The streets in Beit Shemesh were packed with hundreds of people singing and dancing, after it was announced that Incumbent Mayor Moshe Abutbul has held on to his post. Eli Cohen called to congratulate him early Wednesday morning. Voter turnout was above 76 percent.
Upon hearing the good news early Wedneday morning, Maran HaRav Aron Leib Shteinman said הודו לה’ כי טוב כי לעולם חסדו, יהי רצון שזה יכפר על החילול ה’ ששונאי הדת עושים. The gadol hador recently appeared at a Beit Shemesh pre-election rally citing the importance of the tzibur getting out and voting for the chareidi candidate, Rabbi Moshe Abutbul.
According to rabbonim and gedolei yisrael shlita, this election was much more than a mayoral election, and even more than an election process to determine the future character of Beit Shemesh, but a showing of strength and an opportunity for the chareidi community to be MeKadesh Shem Shomayim during difficult days for the chareidi tzibur in Eretz Yisrael.
Mega-loser Dov Lipman, who is a member of the Yesh Atid (Yair Lapid) party, has still not responded. Lipman had campaigned heavily for Eli Cohen in the past few days. Watch a video of one of his election speeches earlier this week by clicking here.
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44 Responses
A huge loss for Beit Shemesh.
What’s the picture dancing with a Sefer Torah?
Is this picture from today, or just a file picture?
Please clarify.
A sad day indeed. The people have spoken. Hopefully Abutbul will learn from this, and try to mend fences.
If he only accommodates the Chareidi sector, then BS will soon become a very inhospitable place.
I think a Chareidi Ashkenazi candidate will try and unseat Abutbul in the next election. Watch as the vitriol will be hurled at Abutbul. What goes around comes around (or is it the other way)
So Sad… Americans dont understand what this means and YWN articles dont understand the ramifications… Beit Shemesh had a 2nd chance and it was blown away
well, it is actually the status quo as Abutbul had won the earlier election with the same amount of votes ! (about a thousand).Clearly , the chareidi leadership is exhaling but ,as with the asifa, it is a very phyrric victory. The chareidim expended a tremendous amount of money and influence to win this race- again.
Gedolim’s visit, Piskei halocho, thousands of volunteers, even American Roshei yeshiva-all for a narrow victory! Yup a victory it is but at what cost?
Great kiddush Hashem! Great victory for the entire Torah Judaism in Eretz Yisrael! Great victory for the residents of Beit Shemesh! Total loss for the entire coalition of Torah haters and co. May this be the beginning of a new era. An era of kiddush Hashem and not that of chilul Hashem.
Tonight’s great victory is no less than a miracle from Hashem.
This is definitely the time for retrospection on part of those ‘lost brothers’ who were mistakenly looking to graze in wrong pastures. Come home! Come closer to true-Torah Judaism. The secular media and secular politicians were only for one sole purpose: to pulverize the city of Beit Shemesh and destroy the delicate fabric of its population. B”H they were defeated!
Be’ezras Hashem, Biet Shemesh will continue to flourish under the responsible leadership of R’ Moshe Abutbul.
D. L. B. Beit Shemesh Israel
Perhaps they should start hiring lawyers because who knows – perhaps the other side will start with the problems again like last time and cause another election. With the biased courts being anti-chareidi, they will probably agree to another election just because the chareidim were victorious.
Derecg haTorah is not always about your rational thinking!
Torah says you do!
Let me do a little critical analysis.
On one hand I have מרן הגראי״ל שטינמאן שליט״א saying this is good news and on the other hand we have a silly little person who thinks he is ironic and calls himself “rational ” who thinks this is bad news.
Hmm, tough decision. For Shredready maybe, but not for a sane religious Jew.
“Mega-loser?”
I was just at one of the gedolai Hador and told him the great news, he replied bh may it be the beginning of the Chodesh of good news for the Frum yidden, and the destroyers of torah should do teshuva or have a mapalah like haman.
