Shalom Bayis Beth Din and Frogs without Legs

Shalom Bayis Beth Din and Frogs without Legs

By Rabbi Dovid E. Eidensohn

Contents

“Frogs without Legs”. 1

Shalom Bayis Beth Din.. 3

Going to Secular Court instead of a Torah Court. 6

“Frogs without Legs”

Years ago, men would come to my house and complain bitterly about their suffering from wives. I would listen until they finished and then say one simple sentence. “You are a frog without legs.” They were astonished and amazed and did not understand why they were frogs without legs. So I explained it to them. “A frog can swim and can jump and can croak. You are without legs, meaning, you have no group of backers, but as an individual husband want to attack your wife, who is part of a large organized group of ladies who have tremendous financial backing. You are without the money, without the organization, but alone, come to me, one individual, and complain bitterly about your wife. What can I do for you when you, being a “he man,” refuses to organize with other men?”

But the ladies, years ago when the above stories took place, and the women were just learning to organize and destroy husbands, continued to grow stronger and stronger, so that today the major rabbis in America are afraid of them. Probably you, and most people, don’t realize this, but I do. The reason is that very few people even prominent rabbis are experts in the laws of divorce. I on the other hand have studied heavily and received semicha from the greatest rabbis of the past generation. The Gaon Rav Moshe Feinstein spent much time answering my questions. I only asked him questions that I knew I would never figure out on my own. He wrote an approbation for me in one of my books, “I know Rav Eidensohn for many years as one who delves deeply into complex halacha.” That is the ultimate semicha and very few people have it.

When Russian communism collapsed and many Jews stopped being Bolsheviks and became religious Jews, some of us in Monsey worked under the Gaon Rav Elyashev zt”l to make Gittin for them. There was not a single Rov in Russia in those times, only one Jew who was religious and would guide the rabbis how to proceed and who to make as a religious Jew. I then went to Rav Elyashev and we had an intense session of laws of Gittin. I then asked him for semicha to have my own Beth Din for Gittin, with his name, and he immediately agreed. At the age of seventeen I came to Lakewood to learn under the Gaon Rav Aharon Kotler and spoke to him constantly, although in the beginning, he told me the truth about my efforts to say Torah. Eventually he hinted to me that I was on the right path and he no longer criticized me.

 I once told the Gaon Rav Shmuel HaLevi Wosner of Bnei Braq a pesak I heard from the Gaon Rav Moshe Feinstein that a person who wants to die because he lives in great pain may be allowed to die without doing anything to cause that to happen. But other rabbis including one in Israel who ran a hospital forced all dying people to stay alive no matter their pain, not like Reb Moshe. I told Rav Wosner that I had two open gemoras exactly as Reb Moshe ruled: Gittin 70a and Avoda Zoro 12b[1]. Rav Wosner then said, surprisingly, “Poshut azoy” not “I agree.” Then I realized that “I agree” is wrong because Reb Moshe is gadol hador and he needs nobody to agree with him because “poshut” what he says is right and that is the privilege of the Gadol HaDor to say his opinion without anyone needed to support him.

Shalom Bayis Beth Din

When I realized the terrible problems of family today I wanted to found a Shalom Bayis Beth Din. Although it took a while to get things moving, eventually there were some people with such hideous family and marital problems that they started calling me for help. One of the great problems today is the imbalance of men and women. As mentioned earlier, for the past years women are very strongly organized with great funding, but the men are not.

Men recently realized this and some have tried to organize, but the old male attitudes of being he-men and not joining with others has not disappeared. Today husbands tell me that they are terrified of going to a Beth Din which today feels it must satisfy the ladies. Very recently two ladies said that men can murder their wives and are evil. When such ladies come to a Beth Din with their great organizations and financial backing the Beth Din that lives to a large degree on their funding is very careful to please them.

But Shalom Bayis Beth Din is not just about making peace in the family among the spouses and the children. Today there are much worse problems than that, as if it could be. Of course, we know that Derech Erets comes before the Torah[2]. And surely shalom bayis is important for husband wife and children to get along with Derech Erets. But there are other problems which make even Derech Erets pale as we will explain. I am talking about the new problems of rabbis helping women leave their husbands and in the process creating mamzerim. A mamzer may not marry a Jew but may marry another mamzer who is a mamzeres a female mamzer. But a mamzer or mamzeres may not marry a regular Jew. And the children of a mamzer or mamzeres for all generations may not marry a Jew. There is a way to avoid this in the Shulchan Aruch but this is a difficult process and we won’t go into it now. At any rate, as I mentioned, and as we will show, it looks as if the ladies are ready, together with many rabbis, to bend the Torah and permit the creation of mamzerim, as we will explain. Let us begin with the Rambam.

Rambam in the beginning of the laws of Gittin tells us that there are various Torah laws that are required to make a kosher GET. Some laws are based on the Torah and some based on the rabbis. A GET that does not follow the rules of the Torah laws of Gittin is invalid by the Torah and completely worthless. A GET that follows the Torah rules but does not follow the rabbinic rules is a lesser failure but is still invalid. A woman may not remarry with an invalid GET.

