Does it Matter what Rabbi Yigal Levinstein Says?

 י״ד לחודש הרביעי תשע״ו

This post was prompted by Tomer Devorah's The Rabid Dogs Have Been Turned Loose. Not only do I read everything she posts, but as you can see, her blog is one of the few I recommend on Esser Agaroth.

Let us set aside what Rabbi Levinstein's words for now, and take a glance at the bigger picture.

Whether Rabbi Yigal Levinstein was right, wrong, or right, but wrong about how he said what he said.any other percent right, or even more wrong than right, why aren't the free speech activists speaking out to protect his rights??

Oh, wait a minute. There isn't any free speech in Israel, unless, of course, your opinion fits in with the Erev Rav's anti-Torah agenda. I know that this may come as a shock to you ardent, Jewish democratists out there, but there just isn't any free speech in Israel. It is against Israeli law to call a government official a name. It is against the law to try to convince someone not to do IDF service. 'Nuff said.

Personally, I believe that Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu's words were a bit more balanced, yet also rooted in halakhah (Torah Law). Here are samples from his interview with Army Radio.

Arutz 7: 'I'm not going to apologize for the Torah'
Chief Rabbi of Tzfat defends Rabbi Yigal Levinstein over controversial comments labeling homosexuals 'deviants'.

Ido Ben Porat, 18/07/16

Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu
Chief Rabbi of Tzfath

...Rabbi Eliyahu emphasized that while he disagreed with the use of the term “deviants”, he defended Rabbi Levinstein’s right to do so...
“I don’t call gays ‘deviants’,” said Rabbi Eliyahu, “but its Rabbi Levinstein’s right to call them as he believes he should.”

Rabbi Eliyahu added that homosexuals should be shown love, not hatred.

“We embrace them with a great love.”

Distinguishing between the sexual act and people identifying as homosexuals, Rabbi Eliyahu noted the Torah’s condemnation of homosexuality as “an abomination”, but said that was not a reason to spew hatred homosexuals themselves.

“The Torah calls it an ‘abomination’, and I don’t intend to apologize for what’s written in the Torah. If God decided that, then he knows better than anyone else..."

...Nevertheless, he praised Rabbi Levinstein’s forthrightness and rejected attacks on his character....

Certainly, the approach of Rabbi Elkana Sherlo to march in the Jerusalem "Pride" Parade is completely misguided.

But, like I already alluded to, I believe this issue to be only one piece in a much greater puzzle.

Second, the fact that he teaches at THE MOST mamlakhti (diehard State loyalist) yeshivah ever, B'nei David, cannot be ignored. In 2005, Rabbi Eli Sedan, the founder of B'nei David's pre-IDF service "mechinah" program, was so hellbent on IDF soldiers adhering to orders to throw Jews out of their homes, and off of their land, that even the elder mamlakhti Rabbi Tzvi Tau had to call him to tone it down. So, there is definitely some Torah vs. State confusion to be wary of.

In fact, I am quite surprised that he was chosen as the powers' that be patsy he said something, which might be construed as going against the State's democratic deMOCKratic principles.

Likewise, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner has spoken out against coed classrooms and Jews dealing with Christians, more so than many other "Religious Zionist" rabbis. However, so much of anything else he says is... "challenging" to understand as to how it is based in halakhah (Torah Law).

Meanwhile, the ruling of Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu's ztz"l Beth HaDin (rabbinical court) against Rabbi Aviner, still remains ignored and gathering dust. Rabbi Eliyahu's Beth HaDin included which included Rabbi Avraham Shapira ztz"l Rabbi Dov Lior (Hevron-Qiriyath Arba) and Rabbi Ya'aqov Yosef ztz"l.


One one hand, rabbis getting some things right, and others way off, may be related to the "truth being spread out," during the generation of Mashi'ah Ben-David, no one possessing all of it, based on an explanation of the following suggiyah:

תלמוד בבלי, מסכת סנהדרין צז,א

תניא ר' יהודה אומר דור שבן דוד בא בו בית הוועד יהיה לזנות והגליל יחרב והגבלן יאשם ואנשי גבול יסובבו מעיר לעיר ולא יחוננו וחכמת הסופרים תסרח ויראי חטא ימאסו ופני הדור כפני כלב והאמת נעדרת שנאמר (ישעיהו נט,טו) ותהי האמת נעדרת וסר מרע משתולל

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a
It was taught, Rabbi Yehudah said: In the generation when the son of David comes, the house of assembly will be for harlots, the Galilee will be in ruins, Gablan will lie desolate, the residents from the border towns will wander about from city to city, receiving no comfort (hospitality), the wisdom of scribes will be in disfavor, God-fearing men will be despised, people will be dog-faced, and the truth will be absent, as it is said, "And the truth is absent, and he who withdraws from evil makes himself prey." (Isaiah 59:15)

On the other hand, this might just be the latest issue in a long history of issues used by the powers that be to keep the religious world divided,...even above and beyond keeping religious Zionist and Haredi communities divided. IDF service, refusing IDF orders which violate the Torah, olive harvesting on unowned land are just a few, such issues of contention.

I, too, differentiate between the LGBTQ leadership and its agenda, and individuals. And, quite frankly, the individuals, blindly following the LGBTQ leadership and its agenda, are just pawns of the assimilationist, Left, whose aims have not changed since they left Egypt with us thousands of years ago: Destruction of Am Yisra'el from within.

And that, readers is the greater issue, from which the news media works to distract us.

Can a Rabbi Get Fired for Criticizing the State of Israel?

י״ג לחודש השמיני תשע״ה

I have previously criticized the infusion of Hellenist democracy, or in Israeli's case deMOCKracy, into the Rabbinate, as one of the various strategies employed to chip away at the Torah.

The following is a report on yet another way in which the deMOCKratic State of Israel is attempting to chip away at the authority of the Torah,...and WE have been allowing it!

Life In Israel: Proposed Law: Firing a city rabbi
Yesterday the Knesset passed the first reading of a law that will allow a city rabbi to be fired.

