Hatzolah Of Far Rockaway Part 2

UPDATE: [Hat tip: Orthomom] Well it seems that the Five Towns Jewish Times has thought over the fact that it published a total disgrace of an ad last week by Hatzolah of Far Rockaway bashing a local prominent Rov. They "claimed" that this Rov (whom they hate with 'Sinas Maves') told people not to call Hatzolah on Shabbos...that the Members are not Yeri Shomayim...etc... They reacted quickly and place two full page ads in the paper cursing out this Rov and defending themselves. It turned out that it was all taken WAY out of context, and seems like they used this oppurtunity to retaliate against an old time enemy. SHAME ON THEM! In any event, the editor had this to say in this weeks paper: (Click to enlarge it)

In addition to the Editors letter, Hatzolah of Far Rockaway placed this ad in the paper as well:

There also was another related incident: As Orthomom Blog reported: Apparently, a well-known and well-respected community leader was included on the letterhead of the Hatzalah ad, without his express permission. Not only did he not approve the ad, he was extremely upset at being mentioned in the ad, and publicly said as much at a community event this week. All fine.However, he then apparently sent out an e-mail, urging people to boycott the Five Towns Jewish Times, as the editor of the paper contributed to the "bizayon" of a Rabbi in our community. He has since retracted and called off his boycott of the paper.

Remember what I wrote on the last Hatzolah Post? Here is a quote from it: I would also like to know if the Hatzolah Coordinators consulted with "their" Bais Din about the two page ad that was published in the newspaper. Did they proof read it? Did they write it? Did they authorize the $3,000+ that the newspaper charges for an ad that size? Well I guess the answer is that NOONE authorized it. My guess is, that the people running Hatzolah of Far Rockaway are a bunch of "hot headed" immature people (just check the spelling mystakes on their original ad!!!) who jumped at the oppurtunity to attack this rov whom the hate so much. I hope that they go beg Mechillah from him.

Staten Island Chometz Drive

Silive: Got chometz? Then City Harvest has the answer for you. The non-profit food rescue organization, in conjunction with the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, will be collecting the non-kosher for Passover products through April 11 -- right in time for Passover, which begins the next evening. The items will then be distributed to food pantries throughout the city, including those on Staten Island, for the non-Jewish community. "The opening words of the Haggadah, the book used to conduct the Passover Seder, says 'all who are hungry, let them come and eat,'" said Rabbi Mayer Mayerfeld, manager of the Kosher Initiative at City Harvest. "The essence of Passover is freedom and part of freedom is being concerned about your fellow man...He also said that bakeries are donating items, such as cakes and cookies, that cannot be sold during the holiday. City Harvest is also running a Kosher for Passover food drive, which began during Purim. Rabbi Mayerfeld said those still interested in donating can arrange to have the items picked up early next week. To arrange a pick-up for either Passover or chometz items call City Harvest at 917-351-8700 or 917-351-8731. You can also visit the Web site at www.cityharvest.org . Last year, the agency distributed 227,000 pounds of food to 35 kosher agencies. This year, officials hope to exceed that amount. America's Second Harvest, a nation-wide network of food banks, is also assisting with the collection, providing trailers full of food.

Yated letter to Editor

This was a letter to the Editor in this weeks Yated! Dear Editor,I am writing to all mommies in the name of our children. Amidst all your Pesach cleaning, please don't forget to feed the kids. Pesach is really only eight days. Please don't withhold chometz from them for two weeks before Pesach, A Caring Mother.

Lakewood's Fire Dept warning!

In response to a fire in Lakewood yesterday, the Lakewood Fire Department had this message to relay: APP: .....after firefighters doused the flames that belched from the home's second floor Thursday morning, they routinely sought out the staircase to do mop up and salvage upstairs. They found an obstacle. Fire Chief John Stillwell said the staircase was blocked off with a closet, leaving a wooden staircase behind the house at 210 Central Ave. as the only way in-to — or out of — the second floor. Now, safety questions loom as inspectors try to determine if the house was illegally converted to a two-family home. The fire chief thinks it was — and believes the fire is an example of the rampant overcrowding found in Lakewood...We're finding them more and more in the community," Stillwell said. "It's a very dangerous pattern." Stillwell's fear is that a fire in an overcrowded home will one day kill someone, especially if firefighters battling a blaze assume a house is home to just one family, but instead find more than a dozen people living there. Thursday was one of those cases. The fire was reported at 7:30 a.m. When firefighters arrived, flames and smoke were pouring out from the second floor, Stillwell said. No one was home on the second floor. Stillwell later found out a neighbor ran over to the first floor of the home, frantically banging on the door to alert residents. Stillwell said he counted at least six residents of the first floor. When firefighters finally got upstairs, they discovered seven beds, Stillwell said. "The only entrance and exit to that upstairs apartment was an outside wooden staircase, and that's where seven beds were located?" Stillwell asked incredulously. "That's very dangerous." The home, three blocks from Route 9 and one block south of Lake Carasaljo, is listed on Lakewood property records as a single-family house. But Ocean County's on-line tax records system also lists the home's use as multifamily. After the fire, Lakewood building inspector Michael Saccamanno issued the home's owner, Harold Frankel, a violation for converting a single-family home into a two-family house without permits....Lakewood's code enforcement director, said his office will further review whether the home is certified for multiple families. Mack added that overcrowded houses are a problem in Lakewood. Stillwell issued a warning to the people who live in the homes. "I want them to know that it is unsafe and life-threatening to them and their families," Stillwell added. "These (are) single-family houses being converted into illegal multitenant homes without the proper permits and life-saving thoughts behind the way these conversions are being done."