Rambam writes[3] “There are ten major rules of the Torah how to make a GET. And who do we know that these ten things are from the Torah? As it is said, ‘And it will be if his wife is not pleasing to him and he will write her a writ of divorce.’”[4]

Thus, the first of the ten Torah laws of how to write a GET is that no divorce can be given by the husband unless it is done willingly. He really wants the GET. He does not want such a wife for whatever reason. Thus, if he wants his wife, but people pressure him to divorce her, the GET is a violation of the Torah. If the wife remarries with a GET that is invalid and has a child, that child is a mamzer.  If the GET is invalid by the Torah, and the wife of the first husband left him with that invalid GET, and then has a new child from the new husband, that child is a mamzer diorayso, from the Torah. If the GET is invalid only dirabonon, by rabbinical rules, the child is a mamzer dirabonon.

Today women are almost always married with Kiddushin. A woman married with Kiddushin may not leave her husband unless he gives her willingly a GET or dies. But often there are children and they won’t want their parents to divorce. Sometimes the husband wants his wife and the children don’t want divorced parents. Sometimes in a family there are children who are ready to marry but did not find their shidduch yet. If their parents divorce much fewer people will want to marry them. Thus, divorce is often a problem for the husband and for the children. But when the wife has Kiddushin she must wait until the husband wants to divorce her and she may not force him.

But although this is clearly, as the Rambam states, the law in the Torah, that a GET must be given willingly, the rabbis today, many of them, even some prominent ones, are trying to please women by ignoring the Torah and telling them to force their husband to give them a GET. Children born from such an invalid Get are mamzerim. Increasingly, it seems, America, and other countries will have mamzerim. They will come to marital age and ask why nobody wants to marry them. And somehow here or there, they will have to be told that they are mamzerim, because some rabbi told their mothers to remarry without a valid GET. The rabbi wanted to please the lady, but the children suffers as nobody can imagine. This is the future of our community. Some suffering mamzerim, and the mothers who had them, will have to deal with this, and the rabbis who encouraged the mamzerim, well, you know how busy rabbis are.

The suffering of the mamzerim and their mothers we cannot imagine. But the rabbis? What do they say?  They are not saying. They are too busy making more mamzerim because they want to make the ladies happy.

There is a major rabbi who advertises publicly that everyone should send money to the major organization devoted to force husbands to give their wives a GET. It pressures the husbands and their old parents until the husbands divorce their wives. This major rabbi has made many mamzerim.

Going to Secular Court instead of a Torah Court

One who goes to a gentile court to adjudicate his issues with another Jew is a great sinner. See gemora Gittin 88b, and Shulchan Aruch Even Hoezer 134:8 which says, “If gentiles force a Jew to divorce, then if the Jew is obligated to divorce his wife by Torah law the GET is invalid by rabbinical statutes not Torah ruling. But if he was not obligated by Jewish law to divorce his wife, then the slightest hint of a GET does not exist. (The GET is completely worthless.) And even if the husband was paid to divorce his wife we don’t assume that this creates a true desire to divorce his wife.”

See Beis Shmuel there #13 who writes, “I have already stated that if Jews ruled that a man must divorce his wife in violation of the Torah law and if the gentiles ruled that a Jew must divorce his wife even if the Torah law requires the husband to divorce his wife, in both cases the rule is that the GET is invalid by standards of the Torah (entirely worthless.)”

Thus there is a major argument if a secular court rules that a husband must divorce his wife even if the Torah requires the husband to divorce his wife, the Shulchan Aruch rules that the GET is invalid only by rabbinical standards, but the Beis Shmuel rules that it is invalid by Torah standards.

Note that the Maharsham rules that “It is known that the house of Shmuel (the Beis Shmuel) is accepted is accepted and the halacha as he rules in every place.” (Teshuvas MaHarsham volume IV:siman 73)

As I mentioned earlier I learned under the greatest rabbis of Europe, Reb Aharon Kotler, Reb Moshe Feinstein, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashev and others zt”l. But today rabbis in general never saw these rabbis and in general do not know the basics of Shulchan Aruch with Gittin and family law. This has led many rabbis to make rulings with no fear that anybody other than me and my brother will contradict them.

As time went on the women pick up the spirit of the times to do what you want to make the Torah easier on women, and they do it. Now there are women who are doing terrible things to force their husbands to divorce them, turning the children against the father, and torturing the husband so that he must eventually give her a GET and suffer the things she wants him to suffer with.

The only advice I have is to imitate the women, to organize, and when organized, to find the funding to fight back and establish men as people who believe in the Torah and not the inventions of the modern rabbis and their female followers.

The Orach Chaim HaKodesh says that we find in the beginning of the Torah portion of Aikev in Devorim “and behold if you will harken to Me I will bless you.” The Orach Chaim HaKodesh wonders why the word AIKEV is used here. AIKEV is really a “heel” of the foot which has no place in the passage about obeying HaShem. He explains that everyone has a head and a foot meaning the head is the seat of thoughts and decisions and the feet take the person where he decides to go. Sometimes he knows in his mind that he may not speak loshon hora but his feet take him to sometimes speak loshon hora. Sometimes he knows that he should not be dishonest, but sometimes, his feet take him there. These are common sins, unfortunately, by many people, as Rambam says. But a few very righteous people are careful that their head and their feet go together, in the same direction.

Today, those who obey the Torah and not the rabble of men, women and rabbis who invent a new easier Torah, are beloved by HaShem, and He watches over them. The Gaon Rav Aharon Kotler came from Europe to America based upon the Goral HaGro that he should go to “Moses” or Reb Moshe Feinstein and rebuild America into a place of true Torah, unlike what is was in those days. He also knew that Reb Chaim Vollozhner probably in the name of the Gro said that America would be the final resting place before Moshiach comes to Israel. Reb Aharon was determined to make America worthy of that by creating Vollozhen in America, and he succeeded.