According to the law, if it should pass into law, will allow the Minister of Religious Affairs to fire a city rabbi if he is not performing his duties and responsibilities properly. The firing would have to go through a committee that will be made up of dayan appointed by the Minister, a city rabbi appointed by the head of the Rabbanut Religious Council, a legal adviser of a government ministry. If the committee will investigate and deem the suspicions valid, they will be able to recommend to the Minister to fire the suspected rabbi.

Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan says this is necessary because there are such rabbis in the system but the system has no ways or tools to deal with them. This law will increase the level of trust the public has in the rabbis. Ben-Dahan also said this law was prepared in coordination with Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau.

The Haredi parties do not like the law proposal. They don't like the possibility that a rabbi will be fired by a politician. MK Uri Maklev asked if judges have a similar system by which they can be fired. MK Yitzchak Cohen compared Habayit Hayehudi to Titus who destroyed the Beis Hamikdash. MK Aliza Lavie is dissatisfied for another reason - the committee is made up of men and they will protect other members of the club. Lavie wants the committee to include women.

Ben-Dahan responded to the Haredi MKs saying that during the rule of Shas, there was a decrease in rabbis, while he, Ben-Dahan, has appointed 69 new rabbis, to date. As well, Ben-Dahan asked them why they are concerned to protect and defend rabbis who don't fulfill their responsibilities but continue to take payment.

The first reading of the law passed by a vote of 54-11.

source: Kikar and Srugim

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
At first I just thought this was another chipping away at the Torah, in favor of Hellenist, Erev Rav-controlled deMOCKracy.

Of course, I still do. In fact, I believe it to be a major attack on an already ransacked and unrecognizable "Torah style" of the State of Israel. We all know what "kosher style" means,...not in the least bit kosher. So, you should easily be able to determine exactly what I mean by "Torah style."

However, I also believe that this law contains the additional intention of increasing the "divide and conquer" as is suggested by the paragraph I have highlighted above. Or in the case of the Israeli Government, "keep divided and keep conquered."

Rabbi Yitzhaq Yosef and Rabbi David Lau
Israel's Chief Rabbis

Rabbi Ben-Dahan

Ben-Dahan apparently thinks that more is automatically better. In reality, though, this is just a continuation in the same ol' Religious Zionist vs. Haredi, "us vs. them" power struggle.

What Ben-Dahan appears to fail to realize is that the real "them" in the "us vs. them" is the Erev Rav controlled government. The "us" should be those who stand by the Holy One, Blessed Be He, and His Holy Torah. That is, those who stand by the authority of the Torah, even in the face of Israeli laws which contradict it.

Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu
Chief Rabbi of Tzfath

Rabbis, such as Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu of Tzfath, have been called "extremist," and demonized for this not only recognize the authority of The Almighty's Torah, but dare to declare this fact publicly, and encourage support for it. Rabbi Eliyahu's critics have not only included Justice Minister Tzippy Livni, as one would expect, but also Mamlakhtim (diehard, religious State loyalists), and the ever "nosing into Israeli affairs from the diaspora" Rabbinical Council of America [RCA].

Apparently, someone forgot to tell the RCA that...

אין תורה כתורת ארץ ישראל - בראשית רבא.

There is no Torah like the Torah of the Land of Israel. - Bereishith Raba

But, I digress...

Will Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu be the first to fired by a government committee, for not "not performing his duties and responsibilities properly?" Apparently, this clause was authored by the Supreme Council of Vagueness.

Or, perhaps, "they" will go after Ashkenazy Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau for daring to suggest that aliyah, immigration to Israel, be reserved for only those who are permitted to do so, according to the Torah,...Jews, according to the Torah definition of Jews, which flies in the face of the Israeli "Law of Return," which currently allows all those with at least one Jewish grandparent to immigrate.
(Tip: The Torah Revolution)

Surely, the only rabbis the Erev Rav controlled government is willing to tolerate are those rabbis not only willing to tow the government line, but those who actually delusional enough to believe in it.

For now, that is.

Stay tuned!

The State of Israel Awards One of its Loyalists a Prize: Big Deal!

ו' לחודש השני תשע"ד

Tablet Magazine: American-Raised Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein Wins the Israel PrizeLeading Modern Orthodox rabbi and political dove to receive awardYair Rosenberg, February 23, 2014

Rabbi Aharon
Lichtenstein

...Lichtenstein has also distinguished himself on the Israeli scene for his dovish political stances. Together with [Rabbi Yehuda] Amital, he supported the Oslo Accords and subsequent peace process. (A founding father of the religious peace party Meimad, Amital would serve as a minister without portfolio in the government of Shimon Peres.) When several prominent religious leaders in the settlement movement eulogized Baruch Goldstein after he massacred Muslim worshipers in Hebron in 1994, Lichtenstein famously rebuked them. 

Drawing on his vast Talmudic and halakhic erudition, he has also defended the right of the Israeli government to cede territory under Jewish law, publicly inveighed against price tag attacks against Palestinians, and refuted the rationales for rabbinic bans against selling Israeli land to Arabs. (ie. against Tzfath Chief Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu shlit"a) 

The Israel Prize will be awarded on May 6, Israel’s Independence Day.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
I am not going to post the way over the top video honoring venerating "Moreinu" (our teacher). You view it at the Life In Israel Blog, if you really feel the need to.

The State of Israel awards one of its loyalists a prize. Big deal.

Like his neighbor, Rabbi Yo'el Bin-Nun, who famously reported those celebrating Yitzhaq Rabin's death to the police, Rabbi Lichtenstein is most definitely a hakham (Torah scholar). Also, like Bin-Nun, he is an expert at reading anything he wants into the sources of our heritage.

And speaking of our heritage...

