Da'as Torah: The Fall Of the Charedi Giant

Image: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com

The recent escalation of Charedi violence in Bet Shemesh and the issue of Jewish leadership has been on my mind constantly.
I am troubled by some of the cultural norms in the Orthodox community which seem nothing short of primitive. Where people who are fathers and husbands spend their day assaulting and spitting at members of neighboring communities.
Tell me it is the extreme. Tell me the majority of Charedim don't support the violence. And I will ask you in return: "Then where in the world are they? Why aren't the 'normal' charedim protesting this violence?"


Don't tell me that the protests in Israel represent only the most extreme elements of Charedi society.
Don't tell me that most charedim don't support it.
Don't.



When 9/11 happened, Dr. Zuhdi Jasser expected the Muslims to demonstrate by the thousands all over the world proclaiming their protest to violence and terror.
Instead there was deafening silence. No protests. No shouts. No denouncing.
That left the world with the conclusion that the terror represents Islam.

The fact that Charedim and their leaders aren't denouncing this extremist behavior, means by default that they are supporting it.
The fact that the educators in these state funded schools are given the freedom to preach all the fanatical and fundamental hate-speech and rhetoric that comes to their minds encourages silent support for the extremists.

I went to a shiur yesterday by a charedi female seminary speaker. She speaks at the MOCH (Modern Orthodox-Charedi) seminaries. MOCH seminaries are ones which accept Modern Orthodox students, but employ a CHaredi faculty and hope to convert the student body from Modern to Charedi. Some seminaries of this category are: Michlala, Sharfmans, Midreshet Tehillah, Darchei Binah, Neveh, Tomer Devorah... fill in the blank

Anyhow, I have developed an aversion for seminary speeches throughout my life, but I kept on hearing how good friends of mine, who seemed to be quite smart and intellectual raving about her brilliance.
I thought I might have been quick to judge and perhaps not all speakers from a certain religious spectrum spoke about the same things in the same way the entire time, so I went to the speech.
And needless I should have never doubted myself on that matter. The speaker was standing there fire and brimstone shrieking the walls down about the gashmius in America and how people went to Costco to buy stuff in bulk and then had so much stuff that they couldn't connect with God.
She drew a black dot on a paper and held it up and then told people that they see the dark dot because people tend to focus on the darkness. I wanted to tell her that if she took a black paper and drew a white dot., people would notice that, because the contrast is what is visible. I did not. But no one seemed to have a problem with what she said.
I was standing there in total awe. The room was packed with women in their mid to late twenties; women, who were university educated, most of them going for their graduate degrees. They were in touch with the world, products of YU, and yet, they were totally enthralled in the speech. I thought I was losing my marbles.
In the future, I will think twice before changing my opinion of 'spiritually uplifting' speakers.

If you listen to speeches of the Agudah, which is not considered extreme in the Charedi world, but is representative of the majority of Charedi institutions across America, you will hear speeches which reflect a society which is almost barbaric: Rabbis screaming and ranting against the internet, against texting, against email YEMACH SHEMAM.... Some of the speeches from the most recent convention can be accessed here.
The speaker refuses to put the blame on fathers for neglecting their children. The internet is to blame for that. As if before the internet, all men were perfect attentive fathers. As if the total elimination of the internet would institute blissful family life. As if all troubles of the community can be blamed on two external factors: texting and the internet.
Is that normal?
Do I want to belong to a community where a person spewing such ideas is regarded as a spiritual leader?

Do I want to belong to a community where the 'mainstream' magazines will exclude all pictures of women to the extent that an onlooker browsing through one of the publications would assume that Orthodox Jewry has only men in its constituency?

Rabbi Slifkin mentioned in his speech that the beginning of Daas Torah was established when Chassidim agreed to join the Aguddah on condition that the ruling of their rabbis wouldn't be questioned and it would need no justification.

And another question is: who is controlling the situation? Is it the rabbis and the so called da'as torah? Or is there an entire mafia manipulating the rabbis to control the press, the materials taught in classes and the dresses worn on the street?