New Chaplain Director

TST: Instead of retirement, Rabbi Harold Robinson of B'nai Zion Congregation will receive a national appointment as director of the Jewish Chaplains Council.He had already planned to retire from his post at the Shreveport congregation in June, but the Chaplains Council, which is under the Jewish Community Center Association, saw Robinson as the perfect choice to lead the organization."He's uniquely qualified," said Alan Mann, executive vice presdient of the JCC Association. "Given his high level of military experience, his years as a pulpit rabbi and years as a chaplain and his openness to all denominations of Judaism, we think he's going to do a spectacular job."The rabbi, also a rear admiral, serves as the Navy's deputy chief of chaplains for reserve matters and as director of religious ministry in the Marine Corps Reserve.Robinson had worked with the association some during his chaplain duties and even helped write the job description for the position."Things have gotten so intense for the folks in the armed forces in the last four years we in the Jewish community have wanted to significantly increase our support for all military and especially for our folks," he said.The new position will include supporting and training the 90 Jewish military chaplains and leaders of the 100 Jewish communities at installations without a chaplain. He will also be the liaison between chaplains and the Department of Defense on Jewish affairs.Robinson would like to provide more cultural activities for soldiers, such as concerts and to help connect families with local Jewish communities.......

London Yeshiva having issues

Sounds like Chofetz Chaim in Monsey / Rampo! HH: A London Jewish school is fighting back against Barnet Council's attempts to close it down.Beis Medrash Elyon took over a residential building on Golders Green Road in 2004 and began operating as a school, despite not having planning permission.The council served it with an enforcement notice demanding it close down in April last year but the school for 40 boys is now challenging the decision via a public enquiry.A council spokesman said: "We rejected the application as losing homes goes against the Mayor's London plan and our own policies. We also don't believe that all alternatives were considered before the school was opened at that site. "Thirdly, residents have expressed concerns about extra noise and disturbance at the site."Residents are worried at the number of buildings being converted for non-residential use. Last week plans to turn the building next door to the school into a rabbinical college were approved by councillors, even though officers recommended the application be refused.They said it did not "justify the loss of a usable residential unit" but councillors agreed the college could operate until 7pm after being reassured by the rabbi in charge, David Herz, that little disturbance would be caused.He said: "We will not have more than 15 students and it will be for rabbinical training, students learning to serve the Jewish community."If you are looking for something which will leave people in peace, this is the first on your list."But neighbour Florence Suskin, who has lived on the road for 40 years and complained against both the school and the college, branded the decision "disgusting".She said: "There is screaming and shouting and we don't use the front of our house because of the high school."There are bikes on the pavement and 40 footballs mysteriously disappeared from our garden."Rabbi Lebovich, from the school, said: "Most of the boys live in walking distance from the school so there were more neighbours who like the school than those neighbours who objected."On the road there's now two synagogues, another school, a garage and a Kwik Fit. There are only a couple of houses now.....

Kosher Cell Phones to the USA?

TheStar: It sounds like the setup for a punch line: What do you get when you cross an ultra-Orthodox rabbi with a mobile phone? But the "kosher phone'' is real and its developers are serious about looking beyond the religious enclaves of Israel. Some Arab companies even have inquired about the phone's main feature: keeping out sex lines and other worldly temptations. "There's interest out there in a conservative phone,'' said Abrasha Burstyn, the chief executive officer at Mirs Communications Ltd., an Israeli subsidiary of Motorola Inc. and pioneer of the kosher mobile that debuted last year. The phones - carrying the seal of approval from Israel's rabbinical authorities - have been one of the most successful mergers of technology and centuries-old tradition in the ultra-Orthodox community, which is most widely recognized by the men's black garb based on the dress of 19th century European Jews. The kosher phone is stripped down to its original function: making and receiving calls. There's no text messaging, no Internet access, no video options, no camera. More than 10,000 numbers for phone sex, dating services and other offerings are blocked.....Talks are under way to introduce a kosher phone to Jewish communities in the United States and other nations possibly later this year....The kosher phone was ready last March, backed by an unusual sales force: 80 men and 10 women from Israel's ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods who went through a crash course in cell phones and door-to-door pitches. The classes were arranged to accommodate synagogue prayer schedules and Torah studies. "These people were figures in their community. They weren't nobodies. They started spreading the word in synagogues and wedding halls,'' said Matanel Shalom, chief of marketing at Sales & Direct Marketing Ltd., a Tel Aviv-based company hired to market the kosher phone. By summer, more than 20,000 kosher phones were sold. But it was just a foothold in an estimated market of at least 180,000 cell phone users among Israel's nearly 1 million ultra-Orthodox. Two of Israel's other three cell phone players have developed their own kosher phones. The options now come in a range of styles and colors - from staid black to enamel red. "If you think about it, the (ultra-Orthodox) religious community is not going to movies and other things. These days, the kind of phone you carry is part of who you are,'' said Shalom. "Some rabbis didn't like it, but that's the reality.''

Israeli invention!

CLICK HERE to watch a video of Israel's newest invention!! Enjoy!!

Har Hazeysim - renovations

Dei'ahVedibur: The Jerusalem Municipality, in cooperation with the Prime Minister's Office, is set to launch Mayor Rabbi Uri Lupoliansky's revolutionary plan to renovate and develop the Mount of Olives cemetery. The NIS 100-million project, to be carried out by the Jerusalem Municipality through the Jerusalem Development Authority, calls for the renovation of tens of thousands of gravesites, upgrading security, the construction of a stone wall around the entire cemetery, road construction, cleanup and maintenance and the construction of a large information center... Many gravestones and gravesites were desecrated during Jordanian rule, including incidents in which the local Arab population carted off gravestones for use in construction. Roads laid by the Jordanians also led to the destruction of numerous gravesites.Development work on the cemetery itself will include support walls the length of the mountain slope to prevent erosion, which poses a threat primarily in the area of the Sephardic sections. Lighting will be installed and a road will be built to provide access to all of the graves. To prevent further damage to the cemetery, the Mayor has issued instructions to introduce new security arrangements using various technologies to provide round-the-clock security, including cameras installed at Nachal Kidron, Nachal Yehoshafat and the entire tourist area, transmitting images to a control center, which will operate in conjunction with the police. The information center to be built at the entrance will include halls for tefilloh and gatherings, and the Jerusalem Municipality, in cooperation with the various burial societies operating at the cemetery, is compiling a database with information on all the graves. Once the grave mapping is complete, a process expected to cost hundreds of thousands of shekels, staff members will be on hand to direct visitors using the maps. The visitor center will also provide extensive material and written information about gedolei Torah buried at the Mount of Olives......