HaShem is watching us and He is watching the inventors who make mamzerim. Some of us will go to heaven and some of us will go somewhere else. The world is judged by HaShem who knows exactly what all of us is doing all of the time. It is time for us to realize this and not invent a new Torah.

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[1] One who swallows a poisonous reptile will not live but die, but if given a certain food will live long enough to arrange his will with his children. We see that he is not forced to live longer than that unlike the Rov in Israel who forced all living people to live with their incredible agony even if they had to be revived with electric shocks and return to their agony. In that case the children begged the Rov to allow their screaming father to die but he refused. That is wrong as the two gemoras I quoted say exactly as Reb Moshe taught that it is permitted to allow a suffering person with  hopeless pain to avoid prolonging his agony without actually killing him.

[2] Tono Divei Eliyohu beginning of book

[3] Ishuse Gerushin I:1

[4] Devorim 24:1

The Jews and the Nations

By Rabbi David E. Eidensohn

 

The gemora[1] teaches, “The reason that HaShem exiled the Jews among the nations is in order to increase converts to Judaism.” Meaning when gentiles see that Jews live with decency and piety and they realize what goes on elsewhere, many of them consider turning to the teachings of the Torah. This does not mean that many gentiles convert to become actual Jews, as this is generally discouraged as it is very hard for a gentile to keep the entire Torah. But conversion can mean that a gentile stops worshipping idols and becomes a Ben Noach, keeping a few basic laws which are relatively easy for a gentile to obey. From this some Noahides may decide to become full Jews. This is a serious move not always encouraged because if after many years the gentile reverts to stop obeying the Torah he is punished by heaven. So better for some gentiles to stay Noahides. But here and there some do convert to Judaism and many are very successful, such as Unkeluse who composed the Aramaic translation of the bible that all Jews study every week.

Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi taught that the Jews relate to mankind as the heart is to the body. The Jews have a role, to teach morality to the nations. This does not mean simply to teach the nations not to steal, but it also means much more. It means that when we live upon this earth and see great problems and difficulties, and people suffer, we must question ourselves if we have some responsibility, because the suffering is somehow related to our failing in our mission.[2]

Ultimately, such a challenge is only appropriate for the great saints, and the rest of us cannot always blame ourselves when other people have problems. Obviously, life is full of problems and the full fulfillment of the above is only obtained with the negation of all suffering before the End of Days. But yes, we are the heart of the world, and when the world undergoes pain, and the heavens cry, we, the heart of the nations, must increase morality and thus raise the world to happiness, in some degree according to our piety. Or phrased somewhat differently, before the End of Days, even great people may suffer and may not be able to prevent the general suffering so common in this world. But when we remember that we are the heart of creation in this world, and the heart can find the capacity to improve happiness, we must turn to prayer, and we must reveal to the Jews and the nations the great power of morality and HaShem’s love of us. Because when HaShem notes that Jews are working hard to teach everyone Jew and gentile to obey G‑d with a pure morality, surely some benefit will shine forth from heaven, each to his own level.

There are two basic levels of serving HaShem, as taught in the very beginning of the Book of Elijah the Prophet. These two levels are Torah and Derech Erets. Torah is what HaShem taught to the world through Moshe, and Derech Erets is a higher level, whereby people respect each other, especially family and Torah scholars. The idea that Derech Erets comes higher than the Torah is as we mentioned, clearly stated in the first page of the book of Elijah the Prophet. It is also mentioned in the gemora Yuma[3]. The First Temple was destroyed because Jews sinned with paganism, sexual sinning, and murder. The Second Temple was free of these sins, but was destroyed because despite learning Torah steadily, people had vain hatred for each other. Thus, worse is vain hatred than paganism, sexual immorality and murder. The First Temple was destroyed and HaShem promised the Jews to rebuild the First Temple in seventy years. But the Second Temple was destroyed and until today we have no idea when it will be rebuilt. Because the sin of vain hatred, a violation of Derech Erets, is worse than paganism, sexual sin and murder.

We find a similar thought at the end of the biblical book of Malachi, HaShem spoke and said, “Behold I will send to you Elijah the Prophet before the great and fearful day, and he will restore the hearts of fathers to sons and the hearts of son to their father, lest I come and destroy the world.” We don’t find such a threat elsewhere. But when Derech Erets is destroyed, the world cannot survive. The exception is when even a few Jews such as Elijah are completely faithful to G‑d and themselves maintain Derech Erets and obey the Torah. In our times great rabbis such as Rabbi Aharon Kotler and Yaacov Kaminetsky and their holy generation were such saints, and it was their  piety that sustained a world filled with great evil and the destruction of Derech Erets on a massive scale. HaShem looks at the few utterly pious people who maintain a proper Derech Erets and obey the Torah, and in their merit, he does not destroy the world.

Another important idea in all of this is that one terrible sin, such as murder, is not as terrible as many smaller sins, especially if the smaller sins are committed with great passion. Thus, the sin of spilling marital sin is the “worst sin” because it occur very frequently for those who engage in it regularly, and when done, it is done with a mighty passion.

Simply stated, Torah brings us to relate to HaShem. It has all of the rules a Jew had to follow to speak to HaShem in prayer and to obey Him. Higher than that is the level of one person to another, or Derech Erets. A violation of Torah HaShem can forgive, but a violation of Derech Erets is much worse. At the end of the Prophet Malachi HaShem threatens to destroy the world if Derech Erets is not improved. This threat was at the time of Elijah the Prophet, but it was never carried out, not then, and not for thousands of years since then. Why?

