The following statement was issued by the OU:
The U.S. Senate was stunned earlier this week when it was announced that Sen. Ted Kennedy has an inoperable malignant brain tumor. The youngest of the Kennedy brothers has been the center of legislation and policy for decades, as much because of the force of his personality as his pragmatism in making compromises to get things done. Veteran WashPost columnist David Broder summed it up in a column stating “there is no one else like him.”
From a parochial perspective, it must be said that the Orthodox Jewish community in the United States has directly benefited from Sen. Kennedy’s support and partnership over the years. Just in the past 15 years:
*We partnered with Sen. Kennedy to enact the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and then the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized
Persons Act
*We worked with Sen. Kennedy to amend the federal special education law to deliver greater access to services for students with learning disabilities in our community
*and we fought with Sen. Kennedy to ensure that all schools – including Jewish day schools – which took in students displaced by Hurricane Katrina were given federal support on the same terms as public schools.
For these reasons and more, Sen. Kennedy ought to be in our tefilot as only Divine refu’ah can assist him.
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29 Responses
First of all- who said it is mutter to pray for a goy, Secondly, he definitely is not from the chassdei oomos haolam—1. He possibly killed someone in his early years. 2. His insane support for the gays.
Also to the OU: When is the RFRA going to take effect? They are still discriminating against Shabbos observers in the workplace!!!
To make a Mishebrach for him is going a little to far but to release a statment wishing him all the best and a speedy recovery on behalf of the OU would be enough
what is that strange outdated logo up there??
“and we fought with Sen. Kennedy ”
i think they meant: “and we fought along with Sen. Kennedy”
There’s a difference between keeping him in our prayers and making a misheberach for him. Not a big deal, but the headline doesn’t seem to be quoting the OU exactly.
Be mispallel for his quick petira. This rotzeach deserves no better.
Drunkenly driving an innocent woman into the river and leaving her there for 24 hours to drown, before calling for help is a killer.
Has the O-U gone crazy?
Kennedy has been the leader of the movement to destroy morality and decency in this country–the prime mover behind abortion and HashChaSa.
RLUIPA was his doing? I hope he rots in H–L. He is responsible for destroying our way of life in Monsey.
You forgot to give his name “Edward Moore ben Rose”
First of all- who said it is mutter to pray for a goy
Who said it was assur?
The Wolf
Joseph,
I aint no fan of his either but for heaven’s sakes, spare us your loyalties to Ms,Kopechne. She didnt deserve to die but she was certainly not an upstanding woman,
If anything , he is the son of a Rosho and we know that G-d pays back generations for the sins of one’s ancestors, THAT should be the issue here, not some floozy he was carryin g on with!
This Chilul Hashem only worsens the Shidduch Crises. Oh wait….. wrong article. I guess they all sound the same.
nameless – You needn’t be a fan nor sympathize with anyone in order to recognize a killer, like Ted the philanderer Kennedy.
First of all, I did not see anywhere in the article that we should make a mishebrach for him, secondly why should we be davening for this person there are tons of other problems in the world, now we are going to worry about some goy who happened to be nice for to the jews. I think that the OU just said this from a political point, to show hakaros hatov to him, but i doubt they trully meant it.
Editors Note: The headline, came DIRECTLY from the OU.
Yemach Shemo!
I don’t know if he killed that woman, (He certainly didn’t save her), but this I do know, he killed common sense and logic.
and we fought with Sen. Kennedy to ensure that
schools
Orthodox Jews Should “Make a Mishebrach” for Ted Kennedy
summed it up in a column stating “there is no one else like him.”
These qoutes from the article bother me. Yes ,we fought with him and his philosophy of liberalism which only helped to increase the IMMORALITY in this country. Just because he did good things doesn’t make the evil go away. He did only what was GOOD FOR HIS SELF-INTEREST. It just so happened that some things that advanced his career helped us. So what? If a robber holds up a bank,kills a bank teller and then “donates” the money to a Yeshiva;will they name a building after that person (and would they accept that ‘donation’?)
Make a misheberach? WHAT! We don’t wish him ill,but we do not dare to profane our Torah doing that! If you don’t like the Pope coming to shul and speaking in our house of kedusha,is this any different?We need to be mispalel for our own many very ill Yidden. Let’s not waste our precious teffilos on the wrong people.
No one else….-“ain od milvado- PLEASE!
your forgetting the “kennedy curse”!
on a trip back from england, his father “old man joe” kennedy (who was the catholic ambassador to the protestant england), his father was bothered by some yeshiva boys learning torah in the next room. (it was rosh hashanah) so the rosh yeshiva (a lubavitcher by name of jacobson) gave him a “klalah” that his children should die a “misa meshunah”. his sister was first — died in auto accident. his brother was next (died in a plane crash; though in fairness, it was returning from combat in the service of the us, during the war, so we yidden consider it somewhat favorable. the president died at the hands of johnson. and the only good brother died at the hands of a palestinian, yms”h.
the father, of course, made his money during prohibition, buying “bronfen” from the canadaian yid, bronfman (father of the current “rosh hakahal). his “private bank” and its investments were taken over by the us govt during the war as “enemy property. his partners in the bank — david rockefeller and the senator from connecticut, prescott b.
