Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Why L' Affair Slifkin Matters to Me

Many people have asked why I get worked up over this horrible incident. (And just because I haven't been posting, doesn't mean I'm not getting worked up, B"H, the Godol and others are still posting.)
One very important reason why it matters is because I am a frum Jew. These troublemakers behind the cherem are supposedly frum Jews also. I sometimes literally get goosebumps seeing what is happening to my religion and knowing that 20 years down the line, Orthodox Judaism will not be the same.
We have people who 100% truly believe that if a gadol says something or writes something, it is as if it came from Hashem, c"v. The funny thing is that in my opinion, that is real kefirah, forget about asking how old the world is.
In addition, even after most sane individuals realize that the gedolim have been duped they still can't open their minds. After all, if the gedolim don't retract, why should they?

People then claim that we have no emunas chachamim if we criticize the gedolim. Is it because we are criticizing or because it is their gedolim we're criticizing?
R' Elyashiv - For me, the only answer I can give is that he's no longer 100%, any other answer is just insulting to R' Elyashiv.
R' Efrati- Never heard of him before all these pskaim from R' Elyashiv. My sources tell me he's power hungry and many people in Eretz Yisroel are royally peeved at him.
The other "gedolim" that signed are not worth the pixels so I won't waste time.
I will however state that I'm a bit upset at some of the non-signers and duped-signers. I have it on authority that R' Dovid Feinstein did not sign the ban and it was supposed to be a personal letter he was signing. Well, if it's true, why not come out and say it? Why is he willing to let R' Slifkin's reputation be ruined by his signature?
As for R' Kaminetzky, I used to think that it was great that he was quiet, and acting like a real mentsch and godol, but the fact is that this is not going away and he should make a statement or issue another haskamah on the books or do something.
Sorry for the somewhat incoherent rant, but I'm at work and have to type fast.

7 comments:

TRK said...

MOUYG,

It took me a while, but i've realized that one can't rely on these Rabbonim hashkafikly. Don't worry about it, just follow the plenty of other Rabbonim who don't feel the need to put someone like Slifkin in Cherem. That is Emunat Chachamim.

However, it is worrying how many Rabbis have not issued any statement whatsoever. Are they still looking over their right shoulder? Do they not realize we are fighting for the future of religious yiddishkeit and how we face modern challenges?

TRK

Anonymous said...


As for R' Kaminetzky, I used to think that it was great that he was quiet, and acting like a real mentsch and godol, but the fact is that this is not going away and he should make a statement or issue another haskamah on the books or do something
.

When asked in person, he's quite open about what his opinion is.

You have to realize what a sensitive situation this is. Sometimes compromises have to be made in life. If Rav Shmuel were to come out publicly against the ban, it would literally destroy his career, thus preventing him from doing a lot of good which he would have been able to accomplish otherwise. The people behind the ban were going after Rav Shmuel all along; there's no doubt they would be overjoyed if he did that.

PsychoToddler said...

I think the issue is that even the gedolim who don't personally have a problem with slifkin are reluctant to go against the grain in public about him. They probably wish no one had put it in the spotlight to begin with.

It's like my kids get taunted because we have a TV in the house. So my wife went to the rebbe and he said basically for our kids it's not a problem. But there's no way he's going to get up in shul and say it's ok to have a TV.

PsychoToddler said...

resubmitting

Anonymous said...

"The other "gedolim" that signed are not worth the pixels so I won't waste time."
Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean? Are gedolim now the equiavalent of baseball players that we can say, "Oh, I don't like his style, so I always trade away his card."? A gadol is a gadol, and time should be 'wasted' if you truly want to make a point.

Anonymous said...

Rav Shmuel is a master at playing all sides of an issue. A friend of mine in Baltimore is trying to get divorced. His brother in law is head of the bais din there and has thwarted all his efforts to get a get. Every time he has turned to Rav Shmuel he tells him something, seems to support him. But then does the same for my friend's wife as well.

Anonymous said...

I know this is old, but I feel the need. Your disrespect for gedolim saddens me. You give the impression that if you don't like what they say, then they're not worth anything. I am not ssying they're infallible but a little respect...