to traveling to enter a war zone. Even if that war zone is Uman.
smerelParticipantI grew up very anti-Zionist. But as mentioned on many previous threads I became disillusioned with that haskafa years ago, partly as a result of independently coming to the same conclusion as the Chazon Ish that the extreme anti-Zionists are fighting the wrong battle (and today the wrong people) and partly due to my disgust with how confrontational and consumed by hatred the extreme anti-Zionists always are.
After October 7th my opinion about Zionism remained the same. My opposition to the more extreme anti-Zionists has grown . The more I see from them the less I think of them.
August 22, 2024 11:46 am at 11:46 am in reply to: What is your most unpopular/controversial opinion or hot take? #2308110smerelParticipant>>>Smerel,
This is why I posted this in a thread about “Unpopular opinions” It’s a MYTH people’s name changed at Ellis Island. Do you or “people you know” have any proof? I highly doubt it.Huh? It’s obvious that names were changed at Ellis Island. What more proof do you want me to give than that my grandfather had to change his family name? He had cousins who emigrated to Canada that still use their original. To pick a random name that I picked before why are there no Greenmans in Eretz Yisroel and no Greinamans in the US ?
August 22, 2024 7:30 am at 7:30 am in reply to: What is your most unpopular/controversial opinion or hot take? #2307857smerelParticipant>>>Everyone who has claimed & some still claim that “Jews (or Antisemitic officials) changed their last name at Ellis Island is very mistaken as it almost never happened
My grandfather changed his name to a more Americanized one due to the insistence of the Ellis Island officials. I know plenty of other such people.
It’s not for no reason that in Eretz Yisroel people have names like Greinaman and Shteinman while in American there are only Greenmans and Steinmans
smerelParticipant“Zionists” are the Emmanuel Goldstein of the Coffee Room
July 26, 2024 6:19 pm at 6:19 pm in reply to: Yet Frum people get screamed at or thrown off the plane #2300292smerelParticipant>>>It’s different if a man says he doesn’t want to sit next to a woman as opposed to the opposite. Men are perceived as being perverts so women can’t control that so all they can control is sitting somewhere else, they expect the perv to control themself
Huh? So when a “perv” asks to be seated elsewhere in an effort to control himself he is told he can’t make that request but when a woman deicides the guy sitting next to her is a perv who can’t control himself she has the right to sit elsewhere to prevent him from acting out? Why do woman have exclusive rights in deciding how men should act or can not act when it comes to seating on planes?
smerelParticipant>>>It seems the chazal allowed it because they thought lice do not come from male and female, but come from dirt or dust, which has been proven to be incorrect by modern day research.
Chazal talk about the eggs of lice too. (ביצי כנים)
To give but one example ונעשה אבימלך וכל נקבות ביתו אפילו עד ביצי כנים עקרות (Pirkey D’Rav Eliezer 26:8)
Lice do not need to mate continuously to lay fertilized eggs that will hatch. One mating lasts for a life time. Therefore their reproduction is considered being created from the dirt they live on from an halachic status.
The above is but one of the many approaches to this question. Experience has taught me not to discuss this online or it will attract OTD proselytizers like flies to manure so I will post further on this thread
smerelParticipantIt really depends on what the chances of divorce versus remaining single forever are but as someone who never an older single or divorced B’H I say go with the chance of divorce any day . Look at the average fifty year old single and the average fifty year divorcee. The fifty year divorcee. seems to be in a better (general) life situation than the fifty year old single . Hands down. Plus the fifty year old single is always dreaming about what his life would be like if he were married. The fifty year divorcee who went into marriage knowing there was a high chance of divorce has no reason to dream about what would happened had he married someone else
smerelParticipant>>>It would seem, though, that they are clearly against a clear gemara Baba Basra Daf 7 (Yes, yesterday’s daf) that Talmidei Chachamim are exempt from building walls, etc., for shemira because the Toraa itself is a shemira.
