The planned dati leumi protest outside the Bnei Brak office of Yated Neeman seems to be snowballing as it gains support. In an interview with the dati leumi Kippa website, Tzfas Chief Rabbi HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Eliyahu Shlita explains at present he is uncertain if he will be there but calls on the dati leumi tzibur to take part in the event. Rabbi Eliyahu feels it is important to cry out against the newspaper’s insults against talmidei chachamim including Rabbi Chaim Druckman Shlita.
“It is important to explain to these people that Am Yisrael has a Torah, not just them. The public must come and shout out that they are fed up with machlokes and we want shalom”.
Rav Eliyahu added “Rav Druckman is a major tzaddik and dozens of his talmidim are roshei yeshiva today. Correct, he does not live in Bnei Brak and he does not hear hear them but what they are doing is a big mistake and a Chilul Hashem”.
Rabbi Eliyahu believes the problem stems from the fact they do not listen to their rabbonim, first and foremost Maran HaGaon HaRav Aaron Yehuda Leib Shteinman Shlita. Rabbi Eliyahu referred to instructions to invite dati leumi rabbonim to the Million Man Atzeres last Sunday to stand aside the chareidi rabbonim on the podium. Rabbi Eliyahu feels they are acting exactly the opposite towards additional machlokes and a split. “They do not seem to understand that their actions will only lead to additional unnecessary friction” Rabbi Eliyahu concluded.
“They are manipulating Rav Shteinman” accused Rabbi Eliyahu in reference to chareidi askanim. “If he asked to turn to the dati leumi rabbonim why don’t they adhere to his instructions? By doing so they not only insult Rabbi Druckman but Rav Shteinman too. This is what occurs when one insults rabbonim.”
Rabbi Eliyahu feels that the split between the chareidim and dati leumi is not on the grassroots level, the tzibur itself. Quite the contrary, he feels there is significant admiration. “I am sure when the chareidim heard about the Shayetet 13 capture of the weapons ship by the holy soldiers they admired them and davened for their well-being” he added.
“Therefore, there is a group of inciters that would like to say the Torah world stands against the soldiers. I have no doubt that if one asks the chareidi in the street how he feels about the Shayetet 13 commandos he will say they are beloved by all and they are moser nefesh for us. These good feelings must be translated into actions”.
The rav admits that while he and his colleagues were participating in the Million Man Atzeres they were torn. On the one hand they wanted to be a part of the voice crying out against the attack to Torah and to shout for Kovod HaTorah. On the other hand, they were pained by the insults against leading rabbonim. As a result of the insults many of the rabbonim planning to attend did not but with an awareness that the majority does not feel this way, just the minority voice which is very audible. He adds that Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook ZT”L taught them of the greatness of Kiddush Hashem and in a place where there is Kiddush Hashem and Chilul Hashem, only the Kiddush Hashem prevails.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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10 Responses
Rav Shmuel Eliyahu is a great man and he is correct here. The Yated should not have written what they did against Rabbi Druckman. However, the Dati Leumi Rabonim who chose not to attend used this as an excuse for why they did not attend. They used the same excuse for why the bayit yehudi joined with Yair Lapid. Unfortunately, I do not see any quick conclusion to this. The Chareidim need to build more allies, lower the rhetoric and improve their image.
definitely correct. those who remember, will know that there once was only ‘hamodia’ but for political reasons and advantages within the charadi group Yeted came on the scene and began spewing hatred of secular and chassidic groups that did not support their view.
Later came ham’vasser the organ (and I won’t mention which organ) of meir porush to get votes for his group and now we have peles, the wonder of further splitting up of the charadim.
but it is true. yeted was the newspaper that did more harm in splitting up the religious than any other newspaper or group.
I heard this from a gadol hador back when the whole thing started and have seen that he was correct. I will not elaborate on other things that he said that unfortunately he has been correct too.
Can Rabbi Eliyahu really not differentiate between “against BECOMING soldiers” and “against the soldiers”?
The Torah world is against BECOMING soldiers due to the shmad, giluy arayos, et al. that is the IDF. They have nothing against the IDF soldiers themselves.
It seems he is slandering a large portion of Klal Yisrael with that statement about being “against the soldiers”. Nobody rallied against them or anything like that.
I believe his whole grassroots theory and the instance with the naval officers he described is also simply projecting the “D”L” theology. Saving Jewish lives is certainly important and even admirable, but to by implication extend this to the IDF as a whole might be their theology, but it is certainly not traditional Orthodox Judaism.
How dare you call a dude like Druckman a talmid chacham when he deliberately raises his hand and voice against Toras moshe and the true leaders of klall Yisroel–the true Gedolie Hador?! and Btw it takes a lot of learning and knowledge to be considered a truly bad individual, and not just tinok shenishbo or a ingnoramus, perhaps this fellow makes the cut.
if they need a minyan i will try to make myself available
The charedi world needs to decide whether it wants to be ideologically pure, or to have some relevance to the world.
If it continues its ideological purity campaign defaming Dati rabbis who are its natural allies and are sympathetic to its causes, it will find itself on the losing side of every issue.
MODERATORS! How did you let #4 moeisrael’s comment through! His last comment lost him olan haba. Do you want to be a party to it? I AM NOT MOICHEL HIM HIS INSULT TO MY RAV!
#7 You are absolutely correct. Shame on YWN for putting #4’s comment through. If anything, I am very close to the Charedi camp but I am not an anti-semite. For that matter, neither is Rav Shteinman. Much more could have been accomplished with a certain level of achdus. Rabbi Eliyahu is correct.
This entire problem is similar to the well-known machlokes between Rav Yaakov Emden and Rav Yonasan Eybshitz. The machlokes COULD HAVE BEEN RESOLVED if third parties didn’t intefere and stoke the coals unnecessarily.
If the Charedi camp, chas v’shalom, loses this battle, it will be because of misguided individuals who create their own opinions regarding what gedolim actually say and reinterpret them for their own purposes.
Any so called rabbi that permits goim gamoorim to enter into clal yisroel cannot be called rabbi. He who alters even one letter of the torah is not a rabbi but a reformist, he is writing his own lawbook not necessarily based on psak of previous generations. Geiroos without acceptance of the mitsvos is not geiroos.
“He who alters even one letter of the torah is not a rabbi but a reformist”
Indeed the “rabbis” who have pasuled conversions *en masse* and refused to accept the testimony on Jewish status by rabbis who are by every standard kosher eidim are reformists. I’m glad people are finally realizing that!