The Orach Chaim HaKodosh in the beginning of AIKEV tells us that people have two parts, the mind and its decision how to behave, and the feet that take a person to do what he wants to do. Most people are not perfect in only doing things that the rational mind decides they must do. One thing they may do is to insult other people and violate Derech Erets. If so, this is very serious. But if there are some people, like Eliyohu HaNovi, and tsaddikim like Reb Aharon Kotler, who accepted the full force of HaShem’s will and spread the belief in that to others, their minds and their feet are one, and HaShem protects them and the world.

When Reb Aharon came to America he resolved to turn America, which was completely removed from Torah, into the high Torah level of ancient Europe. To further his goals in this regard, he asked for a meeting with the senior rabbis from Europe who came to America and got good paying positions in fancy synagogues despite the fact that the majority of people in these synagogues were not Orthodox and did not keep Shabbos. The rabbis were told, “You will receive a very good salary for performing marriages and various other things. But if you ever complain about a Jew driving on Shabbos, you will be fired.” Also, nothing was done about providing children with Torah teachings, and even one major rabbi refused to consider making in his community a school for children. His children grew up removed from Torah, which is no wonder.

Rabbi Kotler spoke at length when it was his time to speak, and then he awaited the response of the senior rabbi. The senior rabbi responded, “Rabbi Kotler, we are in charge in America. You go back to Europe with your father-in-law Reb Isser Zalman Meltser.” That rabbi died on the spot. Told me by Rav Benny Eisenberg who most likely was the one who brought Reb Aharon to the meeting in the first place.

Yes, Reb Aharon’s feet and mind were one, and HaShem watched him carefully to see him succeed, which he did. Those who opposed him HaShem dealt with as well. Eventually, rabbis of synagogues were often advanced students of Rabbi Kotler.

Derech Erets for Jews and Gentiles

The Talmud teaches that the senior rabbi of the generation, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai, was always careful to greet everyone, Jew and gentile, when he walked down the street. This led everyone to respect him as well as those others who followed his example, as suggested by the rabbis.

The gemora[4] teaches that “one should always respond softly, and establish peace with his brethren and with his relatives and with all people, even a gentile in the marketplace, so that he will be loved from on high (Heaven) and beloved below (in this world), and so be accepted by everyone.”

The gemora continues there saying, “It was said regarding Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai, that nobody ever greeted him first, even a gentile in the marketplace.” Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai lived in the time of the destruction of the First Temple, something brought about by fanatic Jews who had no compunction with making war with the mighty Roman legions. The Roman legions finally defeated all who opposed them and were about to penetrate Jerusalem and destroy the Temple. Whoever opposed the Jewish fanatics in their hopeless struggles against Rome was threatened. But one of them was a relative of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai who knew that the rebellion against Rome would not succeed. He helped Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai to escape from Jerusalem and go to the camp of the Roman general.

Rabbi Yochanan was brought to this general and greeted him as “Your Majesty.” The general was shocked. He said that for that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai can be killed by the general who is only a general, not a king. But Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai told him that it was obvious that he was about to conquer Jerusalem, and that this power was only given by G‑d to the monarch of the attacking country. Just then somebody came to the general and announced that he had been selected to be the new king.

The new king then turned to Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai and told him that he was the first one to realize this, and he must be a very holy man to know it, so what does he want the new king to give him?

Rabbi Yochana ben Zackai realized that the new king would never permit the Jews to maintain their hold on the Temple, so he did not ask this. He asked rather several things he was sure the king would agree to. One was that the king allow a city in Israel to be used by rabbis to study the Torah, and the king agreed. He then asked for a doctor for a holy man who fasted many days to prevent the destruction of Jerusalem, and it was granted. From that moment on the Romans in general had a very high regard for the pious rabbis although they slaughtered the rebels. Eventually, a new Roman king had such great respect for the rabbis that he himself, secretly, began to practice Judaism. He once gave the leader of the rabbis a huge sum of money, explaining that he knew that the time would come when the Romans would demand a lot of money from Jews, and he wanted them to have that money, which actually came from him.

One of the greatest rabbis in the world years ago when I was younger was Rabbi Yaacov Kaminetsky. He was a man of understanding and wisdom, as well as piety and honesty. Near his house was a covenant for Catholic women. These were older women dressed in their special garments and their grounds were now surrounded by many blocks of deeply Orthodox Jews, mostly with beards and religious attire. Rabbi Kaminetsky, an old rabbi, would regularly greet these ladies pleasantly.

It so happened that our city had a powerful commissioner who hated Jews. Once a Jew came to him to get permission to build a building. He knew that this commissioner would give him a hard time. He was shocked when the commissioner greeted him warmly and quickly approved his requests. He was so shocked that the commissioner sensed his surprise and explained to him, that his close relative lived in that covenant, and that she and her friends who lived there always received the warmest greeting from Rabbi Yaacov Kaminetsky.

In the Second World War when the Germans began slaughtering Jews, a gentile postman began hiding Jews. If the Germans would realize this they would kill him. He explained that he once gave a Jewish customer a large sum of money by mistake. The Jew returned the money. When the postman realized how honest the Jew was he resolved to hide as much Jews as he could and so many survived the war.

But just as Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai turned even ferocious Roman soldiers into people who honored the rabbis, and just as the postmaster saved many Jews from the Germans, so were there other Jews who did not merit to turn Jews and gentiles into beloved friends, but perhaps the opposite. It all depends how a Jew greets the other Jews and the gentiles.