Interestingly enough, another Rosh Yeshiva from Yeshiva University, Rabbi Tzvi Shachter teaches that the Torah and our Land of Israel are both descried in the Torah as "morashah" (heritage), as opposed to "yerushah" (inheritance). The recipients of a yerushah can do whatever they want with it. But the recipients of morashah cannot. Rather a morashah must delivered to the next generation in tact. (Eretz Yisrael in the Parsha by Rabbi Moshe Lichtman)

The Torah cannot be chopped up, and manipulated as we please, the quintessential trademark of the so-called "Movements of Judaism," claiming the status of religious denominations, just like the Christians. Likewise our Divinely promised Land may not be chopped up, sold, auctioned off, nor otherwise handed over, ie. mesirah to the goyim.

No wonder the State awarded a prize to Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein. Not only does he tow the State's line, he keeps thousands of Jews with kippoth on their head in line for the State. (I was recently informed that he has thousands of students...as if numbers and popularity meant anything.) He even supports this with Torah sources, and does so expertly.

In all fairness, I have heard it said that Rabbi Me'ir Kahane hy'd once heard someone say something disrespectful about Rabbi Lichtenstein. Rabbi Kahane immediately admonished him, and told him never to say such things about his again,...as he supports the cause of the Temple Mount.

Well, I am afraid that I cannot find Rabbi Lichtenstein's opinions regarding the Temple Mount, our sovereignty over it, ascending it, nor rebuilding the Temple itself. If anyone has such information, I would greatly appreciate it, if it were sent to me, or left as a comment below.

All that I could find were Rabbi Lichtenstein's accomplishments, which I have highlighted above in red, all of which occurred after Rabbi Kahane's murder. I wonder what he would say about Rabbi Lichtenstein, if he were alive today.

I have no doubt that Rabbi Lichtenstein has accomplished much good in within Klal Yisra'el. But, does that balance out his apparent denial of the increasing number of setiroth (contradictions) between following the State and following the Torah?

How should I know? I'm not a rabbi.

Oh, and just one more thing: So that you know that I was not singling out Rabbi Lichtenstein, I was just as critical of last year's recipient of the Israel Prize, Rabbi Chaim Druckman.

Pollard For Prisoners: NO!

 ב' לחודש הראשון תשע"ד

U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry

With all this talk of the possible release of Jonathan Pollard in connection with negotiations and potential agreements between Israelis and "Palestinians" being brokered by a very pushy, U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry, I started connecting some dots, dots which you may find surprising. (See Tomer Devorah on this issue, and read the comments, too!)

Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu

First, let's back up a bit.

Yet, again, more "Palestinian" prisoners are expected to be included in additional, future "deals for nothing," due to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's perpetual begging and boot-licking of the U. S. Government.

Various sources suggest that Pollard's release would be part of a deal, which would include the release of even more "Palestinian" prisoners. Pollard has spoken through his actions, refusing to attend a parole hearing.

It seems to me that Jonathan Pollard is following the lead of the righteous rabbi the Maran meRottenberg. The Maran meRottenberg did not allow his students to raise money for his release from prison, the misswah (commandment) of pidyon shevu'im, as he believed that this would only encourage even more kidnappings at the hands of the goyim (non-Jews).

Various hakhamim, such as Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu shlit"a of Tzfath has also expressed opposition to such a deal.

Although I know that we are all happy that IDF soldier Gilad Shalit has been returned to us, the same argument was used against the inclusion of him in such an agreement with Hamas terrorists.

Jonathan Pollard

Jonathan Pollard has essentially been kidnapped.

The mainstream news media of both the U. S. and Israel always seem to omit the fact that those who have been convicted of espionage in the U. S. have served as little as five years in prison. Jonathan Pollard has been imprisoned for the past 28 years.

Pollard is the only person in US history to receive a life sentence for spying for an ally, and the only American citizen convicted of such a crime to be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. Currently, the punishment for such a crime is set at a maximum of ten years, except if it might "result in the death of an agent of the United States" or if it concerns "nuclear weaponry [...] war plans; communications intelligence or cryptographic information." (Wikipedia)

As I have stated previously, I believe very strongly that there are higher-ups in the Israeli government who would rather not be "inconvenienced" by Pollard's release. By inconvenienced I mean by having to run around and either "eliminate" Pollard (God forbid!) or spend vast amounts of time, money, and energy in other ways to hide the money and bury the bodies better,...as it were.

He is the proverbial man who knows too much.

Which Israeli Court Overstepped its Bounds?

ח' לחודש השנים עשר ב' תשע"ד

Arutz 7: Rabbinic Court Cannot Decide on Circumcision
A rabbinic court overstepped its bounds when it ruled in parents’ circumcision battle, Attorney General says.

Maayana Miskin, March 6, 2014

Yehuda Weinstein
Israeli Attorney General

A beit din (rabbinic court) overstepped its legal authority when it ruled in the case of divorcing parents who disagree over whether to circumcise their young son, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein said Thursday.

Weinstein submitted his opinion to the Supreme Court as part of the ongoing legal battle between the parents.

The parents in question are in the midst of divorcing via the rabbinic courts. In Israel, Jewish couples may divorce through either the rabbinic courts, which rule according to Jewish law (halakha), or through the Family Court system.

During the divorce process, the father raised a complaint against the mother for refusing to have their infant son circumcised. Circumcision is considered an important Biblical command in Judaism, and the circumcision ceremony is when infant boys fully join the Jewish nation.

The court ruled in the father’s favor, and ordered the mother to have the baby boy circumcised or else pay a fine. The mother has appealed to the Supreme Court.

Weinstein previously told the Supreme Court that he does not believe the beit din had the right to rule in the specific case at hand, due to the fact that in this particular case, the circumcision would need to be performed under anesthesia or other pain-killing medicine.

In his statement submitted to the court Thursday, which came to complete his earlier opinion, Weinstein said that when parents disagree over circumcision, the Family Court system – and not the beit din system – has the right to rule in the case.

The question of circumcision cannot be considered an issue directly pertaining to divorce, he explained – and therefore, it is outside the beit din’s jurisdiction.