Kol Chamira....

Dei'ahVedibur: With the blessings of Maran HaRav Eliashiv shlita this year a mechiras chometz will be conducted for business owners and neighborhood residents by the Association of Neighborhood Rabbis of Jerusalem. The sale will be carried out by HaRav Binyomin Adler, who was in charge of the sale at the Jerusalem Rabbinate for many years under HaRav Y. Kulitz zt"l, as well as by HaRav Y. Efrati, HaRav A. Schlesinger, HaRav D. Yosef and other prominent rabbonim. Recently, representatives of Jerusalem's neighborhood rabbonim met for a special gathering during which it was decided to hold an independent mechiras chometz for the city's business owners and residents, based on the blessings and encouragement of HaRav Eliashiv. Shortly before the decision was reached, one of the rabbonim employed by the Jerusalem Religious Council (Moatza Datit) paid a visit to Maran and was told that it is prohibited for him to cooperate with the mechiras chometz carried out by the Religious Council. HaRav Eliashiv holds that the Religious Council is intended as an administrative tool to serve the rabbonim in their work. Because the Jerusalem Religious Council acts against the opinion of the rabbonim, from a halachic standpoint its activities are posul. When Agudas Yisroel of America held a Yarchei Kallah at a Jerusalem hotel, he instructed them to hire private mashgichim. Likewise he has now rejected the Jerusalem Rabbinate's mechiras chometz under the current conditions.

Chofetz Chaim passes inspection

UPDATE: (This was yesterday's post) TJN: The town's inspection of a trailer used for a preschool program at a yeshiva construction site yielded a few concerns, but no imminent sign of danger. Three Building Department inspectors visited the Grandview Avenue site, where Mosdos Chofetz Chaim is building a school and apartments for adult students and their children. The developer has been cited by the town for using the trailer without a site plan and certificate of occupancy. Those charges are pending a review by the Zoning Board of Appeals in May. Ramapo's inspection Monday was done to ensure compliance with state building and fire codes, as requested by the Town Board last week. "There are still a number of things we are looking into," Town Attorney Michael Klein said, "but there does not appear that there is any significant safety concerns." Among the findings of the town's inspection were improper interior door locks, a cap placed over electrical work on the ceiling and a septic connection needing approval from the county's Department of Health. Klein said an electronic alarm connection between the trailer and the county's emergency dispatching unit — required by state law — had been approved and received a final inspection by Town Fire Inspector Thomas Buckley. In a letter to Klein yesterday, Rabbi Aryeh Zaks said the electrical cap, referred to in the inspection, was for a connection no longer in use and that it was covered at the town's recommendation. The interior door locks, Zaks said, did not have to be removed because the locks did not function and were merely decorations. Zaks also said he believed no approval of the temporary septic connection was required. He requested that a copy of the code requirement be provided for his review. "I wish to clarify these are mobile classrooms and not permanent structures," Zaks wrote. "The matter of temporary wheeled mobile classrooms having the same zoning and building requirements as a permanent structure is now before the Zoning Board of Appeals, and the list compiled by the Building Department conveniently forgets this important fact." Zaks said he was "appalled" that the town inspectors asked to see a state license for preschools. Zaks told Klein that religious educational facilities do not require any state licensing. The town's inspection comes in the midst of a state investigation on whether the preschool program is operating without a child-care license or registration, required by state law. Brian Marchetti, a spokesman for the state's Office of Children and Family Services, said yesterday that the agency was still reviewing information from a site visit by inspectors last week.

Creep of the week

Some website has called Rabbi Batzri "The Creep of The Week": Wow, is there anything horrible that gays are not responsible for?When it comes to religious extremists, the answer is apparently not.We have been blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, Liza Minnelli's divorce and now, of all things, bird flu.Soon we'll be blamed for global warming and poverty. At least, as soon as right-wing religious extremists consider those things problems.In the meantime, it's bird flu, which is God's punishment for gay marriage according to Rabbi David Basri, a prominent Kabbalah leader (yes, that's the religion of Madonna and Britney Spears - at least back when Spears was trying to emulate the elder pop star. Now, instead of seeking to become the next Queen of Pop, she seems to be aspiring to something more along the lines of McClean County Fair Queen)."The Bible says that God punishes depravity first through plagues against animals and then in people," Basri declared in a religious edict according to Reuters.....

Israeli government forbidden...

ArutzSheva: Former Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu told a conference of rabbis in Jerusalem’s Binyanei HaUma Convention Center that it is forbidden to enter into a coalition government that advocates additional surrender of land to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority (PA).The forum was an urgent meeting of rabbinical and other leaders, addressing concerns of the new incoming Kadima-led government supporting additional expulsions of Jews from their homes in Judea and Samaria...... The Bostoner Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz on Thursday morning called on hareidi-religious MKs to hold off entering into coalition negotiations until such time as the Council of Torah Sages convenes to discuss the pertinent issues. The Rebbe explained that prior to the council discussing the issues that must be addressed, entering into negotiations could result in past mistakes being repeated while efforts are underway to establish a new government...