Not so simple to begin with . As the Poskim say the Gemora is discussing a situation where the Talmidei Chachamim are saying that on our end you don’t have to build the wall if you don’t want to. We are relying on our Torah to protect us and don’t need it. If they aren’t saying that then they are obligated to pay like everyone else (see the Shaarim Metzuynim B’halacha on those dafim)
June 30, 2024 1:11 am at 1:11 am in reply to: Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz vs Satmar Rebbe #2293605smerelParticipant>>>You cannot unconditionally believe everything that is written in books. In this case, these stories probably reflect the biases of the author, Jonathan Rosenblum
The Hebrew book on RSFM, Shlichusa D’Rachmna, written for and by they type of crowd who would not approve of such an haskafa says very similar things. So did a Jewish Observer article written in the 1980s by a talmid of RSFM who remembered him saying such things
June 18, 2024 1:17 pm at 1:17 pm in reply to: Music Blasting at Philadelphia While Jewish People are at War in Israel? #2290791smerelParticipantIn October it would have been insensitive unless there was a lot of Tehillim being said. At this point not anymore. Are there no celebrations being held in Israel? No (secular) Demonstrations? Is this a party or a concert for the sake of gorging yourself or a fundraiser to support Torah which in turn supports the world? Is there ANY Jewish group that has completely stopped making events?
If you personally are not listening to music these days because of the war in Eretz Yisroel then maybe you should not have attended. But if you are you have no business complaining about this event
smerelParticipantMost Gazans support Hamas. There are very , very, very, righteous gentiles there. If there were Hamas would not exist. The Gazans are not some pushover group that is willing to docilly accept a government they don’t want. They aren’t a risk or avoidant of armed conflict group either.
That said, in fairness there is no comparison between Gaza and Germany. For one the Nazis allowed a lot more free speech than Hamas does. and monitored the behavior of those who were of Aryan descent far less than Hamas. In Germany if someone of Aryan descent was making a barbeque and spent the time sounding off against the Nazis, nothing would have happened to him, his phones would not have been tapped afterwards. They certainly did not tap phones of random Aryans. That isn’t the situation in Gaza.
Secondly, virtually every righteous gentile that I have read about was either (1) anyway a resistance fighter whose life was in constant or (2)someone who was risking their life for a long term friend or neighbor, not some random Jew who knocked on their door or (3)someone who headed a large organization with little government supervision that enabled them to save Jews. How many Gazans fit into any of those three profiles?
smerelParticipantTrump and Biden being the nominees is not the real problem the US is facing. It is only a symptom of it .
smerelParticipant>>>Had Germany surrendered, conditionally, in July 1944 (as would have happened had Rommel replaced Hitler as Fuhrer had the July 20 putsch been successful), perhaps a million Jewish lives would have been saved
Even assuming that assessment is true were HAMAS to surrender conditionally many Jewish lives would be saved too. But they aren’t offering any type of conditional surrender that would come together with an permanent end to hostilities. As such there is no reason not to demand an unconditional surrender from them.
>>>And arguably insistence of unconditional surrendered discouraged many Germans from supporting the various anti-Hitler conspiracies.
Again even if true in the current situation the oppisite. The longer the war continues and the more Gazans suffer the less motive they have to support Hamas in the future. If the war stops and Hamas claims victory (which they will do no matter how it ends – the question is how convincing of a case they can make ) they will have a much easier time recruiting in the future. Both in Gaza and from their foreign supporters. Even Iran and Qatar may have second thoughts before pouring billions more dollars into them if all they can show is the majority of the buildings being destroyed and 40,000 dead Gazans
>>>Israel has room to negotiate something gets the surviving hostages (if any) back, disarms Hamas, and leads to Gaza being controlled by someone who won’t be sponsoring terrorism.
Who are those negotiations supposed to be with? Who that has ability is willing to do so?
smerelParticipantAmong other things hating Trump is far more of a core essential obsessive belief among Democrats than Hunter Biden is among Republicans. For some hating is beyond politics. It is a part of their identity. Republicans are more likely to start threads about he is treated unfairly than threads about Biden.
June 2, 2024 9:26 pm at 9:26 pm in reply to: Chasidus Filling a Void Within Modern Orthodoxy #2287963smerelParticipantUJM
I won’t argue with you but only repeat that your knowledge about YU seems limited to hearsay coming from it’s opponents.
smerelParticipantAs a ceasefire plan it is ridiculous for the reasons mentioned in the OP . As a peace plan if Hamas is on board then it is a wonderful. But of course Hamas is NOT on board
smerelParticipantThe whole way the trial was conducted remined me of the posuk:
וְע֥וֹד רָאִ֖יתִי תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ מְק֤וֹם הַמִּשְׁפָּט֙ שָׁ֣מָּה הָרֶ֔שַׁע
And that is assuming Trump IS in fact technically guilty
smerelParticipant>>>Maybe Trump is being paid back for his role in that wrongful conviction.