Rabbi Aaron Lichtenstein wrote a phenomenal piece about the meaning of a Torah leader and Da'as Torah. If you are short on time, at least read his conclusion on the last page. And don't leave this blog without sharing your thoughts below.


Daat Torah Lichtenstein

Leaving Sem

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It was Chanukah. The candles were lit in the jammed dining hall. Sem girls stood everywhere. The term was coming to an end and tonight there would be a screening of some inspirational movie for the entire sem to see.

I didn’t feel like staying in the dining room. I went over to the Rabbi and Rebbetzin’s house to deliver a script I said I would bring over earlier.

 I walked out the door into the cold night. As I walked further from sem, the voices of chirping girls slowly faded into the distance and the howling winds took over as the primary musicians. Although the walk was a short one, I was shivering.

I wrapped my light coat tighter around my body. The fur boots weren’t doing a good enough job shielding my feet from the cold.

I stood at the Rabbi’s doorstep, teeth chattering. The rebbetzin opened the door. I smiled weakly and handed her the script I brought over.

She told me her husband wanted to speak to me. I should please go into the dining room and wait for him. My body went stiff. I didn’t take my coat off, or even my gloves. I did not know what he wanted although I had a pretty good idea. The turmoil I had been in the past few weeks left me drained and tired.

The rabbi walked into the dining room and looking at him all I could think was royalty.

He was wearing a satin pajama with a matching robe; his long silvery beard was majestic. He carried in a cup of tea in fancy china. He offered some to me. I declined.

He sat at the head of the table and looked at me. His sharp eyes pierced me. He didn’t have to say anything. I was already overwhelmed with guilt. I would have cried, except that I was frozen. I had no tears in me. I would have blushed. Except that I do not blush. So I just sat there staring back at him, every fiber of my being on edge.

“You are leaving.” He said.

“Yes.” I responded.

“Then there is nothing to talk about.”

I stared at him.

“If there is a chance you might stay then we can talk.”

I said nothing.

“Would you like me to speak with your parents?” He asked.

“Maybe,” I responded.

How did this ever happen to me? Until two weeks ago, all I wanted to do was get out of this place. And suddenly, since I told the rabbi two weeks ago, I have been called into his home almost on a nightly basis for chats which turned my heart inside out and made me feel like the biggest suicidal traitor in the world.

“But it’s not my parents. I think I want to go to college myself.” I said, trying to sound like an independent young adult.

“You know you are committing suicide.” The rabbi said. “Spiritual suicide of course.”

He continued: “If my son was standing on the window sill about to jump off, I wouldn’t just stand there saying… oh well, it is his choice. I would do everything I can to stop him. I would expect your parents to do the same.”

The stupid naïve me that I was, I started responding to his comments and engaging in the conversation.

“But really,” I said. “It isn’t suicide. There are rabbis there as well.”

“What?! Rabbis, you say? Who are they? Who are their rabbis? Don’t you understand that here we are teaching you es hatorah asher mipihem anu chayim?!” He was screaming. “Don’t you understand,” he continued “that if you go there you are going to go out with boys, a different one every night. You are going to discuss your gemarah with him. He is going to discuss his hashkafah with you. You are going to go to the cinema. You are going to wear trousers”

“Rabbi, I am not going to wear trousers.”

“Your parents should never let you go.”

“But Rabbi, my mother went there.”

“She should have never gone!”

I was defeated. This was pointless. After the rabbi dismissed me, I ran back to the dormitory. It was empty. All the girls were still at that movie. Although it was early in the evening, I fell asleep the second my head hit the mattress.

I awoke suddenly at two am from an empty sleep. As I opened my eyes, all the words of the Rabbi came crashing at me. My head fell back to the mattress. I didn’t know what to do.