Lakewood - Chateau Grand UPDATE

APP: The Planning Board will hear an application to demolish the Chateau Grand -- again.Planners earlier this month ruled that the Board of Adjustment should hear the plan, but the Planning Board attorney has now said the board should give the developer a chance to plead its case first.The new hearing date is April 4.Kevin Kielt, Lakewood's planning and engineering administrator, said the board's attorney and the developer's attorney agreed the planning board should hear the full proposal before deciding how to handle it.At its last meeting, the board debated only whether the proposal -- 66 town houses and a community center -- was too close to Route 9. The board never got into technical issues about the proposal.

Jews not welcome

Jews are not welcome in Rooservelt NJ, according to former Mayor. Examiner: Former Mayor Neil Marko, who voters recently ousted in a recall election, said, "Everyone in Roosevelt knows what a nice place it is to live except for the Orthodox Jews that, as Ralph Seligman puts it, are considered a threat to our communality by a bunch of old-timers." An article that appears in the April edition of NJ Monthly about Roosevelt quotes Seligman as saying the recall "vote against the mayor was the expression of that communality. This business against the mayor was led by secular Jews-old-timers. We have coexisted and we have welcomed everybody." The article also states that Seligman said the recall election came about because of the mayor's plan to run a private Orthodox Jewish High School at the local synagogue, Roosevelt's only house of worship. With regard to the article, Marko said, "This is just a nice spin on plain old intolerance and bigotry. If the editors of NJ Monthly had looked past their advertisers' dollars, they would have seen that." According to NJ Monthly, Roosevelt has 931 residents with a 0.2 percent decrease in population from 2000 to 2004.

Shul in Russa - Vandalized

FJC: LIPETSK, Russia – The building of the Jewish Community Center, which was intended to host the first Synagogue in the entire Lipetsk Region, was vandalized yesterday. According to Rabbi Shaul Adam, a Chabad Lubavitch emissary, who has served as the city’s Chief Rabbi since last autumn, vandals drew a Fascist swastika on the property with permanent paint. Located near to the building’s main entrance on the brick fence surrounding the building, this horrific symbol is visible to all passers-by and a particular eyesore for local Jews and others who suffered at the hands of the Nazis during World War Two. “We believe this to be a problem for not only the Jewish Community, but for all residents of Lipetsk,” expressed Rabbi Adam. “We are hopeful that the hooligans who outraged the Jewish Community Center will be detained and brought to justice.”

MBD - Caught 'red handed'

On 3/19/06 I posted a link to a VIDEO CLIP of MBD reminding everyone that copying music is stealing. Kindly CLICK HERE to view a video that was made by a pretty creative person who obviously has some strong feeling against MBD's 'use' of the song Yidden! ENJOY!!

Israel - Rabbinical protest

Jpost: Former chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz, the Bostoner Rebbe - a member of Agudat Yisrael's Council of Torah Sages - and Nobel Prize laureate Israel Aumann, will join the Rabbinical Congress for Peace in the Jerusalem Convention Center Thursday to voice their opposition to any territorial compromises. The Rabbinic Conference, known as Pikuach Nefesh, is made up of hundreds of rabbis who see any territorial compromise as a direct threat to Jewish lives.....

Lakewood - job funding UPDATE

APP: The state has still not told township leaders whether nearly $600,000 in job placement funding will be reinstated.Russell K. Corby, executive director of Lakewood Development Corp., said this week he has not heard from the state on when the funding might be released.The freeze has been in place since last month, after a state audit discovered questionable practices in Lakewood's Job Link Program.Corby also complained that freezing Lakewood's program money before the township has been given a written audit to respond to is unfair."It's our position the state has acted rashly,'' Corby said.A state commerce department spokesman could not immediately be reached, but has said a copy of the audit should be ready this week........

Jack Abramoff gets prison

Remember this guy? CNN: Jack Abramoff, the disgraced lobbyist at the center of a Washington corruption scandal, was sentenced Wednesday to nearly six years in prison Wednesday for fraud in the purchase of a Florida casino cruise line. U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck sentenced Abramoff and a former business partner to five years and 10 months in prison and ordered them to pay restitution of more than $21 million.The sentences were the minimum under their plea agreement in the case.....

Monsey Yeshiva inspection results

TJN: The results of Ramapo's inspection of a preschool program at a trailer on a yeshiva construction site will be released today. Town Attorney Michael Klein said he wanted to first make the Town Board aware of the findings. He said there did not appear to be any significant safety issues at the Grandview Avenue site being prepared for construction of a yeshiva with housing. Klein said he spoke to an attorney representing the state Office of Children and Family Services, which is also investigating. "We indicated that we would share information and cooperate with each other," he said........

R' Ovadia Yosef has a TV?!!

And all along I thought a TV was assur...... Haaretz: Shas chair Eli Yishai watched the televised exit polls at the home of the party's spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Afterward he went to the Knesset Tower Hotel, where the candidates and hundreds of activists awaited him. Throughout the day yesterday, Shas campaign headquarters was a mixture of tension and optimism. Voting reports and the noontime showers contributed to a sense of confidence, along with data indicating strong response to field activity and outreach attempts. Even before 8 A.M., minutes after Rabbi Ovadia arrived at the polling station, campaign headquarters e-mailed a photo of him there to tens of thousands of addressees. A caption urged devotees not to tarry in performing this mitzva..............