Trump had no role whatsoever in that conviction. He took out ads asking that NYS reinstate the death penalty at the time. The innocence of the Central Park Five (who had previously admitted their guilt) is not a reason to retract support for the death penalty. Trump taking out ads for it did not sway public opinion let alone the jury that the specific defendants on trail were guilty
June 2, 2024 10:30 am at 10:30 am in reply to: Chasidus Filling a Void Within Modern Orthodoxy #2287575smerelParticipant>>>Much as JTS moved to the left far enough to leave Orthodoxy, YU too has consistently moved further and further to the left, with the passage of time, that some of them already have a toehold outside of Orthodoxy.
You seem clueless about YU. Whatever issues you may have with them (I’m confident you never discussed their haskafa or anything else about them with an intelligent person affiliated with them) their current leadership is a lot less controversial and definitely to the right of who and what it was forty years ago.
smerelParticipantYou can read my posts about him and it should be clear that I’m no Trump supporter. To put it mildly. This is still a major defeat or the US a whole. It’s descent into banana republic-dom is complete
Or to put it in a liberal language. New York is Alabama 1955 and so is America
May 30, 2024 6:55 pm at 6:55 pm in reply to: Chasidus Filling a Void Within Modern Orthodoxy #2286999smerelParticipant>>>“Modern Orthodoxy” is today’s haskala, as it happens.
Also, real chassidus is, of course, not “feel-good Judaism”, as anyone who has learned chassidic Torah can attest.Mr Hakatan:
I’m not saying chassidus is “feel-good Judaism”, but you certainly do not practice “feel-good Judaism”.
Your posts are also full of anger and self righteous outrage along with vitriolic condemnation of others. It is very not healthy b’ruchnius or even b’gasmius to follow such Judaism.
And as one major gadol once out it “When all a brand of Judaism have to offer is condemnation of others you know that it is bankrupt”
smerelParticipant>>>“Since the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, I doubt that Jews have assimilated more and abandoned the Torah more, than in US of A”.
Pure ignorance.
smerelParticipant>>>Also, there is a difference between respecting and honoring.
It’s safe to say that Eliyohu Hanavi running in front of the Rosha Achav was both respecting and honoring him.
The posuk which says לֹֽא־תְתַעֵ֣ב מִצְרִ֔י
כִּי־גֵ֖ר הָיִ֥יתָ בְאַרְצֽוֹ is actually from the sources Chazal give for Hakoras HaTov. Period. Not only for the country you live in. Were the Egyptians such Tzadikm all the time Klal Yisroel was there ?smerelParticipant>>>You seem to be under a misapprehension of what constitutes a conspiracy theory. etc
You are saying the exact same thing everyone else who believes in conspiracy theories says too . They all say “we assessed the evidence and came to this conclusion. You only believe otherwise because that is what society has told you “
smerelParticipantI think frum people should be showing hakaros hatov. Years ago I used to make it my business to attend memorial days parades and thank the veterans. In Dorash Moshe there is speech given by Rav Moshe Feinstein in honor of July 4th. Today a similar speech on July 4th from a major gadol would be unthinkable.
But it’s not only the frum world where the attitude of appreciation to the US has changed America has become so polarized, there is so much anti America sentiment among the non-Jews that memorial day is little more than any other secular holiday like presidents day that is just ignored in the context of having meaning by everyone Jew and non-Jew alike.
48 year the US centennial was a major celebration year. (look at the quarters) In two years from now is the Semiquincentennial (250 years of the US) There are no plans for celebration. There are no bipartisan committees (remember those) working on making it a memorable event.
The frum world is not going to show more appreciation than the non-Jews do
May 27, 2024 10:02 am at 10:02 am in reply to: Are we praising the same people we are shocked by? #2286005smerelParticipantFirst of all the OP is using the standard logic common among anti-semites. If some Jews did something wrong then it must be that the “Jewish community” is guilty of it.
Secondly, no, my blood does not boil after seeing someone who you can be almost certain was aware that he should not be there walk into a crowd of police in riot gear getting knocked to the floor. Where else in the world would a frum person do something similar? You act like an idiot you get treated like one. The fact that people like him went to Meron shows that even they with all lack of respect for the law and safety they do not believe that you a religious Jew, are an object to be smashed and kicked, given the chance. Otherwise they would have stayed home.