The rest of the night and day passed in a daze. I walked around looking at people without seeing them; listening to them without hearing them. No one would ever understand the loneliness I experienced that day. I felt disconnected from my body, watching as this peculiar dark-headed teenager roamed around the seminary and surrounding streets aimlessly searching for peace, for a piece of herself that she was bound to leave behind.

That evening I decided to call an uncle in the States who was involved in chinuch hoping he could help me somehow. I had previously sent him a letter describing my anguish. I wasn’t sure whether he received it or not. He picked up the phone on the first ring.

“Hi,” I said. “It’s Tania.”

“Tania! How are you, my girl?” He exclaimed.

The warmth in his voice did something to me.

I burst out crying. The tears that were on the verge of spilling for weeks came forth. I couldn’t say one comprehensive thing. But my uncle just stayed on the phone and listened to my sobs for a half an hour until I calmed down.”

I felt better than I had in awhile. 

The Politics of Religion

Is the nation following its leaders or are the leaders following the nation?

Below I have posted videos of Rav Elyashiv speaking on the topic of wigs. Whether they are forbidden or permitted from the Halachic perspective. 

Two rabbis complained to Rav Elyashiv that women wear wigs which are extremely immodest. They violate the laws of tzniut [modesty] which require for a married woman to cover her hair. Although all the hair is covered technically, wigs give off the appearance of hair. The rabbis felt that although the letter of the law was being observed, the spirit of the law was not. 

The Rabbis who spoke with Rav Elyashiv in the video were trying to pressure the Rav into making a Halachic statement that wigs are forbidden to be worn by married women.

They tell the Rav. "Whatever you say, Klal Yisrael accepts." They say, "When the Rav said that wigs made with indian hair were idol worship, no one wore a wig." Rav Elyashiv responded: "What do you want me to say? That wigs are avodah zara?" 

R' Elyashiv did not make that statement.

Isn't it easy to blame all the troubles of the world on the fact that women wear wigs? Probably clears the conscience of these Rabbis. 

Please notice the way they present the argument to R' Elyashiv. 

a. If Tzniut isn't observed, there can be suffering

b. There is lots of suffering

c. Must be, women are not observing Tzniut

Fascinating is the fact that the rabbis wanted the rabbi to issue the statement. Then they would go around forcing everyone to wear hats only in the name of Gedolei Yisrael. 

I was also shocked by the fact that the rabbis kept on interrupting Rav Elyashiv. 

Where is the tremendous respect for scholars that we were taught to have from a young age? 

Why are they telling the Rabbi what to tell Jewish women to wear?

My question  is: Who is really running the show here? The nation or the leaders?

Below is a translation of the video into English:

Presented is a video of a conversation conducted during a visit with Rav Elyashiv on the 12th of Kislev, 5769 (2009)

Visitor: This is a question that involves everyone. 

Today, the entire Jewish nation, on a  general and individual scale, is afflicted with endless suffering.Different kinds of troubles, illness kills millions, financial problems. 

Once it was said in the name of the Chafetz Chaim that the source of the problem is Tzniut--modesty. It says (in the Torah) and you shall return. If G-d is not with us, since we are afflicted with issues. Is this something that is correct to say at such a time?

Rav Elyashiv: The Chafetz Chaim said it! And it's not going to be true? 

Other Visitor (notice blotched out face): I received a phone call from Rechovot today. There are many problems, ill people. All over there are problems. If the community strengthens itself with this (modesty), that will make the entire community stronger. It's impossible to see…

Rav Elyashiv: The problem of the wigs, how can it be fixed? It is already rooted with the big and good people among our nation. With these wigs there is unmatched Pritzut (vulgarity). I don't understand how you are going to uproot this. This problem started from the big ones, not just from anyone. Rosh Yeshivas, great people, righteous people, everyone has fallen with this. What can you do about it? ( The Rav is throwing the ball back into the visitors court). There is such a problem, why isn't anyone taking care of it? It is extremely unrefined. Even the women with the wigs are righteous, and yet they wear such wigs!

for a more extensive video please see this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqKuugQv0PY