#17 he was cursed by R’ Aharon ztzal. #2 He gave his plane to save The Bostener Rebbi,and the Rebbi gave a Brocha that saved his life years ago.Not so fast to curse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
First of all the man killed a young woman while drinking and driving. He then fled the scene and left the poor woman to die. Had he not had connections he would of sat years in the slammer. Not to mention his votes he cast in the senate which help destroy our beloved country. A medical diagnosis doesn’t erase a persons record.
Needless to say; he will be left off of the mishebairach list in our shul.
fine, dont pray for a goy, but when we will need his help when he gets better, all you people who are being to frum at all jews expenses, dont come crying.
(I don’t mind if he gets well but) 1st I will pray for cholei yisrael.
To those who are disturbed by the press release: If there is one thing to be gleaned from all the recent articles about R. Sherer, zt”l it is the need for those who make these decisions to master the ‘masechta of askanus.” I have not. I do assume they have.
And I wonder if you’d have listened to the gedolei Bavel who had us cover up our mourning robes after the churban when in public.
The only davening for a goy is to be mispalell leshloima shel malchus. (beshloima shel malchus?) To daven for a specific goy is just plain wrong!
to #26 mr avremele..you say to “daven for a specific goy is plain wrong”. can you back up your “halacha” or just “boichsvaros” which is not halacha..” halacha is: korbon oileh was accepted in beis hamikdas from non jews (cuhlin 5a , rambam ,masai hakorbonos chapter 2 halacha 2..so if in bais hamikdash their korbonos was accepted… dont see why not say mi shebairach blessing for one, unless he is soinai yisroel,then why should we..we know stories of many tzaddikin that gave blessings to gentiles who came to them and were poal yeshua for them…who paskened to you that mr kennedy is b’gader rasha? ..what happened in chappepeckwa(excuse, dont remember exactly name of lake..) wasn’t premedetated murder not that he is tzaddik for leaving her, was drunk so a shtikele oines..we have a good idea,mr avreimele, the bostoner rebbe, zol zein gezund un derlaiben moshiach ,he is close to the kennedy family from his hometown on boston 40-50 years..maybe call him up and ask? he’s the most reliable to pasken this case..bottom line, if you dont know the halacha regarding specific subject, please dont pasken..
to #24 flatbusher, are you from the “frum” community? does it affect you… we dont seem to see “full of hatred” here, just voicing opinions…you dont have to “pray that it doesnt reflect the entire ‘frum’ community”.by the way, which community do you belong to ? to #27 you say “…labeled those who disagree wih them…” it isnt “disagreement with them” its that they come and voice anti shulchn urech, derech hatorah haskofos , which is not “disagreeing with “them” but voicing (see last 3 lines..) .. you say “..and question their being on this web site..” its actually, why come on a web site of ehrliche bnei torah shomrei toire umitzvos b’chol prutahu v’didikahu and voice anti torah views..”shani minous d’use l’amshiche basrei..” (hello mr secular..thats why the holy gedolinm assur papers with apikorsishe content{..remember “cant uphold g-ds truths” heh?) …
to #21 chalie hall..me thinks you are embarrased to be orthodox jew period., this is just excuse, because if you’d be proud to be ehrliche yid, even when you see some not doing right you’d not shed so fast being “orthodox jew” “v’yigbor libo b’darcai hashem…”..of whom are you embarassed on this site? when you go out on the street in your neighborhood you thing all non jews read this site? maybe a few and how do know its from your neighborhood..so this statement “i am embarassed…”(see above) excuse us mr willi..our finger is stuck on keyboard..
the reactions here are incredible:
“now we are going to worry about some goy who happened to be nice for to the jews”
Have the yidden in the USA become so complacent that you guys think you don’t have show appreciation to goyim that have helped?
You might not agree with his every vote or policy but seeing as the OU was obviously not asking literally for shul’s to make a misheberach, but rather to be mispallel and publicise that you are being mispallel (even if only as yichidim and not a tzibbur) for he recovery, it would send a message that yidden appreciate those who have helped them.
whether you can actually mention it in refoeinu as a tefilla or just be mischanen at some point in your day is something you can ask a real posek.
The OU are to be applauded, I may not eat their meat but they do great work on behalf of the klal
17 and 18: i heard that he was cursed by the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe for turning away a boatload of Jews during the shoah, not because he got annoyed by the sound of learning. if the story of r’ jacobson is true, it sounds like an overreaction. most likely, he was cursed by the Frierdiker Rebbe (and R’ Aharon, and pretty much every other Jew in the world) for turning away the boat full of Jews.
i actually researched the klalah, and found NO evidence that r aron kotler was involved (that story claims r a kotler wanted a visa for some yidden, but rav aron k was NEVER in england to ask “old man joe” for a visa; besides that took place while r aron kotler was just a plain rosh yeshiva in lita (kelm) advising other yidden to stay in europe.)
when i say “bothered by the sound of torah”, we’re talikng about a known anti semite! as i detailed in his financial life.
as for the ou, they’re only interest (just like another institution that the yw editor promotes) is govt funding!