56 Responses

1. Maybe Tischler should lead it.

2. ywn, which rabbanim, could you specify?
   its kinda suprising, is this safe due to the ability for the virus to spead in crowds and chv reach old/vulnerable people who it is very dangerous for?
   please write names of rabbonim in future posts! thanks

3. A large gathering not a protest
   Difference?

4. Disingenuous.

   Unless you know exactly who the organizers are and communicate with then directly, I’d assume these are actions of the ערוב רב, wolves in sheeps clothing trying to organize a protest under the cloak of piety.

   Time would be better spent working with health care professionals to get infection numbers down, and organize “learning pods” so that kids can learn at home.

5. Have the Gedolim sanctioned this protest?

6. What kind of reporting is this?
   I live in BP and my Rav knows nothing about a meeting last night.

7. To all of those questioning the Rabbanim (who take precedence over medical experts who are confused and do not have the expertise on dealing with COVID): They are following the Governor and Mayor’s guidance that was given for BLM protests and memorials for Breonna Taylor. If deep seeded racism allows for safe protests (without getting infected with COVID) then a millennia-old tradition of tefillah definitely won’t.

8. How do they think the Mayor and Governor are going to respond?

9. In a previous article you stated: “Circumstances do not allow mass gatherings and tefila as the situation merits, but we are formulating plans to foster the spirit of unity and gain inspiration and clarity from our Gedolei Yisroel.”
   So please explain a total reversal- if this article is even true. A massive tefilla gathering will violate social distance orders! How can this be considered? Ribiat is right…spend the time davening, learning, doing chesed. A guten Chodesh

10. 10,000 “disease carrying” jews gathering when nyc explicitly says not to? Nice, the media will love this!

11. They expect over 100,000 people to attend the outdoor Tefila gathering. Men and women on separate blocks.

12. Same First Amendment that protects practicing free speech also protects practicing freedom of religion.

13. So many questions?

    Who are the so called “Gedolim” who are organizing this?

    Call it what you want but it’s still a protest.

    Keep digging a hole for the community. Yep. Instead of being a good jew, keep fueling the fire. It’ll only make things worse.

    But again, who is sanctioning this? Why are they cowardly hiding instead of revealing who they are? Because they know it’s wrong? Because they need scapegoats?

    I am willing to bet my life that the idiot Tischler is behind this…

    And by the way, don’t you think someone will see the details when its public and let the media know or worse the Gov and Mayor? Don’t you think they will video and take pictures? SOCIAL media is a powerful tool my friends

14. What about the virus, as far as I know the virus didn’t disappear!!!

15. Will the rabble’s representative Heshy Tischler be invited to speak?

16. I would move this to Williamsburg and make the Satmar wedding part of the protest. Give Tischler a Mitzva Tanz. Take that Governor.

17. Rabbi Moshe Foigel the former Rav of Chassidai Ger spearheaded the meeting with the Administrator of Yeshiva Yagdil Torah R’ Menachem Garfinkal.

18. Who in their right minds think that the government (state or city) will allow this to go ahead??

19. I would hope that there is a way to participate online. No one has ever suggested that there is transmission of corona via digital hookup. I believe strongly in the atzeres tefilah. Watch the governor and mayor yimach shemom take draconia steps to shut this down. While they might have a point from the public health view, they are not invested in that at all. They are competing who can torture our community the most. Both of them need to encounter a misah meshunah. May we all be zocheh to watch them both fall into complete disgrace.

20. A few facts
    1. This was a suggestion and not a done deal
    2. The meeting last nt was the dayanim of the 10 major kehilos in bp.
    3. The admins of the mosdos called the meeting, telling the dayanim this is bigger than us, u decide where we go from here.
    4. The 3 main issues. Do we close girls, bussing yes or no, and boys…
    5. The meeting went for hours..
    6 aguda also had a conference last night on the legal front

21. Did they ask rechnitz for his approval

22. 2 more points
    The smaller mosdos agreed to follow the big ones
    In the beginning there was serious thought about closing by some but Reb chaim psak tilted things away from that

23. Is this a virtual or social distant gathering? Otherwise, it’s pointless. I would suggest everyone come out on their porches and daven together at once.

24. The only way this gathering will be allowed to take place is if it’s called a protest. Otherwise the crowd will be dispersed before it even gets off the ground!

25. Begging you to stop the Chilul Hashem. David Hamelech and Shlomo Hamelech taught humility and discretion. Tefilot b’Yechud in these days are efficient. These are insulting our Creator. You need to introspect urgently to save us from kitrugim. That’s all you’re doing each time. Sending out wrong messages. Being provocative. Protesting in public. No. This is not Yiddishkeit. Erev Rav ‘s behaviors. That’s destructive and terribly wrong!