You provide zero evidence to say the police and the IDF are all the same. But I’ll end with this thought. even a Rosha like Achav was praised by Chazal for self sacrifice in a battle to save others. Even though he was told by the novi not to engage in that battle to begin with
smerelParticipant>>>It’s the same mindset that leads to any sort of conspiratorial thinking.
Quite an ironic comment coming from someone like yourself
People like yourself who believe that the alleged then prevalent Greek thinking had an influence on Birchas Hasacher or that Lag Baomar was most likely not Rashbi’s birthday as this tradition seems to be based on nothing more than a typo are openly believing in and promoting conspiracy theories…
smerelParticipantI no Lubavitcher but I understand the point of view of the 6th Rebbe about Daf Yomi. I heard from elderly Chabad Chasidim who actually knew him that he did not advocate it because he felt that the mass learning of Daf Yomi would replace the type of learning that had been the common approach for hundreds of years in Eastern Europe. There were different groups for people of different abilities and inclination. There was a chevra shas, a chevra mishnoyis, a chevra ein yaakov, a chevra halacha etc. etc. He was uncomfortable with the promotion of the mass learning of Daf Yomi which (would have) replace(d) those groups. On the flip side he did not oppose Daf Yomi . Had Daf Yomi been another group associated with Chevra Shas he would have supported it. He never said his concerns mentioned above publicly because then people would (incorrectly) say “The Lubavitcher Rebbe opposed Daf Yomi”
Even though his concerns may have been valid in the 1940s today the chevra shas, chevra mishnoyis, chevra ein yaakov, chevra halach etc. are anyway long gone. If someone feels he will accomplish more by learning something other than Daf Yomi, then he should go ahead and do so. But the intrinsic concern the 6th Rebbe had is no loner relevant
As far as the 7th Rebbe and his approach goes … I’ll repeat something else my friend father was once told by the 6th Rebbe. “Chasidus can bring a person to very high madrogos but only if he keeps himself tied down to this world by learning gemora, rashi and tosofos” Enough said
smerelParticipant>>>whatever “anti-torah blogs” you are referring to, they likely don’t have much of a market for those who aren’t initially acquainted with the concepts they are dismantling.
And they have even less of a market among those who are actually acquainted with the concepts they are attempting to dismantle. Their target audience is those who have vague knowledge but no actual in depth knowledge of what they are discussing.
smerelParticipant>>>Smerel, NK might not do kiruv (i have no idea if they do or not) , but their presence and their dress might serve as examples for these kids that you could be super religious and fit their twisted political agenda
If anything the NK presence on college campuses and elsewhere is a replica in the US of their shmad campaign in Eretz Yisroel. Take a guy name Adam. He is a sincere Jewish student with a strong Jewish identity and some sort of interest in following Judaism. IOW the target group for campus kiruv. He like most people in his demographic is deeply disturbed over Jews being killed in Eretz Yisroel and Arab terrorists. He sees Jews with long beards and peyos ,who to him look like the epitome of Orthodox Jews, coming out in support of those murderers and their goals. Is he now going to be more likely or less likely to be interested in Torah True Judaism?
Now take Adriana. She is a completely secular Jew whose only reference to her Judaism is when she says “As a Jew I condemn Israel for…” Her only connection to Jewish groups are anti-Israel groups. Her perception of Judaism is some sort of Tikkun Olam which means whatever is written on the op-ed pages of the liberal publications. Which of course requires her to be anti-Israel and pro-Palestine . As above I was told by two people involved in campus kiruv that such people don’t go near them other than for possible harassment purposes. Adriana sees Jews with long beards and peyos ,who to her look like the epitome of Orthodox Jews, coming out in support of Palestinian Nationalism and saying exactly like her that “Judaism” requires them to support Palestinian Nationalism. They make no other reference to Judaism. Will that interest her in Torah True Judaism or will she say that since even those Jews equate Palestinian Nationalism with Judaism that must be what Judaism really is ?
smerelParticipant>>>unfortunately their campus rabbis are typically modern orthodox or chabad, which make Israel advocacy and hasbara a huge part of their kiruv.
I know two campus rabbis both of whom say (1)they avoid all political conversation (most kiruv organizations try to) and (2)other than harassments they have never seen any interest from students who are involved in anti-Israel activity.