In recent times many Jews who are not religious have entered Hollywood and turned it into a festival of disgusting anti-Torah teachings. Thousands of people of all ages have been destroyed by these very popular filth productions. When people notice that many of these Hollywood filth producers are Jewish, they often hate Jews, who teach people to do the complete opposite of what the Torah commands. The Torah is very clear that people who promote sin and evil are enemies of G‑d and all Jews must oppose them.

Rabbi Yaacov Kaminetsky once told me that when we find some Jewish politician or similar personality who is spreading anti-Torah anti-morality ideas, and there is a politician who believes in morality but who hates Jews, we must back for and vote for the anti-Semite. We have a G‑d and we have a Torah and anyone who spreads filth and opposes G‑d and the Torah must be opposed and fought.

There is now a war in America between various sections of people. The ferocious hate involved in this by the fanatics  has produced suffering by very wealthy people that threatens constitutional law. But there are few people who oppose the wealthy fanatics, and the wealthy fanatics grow from strength to strength. Some of them control Hollywood and teach millions of Americans to live a life of sin and abomination against the Torah. Some of them back radical anti-biblical values such as gay rights or transgenderism, including operating on young children to change their sex from male to female or from female to male. Rabbis rise up in shull and announce to their congregants that they are homosexuals and they encourage everyone to follow their example. Some individuals who oppose them strongly are threatened with serious legal punishment and they are often confined to their homes and stripped of basic rights all Americans enjoy. Some say that we are approaching the time when we will have war in America where fanatic group battles fanatic group.

We must recall that not long ago Japan made war with Russia and defeated the Czar. The Japanese were thrilled with their success and made war with China, and finally, they bombed Hawaii and the American ships there, and precipitated WWII. Around that time Hitler rose to power in Germany and began murdering six million Jews. Japan and Germany adapted fanatic positions and made war and human slaughter unheard of in world history. Many trembled and try to satisfy them with this or that, but failed. The world was collapsing, and America rose up to defend the world and succeeded, but at what cost? And if we are today silent when the fanatics seek to take over our rights and families, what then will the fanatics do? If they succeed, what will happen to our community?  Do we all have to flee the country and let America turn into the pure filth of the Hollywood terrorists?

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[1] Bavli Pesochim 87b

[2] See Yonasan Rosenblum’s work Reb Yaacov from Artscroll page 183.

[3] Yuma 9b

[4] Babylonian Talmud Berochose 17A

the Jews and Their Enemies

The Jews and their Enemies

By Rabbi David E. Eidensohn

 

Jews as Enemies of Jews

Jews as Enemies of Jews, who are they? What Jew gains from being an enemy of other Jews? It is a good question, but the answer is that anytime that a Jew does something to antagonize others, Jewish or not, we have a problem. The Talmud teaches that the senior rabbi of the generation, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai, was always careful to greet everyone, Jew and gentile, when he walked down the street. This led to everyone respecting him, and also respecting other Jews who followed his example, as suggested by the rabbis.

The gemora[1] teaches that “one should always respond softly, and establish peace with his brethren and with his relatives and with all people, even a gentile in the marketplace, so that he will be loved from on high (Heaven) and beloved below (in this world), and so be accepted by everyone.”

The gemora continues there saying, “It was said regarding Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai, that nobody ever greeted him first, even a gentile in the marketplace.” Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai lived in the time of the destruction of the First Temple, something brought about by fanatic Jews who had no compunction with making war with the mighty Roman legions. The Roman legions finally defeated all who opposed them and were about to penetrate Jerusalem and destroy the Temple. Whoever opposed the Jewish fanatics in their hopeless struggles against Rome were threatened. But one of them was a relative of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai who knew that the rebellion against Rome would not succeed. He helped Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai to escape from Jerusalem and go to the camp of the Roman general.

Rabbi Yochanan was brought to this general and greeted him as Your Majesty. The general was shocked. He said that for that he can be killed by the king as he is only a general, not a king. But Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai told him that it was obvious that he was about to conquer Jerusalem, and that this power was only given by G‑d to the monarch of the attacking country. Just then somebody came to the general and announced that he had been selected to be the new king.

The new king then turned to Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai and told him that he was the first one to realize this, and he must be a very holy man to know it, so what does he want the new king to give him?

Rabbi Yochana ben Zackai realized that the new king would never permit the Jews to maintain their hold on the Temple, so he did not ask this. He asked rather several things he was sure the king would agree to. One was that the king allow a city in Israel to be used by rabbis to study the Torah, and the king agreed. He then asked for a doctor for a holy man who fasted many days to prevent the destruction of Jerusalem, and it was granted. From that moment on the Romans in general had a very high regard for the pious rabbis although they slaughtered the rebels. Eventually, there was a new Roman king had such great respect for the rabbis that he himself, secretly, began to practice Judaism. He once gave the leader of the rabbis a huge sum of money, explaining that he knew that the time would come when the Romans would demand a lot of money from Jews, and he wanted them to have that money, which actually came from him.

One of the greatest rabbis in the world years ago when I was younger was Rabbi Yaacov Kaminetsky. He was a man of understanding and wisdom, as well as piety and honesty. Near his house was a covenant for Catholic women. These were older women dressed in their special garments and their grounds were now surrounded by many blocks of deeply Orthodox Jews mostly with beards and religious attire. Rabbi Kaminetsky, an old rabbi, would regularly greet these ladies pleasantly.