Shas trouble

Jpost: Shas MK Shlomo Benizri and Rabbi Reuven Elbaz were indicted on Wednesday morning at the Jerusalem District Court on charges of taking and mediating bribes, fraud, and breach of trust. The indictment charged Benizri with enabling foreign worker contractor Moshe Sela to import foreign workers into Israel in exchange for bribes and other benefits. According to the indictment, Benizri leaked information to the contractor regarding foreign worker quotas determined by the Ministry of Labor and Welfare, at the time when the MK served as its minister. In return, Sela allegedly provided Benizri with financial support, including a sum as high as $200,000. He was also charged with buying the former minister furniture valued at NIS 7,000, and paying NIS 28,000 for Benizri's defense attorney in a slander lawsuit. The indictment lists several other perks that Sela allegedly provided or paid for. Benizri was also charged with improper political appointments of Sela's associates into positions under the MKs jurisdiction as minister. The Shas MK vehemently denied the charges and accused the State Attorney's Office of conducting a war against him using mafia methods. He announced that he did not intend to resign from the Knesset. He added that he was not informed of the indictment, and that he found out about it from the media. Just last week, another Shas MK, Yair Peretz, was convicted of falsifying academic documents for his BA.......

Monsey residents vs Mayor

TJN: Residents will gather at a village home tonight to discuss ways to push Mayor John Layne to resign. Layne, who lost his majority on the village board a year ago, has been seen by some residents as exacting revenge by filibustering resolutions he's opposed, and delaying action on measures approved by the new majority. "I think he's angry that he's lost his majority," said Bonnie Caul, who's hosting a meeting at 7:30 p.m. at her 5 Alpha Lane home. "I think he's trying to take revenge," she said. Another organizer of the meeting, Maureen Schwarz, chairwoman of the Open Space Committee, felt Layne was doing more harm than good. "I don't think he has the best interests of the village at heart," Schwarz said, "and I hope we can convince him it would be better for him to resign and not bring the whole village down.....Caul and Schwarz said they were upset about comments that the mayor has made, notably one at the March 20 village board meeting. Layne said if the board decided to sell the two single-family houses on the Valentine property, they might not be happy with the buyers. "That was a sarcasm," Layne said. "Every now and then in government, you have a little sarcasm." He said the majority trustees rushed to buy the Valentine House only after learning that Orthodox Jews were interested in the property. "The broker told us she had other offers," Meyers said, "and she never disclosed who the other offers were from." He said he and Kay were practicing Jews. Schwarz said Layne's comment at the meeting was dangerous in a village that's been scrutinized by the U.S. Department of Justice. Airmont has been the subject of court criticism for not permitting home-based houses of worship, and is being sued by the Justice Department over a lack of zoning for adult student housing tied to religious schools. The village is contesting a federal court settlement over a yeshiva and housing on Hillside Avenue.

And the winner is:

Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima Party emerged as the winner in the 2006 election on Tuesday, taking 29-32 seats in the 17th Knesset, according to the three major television exit polls, Midgam company for Israel Television's Channel 1, Dahaf Institute for Channel 2 and Professor Camille Fuchs for Channel 10..............

Chofetz Chaim - vs Municipality

TJN: Monsey - The developer of a yeshiva with adult student housing on Grandview Avenue has complained that the municipal fees were too high. Rabbi Aryeh Zaks, representing Mosdos Chofetz Chaim, wants the Zoning Board of Appeals to review a more than $20,000 increase in the fees. "I hereby request a review of an arbitrary capricious subjective uninformed illegal outrageous and improper action taken by the currently suspended building inspector or one of his subordinates," Zaks wrote in a March 6 letter to the zoning board. A building permit application dated Dec. 15, 2005, showed that Mosdos Chofetz Chaim estimated the cost of its construction at $6 million, for which the town levied a fee of $54,046. Such fees, based on a project's size, pay for inspections during construction............

Yeshiva boys fight the cops!

Does anyone know which Yeshiva these "students" were from? It would be a nice story. Jpost: Several dozen yeshiva students pelted police with stones iron rods Tuesday night from their yeshiva in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood, police said. There were no injuries immediately reported in the altercation. Police said that the rabbi of the yeshiva said that the attackers would be taken out of the yeshiva.

And the race is on......

Which moron is better? In my opinion, each one is worse then the next. The Central Elections Committee reported that 21.7% of the electorate had voted by noon - compared with over 24% at the same time during the last election, when turnout was the lowest it ever was..........

Hatzolah of Far Rockaway

Things sure seem to be heating up in Far Rockaway the past week or so. Apparently, a prominent Rov got up in his Shul on Shabbos and advised his Kehillah that they should think twice before calling Hatzolah on Shabbos. He then gave an example of a "cut finger" on Shabbos which should be shown to a doctor before calling Hatzolah; and naturally if it's a serious situation such as chest pains, not to hesitate but call Hatzolah immediately!..... The local Hatzolah Coordinators who (from what I hear) have a long standing feud with this Rov, took out two full page ads in the local newspaper (5 Towns Jewish Times) and for all practical purposes BLASTED this Rov. These are excerpts of the ad: In the summer of 2000, the Hatzalah Bais Din Poskend "on the issue of whether or not a local Rav or even Vaad Horabbanim has a right to become involved in Halachic decisions regarding Hatzalah practices in their local neighborhood.....if anyone in our community has any questions or suggestions they should be directed to Rabbi Dovid Weinberger Shlita.... While we are hurt and outraged at the accusations of a local Rabbi in our community, publicly accusing our members who are Yirah Shamayim and Moser Nefesh of Rachmana Litzlan being Mechallel Shabbos, we would have been silent, preferring not to dignify his venomous attacks against us, with a response. However, when he recently publicly Poskened that one should not call Hatzalah but rather look for a Doctor to determine if it is indeed a Sakanah, because Hatzalah members are not qualified to make that determination, we must cry out. We are frightened and concerned that delay in calling for emergency care will Rachmana Litzlan result in unnecessary death. Meanwhile while searching the web I came across the Hatzolah of Far Rockaway Website where there was a "Halacha Page"; and it sure sounds like they are contradicting themselves. Here's what it said: "These Halachos were prepared by Rabbi Dovid Weinberger, Posek for Rockaway Lawrence Hatzalah and Morah D'asrah of Shaari Tefilah. However please consult your own Rav for guidance on specific issues." I would also like to know if the Hatzolah Coordinators consulted with "their" Bais Din about the two page ad that was published in the newspaper. Did they proof read it? Did they write it? Did they authorize the $3,000+ that the newspaper charges for an ad that size?