>>>I’m talking about the less than 10% of college jews who are not pro israel; they are a considerable population. And if NK makes even one of them interested in authentic yiddishkeit, then that’s a positive.
The NK has zero interest in Kiruv. Even they don’t claim anyone became interested in Torah because of their promotion of Palestinian Nationalism and claiming that is Judaism. On the flip side they have been engaging in a campaign of shmad even since the state of Israel came into existence. Their behavior makes Torah true Jews seem so detestable who can know how many people they have turned off from it R’L? Simple proof. Take me personally. Some of the zealots here consider me to be a Zionist. (I don’t consider myself to be one) ) How did I become one when I grew up in a very anti-Zionist background? The answer is that having lived in Meah Shearim for three years and seeing the behavior of extreme anti-Zionists.
Or to quote Rav Shlomo Pappenheim (spokesman for the Edah Hachereidis) “Violence on our part causes hatred of chareidim which turns into hatred of our religion and eventually leads to hatred kiveyachol of the One Above. … I can say unequivocally that a chiloni who gets hit by a stone on Shabbos is never going to do teshuvah.”
smerelParticipant>>>Agreed there’s nothing that can be conclusively drawn from his quote. Except that these sentiments were wellspread and their inclusion can be attributed to their time/place
I agree that YOUR sentiment and the sentiment of your teachers on the blogs you plagiarize from are to be attributed to your/their time and place.
When it comes to Chazal absolutely not! Had those blogs been around in the time Chazal were actually living they would be writing against them for NOT subscribing to and coming under the great enlightened and educated non-Jewish view . Like some living at the time actually did.
smerelParticipant>>>Diogenes Laertius lived about three hundred years before the gemara that gives us the version that is now in our siddurim
This is of course plagrized from an apikorsus blog.
The Tosefta which first mentions making those brochas predates Diogenes Laertius.
The reliability of Diogenes’ sources has been questioned, even by secular scholars . Do you believe Diogenes Laërtius claim that when Diogenes of Sinope committed suicide he held his breath for a few days until he died? Or do you go with the teretz that he had several breath holding sessions until he caused himself enough brain damage that he died? Even the believers who give that answer are clearly saying that not everything coming from Diogenes Laertius is to be taken at face value. And in this case he himself explicitly says that his source is just hearsay ( hundred of years later)
In general the sentiment found among academics that if the Torah says something but that sentiment is also found by non-Jews of the time there must have been some non-Jewish influence is nonsense. Some sentiments are universally believed at least at certain times. The fact that Torah and lhavidl say some Greek philosopher both said a similar concept just shows that the idea resonated even in other cultures. Not influence ch’v
smerelParticipant>>>If not for NK, all jews would get blamed for everything Israel does that the world disapproves of.
Why? There are plenty of vitriolically anti-religious secular Jewish groups who have identical views and act identically to the NK when it comes to Israel. They loooooooove saying “As a Jew followed by some NK view about Israel” Why not give them the credit?
Say there was an American Arab group who was as anti-Hamas as the NK is anti whatever Israel does. Not only that , they also ran around protesting everywhere screaming loudly the propaganda and rhetoric of the far , far , far right in Israel. Many Zionists would love them like antisemites love the NK. But by being so inflammatory and adapting the rhetoric of the far , far , far right not only would they cost Arab lives they probably cost Jewish lives as well.
We have no such groups causing such results . The Arabs have the resoyim from NK. Lo B’Chinom holacha hazarzir etzel horev
smerelParticipant>>>The anti semites, who hate us all anyway, now have to think twice before killing us, or attacking us.
How does telling a bunch of anti-Semites who will hate us anyway that they are right and doing PR for them cause them think twice before killing us, or attacking us? Maybe we should have sent a delegation to Hitler to tell him that we support him too?