It so happened that our city had a powerful commissioner who hated Jews. Once a Jew came to him to get permission to build a building. He knew that this commissioner would give him a hard time. He was shocked when the commissioner greeted him warmly and quickly approved his requests. He was so shocked that the commissioner sensed his surprise and explained to him, that his close relative lived in that covenant, and that she and her friends who lived there always received the warmest greeting from Rabbi Yaacov Kaminetsky.

In the Second World War when the Germans began slaughtering Jews, a gentile postman began hiding Jews. If the Germans would realize this they would kill him. He explained that he had once gave a Jewish customer a large sum of money by mistake. The Jew returned the money. When the postman realized how honest the Jew was he resolved to hide as much Jews as he could and so many survived the war.

But just as Rabbi Yochanan ben Zackai turned even ferocious Roman soldiers into people who honored the rabbis, and just as the postmaster saved many Jews from the Germans, so were there other Jews who did not merit to turn Jews and gentiles into beloved friends, but perhaps the opposite. It all depends how a Jew greets the other Jews and the gentiles.

In recent times many Jews who are not religious have entered Hollywood and turned it into a festival of disgusting anti-Torah teachings. Thousands of people of all ages have been destroyed by these very popular filth productions. When people notice that many of these Hollywood filth producers are Jewish, they often hate Jews, who teach people to do the complete opposite of what the Torah commands. The Torah is very clear that people who promote sin and evil are enemies of G‑d and all Jews must opposite them.

Rabbi Yaacov Kaminetsky once told me that when we find some Jewish politician or similar personality who is spreading anti-Torah anti-morality ideas, and there is a politician or similarity who believes in morality but who hates Jews, we must back for and vote for the anti-Semite. We have a G‑d and we have a Torah and anyone who spreads filth and opposes G‑d and the Torah must be fought and destroyed.There is now a movement in America to put any person who opposes anti-Torah propaganda either into jail or to fine him or punish him in other  ways. If they succeed, what will happen to our community?  Do we all have to flee the country and let America turn into the pure filth of the Hollywood terrorists?

---

[1] Babylonian Talmud Berochose 17A

Letter from the Gaon Rav Moshe Feinstein to oppose the N.Y.C. Gay Rights Bill Adar 5743

Translation: We hereby arouse opposition to the N.Y.C. Gay Rights Bill, that it is a holy obligation upon everyone to do whatever they can do to influence the members of the City Council to vote against the above bill. And to  the members of the City Council we turn to them and request them to be in the hall when the vote takes place and to vote against the bill as we mentioned.

Furthermore, we request from all who hear our request to come to City Hall every day of the hearings of the committee of the council beginning from the fourth day of Adar and to fill the hall and to sanctify the Name of HaShem by showing publicly to all people that the people of HaShem hates all that which is abhorred by HaShem. And the month that was changed from sadness to joy shall be changed also for us to joy.

The Agudas HoRabonim of the United States and Canada

Rav Moshe Feinstein President
Rav Tsvi Mayer Ginsberg - Menahel

The sin of forcing a husband to give his wife a GET from a secular court

David Eidensohn <eidensohnd@gmail.com>	7:37 PM (11 minutes ago)		Reply
to Yehoishophot

Aryeh Leib Yoffe writes, "Show me one source that forbids giving a get to a woman who went to civil court. Just one!"

The gemora in Gittin 88b says that rabbis outside of Israel don't have a proper Semicha and if a gentile forces a Jew to give a GET we have a gemora Rabbi Tarfone said any place you find gentiles forcing [a GET] even if they rule as the Torah rules you are not allowed to use them, as it is said, "Before them and not before gentiles." This means if you have a court of non-religious Jews who force a husband against his will to give his wife a GET it is a sin, a LAV, to use that court to force the wife to give a GET. This is clearly stated in Choshen Mishpot 26A: It is forbidden to adjudicate before gentile judges, in their courts, even if the court adjudicates exactly as the Torah commands. And even if both parties agree to go to the gentiles it is forbidden. And whoever comes to be judged by them is a wicked person ROSHO. And is one who curses and insults and raised his hand against the Torah of Moshe," The Ramo continues with hideous curses of that person. We have also in Shulchan Aruch Even Hoezer 77:2 that all commentators, the Vilna Gaon at great length and Beis Shmuel, etc. that it is forbidden to pressure a husband to give a GET in way way. The Vilna Gaon says that based upon the gemora in Kesubose 63b bottom Tosfose at length, it is forbidden to force a GET period. The Vilna Gaon says that today all agree about this, although there were once some who permitted forcing a GET such as Rambam and Rashbam. However, the Tosfose in Kesubose is proof that it is forbidden to force a husband to give a GET and all five authorities on the page there agree that it is forbidden.Thus a woman who forces her husband to give her a GET in any way, and surely in a secular court, has sinned and her GET is invalid, and is probably a problem for her children who may be mamzerim. See Rashbo volume VII:414 "We never force a GET to divorce his wife. If he wishes, he divorces her. And if he doesn't wish to do so, he doesn't divorce her." This pesak is accepted by all commentators in the above Shulchan Aruch Even Hoezer 77:2. This surely includes a woman who forces her husband in a gentile or secular court even with irreligious Jews or those not familiar properly with laws of Gittin who are not a proper and accepted Beth Din. I heard from my rebbe Reb Yosef Shalom Elyashev zt"l that any Beth Din that permits a woman to escape her husband with an invalid GET has lost its reputation as a proper Beth Din and he and other major rabbonim in Israel in the sefer Mishpotei Yisroel say that such a woman who received an invalid or forced GET must go to a different Beth Din, not the invalid Beth Din, and receive a proper GET that is not forced. There are rare cases, mentioned in Shulchan Aruch Even Hoezer, when a husband acts in such a terrible manner that Beth Din may decide to force him to give a GET. But that means a proper Beth Din of Jews, not a secular court. And it is rare.