26. This picture is NOT from the upcoming event.

27. This is like watching the Keystone Cops. The big take away is that NY has no Torah leadership. It seems the rabbonim pass it to the dayanim, who pass it to the administrators who get the little mosdos to join the big mosdos.
    תלמידי חכמים מרבים קורנה בעולם

28. While Hashem wants our Tfilohs, its only when it results in a total Kidush Hashem. Mass gatherings of any kind proves the opposite. Rabannim,; RECONSIDER!!! We have enough Unwanted shmutz on our sleeves caused by reckless individuals. Lets take the hi road by doing whats right and not garner any more Unwanted media attention.
    The time to follow authority is NOW. Even if we’re targeted, WE HAVE NO SAY NOR A CHOICE IN THE MATTER.

29. I don’t know why anyone would question the motives of this gathering. If we are frum Jews then we know that this is ALL coming from Hashem. Hashem controls the virus, the virus does not control Hashem.
    Therefore our proper response to our situation is to DAVEN to Hashem, the Only ONE who can help us.

    Think about the parallels of our current situation to the Jews in the ghettoes during the Holocaust. But note that now Hashem is doing all this with plenty of rachamim.

    We wait on line for food; they did also….but we have so much more food to eat.

    We cannot have big, long levayos; they could not either….but we are not afraid to get shot at the levaya.

    We cannot have simchos with a lot of people attending; they could not either….but our simchos still have music, flowers, food, etc.

    We cannot daven in large groups in shuls or outside; they could not either….but we HAVE shuls with sifrei Torah in them and we can daven inside (sometimes) or outside without fear of being killed.

    Our children cannot always attend yeshiva; they could not either…but we HAVE yeshivos and our children can learn by zoom or over the phone with their teachers sometimes instead.

    We may be short on space in our home/apt bec sometimes all family members must stay home together; they were crowded too…but we don’t have other families living with us where each family gets one room to live in.

    We may get sick with the coronavirus or other illnesses; they got sick with illnesses too…but we have easy access to medicine and doctors if needed.

    So along with our davening, we must also THANK HASHEM for His Rachamim, even with these difficult situations. The more we thank Hashem (even when it is hard to understand) the more He will give us what to thank Him for. But if we do not daven and if we do not thank Hashem, chas v’shalom, it can lead to worse things.

30. Until you see something with the actual signatures of real Rabbanim, consider it fake news

31. Beautiful!

32. For now the bucherim will participate from yeshiva as it’s the first day of the zman. And may be a ladies, girls and carriages tefila..

33. Was Reb Tischler at this important meeting. Did they at least update him via what’s up. Please tell him to bring Trump flags and masks so we can accomplish something.

34. Thank you, Sruli K for providing specific names community leaders.

    I’d still strongly recommend that readers contact Rabbis Moshe Foigel and Menachem Garfinkel or their personal secretaries to confirm the details.

    To be clear, if the legitimate דעת תורה of the local BP leadership is to organize an אסיפה, then its incumbent on us to put aside our misgivings and follow their direction.

    If however it turns out that these reports were generated by the descendants the zealots who caused the חורבן בית המקדש, then at least well finally be able to pivot to blaming everything on a antisemitism and confront the self destructive elements in it midst.

35. While I respect other people’s opinion, I feel if this were to go ahead then those like me that are the opinion of thinking that Coumo actions are great, we should hold a Mass Tefillah for the success of coumo

36. 1.) YWN: Have you considered how dangerously misleading publishing this photo with this story will inevitably be for at least a very large number of thse who will see it? How many people, realistically, can be expected to even read> the small-print caption underneath, let alone realize that the funeral it identifies, that of the Skulener Rebbe of blessed memory, took place April 2019, nearly a full year before COVID had become a concern?

    This, just after publishing a similarly misleading photo for the story about a purportedly planned wedding being thwarted by Governor Cuomo. How much different are either of these instances or any number of others that I could cite from instance of the photo of the Satmar funeral from as much as fourteen years ago that was misleadingly published recently? Didn’t you claim to be outraged over the latter?

    In both of these (and for that matter, most cases) to include any photo with the story would seem unnecessary to begin with. What does doing so accomplish, other than increasing sensationalist appeal (resulting in more clicks), and inciting hostility toward Hasidic/ Haredi Jews (and, for many at least, Jews period; many of those hostile to us are hardly discriminate in their hostility)?

    2.) As for the story itself, if accurate, I cannot express just how much I am hoping to learn that whomever may have been behind such an idea does not include anyone who any Ben Torah would look up to as any kind of authority. Reckless would seem very much an understatement…

37. ***MODS: Kindly REPLACE my previous submission with the edited version below. Thanks.***

    1.) YWN: Have you considered how dangerously misleading publishing this photo with this story will inevitably be for at least a very large number of those who will see it? How many people, realistically, can be expected to even read the small-print caption underneath, let alone realize that the funeral it identifies, that of the Skulener Rebbe of blessed memory, took place in April 2019, nearly a full year before COVID concerns first became know to anyone?

    This, just after publishing a similarly misleading photo for the story about a purportedly planned wedding being thwarted by Governor Cuomo. How much different is your publishing of such photos from the instance of the photo of the Satmar funeral from as much as fourteen years ago that was misleadingly published recently? Didn’t you at least imply outrage over the latter?