Filling a Mikvah with: SNOW!

Dei'ah veDibur: In a unique operation carried out by the Merkaz Artzi Lemaan Taharas Hamishpochoh BeYisroel, a mikveh was made kosher in Yevul, a town in the Western Negev, using snow transported in sealed sacks inside a refrigerated truck. When several dozen families among the thousands of evicted Gush Katif residents decided to stay near the Gaza Strip, a community was set up for them in the Western Negev and today some 100 families have made it their home. One of their first concerns was the construction of a mehudar mikveh. The mikveh stood ready, but little rain has fallen recently, especially in the Negev. Then a proposal was made to truck in snow and melt it. Working together with Yevul residents Merkaz heads undertook the operation after morei horo'oh provided detailed instructions on how to transport the snow. A delegation of Merkaz executives and rabbonim approached residents of Neveh Ativ, a moshav in the Golan Heights, who were glad to take part in the challenge. The delegation members and moshav residents selected a large mound of glistening snow and then spent six hours filling sealed sacks with a total of 30 cubic meters of snow, enough to provide 5 cubic meters of water. Following the cross-country drive, Yevul residents were waiting with a crane to lift up the sacks and dump them on the rooftop, where the melted snow will drip into the bor otzar of the mikveh. Late at night when the task was finished the local residents celebrated the final completion of the mikveh, warmly thanking the rabbonim and the heads of the Merkaz Artzi Lemaan Taharas Hamishpochoh.....

Moscow attacker - sentenced

Haaretz: The Moscow City Court on Monday sentenced a man who attacked worshippers in a synagogue with a hunting knife to 13 years in prison and mandatory psychiatric treatment.The court found Alexander Koptsev guilty of attempted murder on racist grounds for stabbing and wounding nine men in January at the Moscow synagogue.The sentence brought a chorus of catcalls and invective from Koptsev's supporters in the courtroom. One woman, who identified herself only as an Orthodox Christian journalist, loudly complained that Jewish children were getting educated in Moscow on Russian taxpayers' money."When will this end? Wake up, wake up," she shouted.....

New IDF Chief Rabbi

Arutzsheva: Israel’s Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi, Yona Metzger, has congratulated Rabbi Avichai Ronsky of the Jewish community of Itamar in Samaria for being named the next Chief Rabbi of the IDF, a position that holds the rank of Brigadier General.Rabbi Ronsky heads the yeshiva (torah seminary) in Itamar and opposed the call to refuse orders during last summer’s withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria, which uprooted and destroyed 25 Jewish communities, forcing 10,000 Jews from their homes.

Yeshivaworld Banned?

I just came across another blog which writes about Yeshivaworld being banned. I think that's kind of cute. CLICK HERE to view it.

Nosson Kaminetzky - Banned again!

Dei'ahV'Dibur: Following the ban on The Making of a Godol three years ago, a revised edition was recently published, but gedolei Torah issued an outright ban against the new edition as well, after having it examined by English-speaking rabbonim. The revised edition claims to have rectified the offensive material, but HaRav Y. Rosenbloom, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Shaarei Yosher of New York, and the Mashgiach HaRav Don Segal, determined that the book is still unsuitable. Based on their examination, last week gedolei Yisroel issued another letter prohibiting the book from being possessed, read or sold. The new letter reads as follows: Daas Torah BS"D, 14 Adar 5766 On Rosh Chodesh Kislev 5763 a statement prohibiting the book, The Making of a Godol, was issued. Since a new book has now been printed with the claim that the matters that needed rectification were indeed rectified, after Hageonim Hatzaddikim R' Y. Rosenbloom and R' D. Segal examined the matters, this [claim] has been found to be untrue — kema'aseihu borishonoh kein ma'asehu be'achronoh — and therefore the ban remains in force. Yosef Sholom Eliashiv; Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman; Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz; Chaim Pinchos Scheinberg; Nissim Karelitz; Tzvi Markovitz; Chaim Kanievsky; Shmuel Auerbach The Following Letter was Issued three years ago and reaffirmed now. Condemnation of the book "The Making of a Godol" We were appalled to hear from reliable talmidei chachomim about the distribution and sale of a book called The Making of a Godol, which is full of severely debasing remarks, derisiveness, degradation and hotzo'as sheim ra against several figures among gedolei horabbonim, the leading lights of Yisroel in recent generations and the rishonim kemal'ochim whose words guide the lives of all Beis Yisroel, whose elucidations of the Torah we imbibe and whose greatness, veneration and holiness are rooted in the hearts of all Jews with a fear of Heaven. This is what the book seeks to negate, by discrediting, disgracing and debasing their illustrious honor, which is also the honor of Hashem yisborach and the holy Torah, as explained in Rabbenu Yonah, Shaar 3, The Tenth Madreigoh. Moreover, the book casts doubt and creates confusion by infusing spurious opinions and incorrect hashkofoh regarding learning chochmos chitzoniyos and various types of literature, implying falsely that there is no contradiction to Torah study if certain approaches are followed, all in the name of gedolei Yisroel. By so doing it blemishes the proper hashkofoh that we have received from our rabbonim, gedolei hadoros, who raised loud and bitter cries, and wholly dedicated themselves throughout the last fifty years to the task of uprooting the terrible breach of blending external studies together with the pure study of our holy Torah as given at Sinai. Herein lies an awful danger, particularly for the young abroad, many of whom [in any case] face great pressure from their families and their environment in this matter and are liable to fall into the traps set by those who seek to distance them from the eternal springs of devoted Torah study. Therefore we hereby state our opinion that such an aberration cannot be tolerated in the holy nation of Am Yisroel and therefore this book is prohibited from entering kehal Hashem, whether by bringing it into the home, reading from it or dealing with it commercially, and every man of prudence who wishes to keep his fear of Heaven and purity of heart intact and is concerned to educate his family properly will keep it at a great distance from both himself and his household, with the realization that it poses a great danger to all who have a fear of Heaven in their heart. This is not a book of tales about gedolei Yisroel, but just the opposite. It is wholly filled with a chilling spirit that distances one from the true purpose in life that can have unforeseen and grave consequences. He who heeds our words will be blessed by Hashem Yisborach, and together with his household will rise to higher and higher levels of Torah and yir'oh, cleaving to the Tree of Life, the holy Torah, and will cover himself with the dust from the feet of gedolei hadoros, the conveyors of Torah, who pass it on for eternity throughout the generations until the arrival of the Messiah speedily, in our days. Upon this we have signed for the honor of the Torah Hakedoshoh, and the honor of the Chachomim and those who pass it on in purity. Yom Shlishi, Rosh Chodesh Kislev, 5763 Signed, Yosef Sholom Eliashiv; Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman; M.S. Shapira; Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz; Chaim Pinchos Scheinberg; Nissim Karelitz; Tzvi Markovitz; Chaim Kanievsky; Shmuel Auerbach; Shlomo Wolbe

