HaGaon HaRav Kalman Epstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah-Grodno, has announced his endorsement of Eretz HaKodesh in the upcoming WZO elections.
For those unfamiliar, Rav Kalman founded Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, in 1974. His father, HaGaon HaRav Zelik Epstein ZT”L, served as Rosh Yeshiva until his petira in 2009. Over the past 50 years, Shaar HaTorah has produced thousands of Choshuva Bnei Torah, many of whom are now mechanchim worldwide. Rav Zelig was considered to be one of the closest Talmidim of the Mirrer Mashgiach Rav Yerucham Levovitz, and the esteemed alumni of the Mirrer Yeshiva (particularly the Gedolim and Hanhala of Yeshivas Bais Hatalmud) and their Talmidim would often consult with him about pressing issues.
Just last week, Rav Kalman – who learned by Hagaon HaRav Berel Soloveitchik ZT’L in Brisk – was featured on the cover of Mishpacha Magazine, where he addressed the urgent issue of the shidduch crisis.
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18 Responses
Moderator:
Was permission asked of Reb Kalman to publish this and stir machlokes? A sign was put up in his Yeshiva. That doesn’t mean he wishes to stir up machlokes…
If he was asked, I have no problem; he is not embarrassed or hiding his shita, but it’s quite possible that he wouldn’t want this as a headline – he is known for running away from machlokes and being a shayif ayil shayif nafik.
And btw, this is not new at all.
I agree
At least please close off all comments
R Kalman isn’t the only one.
Reb Sholom Kamenetzky instructs all his close talmidim to YES vote in the elections, he says that there are rabbanim on both sides.
He does not publicize this because of the pushback it would cause; he even goes as far as to tell people that he holds it’s assur to vote.
rav shaya schechter whuich is a soninlaw of rav shmuel kamentzky said this shabbos in his shul in monsey that his fhatherinlaw asuured voting
למען ציון לא אשקוט so there you have:- Every Jew Is מחיוב גמור to vote, because ישעיהו הנביא surely is infinitely smarter than any Rabbi nowadays.
Honestly it’s all a big scam. We don’t get a thing out of voting regardless. You really think the reform Liberals are like hey let’s give the religious people a chance to have half our money so they could use it for religious causes. What a joke
@147
This is not a joke and you should go hide in a corner somewhere
@rebemes, your a fool…
So @147 has proven what we already know about people like him: Mesorah doesn’t matter, just cherry pick psukim from Nach and that’s how you live life.
I would venture to say that the passuk can actually means we should protest the chillul Hashem of the Zionist ideology which sullies Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh.
If someone has a clear psak from his Rav to vote, so be it, but a passuk in Nach doesn’t come in to this conversation.
SO……SAD!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we, Yidden have taught the Goyim how to treat and demean us.
There is space for machlokes in the Bais HaMedrash/Yeshiva while learning. The Gemorrah is full of this, and there are those that follow differing opinions. Why can’t that be respectfully acceptable today? Wouldn’t it be better than to make such a public scandal of this issue??? The way this issue is being treated is a Bizayon of Klal Yisroel and of Hashem Yisborach.
Bubby B:
What’s truly sad is the way that Klal Yisrael’s mesorah has been wiped away by these mesisim uMedichim and their slick marketing campaigns both 5 years ago and today.
If you had a “random” disagreement between two gedolim, then none of this shock and accompanying reaction would occur. But when some slick liars come and overturn with lies a mesorah that is over a century old, and then do it again five years later after proving themselves to be the liars that Rav Aharon Feldman wrote they obviously were, then that is very obviously not okay.
Not to suggest that I am any rabbi at all, but I am vehemently on the side of those that forbid and find it to be a serious pirtza but one can not be mevazeh a Talmid chochom under any circumstances.
A ZionIST is not a kofer. ZionISM is kefira. The only ISM that is Kosher is Orthodox Judaism. That includes Chasidic Orthodox JudaISM.
There would be no issue if the group of rabbonim who are anti voting would admit that there are gedolim who oppose them and hold one can and should vote but we think they’re wrong for this and this reason. The problem stems from the anti group of rabnonim incorrectly claiming there are no gedolim who oppose their position. In addition the crazy behavior of some of the hamon am who are kanoim threatening Rav Brudny etc. makes it very difficult for some of the big rabbonim to come out publicly that they support voting lest they suffer the same treatment.
אכן נודע הדבר
For what it’s worth, my rebbe, R’ Naftoli Jaeger, said he personally spoke to R’ Berel Povarsky, and tells his talmidim that they should vote.