Baruch Hashem the daas torah prevailed. I don’t understand how anyone can vote for this self hating jew Cohen when the Gedolim all endorsed Rabbi Abutbul. Rabbi Abutbul is a chushuve yungerman, one who seeks to preserve the jewish identity of beit shemesh. how any frum jew can even think of voting for cohen is beyond me
thank you god ב”ה
Not only did Abutbul win again but the Chareidim picked up at least a seat or two more in the city council! This means that they will now enjoy an outright majority rather than less than a majority they won in the first-round of the election.
The reshoyim who forced this do-over are double-losers. They would have been better off just accepting the first election and they would have had more power in the city council. Now they lost big time and even lost in the council due to their suit for a new election!
I hear a lot of the anti-Torah/anti-Chareidi crowd is angling to move out of Beit Shemesh. This will make it more of a Torah town.
Nu Dovy, what do you have to say? Did you chap a shmooze with the Ner Yisroel Rosh Hayeshiva Shlita, when he came to endorse Abutbul?
Don’t worry. You can still sweep the streets.
“Mega-loser”?? I cannot get past that phrase. Is that some sort of sick purim joke? You do realize you’re talking about a Jew, right? I will be taking a screen shot of this page and emailing him, encouraging him to sue you for slander. I’m so disgusted right now, and I thought my disgust couldn’t get any worse after waking up to see the major Chillul Hashem that Abutbol won, with it claiming a victory for lying, cheating, deceit, major disrespect of Gedolim, and distortion of Judaism. Shame on you
Okay so now that it is over can the people who have never even met Eli Cohen stop calling him things like self hating jew. This is what happens when this sort of talk is sanctioned – it spreads and continues. I have met him and it happens that even though he does not wear a kipa he is an ohev yisrael of all types of Jews.
Getzel you are a chillul HaShem. How dare you call Eli Cohen a “self hating jew”. Just because ure not a leader and all you can do is follow what some “gedolim” (according to you) endorse doesn’t mean the other party is a self hating Jew. I honestly think that Eli Cohen would have done a much better job in bridging the gap between the secular and chareidi Jews, which is what we need most right now. Abutul is a close minded man who can only care about religious people. He will definitely do a good job at destroying the economy of BS. He is anything but a leader. If u ask any open minded citizen if Beit Shemesh they will tell you what a horrible mayor he is. He is destroying the city. May HaShem have mercy on the people that voted for him and caused a chillul HaShem.
To all you people that DON’T live in Beit Shemesh or anywhere in Israel KEEP your NEGATIVE comments to your self.
When you move to Israel you can make your comments.
#1 #3 #4
The mizrachi community as seen in the past few months are people of hate, pple of divide, pple that in many ways are more narrowminded to their viewws than any other chareidi sector. Ur belief system is slowly crumbling and u know it. It is ur party that has cause this unbelievable huge divide in klal yisroel. In order for unity to prevail; each one has to learn to give a bit and get in return. Your belief system has one goal: “to make everyone holy and righteous like urself” this a lot of assimilation in eretz yisroel and u bask in the excitement and pride of equality or democracy. You forget that there’s a torah; which you think ur keeping righteously. Halachos became mere statements of fiction or accesories in ur life. You wear it and play with it how u please. Cinema city is ok right? Ice city on shabbos is ok? But no, sitting in separate seating area is not ok! Keeping yiddishkeit clean and clear is a compromise. Of course it’s a sad day.it’s a sad day that pple that call themselves religious use the torah like a multiple choice part of the test. You can’t select deoraisah. God is not ur little brother that’s gonna forgive you. You too have had many favors and support from the chareidim when u had ur nisyonos like gush katif etc… But when it comes to chareidi needs, look how u’ve given back. Talking about parasital behavior. So yes, it is indeed sad for all of you until the day you’ll find the true emes light of torah!!!! Kudos to abitbul; brought every type of chareidi together. Is always asking daas torah and this was his reward! And the reward of all beit shemesh!!!!
Yes and for Dov Lipman/ wiseguy. Mega mega loser!!!!!
#5 ‘pyrrhic’
Can those that commented that this was a “sad day” or the like please explain to me how you view what Gedolim are especially now that Purim is just around the corner (You know, that holiday that Jews celebrate our people doing Teshuva for not listening to the “Gadol” Mordechai Ha’Yihudi who’s psak seem to defy logic at the time)?