Say NO! to cigarette advertising

JCR: Rabbi Yaakov Weiner and Dr. Nathan Charney, oncologist, Head of Palliative Care, Sha'arei Tsedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, approached Rav Y. S. Eliyashiv, shlita, and asked for his halachic opinion concerning print media advertising of cigarettes and promoting smoking. Dr. Charney reported to him the most recent research regarding the hazards of smoking. Question: Is it permissible to advertise cigarettes or to promote smoking in the print media? Answer: R' Eliyashiv ruled that since the purpose of such an advertisement is to encourage people to engage in a halachically prohibited act, hence the ad itself becomes prohibited. This case study should not be applied as a general rule. Instead, cases should be ruled upon individually by a competent halachic authority.

Bar-MIssed-Vah!!

CBS: The major networks (CBS included) spend millions of dollars every year trying to figure out what people want to see on TV. Yet, in the end, much of the programming isn't what you would have picked at all. That's why we're now giving you a direct say in the matter. You and the rest of our viewers will be able to pick some of the stories we air on the CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer. You, the viewer, are officially in charge of all the assignments of CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman. You get to tell him where to go and what to do — within reason, of course. Every Friday we present three story pitches and you get to vote for the story you think sounds most interesting. Whichever story gets the most votes by 2 p.m. ET on Monday is the winner. Click HERE to vote for the Bar-Missed-Vah

YU "Seforim" sale

I don't know if all of you are aware of the annual YU seforim sale. But to just give you a mini description of it, it's a big social scene with all the boys and girls just hangin' out. In any event, a question was asked on the YU website. The question was "Is It Appropriate to Attend the Seforim Sale With No Interest in the Seforim?" [Vehameyvin Yavin!!] Here are some of the responses that were posted on the YU Website: There are seforim at this year's girls sale? Seriously, as long as it's not during night seder, I don't see a problem. If the girls are going to come for six hours at a time, I'm bound to meet them. Besides, I met my future wife at the sale while she was reading "Finding Your Bashert." Ben Shwartz. YC History '06 ------------------------------------------ Why would it not be okay to socialize at the seforim sale? I guess people might think that because there are seforim and it's a semi-religious setting, then it wouldn't be appropriate, but it's not as if anyone's giving a shiur. Everyone knows that it's a huge social scene. Other colleges have frat parties and we have a seforim sale. Noah Pollack YC History '07 ------------------------------------------ I think it's great that people can pick up a shemiras halashon by the Chofetz Chaim and then proceed to the checkout in order to shmooze. Seriously, though, there's a time and place for everything. Aryeh Rosenbaum YC Biology '08 ---------------------------------------- Of course it's appropriate. Nobody actually goes to buy the seforim. I think it's a great opportunity for guys and girls to meet. It's opportunities like this that we must grab in order to avoid those awkward shidduch dates. I was there and I picked up the book "How to Find Your Spouse in 30 Days?" and it changed my life. Thank you seforim sale. Yechiel Shaffer YC Sociology '07 ---------------------------------------- I think that the problem is not with socializing at the sale; the problem is that there aren't enough mixed events that people feel comfortable enough to attend. That is, unless the medical ethics society has events more often. This is one reason that the sale, which ordinarily should just be about buying seforim, is deemed as a huge scene where people can socialize. Many boys, especially me, are seen hanging around the Artscroll women's siddur section in the hopes of finding that special someone. I also find it amusing that the cashiers are forced to ask the customer for his or her phone number. This seemingly serves no real purpose other than assisting the cashiers in getting phone numbers from people of the opposite gender. This is certainly one of the reasons that I was a cashier last year. In all seriousness, I think the sale is a great opportunity to meet people that you haven't seen in a long time. However, it is a little strange to come to the sale with the sole purpose of socializing with old friends. As per the request for separate hours for men and women, not even Eichlers in Boro Park has separate hours for men and women. Although, I definitely agree that if the seforim sale had a swimming pool inside, then there should be separate hours.............