Explain this in simple terms that even I can understand
>>>I know many anti semites, personally, who have expressed support for anti zionist jews because of NK
How do you have a personal relationship with so many anti-semities? Everyone loves a traitor defecting from the other side and tells him that he is the good guy unlike everyone else in his former group. Himmler YMS also talked about how every German has his “good Jew”. And unlike the NK those good jews weren’t Moisrim and malshinim like the NK is
smerelParticipant>>>The difference between the Zionists who attended that Zionist rally, vs. NK bringing to the gentiles the Torah’s indisputable message that Zionism is not Judaism etc
The “difference” that you are claiming boils down whether you believe the resoyim from NK claiming to being motivated by Pikuach Nefesh concerns or whether you believe the exact same claim coming from those who went to the rally. (Which included many anti-Zionist talmidey chachim)
I don’t believe anything will change your mind or assessment on the issue so I will limit my comment to saying , Proselyting to non-jews about your views on Torah opposition to Zionism does not require adopting and encouraging Palestinian nationalism, chanufa and PR to those who want to kill Jews like the NK Resoyim are proudly guilty of ,
smerelParticipantThe Neturey Karta resoyim WERE at the Pro Israel DC rally. They were the only group of Palestinian nationalists that were there.
You don’t ask questions on the NK assuming there is any type of Torah based chesbon for what they are doing. Whatever they were 30 or 50 or 70 years ago (there is a difference between what they believed and preached in all those time periods), at this point in time, they no longer even bother claiming to be a Torah haskafa based group . They are Palestinian nationalists. Their website is pure militant Palestinian nationalism, their rhetoric is straight party line Palestinian nationalism, their references to Torah are only made in an effort to encourage Palestinian nationalism etc.
The Satmar Rebbe (Rav Yoel) was well known to have opposed making any joint efforts with non-Jewish anti-Zionist groups. As one close Talmid of his told me he was there when someone broached the ideas and The Satmar Rebbe emphatically answered “Chalila to do such a things!!!” I used to think that it was only because of what rotzchem most non-Jewish anti-Zionist groups are. I now realize another reason why it is such a terrible idea: Torah haskafa needs to be exclusively Torah based. Once you start making common cause with non-Jewish groups to advance an haskafic issue it is only a matter of time until that group will start having a heavy influence on you and your haskafa. Particularly when they are giving you money and honor like the NK receives. That is how and why the NK ended up what it is today
April 19, 2024 1:02 am at 1:02 am in reply to: The open miracles of the Iranian bombardment and the war in Gaza #2278886smerelParticipant>>> But in Eretz Yisroel more Jews have been killed in the last 75 years than in any time in history since the Churban Bayis Sheini.
That doesn’t seem true. Of course when Eretz Yisroel was desolate and almost bereft of Jewish inhabitants very few Jews were being killed there. Which was the situation for the majority of the time after Churban Bayis Sheini. But when there was a significant Jewish population there was plenty of persecution. For example
More Jews died in Churban Beitar than in the entirety of the existence of the State of Israel. That was more than 50 years after Churban Bayis Sheini
Rav Sheria Gaon and Rav Hai Gaon say that the persecutions in Eretz Yisrael at the time of the compiling of the Yerushlami, were so intense that the halachic discussions ended abruptly and did not reach their complete conclusion. Therefore we pasken like the Bavli over the Yerushalmi
etc.
April 17, 2024 3:21 pm at 3:21 pm in reply to: The open miracles of the Iranian bombardment and the war in Gaza #2278302smerelParticipant>>>He can keep his chezkas kashrus, but the story in which the Satmar Rav is quoted saying something he never said, to which the Brisker Rav replied that you can’t say
The way Rabbi Lorinzcz wrote it he never attributed anything to the Satmar Rebbe to the Brisker Rav to begin with . He attributed is as being a general Satmar view. It certainly was a Satmar view to attribute Israel’s successes to the Sotton. I’ve heard it many times from those who align themselves with Satmar
Although over the past few years ago some of them seemed to have shifted and taken on the kocey v’potzem yodey approach to explain it instead
April 16, 2024 5:03 pm at 5:03 pm in reply to: The open miracles of the Iranian bombardment and the war in Gaza #2277943smerelParticipant>>>Rabbi MP Lorincz quoted that from him, as I recall. That’s the same Rabbi Lorincz who misreported to the Brisker Rav
Oh, of course. When Rabbi Lorincz is being quoted to you about what the Briker Rav told him it must be true.(I read what he wrote about his encounters with the Brisker Rav in his autobiography and don’t recall any such quote) When he himself is talking to the Brisker Rav himself he misrepresented the truth…
April 16, 2024 11:06 am at 11:06 am in reply to: The open miracles of the Iranian bombardment and the war in Gaza #2277797smerelParticipant>>>the Brisker Rav famously stated that “the State they have managed to achieve is the greatest victory of the Satan since the sin of the golden calf”.