Weinstein noted that while he believes the beit din should not have ruled in the case, it is possible that a family court, too, may rule that it is in a minor child’s best interests to undergo circumcision.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
The Israeli Justice System, not to mention the Israeli Government, is not Jewish System. Worse yet, the Israeli Attorney General himself appears to be battling again the only, relatively Jewish System which exists in this country.

...as if it, besides piqu'ah nefesh (saving a life), it should EVER be considered NOT to circumcise a Jewish son?

How Jewish of a question is this? Not very... Rather it is a question out of the Western galuth (exile) mentality, underneath which we discover the Greco-Roman concept of the perfection of the body. Of course, it is buried under the Western Galuth concepts found closer to the surface, such as freedom of religious expression and democracy, or in Israel's case, deMOCKracy, and the co-dependent need to be acceptable by the goyim (non-Jews) as their equals and peers, one member of the international family of nations. Even though it is our role to remain a separate and distinct people.

I find the only odd element of this case is Weinstein's apparent inconsistency.

(Wikipedia) Criticism
Weinstein came under intense criticism for his inaction regarding a number of rabbis [including Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu shlit"a] in Safed, who, according to Haaretz called on Jewish homeowners to not rent to Arabs—an action they claim is prohibited by Halakha. A number of MKs, mainly from Meretz, and public intellectuals, attacked him for dallying on pursuing an investigation against the rabbis, who they argued, as civic officials, were in severe violation of Israeli law. 

Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu

So, Weinstein apparently did the right thing (ie. the halakhic thing), regarding a previous issue, by seemingly letting Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu of Tzfath (Safed) off the hook, so to speak. Yet goes after a beth din (rabbinical court) over its decision to retain the sanctity of a male, Jewish infant's entrance into Klal Yisra'el.

The only logical conclusion drawn from speculation is that he has been moving farther and farther away from Jewish-based decisions, and closer and closer toward un-Jewish ones.

Either that, or he knows that a beth din functioning under the auspices of the Israeli Government is a much easier target than the Chief Rabbi of Tzfath, who is uncompromising on Torah principles.

"Sheeple" = "Sheep" + "People"

Clearly, it was the Israeli secular court which overstepped its bounds, by asserting power over a case which it has absolutely no authority over,...even when numb-out "Sheeple" Jews allow it.

The battle between Torah and Israel's Western galuth-based excuse for a government continues.

Which side are you on?

Did the Jewish Home Party get a Slap in the Face from this Rabbi?

ג' לחודש השמיני תשע"ד

אתמול קיבלנו ברכה מהרבנית צביה אליהו והיום הרב שמואל אליהו שליט"א שלח לנו מכתב תמיכה. אנחנו מודים על התמיכה ומבטיחים לייהד את ירושלים!

ירושלים מאוחדת בראשות שמואל שקדי ואריה קינג 

Yesterday, we received a blessing from Rabbanit Tzviah Eliyahu, and today from Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu shlit"a sent us a letter of support. We are thankful for the support, and promise to keep Jerusalem Jewish!  

- Unified Jerusalem Party - led by Shmu'el Shaqedi and Aryeh King

(Tip Credit: Shuqi)

כיפה: הרב אליהו: מצווה מיוחדת לחזק את בניין ירושלים

במטה "ירושלים מאוחדת" מציגים מכתב תמיכה ששיגר הרב שמואל אליהו לאריה קינג, בו הוא מחזק אותו על פעילותו "בנושא יישוב עיר הקודש ירושלים על ידי יהודים" - יונתן אוריך, כ"ח תשרי תשע"ד (ללחוץ כטן להמשך בעברית)

Translation:

Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu

Kippah: Rabbi Eliyahu - It is a special misswah to strengthen the building of Jerusalem
At the Unified Jerusalem Party Headquarters a letter of support sent by Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu to Aryeh King, in which he bolsters his activities, under the heading of the Jewish settlement of the Holy City of Jerusalem.

Yonatan Orich, 28 Tishrei 5774/October 2, 2013

At the headquarters of the Unified Jerusalem Party, contending against the Jewish Home Party in the Jerusalem municipal elections, on display today was Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu's letter which had been sent about two months ago to Aryeh King, in which he blesses him over his public operations in the capital.

Shmuel Shaqedi

"I want to thank you for your work on the issue of Jewish settlement in the Holy City of Jerusalem," writes Rabbi Eliyahu in the letter to King, "Previously, we needed a decision from the government that Jerusalem be unified and Jewish. Today we need to turn all of our prayers for generations into fact and reality with another house, with another garden, with another neighborhood, with another family."

"The continued building of the city needs a special kind of strength," writes Rabbi Eliyahu, "Our enemies are trying to curb our efforts. The nations which represent themselves as friends also cry out each time we approve a new building project in Jerusalem, and the Israeli government becomes terrified, and operates by limping along. Therefore, today it is a special misswah to strengthen the building of Jerusalem. So, I applaud you and your efforts in the building of the city, and very much hope for your success."

Aryeh King

In the meantime, yesterday the heads of the party met with the widow of the late Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu ztz"l, in the Qiriyath Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem. The Rabbanit, who hosted Shmu'el Shaqedi, Aryeh King, Haggit Moshe, and Tzviqah Yungreis, said that the United Jerusalem list must fight for its principles over the treatment of the neighborhoods [bordering Arab neighborhoods], and the struggle to keep Jerusalem Jewish.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Shuqi asked me if I thought that this was a slap in the face to the Jewish Home Party.

Naftali Bennett
Jewish Home Party
National Chairperson

I would have to say that my answer is a definitive "Yes."

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu ztz"l was one of the Jewish Home Party's primary rabbis from whom it would receive answers to its questions of halakhah (Torah Law). In fact, when the Jewish Home Party was still the National Religious Party [NRP], it approached Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu to ask him if they could put a woman on its list of candidates for the 2003 Parliamentary Elections. Rabbi Eliyahu said, "No." Yet, the NRP did so anyway, using the justification that they "have other rabbis."

Well, apparently, now Mordechai Eliyahu's widow, and his son, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu appear to have "other" political parties.