The biggest problem in my home-town of Beit Shemesh is reflected in this article and its comments. Yes the streets are full of people celebrating, but the homesare full of disappointed people. Abutboul won, he definitely got the majority of votes, but it was a tiny majority-just slightly over half.
So who are the other people, and who did they vote for? According to the commenters on this site they are haters of Torah who voted for a self hating Jew. This is nothing short of sheker. [I will not even bother with the whole loshon hora/rechilus/motzi shem ra angle.] The accusation the Eli Cohen is a rasha who hates Torah is a lie, made up by the askanim and politicians of Ramat Beit Shemesh, and fed to the Gedolim who, sadly, bought it and got behind certain politicians [and BTW that’s what Abutboul is. A politician, please stop calling him a “yungerman”. He is the mayor of an important city in Israel, nit some avrech who eats chulent while hocking about the medinah].
Eli Cohen is not frum, true, but he is a traditional Sefaradi who respects Torah V’lomdeha. Before he became the enemy of the Chareidim he went to Rav Ovadiah for brachos. He doesn’t hate Torah, and he is most certainly not a self-hating Jew.
The people who voted for him are not destroyers of Torah. Some of them are great talmidei chachamim. Some are balebatim who are moser nefesh to be kove’a itim. Some are big baalei chesed. Some are not frum at all. Some are just people who see their garbage not being picked up on time, who see their sidewalks not being fixed, whose children play on old worn out playground equipment, while in the Chareidi neighborhood like Ramat Beit Shemesh get big new parks. They are people who were not satisfied with Abutboul’s leadership, and the rhetoric surrounding it.
Meanwhile, we walk into a shul in Ramat Beit Shemesh and read letters from respect Rabbanim describing people who support Cohen as “misanei Hashem” and “sonei Torah”. Meanwhile Rabbanim and Roshei yeshiva who don’t have to live here are driven and flown into tell us that if Abutboul loses it will be a chilul Hashem. What do you think the coonsequences of speeches like that are for the residents of this town?
Now that the elections are over,Rav Shteinman is back in Bnei Brak and Rav Ahron Feldman is back in Baltimore, the rest of us are left to pick up the pieces.
Torah values won only if chilul hashem does not occur in beit shemesh.
Abutbul wins by 1.3% and that makes Lipman a MEGA loser???
Either the writers concept math is off which can happen by not having math in chareidy schools, or you are filled with Sinat Chinam which would make YOU the looser.
Moderators Response: Lipman is a mega loser, because the hell that awaits him one day, is far worse than anything anyone can imagine.
Phoebus – thank you for expressing the views of many BS and RBS residents (about 49%) so well. Are we still “misanei Hashem” and “sonei Torah”? We are still hurting from the outright sheker that drove the campaign and from being labeled this way by our brothers.
As a modern orthodox former Monsey resident, now married to someone born in Beit Shemesh of Moroccan heritage (yes, religious) I am familiar with a broad spectrum of the city. For the past four years the administration of Abutbul and the Chareidim have failed to serve the city. They have served their own constituents using the tax money of the “other half” of the city. The election campaign, in both rounds, had lots of hateful, denigrating language about anyone who was not chareidi. All well and good if you choose to be chareidi and live that lifestyle. If you want a city to be managed that way, then live in Beitar Illit or Modiin Illit. But to strongarm into a mixed city, where there are differences of observance and lifestyle and invoke arrogant holier than thou behavior and attitude is a complete chilul Hashem. Judaism is not an evangalizing religion. You set an example and use “darcheinu darchei noam”. The chareidim in Israel are not just causing non-religious people to never consider becoming religious, I know of religious youth that are turned off from their behavior and stop being religious. Have any of you considered these consequences? To call shabbat, kashrut and niddah observant Jews people who are enemies of Judaism?? There are 70 faces to the Torah. The Chareidi world has definitely fallen into the sins of arrogance, lying and Chilul Hashem. There will be no Geula with this path.
Yo all the “open minded” it seems your mind may have fallen out. How dare you talk this was against all the gedolom?? Shame on you.
I was present at the makeshift HQ in RBS’s shopping district (the merkaz), and i tell you, מי שלא ראה שמחה זו לא ראה שמחה כל ימיו.