    In both of these (and for that matter, most cases) to include any photo with the story would seem unnecessary to begin with. What does doing so accomplish, other than increasing sensationalist appeal (resulting in more clicks), and inciting hostility toward Jews?

    2.) As for the story itself, if accurate, I cannot express just how much I am hoping to learn that whomever may have been behind such an idea does not include anyone who any Ben Torah would look up to as any kind of authority. Reckless wouldn’t even begin to capture…

38. Don’t be a patsy for radicals who want the crowd caught up in the inevitable police action. For personal safety and health, stay away.

39. Sorry but when the goyim come after our ruchniyus teffilah doesnt work. We learn this from chanukah and purim. why on purim did we daven and chanukah they fought? the answer when the come after our lives like purim our lives and health are in hashems hands he wants us to daven. on chanukah when they come after our ruchniyus that is in our hands hashem wants us to fight. the right response now would be for all shuls and yeshivos to open at full capacity regardless of funding cuts or arrests that would be called fighting back and when hashem see we are willing to fight for our ruchniyus he will do the rest and make us win. Teffilah is wasting your time

40. It is true that Rav Fogel of Ger was at the meeting but so where 20+ other Rabbonim/Dayaim of all our leading kehillos there. And they spent hours in discussions. This is not a social media issue and does not call for everyone to make their comments. Spend your time saying Tehillim

41. Please change the photo. A tehillim would be more appropriate.

42. This decision came from the people who pressure the gedolim to give in to the government.

43. Update. I provide accurate info see my above texts
    1. This was not suggested by the erev rav.. it was brought up in front of the 12 senior dayanim of the biggest bp kehilos. As this is what yidden have done throughout history when there was an eis tzoroh
    2. The dayanim each considered themselves too small to paskin on the shaaloh of the night which was too close the mosdos? The agreement was for each dayan to present it to the rebbe of that kehila and reconvene.
    3. The press. It was agreed that bp is doing a terrible job explaining our position.
    4. Ofcourse they couldn’t get permits and that’s the chizuk of what were they thinking

44. SPELL CHECK CHOIZEK

45. How could all the yeshivas gather their kids in a virtual setting if they are all closed. It’s a contradiction. Unless all the kids march to 13 ave and have a massive gathering of one hundred thousand people. The women should stand on 14 ave so there is no mixing.

46. I’m very disappointed.

    Everyone needs to daven that King Cuomo and deBlasio paygerin avek shnel!

47. So the big news is that there was (possibly) a private meeting where different ideas were discussed by an unconfirmed number of people, most of whome cant be named.

    It would respectfully suggest that everyone has more important things to pay attention to.

48. To quote Churchill – ‘Decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.”

49. Ymribiat. Everyone in bp knows who was there when it says dayanim of major kehilos in bp

50. Perhaps stop with the conspiracy theories and focus on reducing the infection rates in these neighborhoods before the onset of the Flu season and cold weather. Of course, if your agenda is to create “martyrs” for personal liberty”, than the biweekly news stories here on YWN of another chashuvah Rav or askan dying from Covid is no big deal

51. Stevenn October 18, 2020 12:29 pm at 12:29 pm
    “While I respect other people’s opinion, I feel if this were to go ahead then those like me that are the opinion of thinking that Coumo actions are great, we should hold a Mass Tefillah for the success of coumo”

    Don’t think that’ll happen. But blind never we will haven stat you have a refuel sheleimah and recover from your dementia,.

52. Reb Meir,

    “the dayanim of the 10 major kehilos in bp”
    “20+ other Rabbonim/Dayaim of all our leading kehillos there.”
    “the 12 senior dayanim of the biggest bp kehilos.”
    🙄

    It may be that I’m the village idiot, but it does seem that there are different versions of the story flying around.

    My only point is that עשה לך רב, everyone should have a דעת תורה they can recieve genuine guidance in the these troubled times. “The רבי or the ראש הישיבה said” doesn’t cut it anymore, its time to have real conversations and get our heads on straight.

53. Wow, so much condemnation for an atzeres tefillah…Meanwhile this past Shabbos thousands of liberals disregarded social dstancing regulations and not a peeps from King Coumo and DeBozo and from the erev rav mosrim and erev rav posters on this site.

54. It lately became fashionable to compare tefilah and other Jewish activities with riots, political protests, beach goers. This is somewhat offensive for the rest of us.

55. @ymribiat My only point is that עשה לך רב, everyone should have a דעת תורה …

    nitpicking: you are conflating a Mishnaic expression with a much later notion of Daas Torah. Hope nobody gets confused that Daas Torah is in the Mishna!

56. Always,

    My apologies for misappropriating specific terminology.

    I’ll stick with what I know and recommend the beginning of the 1979 film ” The Frisco Kid” for its spot on portrayal of a typical rabbinic meeting.