Yep! This was definitely a slap in the face.

At Least one Rabbi Knows that the Torah Comes First

ערב יום הכפורים תשע"ד

Arutz 7: Rabbi Backs Civil Disobedience over 'Meaningless' IDF Orders
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu supports civil disobedience in the face of orders to leave one’s home.

Maayana Miskin, September 12, 2013

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief rabbi of Tzfat, has publicly declared his support for civil disobedience in the face of administrative distancing orders.

The military is currently able to issue distancing orders to Judea and Samaria (Shomron) residents without bringing charges against them or allowing them a hearing. While lawmakers have urged the army to use administrative orders only as a last resort, in practice, several men in Judea and Samaria have been repeatedly barred from the area in which they live without ever facing charges, or even an explanation from authorities.

“Any order telling a Jew to leave his home has a black flag waving over it,” Rabbi Eliyahu declared, referencing IDF training which teaches soldiers to disobey orders if a moral “black flag” marks them – that is, if they are clearly immoral.

“This is an order that contradicts the word of G-d,” he declared. “It is worth less than the dust on the ground.”

Rabbi Eliyahu expressed his condemnation of distancing orders while visiting Boaz Albert, a farmer from the town of Yitzhar who was given a distancing order several weeks ago. Albert has declared that he will not abide by the order.

He was violently arrested for violating the order in an incident that brought the question of police violence to the headlines, but has said that the arrest will not dissuade him from returning home despite the order.

Rabbi Eliyahu and others came to expressed support for Albert. They danced and sang with him, and visited his vineyard, where Rabbi Eliyahu said a blessing and picked a cluster of grapes.

“We came to give our support, and we were very impressed by this place and by the vineyard. We came to be part of the blessing here,” he told Arutz Sheva.

“We came to tell Boaz, ‘You are our brother,’” he added.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
The main point I want to emphasize in this report is Rabbi Eliyahu's distinction between Torah Law and Israeli Law. Even more so, the message here appears to be quite clear:

חוקי התורה קודמין לחוקי האדם.

"Torah Law takes precedence over man made laws."

No elaborate discussions about implications and complications, like the mamlakhtim (undying state loyalists) would have you but into, nor long and involved explanations about this situation or that situation, what the goyim might say, from "rabbis" receiving their salaries from the Israeli government, or who are even ministers and MK's in the same government.

Rabbi Eliyahu, who also receives a salary from the government, simply states the halakhah (Torah Law), and teaches us to follow us to follow it.

And for this, he is labeled an "extremist."

Rabbi Me'ir Kahane was demonized for pretty much the same thing. Say the truth, act on the truth, and whatever happens is מן השמים (the will of Heaven). And, the truth is the Torah.

I disagree with Rabbi Eliyahu on one minor point, and probably due only to semantics.

The distancing orders are not at all meaningless, nor worth less than dust to the Israeli Government.

The government has a plan, and it may involve the town of Yitzhar intimately. Once it manages to eliminate Yitzhar (May The Almighty forbid!), many in Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria) will unfortunately, just get up, and walk away. I do hope that I am wrong, and that these Jews will wake up, and smell the bulldozers already.

More Evidence that the Anti-Defimation League is not Jewish

י' לחודש החמישי תשע"ג

Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu
Rabbi of Tzfath

ADL Welcomes AG's Recommendation Against Eliyahu’s Candidacy for Chief Rabbi of Israel
Jerusalem, July 15, 2013

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the recommendation by Israel’s attorney general against Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu’s candidacy for the July 24 election for Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel.

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has reportedly determined he would be unable to defend Rabbi Eliyahu, who has been widely criticized for a number of anti-Arab statements he has made over the years, from legal challenges by those who would accuse him of racism.

“Israel’s chief rabbis not only serve as the most public religious authorities in Israel, they are also role models for many Israelis and are seen as important figures in Jewish and other faith communities around the world,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  “Rabbi Eliyahu’s racist statements and extremist views make him ill-suited to serve in such a high-profile and important Israeli government position.”

On July 11, ADL wrote a letter to Naftali Bennet, Israel’s minister of religious affairs and head of the Habayit Hayehudi Party, questioning support for Rabbi Eliyahu by a majority of members of the party, “…without giving adequate consideration to Rabbi Eliyahu’s record of inappropriate, offensive and, at times, racist statements and positions about Israeli Arabs and Palestinians.”

The League has publicly objected to certain positions adopted by Rabbi Eliyahu, including the use of his capacity as chief rabbi of Safed to direct Jewish residents not to rent apartments to Arabs, a matter that was subjected to an official Ministry of Justice investigation.

Rabbi Eliyahu also reportedly made comments suggesting that Israel should indiscriminately bomb Palestinians in response to rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, saying that, “If they don’t stop after we kill 100, then we must kill a thousand. And if they do not stop after 1,000 then we must kill 10,000. If they still don't stop we must kill 100,000, even a million. Whatever it takes to make them stop.”

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Believe it or not, Foxman is right about one thing.

"...they [Israel's Chief Rabbis] are also role models for many Israelis and are seen as important figures in Jewish and other faith communities around the world"

Foxman appears to be overly concerned over "what the goyim will think," just like so many nebekhy, galuth (exile)-minded Jews, worshiping modernism and progress, at the expense of forsaking their heritage, The Holy One, Blessed Be He's Torah. May The Almighty please grant them guidance!

If doing ones best to follow the Torah in every aspect of ones life, not just what to put into my mouth and what I can or cannot do on Shabbath, but how to run a [truly] Jewish military, how to fight a war, and how to interact with goyim in various situations, means being a racist and an extremist, then I personally plead "guilty."

In the case of any conflict, Torah Law precedes any and all laws established by human beings, Jews or otherwise.

It would be nice to have a real role model to Jews and non-Jews alike, by showing Israel and the world what it means to be a rabbi, one who is not afraid to express those politically-incorrect words of Torah, which so many try to cover-up, apologize for, or otherwise attempt to interpret away, instead of having a puppet.