The last half hour or so was so intense and nerve-wrecking, that you could literally feel it in the air. Some people were already saying that Abutbul is preparing his concession speech, but nobody completely gave up hope.
Between 1 & 2 AM, Abutbul carried a steady 3000 vote lead, but only the voting stations in the frum neighbourhoods were counted.
Then the real drama began.
The votes of Old Beit Shemesh were coming in (Eli Cohen’s territory).
Abutbul’s lead dwindled to under 1000 at some point, and an aura of depression was overtaking the crowd.
But a bit later we realised that only a few more stations remained there, and excitement started to take over.
Finally, somewhere around 2:30 AM, the final vote was counted, and victory emerged.
At that precise moment, the most lebedige simcha I’ve ever seen in my life emerged.
The dancing in the street, the music, the general celebration – these are things that I will never forget.
All in all, it was a major Kiddush Hashem.
We showed that when we focus on achdus, the results are overwhelming.
A short ten minutes later, נפתחו ארובות השמים – it started POURING, but that didn’t disrupt the simcha. Unlike during sukkos, Hashem showed us His approval, the very same way that last Sunday all 600,000 of us davened for rain together in the streets of Yerushalayim, and a mere 4 days later Hashem answered us with the first rain in over three months.
The final thing to take from this unforgettable event was the victory speeches.
Besides for Abutbul and Aryeh Deri, there were a few other askanim who spoke.
Not once – and I repeat, NOT EVEN ONCE – could one hear anything that could even be misconstrued as words of hatred towards the Cohen camp.
Nothing, only words of praise to Hashem, and outbursts of singing ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה, could be heard.
Perhaps the most moving part was when the entire large crowd recited Nishmas in unison, totally thanking Hashem Yisborach for this great victory, which was nothing short of a נס גלוי.
#24 Phoebus – First of all, I get the impression that you are Sefardi and D”L or Chardal. Not that it matters to me. It’s just that if that is the case you are obviously not speaking for the Chareidi community in RBS.
Regardless, you state, “…and fed to the Gedolim who, sadly, bought it and got behind certain politicians”. Are you really so naive to believe that EVERY Gadol WITHOUT exception “bought into it” (I.E. Tricked)! Are you that foolish? Really? EVERY GADOL?
#31 Softwords- You are correct that I am a member of one of those communities. I also never claimed to speak for the Chareidim of RBS. I am speaking for those of us who try very hard to be Bnei Torah, but did not vote for Abutboul for whatever reason (almost all because we preferred Eli Cohen’s platform, and believed that he would do a better job) and are EXTREMELY frustrated at the language being used to describe Cohen and his voters. My main points were:
1) Cohen and ruba de’ruba of his supporters are NOT rshaim, or haters of Torah. It is a lie to say that they are. But that was the message we were hearing loud and clear. If you want I can tell you stories from experiences that I have had over the last few months that will illustrate this. Rabbonim and askonim in public forums calling Cohen and his supporters all kinds of names. I usually daven in DL shuls and NEVER ONCE, not a single time, have I heard a rav or anyone speaking in public say anything like that about Abutboul or his supporters.
2)We are especially frustrated that Rabbonim from outside of Beit Shemesh have come to town and stoked the flames of division between the different communities here. Coming to town to say that the Torah requires you to vote for a certain candidate [and we can be medayek that if you don’t vote for that candidate you are violating the Torah] or saying that it is a Chilul Hshem if you vote for the other candidate? At the end of the day, this sort of talk will only make this town more divided. Is that in the interest of Beit Shemesh? Is that in the interest of Torah?
I will absolutely not get involved in the discussion of “are you saying this or that about Gedolim?” You know as well as I do that that is a conversation ender.
To the Moderator who responded to #26 –
Are you the keeper of G-d’s books, that you know what awaits each and every Jew after 120 years? Even Dov’s Rosh Yeshiva has described him as “mistaken” rather than a Rasha. But no, you know better…
an Israeli Yid
Such a Kiddush Hashem. We had to play by their rules, and we still won. Chasdei Hashem!