Yehoishophot Oliver, I hope this helps!

Shalom,

Dovid Eidensohn

845-578-1917

Hebrew for Revealing the Schechina to the Jews in the Desert of Sinai

משה ואהרן וטורח להוריד השכינה

ממני דוד אליהו אידנסון

והנה בחומש ויקרא בפרשת אחרי מות שני בני אהרן בקרבתם לפני השם וימתו עכ"ל ובתרגום יונתן בן עוזיאל פסוק ב' שאמר שנדב ואביהו היו כהנים גדולים. וידוע שיונתן בן עוזיאל היה מגדולי המפרשים. וע' בפירוש יונתן שם למטה מן התרגום אריכות בזה שהיו כהנים גדולים.

ובספר ויקרא פרשת שמיני ט',כג-כד וז"ל ויבא משה ואהרן אל אהל מועד ויצאו ויברכו את העם וירא כבוד השם אל כל העם. ותצא אש מלפני השם ותאכל על המזבח כו' וירא כל העם וירנו ויפלו על פניהם עכ"ל ובתרגום אונקלוס מתרגם וירנו ששבחו להשם על זה.

והנה הפסוק אומר כולו שבח לאהרן אבל מצאנו בפרש"י ותרגום יונתן שלא היה פשוט כן. אדרבה אהרן טרח כל הטירחות של עבודת הכהן גדול ולא זכה לראות גילוי השכינה. אז נכנס אהרן אצל משה ואמר לו שיש לו בושה גדולה שהקב"ה כועס עליו עבור חטא העגל הזהב ולא ירד השכינה. ותיכף נכנס משה והתפלל על אהרן ואז ירד השכינה לכל העם. ובתרגום יונתן שמשה ואהרן נכנסו לבקש רחמים על ישראל שיזכו לגילוי השכינה. ואז התגלה השכינה לכל ישראל וכל העם נפלו על פניהם בשמחה שקיבלו תפלתם והתגלה השכינה לכל ישראל. וכן תרגם אונקלוס וירנו ושבחו שכלל ישראל ראו השכינה ונפלו ושבחו להשם על המראה הגדול וגילוי השכינה לכל ישראל.

והמעיין שם בתרגום יונתן ורש"י יראה שמשה הטריח עצמו הרבה זמן בהקמת המשכן ולא ירד השכינה והוא היה מצטער על זה שלא ירד השכינה וגם אהרן שהיה סובר שהוא גרם שלא ירד השכינה על ידי שעשה העגל הזהב והיה מתבייש על זה משמע ששניהם היו בכלל הקפידה שלא ירד השכינה לישראל אפילו שהקימו המשכן ועשו עבודות.

והנה צ"ע אם לא ירד השכינה מפני שהיה טענה על משה ואהרן או לא. ובאמת מצאנו שנדב ואביהו אמרו זה לזה מתי ימותו הזקנים הללו ואנחנו ננהיג את העם. ולכאורה הוא תמוה ביותר מי הוא זה ואיזה הוא שידבר כן על אביו אהרן כהן גדול ועל דודו ידיד השם משה רבינו שבכל ביתי נאמן הוא. והם ביקשו שימותו הוא פלא ממש. ורואים ושותקים.

ועדיין י"ל שאינו כל כך פשוט. שהיות שברש"י ובתרגום יונתן גדולי המפרשים ברור שכן השכינה הרבה זמן לא התגלה לישראל הגם שמשה ואהרן הטריחו עצמם הרבה לזה, ומשמע שמשה ואהרן הבינו שהקב"ה דוקא לא רוצה לגלות השכינה לישראל ומשמע ששניהם משה ואהרן היו ח"ו לא ראויים שעל ידיהם יתגלה השכינה לישראל. והפשטות יכול להיות שמשה ואהרן היו ראויים אלא שישראל לא היו כל כך צדיקים ואין החסרון במשה ידיד השם ואהרן כהן גדול. וכן מצאנו בשיר של יום חמישי בסידור ולא שמע עמי לקולי וישראל לא אבה לי ואשלחהו בשרירות לבם ילכו במועצותיהם  עכ"ל וכן מצאנו בישראל שעשו עבירות וכן המרגלים עשו עבירות והיו מ' שנה במדבר עבור דברים אלה. ואין להאשים ח"ו משה ואהרן.

ובכל זאת יכול להיות שנדב ואביהו כאשר ראו הטורח של משה ואהרן שלא הצליחו עם כל הטורח שעשו, חששו כפי שהבינו שמשה ואהרן חסרים ולא זוכים לגלות השכינה. ולא האשימו לישראל, אלא שגם משה ואהרן גרמו באיזה אופן ח"ו. והיות שהיה כל כך בושה לישראל קיבלו נדב ואביהו על עצמם להוריד אש שלא צוה להם שהיו סוברים שהם כהנים גדולים אלא שהיו סוברים שהם גדולים ממשה ואהרן והיו סוברים שמשה ואהרן לא היו ראויים להוריד השכינה לכל ישראל רק שהם ראויים לזה, שלכן ביקשו לסלק משה ואהרן והם יהיו המנהיגים ורואים ושותקים.