So far, Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu shlit"a seems to fit the bill.

Foxman never brings a single halakhic source to counter Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu's rulings and stances, which he supports with halakhah. Rather, he appears to stand by a Western/assimilationist/galuth view of the world instead.

This is why the Anti-Defimation League could not possibly be a Jewish organization, its complete absence of Torah. And if it does not claim to be one, then even more so, it certainly does not serve any truly Jewish interests, only those of keeping Jews in galuth, and stuck in a galuth/assimilation-oriented mentally,...learning to be even more like the Western goyim they so seem to idolize (pun intended).

I am sure you can now see why the Sanhedrin was not appointed by just anyone. There was no Hellenist democratic process, nor deMOCKratic process, only Torah scholars involved, quite possibly like Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu.

Chief Rabbi Or Chief Puppet?

 ערב שבת קודש פר' מטות-מסעי תשע"ג

Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu
Chief Rabbi of Tzfath

YWN: Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau Questions the Legitimacy of Rav Eliyahu’s Candidacy

July 3, 2013

Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau, the rav of the Ramban Shul in Yerushalayim, is not certain if the candidacy of Tzfas Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu in the Chief Rabbinate race is a fitting one.

Rav Lau said that while Rabbi Eliyahu is “moser nefesh” for Am Yisrael, he is not certain if the rabbi is a suitable candidate, one who is correct for the position. In his Facebook page posting, Rabbi Lau explains that a candidate must be “connected to the state and the Zionist enterprise.”

Regarding one’s connection to the state, Rabbi Lau says “the connection must be with the government and its institutions. The Chief Rabbinate is a state institution and the selection of a candidate who does not identify with all aspects of democracy cannot faithfully serve all the citizens. Candidates must state in a clear unequivocal voice that he accepts the laws of the country (including full equality for non-Jewish citizens).”

Regarding the Zionist vision the candidate must identify with “the ingathering of the exiles and a return to Tzion”, Rabbi Lau adds. This demands finding an acceptable solution for hundreds of thousands of citizens living in the state, the many new immigrants who are not Jewish according to Halacha but maintain a connection with the Jewish People. Cutting off from these people is tantamount to cutting oneself off from the Zionist enterprise.”

(Tip Credit: Tomer Devorah)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Well, "Rabbi Dr." Benny Lau, of the Exclusive, Old Qatamon/German Colony Rambam Schul community is essentially correct. Rabbi Eliyahu shilt"a is not at all a good candidate to become Chief Rabbi.

The Israeli government has absolutely no interest whatsoever in finding a Chief Rabbi. Its interest lies solely in finding an obedient puppet. Rabbi Eliyahu is no puppet, thus "disqualifying" from being "democratically elected" as such.

Yuval Cherlow, Shlomo Aviner, Eli Sedan
Surprising not on the list of candidates for Chief Rabbi

As I have warned, the government has increasingly intervened in matters for which it has no business, nor jurisdiction to intervene.

It ordered the Chief Rabbinate to grant kashruth certification to a meat company which kashruth supervisors found to have unacceptable practices.

It ordered the Rabbinate of Ashdod to grant kashruth certification to a bakery owned and operated by a believer in Jeezer (nickname for the Christian false deity/messiah).

It "resolved a dispute" between Rabbi Sherman and Rabbi Drukman regarding their severe differences of opinion regarding conversions.

And now...

"Some politicians have called out a hit against the expected candidacy of Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Tzfat, for Chief Rabbi of Israel. They have turned to the Attorney General in the hope to disqualify Rav Eliyahu, and it seems that the Attorney General won't disappoint. The Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has already spoken out against Rav Eliyahu's candidacy, and has announced that he will conduct a hearing with Rav Eliyahu on the matter of his statements in the past against renting houses to Arabs. "

From Life In Israel: Government overstepping its bounds in attempt to disqualify Rav Shmuel Eliyahu

This is only the next [official] step in the government's attempts to wipe out the authority of the Torah over that of the State. Of course, it will never succeed, unless we let it. And even if we do, it still will not succeed; it will just be harder on those of us who stood idly by.

The Israeli Government sees the Torah as a threat to its power, and thus [truly] Torah-observant Jews a threat to its power.

The roll of the Erev Rav to do battle with the Torah, not to raise it up!

Regarding "Rabbi Dr." Benny Lau's statements about non-Jews living in Israel, and their "equality," it seems to me that "Rabbi Dr." Benny Lau, known for his popular and charismatic speeches, needs to go back and review what the real Ramba"m says about these non-Jews, and their "rights," or lack their of. He may also want to see where the Ramba"m mentions anything about democracy. (Hint: He doesn't.)

It also seems to me that his face should be added to this depiction of many of the State's "rabbis" and other "religious" officials.

Does Rabbi Kahane Need Defending?

Erev Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Bamidbar 5772

A  friend from yeshiva asked me to help defend Rabbi Me'ir Kahane  hy"d.

He was referring to the comments made on some post on Gil Student's blog.  (now, more than one post)

What's the point?  I know it's sad, but I have long given up on the same ol', same ol' Jews, be they modern orthodox, Litvaks, or Satmar, buried to their necks in galuth (exile), and in the galuth mentality.

Yet, truth be told, though, the main reason I write Esser Agaroth is because of the crazy idea that I can help one more Jew escape galuth, and that (OK, I'll say it) un-Jewish mentality.

So, I guess I really haven't given up; I'm just pessimistic and frustrated, and want to give up.  But, I can't.

לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל-דַּם רֵעֶךָ - שמות יט,טז

Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor - Ex. 19:16

But, why should I bother defending Rabbi Kahane hy"d?  These clowns* aren't going to listen?  They have already made up their minds, most them not having read a single one of his books.  And, those who have undoubtedly, refused to accept anything he says, even though backed with halakhic sources.  If it doesn't fit into their hashqafas, then it couldn't possibly be correct, right?  (See below, for the use of the word "clowns.")