The Brisker Rav never said such garbage. I learned in Brisk for three years. I heard endless anti-Zionist sentiment but I never heard any Brisker claim the Brisker Rav ever said such a thing.
I did hear that sentiment from other anti-Zionist zealots and that sentiment is basically creating a new religion out of their hatred for Zionism. Yeruvem Ben Novat making ACTUAL idolatrous cows and forcing people to worship them, Menashe burning every Sefer Torah in all of Eretz Yisroel, the churban of the first and second beis hamakdash etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. nu nu that still isn’t as bad as the state of Israel . Because the issue for those who say such things is their hatred for Zionism. Not Torah. It’s not about Torah anymore. It’s only an independent hatred for Zionism that can cause someone to believe such a thing
April 16, 2024 9:28 am at 9:28 am in reply to: The open miracles of the Iranian bombardment and the war in Gaza #2277795smerelParticipantMany years ago I read an article in an atheistic science magazine analyzing how was it possible that the 39 scud missiles shot by Iraq at Israel during the gulf war caused so little damage. It was a real scientific analysis contrasting general times scud missiles were shot at similar distances to places with similar population density and similar defense systems and the intrinsic power of a scud missile to cause damage. As a science magazine they acknowledged that the results should have been very different based on the factors involved . As an atheistic magazine they attributed it in part to random good luck. Even though such publication don’t usually believe in random good luck. That article belongs in The Empty Wagon but ch”v to consider it Torah Haskafa
April 15, 2024 6:07 pm at 6:07 pm in reply to: A Little Bird is Calling- wriiten by Malka Saks. #2277643smerelParticipant>>>song is factually incorrect, Vultures only attack carrion not live prey.
The song says befaeirsh that the little bird is wounded and can fly. Vultures do attack wounded animals . And it’s only turkey vultures that do not usually attack live prey. Black vultures attack live animals too
April 15, 2024 4:48 pm at 4:48 pm in reply to: The open miracles of the Iranian bombardment and the war in Gaza #2277555smerelParticipant>>>Itchie Meir levin was not a “rav.” He was an askan…..Reb Yaakov never said such a thing. It’s laughable that a gadol would change because of a simple observation, not that that was ever the discussion to begin with.
Rav Yaakov wasn’t bigger than Shmaya and Avtalyon and what does the Mishna in Edoyus say about them changing their mind because of what they herd from two lowly (on the social ladder)people?
But I’ll let you explain it. Why indeed when Yidden re killed is it attributed to Hashem and when they are saved is it attributed to the Sotton?
In general Rav Yaakov was no follower of the Satmar Shito on Zionism. To put it mildly.
April 15, 2024 1:30 pm at 1:30 pm in reply to: The open miracles of the Iranian bombardment and the war in Gaza #2277514smerelParticipant>>>The CIA predicted the Israeli victory in ’67 before the war started, almost to a tee how it played out.
This is baloney. I tried very hard to find this on the CIA website like I was told I would. It wasn’t there. Nor anywhere else either. The only source I could find for such a claim other than a certain anti-Zionist propagandist who told me I would find it on the CIA website was a clearly fake website pretending to be the CIA. I did however find an interview with one of the CIA men who was involved in assessing the situation at the time . He said the unanimous assessment of everyone in the CIA at the time was a six week war if Israel attacks, and an eight week war if the Arabs attack. With somewhere between 10,000 to 30,000 Israelis killed r’l
April 15, 2024 1:24 pm at 1:24 pm in reply to: The open miracles of the Iranian bombardment and the war in Gaza #2277502smerelParticipant>>>The Satmar Rav ZY”A went further in pointing out that although the Zionist victories in their wars were conventional military victories, which is simple fact, Hashem did give the Satan permission to fool many into believing the Zionist lies and propaganda about those victories being miracle
This is about as contradictory of a belief as you can get. If the victories were really such conventional military victories then they would be regarded as such even outside of both Satmar and the militantly atheistic anti religious groups who claim they were. How did the Satan have the ability to fool anyone because of them?
April 14, 2024 11:24 pm at 11:24 pm in reply to: A Little Bird is Calling- wriiten by Malka Saks. #2277298smerelParticipant>>>Was this the Malka Saks a”h (a well known Shadchan), who was married to R’ Boruch Saks from Yeshiva of Staten Island?
No.
Malka Saks a”h who was married to R’ Boruch Saks was only about five years old in 1947 when the song was written
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