# 32 Phoebus –
1) As far as your complaints about name calling, I understand your feelings and I also understand the view point of #28 ETI. However, there is a response that can be given, but it is too lengthy to express here. It is also an answer that is hard to swallow, so I will leave it be and hope that some day someone will be able to sit down and explain it to your liking. Hopefully Mashiach will come first.
2) Putting name calling aside, there is a problem of not listening to Gedolim and this is a Chet. We see this many times in Nach where Kings thought they understood better than the Navi and also by Megilat Esther.
However, I do understand that this is an integral part of the D”L belief system. For some reason the D”L don’t seem to hold of Emunas Chochomim (note: Emuna starts were logic ends). I do not understand where they picked that up from.
My rav is my web chaver. he cant understand why i read the “message” section (and most of the “news” stories – and he cant understand at all my desire to write a response) on this site. I’m a slow learner, I admit, but I am starting to see the wisdom in his words. I am better off getting my “news” from CNN.
#33 anIsraeliYid –
He actually called him a “Shogeg”, not mistaken. Shogeg means sinning without intent. That does receive punishment in Shamiyim if Teshuvah is not done. Below is the exact quote of Rav Feldman, shlita.
(Regardless, I agree that the Moderators hostility is excessive.)
“He’s written me a letter explaining himself, that he means l’shem shamayim [for the sake of Heaven], that he’s trying to strengthen Torah, in his view. And therefore, since he’s a SHOGEG, I cannot call him a rasha and I retract my statement and I apologize to him for calling him a rasha,” [Rav] Feldman said.
#36 apushatayid – I tend to ask myself the same question (except I’m wondering to drop all News sites) and sit and learn instead.
Interested in a chavrusa?
#35 Softwords –
A number of prominent local talmidei chachamim (who happen to be DL) supported the other candidate, based on the views of their rabbeim.
It is my understanding that the Cohen campaign and those talmidei chachamim sought opportunities to speak with the Gedolim and other rabbonim who expressed a position about the matter and present their position and were refused (ostensibly by askanim). Instead, the statements, pashkevilim and the press continued to include things that were complete sheker that could have been verified with Cohen or these talmidei chachamim.
If you follow, you can see we are actually very challenged here.
Phoebus and ETI: Barkat in yerushalayim had the same good, torah loving name in the DL community. The DL community loved him! Please come for shabbos to yerushalayim and see what has happened to the holy city of yerushalayim! This is exactly where u guys are wrong; no wonder so many so many modern orthodox teens these days either frum out or become chareidi or become conservative or irreligious. This is where it starts from. Ur generations are in danger!!!!! Kids wanna hear the emes. The real answers. Not the comfort answers. Not the nice impression answers. Not the multiple choice, selected answers. They wanna know the truth!!!!! And the emes are with the authentic true believers and performers of gods word.
BARUCH HASHEM!
I live in Beit Shemesh and am SO grateful that we have a mayor with yirat Shamayim.
Softwords: “emunas chachomim’ as it is practiced now by the chareidi world is a modern invention and was never part of our traditions. Infallibility is part of another religion.
#41 can you give us an example of his Yiras Shomayim ? We wantto be inspired.
#37 Softwords – I’m glad you agree with me on the undue harshness of the moderator – that was the key point I was making.
As to “mistaken/Shogeg” – the general translation of the word “Shogeg” is, in fact, either “in error” or “mistaken”. Halachicly, with respect to Shabbos, one is a Shogeg if (a) he forgot it was Shabbos, or (b) he forgot the particular act is assur on Shabbos. This is as distinguished from what is commonly called “Ones” (“forced”), but is more accurately referred to as “Eino Miskaven” (without intent) – where one had no intent to commit an act at all, such as brushing against a light switch. A Shogeg is Chayav a Chatas, even though it was an honest mistake that led to the commission of the Issur, since the actual act was committed with intent.
I don’t see this as any different from what I’ve said. Per the current R”Y of Ner Yisrael (with whom one may or may not agree), Dov is well-intentioned but mistaken in in views, and is deliberately committing acts on account of those views – which is both consistent with what I said and the meaning of a Shogeg.
In any case, I think we both agree that the moderator’s comments were uncalled for.
an Israeli Yid