The next question is does Rabbi Kahane NEED defending?

Jews will either listen, or they won't.  They will either get on the plane, or they won't.  Funny thing is why Jews, religious Jews, feel a need to debate a rabbi who has been dead for 20 plus years.  My theory is that they need to justify their Western ways, and/or their belief in the acceptability of making a permanent residence in a "strange land," a land not their own.  they need to justify their "feelings," in perfect Western progressive fashion.  They need to discredit Rabbi Kahane, to prevent the onset of the greatest cognitive dissonance they have ever to experience.

Rabbi Kahane quoted halakhah, believed that Jews should follow halakhah, and that halakhah takes precedence over contra-Torah laws of the State of Israel.  No one has yet been able to refute his positions by applying halakhic sources, particularly the issues of goyim residing in Israel and the distinguishing between Israeli Law and halakhah.  They are not identical, as the mamlakhti (undying state loyalists) would have you believe.

Everyone who has tried, has done nothing but apply their "feelings" to a situation, sometimes calling it "facing reality," and has picked and chosen various halakhic sources out of context, not in the least bit shayach, and have quoted random pesuqim to support their "feelings."

The Rabbinical Council of America [RCA] is a good example, when it has criticized rulings of Rabbanim such as Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu shlit"a, and yet has insisted that Israeli rabbis stay out of its business.  Go figure...

Clearly, they have forgotten where the capital of Torah is, treating physical boundaries made up by goyim as relevant.

Rabbi Me'ir Kahane's primary "crime," as it were, was to dare to quote verses from the Tana"kh, as well as from halakhic sources, while speaking in the Knesseth.

He was demonized a racist because of it, and because of his second crime: He differentiated between the Torah-true, Jewish mentality and the Western/assimilationist un-Jewish mentality.  He taught Jews that one was correct, and the other was not. 

The recent ruling of Rabbi Shmu'el (ben Mordechai) Eliyahu , the Chief Rabbi of Tzfat, that one may not rent apartments to Arabs, even though they are "Israeli citizens," incurred the same demonization.  The Rabbinical Association of America, which can't stand it when Israeli rabbis but into its affairs, did not hesitate to condemn his rulings as well. Its representatives used Western "logic," rather than halakhic sources, which basically boiled down to "What will the goyim say?"

The wives of prominent rabbis in Israel incurred the same when they came out against Jews dating Arabs.  Yet, even the so-called "Reform" movement discouraged it.

Rabbi Kahane also encouraged us to take a serious look at ourselves. 

Were we acting like good little Jewish boys and girls, hoping that the goyim would see that we're just like them, and thus gain their acceptance?

Or, were we concerned with how The Holy One, Blessed Be He, sees us?

Were we comparing ourselves with non-Jews in our countries of birth?

Or, were we comparing ourselves with ourselves with our scholar-warrior forefathers, and striving to live up to their examples?

Were we taking pride in what good American (or British or French) citizens we were?

Or, did we take pride in being Jewish, and that we now had sovereignty over our true homeland, and needed to become part of the only solution by making aliyah?

Rabbi Kahane had the courage to teach us that when there is a setirah (conflict) between the Torah and Israeli, and takes precedence over Israeli law.  He taught us so, even in the face of the sniveling lap dogs of the Israeli Government.  These puppets with kippoth could not sufficiently counter him with any halakhic argument, so instead they called him names, and buried their heads in their mamlakhti (undying State loyalist) hashqafah.

He was known for quoting the Ramba"m, in particular the following from the Laws of Kings and Wars (I wonder how many Jews even know that there is such a thing.), to support his assertion:

ג,י  [ט] המבטל גזירת המלך בשביל שנתעסק במצוות, אפילו במצוה קלה--הרי זה פטור:  דברי הרב ודברי העבד, דברי הרב קודמין.  ואין צריך לומר אם גזר המלך לבטל מצוה, שאין שומעין לו.

3:10 [9] One who cancels the decree of the King for the sake of occupying himself with misswoth, even a misswah considered to be light – is exempt [from punishment].  The words of a rabbi and the words of a slave, the words of a rabbi take precedence.  And one does not [even] need to say [that] if the king decreed the cancellation of a misswah, that one does not heed him.

He could have cited this halakhah until he was blue in the face.  It didn't matter.  Those silly Jews who insisted that the K'nesseth was even a stand-in for a king, could not get their head around this extremely clear, Jewish source.  Rather they preferred to cling to their Hellenist democracy, not as a temporary system of administering a Jewish state, but as a "Look!  We're just like the goyim!" system of government.  The system of government pointed to by the Torah, was just foreign to them as the fact that Jews killing Jews, led us to the first Hanukkah.

At around the same time that Rabbi Kahane was attempting to convince Jews to think and act like Jews, Rabbenu Tzvi Yehudah Kook ztz"l, Rosh Yeshiva of Merkaz HaRav Kook, taught that one "…should do everything in order to prevent and delay the evacuation of Jewish strongholds" (Rb. Z. Melamed, Bet El; Rb. Elitzur Sege"l, Ofra)  He himself put his money where his mouth was, and planted himself in the Jewish town of Shavei Shomron to prevent its demolition. He, too, showed that following the Torah takes precedence over State laws which ran contrary to the Torah.  I doubt that anyone in the Religious Zionist communities would dare call Rabbenu Tzvi Yehuda an "extremist," like they would Rabbi Kahane.

Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook ztz"l and Rabbi Me'ir Kahane ztz"l hy"d at the Kotel (Western Wall)
 *Rabbi Kahane said that he would never forget Rabbi Ya'akov Filber's shocked face, when Rav Tzvi Yehudah asked him to take their picture together at the Kotel.

Years later, Rabbi Dov Lior and Rabbi Zalman Melamed were barricaded within the beth k'nesseth (synagogue) of K'far Darom, making the last stand in the Jewish control areas of Azza.  The actions of these rabbis spoke louder than words, clearly demonstrating their belief that Torah and Israeli law were not one and the same, and that Torah took precedence over the other.