(והארכנו קצת ממיתת בני אהרן  נדב ואביהו בספר ויקרא בפרשת שמיני י',א' וגם בפרשת אחרי טז',א'.)

Parshas Kedushomim in Hebrew

פרשת קדושים ויקרא כט'א' – דרך ארץ קדמה לתורה

ממני דוד אליהו אידנסון

הפרשה של קדושים תהיו מתחיל דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אליה קדשים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה' אלקיכם. פרש"י יט' פסוק ב' דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל- מלמד שנאמרה פרשה זו בהקהל מפני שרוב גופי תורה תלויין בה. קדושים תהיו – הוו פרושים מן העריות ומן העבירה שכל מקום שאתה מוצא גדר ערוה אתה מוצא קדושה כו'. ע"כ

ורש"י מפרש שהחשיבות של קדושים הוא שרוב גופי התורה תלויין בה. ואחרי כן רש"י מפרש שכל מקום שאתה מוצא גדר ערוה אתה מוצא קדושה ע"כ ולכאורה וכי גדר ערוה הוא כללות התורה שרש"י לעיל אומר שקדושים רוב גופי התורה תלויין בה וכי ערוה הוא רוב גופי התורה? וצ"ל שכל שיש גדר ערוה גורם לקדושה, וקדושה הוא עיקר התורה. שכן לשון הפסוק דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם קדשים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה' אלקיכם. משמע שזה הוא עיקר התורה. שהכל תלוי בקדושה. וקדושה ענינו שמירה מערוה כו'.

והנה הפסוק הב' בקדושים הוא דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם קדשים תהיו כי קדוש אני השם אלקיכם ע"כ ומלשון הזה משמע שצריכים לדבר לכל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם קדשים תהיו ואם הקב"ה מציאותו הוא קדושה ודאי שיודעים שהכל תלוי בקדושה ובאחרת אין זו ח"ו אני השם אלקיכם. והנה קדשים תהיו אין בו ו'ו ואילו כי קדוש יש לו וו'. והכונה שלהגיד לכל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם קדשים תהיו אפשר למעט הו' ולומר שלא שייך לכל כלל ישראל להיות קדושים כל כך. אבל כי קדוש אני השם אלקיכם זהו קדושת השם ממש וצריכים להקפיד על שלימות הקדושה כי קדוש אני השם אלקיכם. שכל השייכות לקדושה הוא ממה שמבינים שהכל בא מן הקב"ה ועיקר הגילוי של רצונו הוא קדושה.

איש אמו ואביו תיראו ואת שבתתי תשמרו. הנה השבת הוא עיקר הקדושה. אבל מקדים איש אמו ואביו תיראו קודם לואת שבתתי תשמרו.  וי"ל שבתנא דבי אליהו ראשית הספר יש הכלל שיש תורה ויש דרך ארץ. ושעיקר התורה הוא הדרך ארץ ולא התורה. וא"כ מבינים למה מקדימים איש אמו ואביו תיראו לואת שבתותי תשמרו. שהשבת הוא תורה ויראת האם הוא דרך ארץ. ודרך ארץ קדמה לתורה.

ומצאנו בסוף ספר מלאכי הנה אנכי שולח לכם את אליהו הנביא לפני בא יום השם הגדול והנורא והשיב לה אבות אל הבנים ולב בנים אל אבותם פן אבוא ואחריב כל הארץ חרמה. הרי שבעון של תורה לא מצאנו לשונות כאלה להחריב כל העולם עבור איזה חטא, אבל בביזיונות של ההורים שהוא דרך ארץ הקדמה לתורה, אם לא עושים יש חשש של חרבן העולם.

       ובכל זאת הקושיא גדולה שאם הנביא מלאכי בא ואומר שאין דרך ארץ ומביא בשם אליהו הנביא שקרוב שהעולם יתבטל למה לא היה ח"ו חרבן העולם? אלא שיש מן האורח חיים הקדוש בפרשת עקב שיש בחינה של צדיק שהעקב של הרגלים שלו והראש שלו לא הוי ב' דברים אלא שלימות אחד. ומי שהוא במדה זו קרוב מאוד להשם ואפילו כל הרוחות שבעולם לא מזיזים הצדיק מאהבת השם גמור שהשם שומרו בתכלית. אבל שאר אנשים שאינם כל כך שלימים אין להם השמירה מהשם כל כך.

ושמעתי מן הגאון הצדיק רבי דוב איזענבערג תלמידו של רבי אהרן קטלר ומוסמך שלו שפעם הלך רבי אהרן קטלר לאסיפה של רבנים מפורסמים. והיה ברצונו של רבי אהרן לעשות בארצות הברית הדרך של תורה כמו שהיה ביוארף. והרב הראשי ששמע דבריו אמר לו "הרב קטלר! אנו הרבנים פה המנהיגים בארצות הברית ועליך ללכך לארץ ישראל אצל חתונך רבי איסר זלמן! ולא היה שום מענה בפה רבי אהרן שאיך יאמר לבטל דברי הרב? ואמר לי רבי איזענבערג (שהפשטות שהוא היה שם עם רבי אהרן ) שאותו הרב מת מיד. שהקב"ה שומר חסידיו שהרגלים שלהם והראש שלהם הוא אותו הדבר שהכל בשלימות עבודת השם. לאיש הזה הקב"ה שומרו מכל רע. והשם הרג אותו הרב.