The previous Bostoner Rebbe ztz"l also cited halakhah, indicating that it was forbidden to give up Azza to the Arabs, contrary to the actions of the Israeli government, led by Ariel Sharon.

Rabbi Avraham Shapira ztz"l, the next Rosh Yeshiva of Merkaz HaRav Kook, after Rabbeinu Tzvi Yehuda, and former Chief Rabbi of Israel, told IDF soldiers that when confronted with choice of throwing Jews out of their homes (in Gaza, 2005), or sitting in jail, one should not only sit in jail, but to take pride in it.  In other words, he sent the message that Torah Law takes precedence over any State decrees which violated the Torah, just like Rabbi Kahane.

Rabbi Kahane also suggested that one of the requirements for being called "rabbi" is having sat in jail on behalf Israel, which he did.  So has Rabbi Yisra'el Ariel shlit"a, head of the Temple Institute, along with several others, many of whom I doubt you have ever heard of, there goals not including fame and notoriety.  Many years later, Rabbi Kahane's son Rabbi Binyamin Kahane hy"d did as well.  I wonder how many of those criticizing Rabbi Kahane have fulfilled this requirement.

So, does Rabbi Me'ir Kahane need defending?  I think not.  Although, it appears that some very unlikely rabbis have already attempted to do so.

*********

*clowns - From Eicha Rabba, among other sources.

"The "clowns of the generation," which our Sages describe are people with a purpose.  In order to nullify the truth, which they cannot accept, they grasp onto certain points and make a joke out of them.  But as time passes, all the ideology and seriousness that once cloaked them becomes undone, since their goal was to undermine the truth in order to continue in their ways of sin and falsehood.

-Rabbi Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane hy"d

on Parashath Toledoth

Rabbi Lior: There is No Freedom of Speech in Israel

27 of the Eighth Month 5772

I believe that this statement (the title above) of Rabbi Dov Lior pretty much covers it.

I found the article, in which he made this statement, to be important enough to re-post in its entirety, and have done so below.

Here at Esser Agaroth, I have pointed out several examples of the Israeli government cracking down on rabbis teaching and making Torah statements which stand in contradiction to Israeli law:

The Battles Between The Torah And The State Of Israel

The State Continues Its Battle Against The Torah

The Torah Will Not Stand For An Investigation!

Hello! There Already Is A Ban On Sales To Arabs

Religious Zionists, Make Up Your Minds!

The Real Religious Zionist

To Refuse Or Not To Refuse

Naveh's Crimes

What The Hell Was He Thinking?!

I must admit; I sound like a broken record.

Will you follow the Torah, or will you not follow the Torah?

Just what is it about this question which makes it so difficult for people to answer?

Bottom line?

The religious mamlakhti (undying State loyalists) will eventually have to make up their minds as to whether to follow the Torah or the State, because they will not be able to follow both. If they do not, then they will eventually fall off the tightrope they have been walking, and/or explode from the build-up of cognitive dissonance.

Unfortunately, there are still those who continue to insist that such stiroth (conflicts) do not exist between Torah and State.

It is for those individuals (as well as for those North American, religious Jews who have no clue as to what is really going here), that I post this article in its entirety.


Rabbi Lior: 'There is No Freedom of Speech in Israel'

Rabbi Dov Lior said the criminal probe into Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu for 'racism' proves free expression is stifled in Israel.

Gavriel Queenann, 11/22/2011

(IsraelNN.com) Chief Rabbi of Kiryat-Arba and Hevron Dov Lior told Arutz Sheva on Tuesday that the decision to launch a criminal probe into Tzfat [Safed] Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu for 'racism' showed there is no freedom of speech in Israel.

"There is no freedom of speech, but a stifling of expression," Rabbi Lior said after hearing of Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein's decision to launch the probe into statements made by Rabbi Eliyahu to Israel's press.

"It is difficult for me to agree this is incitement," Rabbi Lior said, dismissing the assertion the ruling had nothing to do with Rabbi Eliyahu's Torah views. "Rabbis focus on cultivating a love of humanity, and Judaism touches all righteous people, but Jewish law prohibits one from renting to non-Jews."

Rabbi Lior said, "What Rabbi Eliyahu said is a valid Torah opinion. To prevent rabbis from speaking their minds, which is their duty, is reminiscent of the methods of the Bolsheviks - who only allowed the Jews to express opinions they approved of.

"There's no freedom of expression, but a silencing of the truth. If a Torah scholar studies the Torah and justifies his opinion from sources - explaining his reasoning - even if there are others who disagree with him... it is still knowledge of Torah.

"The right of rabbis to express Torah opinions is on trial!" Rabbi Lior said. "This is against our holy Torah, let alone the rules of democracy."

"You cannot drown out the voices raising unpopular opinions. Rabbi Eliyahu is not a political person calling for insurrection against the laws of the state. He is merely expressing his Torah opinion on a relevant issue. Prosecuting him for this is no different than arresting a rabbi for teaching Sabbath [Shabbat] laws because the state allows people to drive on the Sabbath."

"Every investigation of this sort is an assault on the Torah of Israel, and against democracy and equality," Rabbi Lior concluded.

Weinstein has said he will not probe statements by Rabbi Eliyahu made that stem from his opinions on Jewish law, including his opinion - co-signed by 50 other rabbis - that one may not sell or rent a home to non-Jews when Israel's current socio-political circumstances are taken into account.

Instead, Weinstein claims, he will focus on comments made by Rabbi Eliyahu to Israel's press, such as “The Arab culture is very cruel,” and “When talking about Arabs, people speak in codes that normalize violence and turn into ideology.”

Critics, however, say Weinstein's probe into “public statements” is simply an oblique way of striking at Rabbi Eliyahu for expressing Torah opinions at odds with the ideology of Israel's secular left.

Civil Liberties advocates note Rabbi Eliyahu's statements – irrespective of their Torah content – would be considered protected speech in the enlightened Western democracies Israel's left claims it wants to emulate.