Chacham Ovadia - taking the heat

Jpost: In the latest allegations of election impropriety leveled against the haredi Shas party, spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has been accused of illegally cursing those who do not support the party. Missives written in Yosef's hand were distributed to Shas voters, proclaiming "Cursed be those for they did not come to the aid of God; Cursed be he who does not fulfill the word of this Torah to do them. I make a halaha [Jewish law] that one must vote and influence Shas." Shortly after details of the missive were revealed, Shas Chairman Eli Yishai was quick to deny that Yosef had intended the message as a threat. "I never deny the things that the Rabbi says, but rather I explain his intent, because there are those who don't understand his Biblical and Talmudic language," Yishai explained. "He does not in any sense curse those who do not vote Shas. The rabbi speaks the word of Living God." Legislation passed following the 1996 elections prohibits 'lobbying to vote or not to vote via oath, curse, excommunication, promise to bless, or by giving amulets.' On Friday, the outspoken spiritual leader fended off criticism for a quote attributed to him in the haredi newspaper Bakehila, in which he allegedly said that "anyone who votes for Kadima will fall backwards into Hell." Former Shas chairman Aryeh Deri said that he had discussed the matter with the rabbi, and reiterated in the rabbi's name that had Yosef made such a statement he never would deny it afterwards. The newspaper Bakehila said in response that the statement is an exact quote taken from a recording made of the interview. The rabbi, famous for previous incendiary comments against Arabs, secular Jews and African-Americans, was interviewed a few days earlier by haredi journalists. In other articles citing the interview, the quote was phrased differently than in the Bakehila version, and did not use the word "hell". Earlier this year, Supreme Court Justice Dorit Beinisch, head of the central elections committee, instructed Shas to withdraw an ad in which Yosef offered a blessing of happiness and well-being to anyone who voted for his party. In the 1996 elections, Shas's representation in the Knesset jumped from six mandates to 10 thanks to the amulets of the late kabbalist Rabbi Yitzhak Kadouri. Before the amulets were given out, polls showed Shas would receive no more than four mandates....

Rabbi - Maim your dolls!!

IOL: In a tough break for the children of Orthodox Jewish families, a former grand rabbi of Israel has urged parents to amputate their dolls to avoid the perils of idolatry.Basing the move on a Biblical ban on the possession of idols, Mordechai Eliyahu, a Sephardic rabbi, broadcast his edict on a religious radio station calling for an arm or a leg to be dismembered.In the case of a teddy bear or other stuffed animals, the children will see their beloved toys lose an ear or an eye instead."It is very important that these toys do not remain intact so as to remove the element of idolatry," said Eliyahu.His son, Shmuel Eliyahu, himself a rabbi in the northern town of Safed, said that it was inappropriate to own statues or dolls, even to play with or for artistic purposes."They need to be amputated or at least altered," he said.Shmuel revealed that his father had forced one of his followers to snap off the ear of a replica of a statue of Moses by Michelangelo that he had bought at an exorbitant price......

Israeli Election - Gur vs Satmar

Arutzsheva: Police report hassidim affiliated with the Gerrer sect set a Jerusalem storage facility ablaze, a facility belonging to the Satmar sect. According to the report, the damage resulting from the blaze amounted to some NIS 500,000.According to Galei Tzahal (Army) Radio, the motive was Satmar’s adamant opposition to participation in the upcoming election while Gerrer hassidim are urged to come out and vote for the United Torah Judaism Party.

Gerrer Rebbe - Building Medical Center

Haaretz: The Gerrer rebbe, Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, is building a medical center for the general public in Ashdod. In 2002 the Knesset enacted a law to build a state hospital in Ashdod, but nothing was done. Ashdod's municipality petitioned the High Court of Justice, which instructed the state to issue a tender for building the hospital by March 13 of this year. The tender has still not been issued. Three years ago, the Gerrer rebbe entered the picture. He lives in Bnei Brak with tens of thousands of Hasids at his beck and call. One word from him could affect the lives of 220,000 Ashdod residents and thousands of others in the vicinity. One of the largest Polish Hasidic communities lives in Ashdod, consisting of some 1,400 Gerrer Hasidic families. In recent years tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox people moved to Ashdod from the more crowded and more expensive cities of Bnei Brak and Jerusalem. Two Agudat Yisrael representatives are city councilmen......

Satmar Rebbe - Hospitalized

Satmar Rebbe (Center), Reb Zalman Leib Titlebaum (Left) The 90+ year old Satmar Rebbe Shlita has been hospitalized. His name for Tehillim is: Moshe Ben Brucha Sima .

Sticker Ban

Katif: The Rabbinical council of Judea and Samaria released a letter today to the residents of Judea and Samaria stating unequivocally that the residents should not place special stickers distributed by the I.D.F. on their vehicles.During the months preceding the expulsion from Gush Katif, residents of the areas adjacent to Gush Katif in the western Negev were asked to place special stickers on their windshields so that they can be let through the dozens of roadblocks, while vehicles without the stickers (read -Gush Katif residents) were asked to pull over and were checked and some times harassed. In the letter the Rabbis explain that even though the army claims that the stickers are only meant to assist the residents in traveling through passes in the "security wall", in reality, the intention of the government is to take part in a process that will endanger Jewish lives (by handing over large parts of the land of Israel to our enemies) and it is forbidden to take part in this whatsoever. The letter was written and signed by Rabbi Dov Lior, chief Rabbi of Hebron- Kiryat Arba, and Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, chief Rabbi of Elon Moreh.

Lakewood Stadium?

For all those who have forgotten about the fiasco in Lakewood with the Devils Stadium, the APP has written a final update on it. APP: The New Jersey Devils announced on Wednesday they have signed a letter of intent to purchase a controlling interest of the Lowell (Mass.) Lock Monsters, a move that ends Lakewood's hopes of becoming home to the Devils' minor league team. Lakewood officials had discussions with Devils ownership earlier this year about the possibility of building a new arena down the Jersey Shore, but when those plans went sour, the Devils turned to Lowell. "It is quite disappointing that we couldn't find a home for the Devils' (minor league) team within New Jersey," said state Senator Robert W. Singer, "and certainly disappointing it couldn't be in Ocean County or Monmouth County." Singer lamented the fact that Lakewood missed out on a chance to create new jobs and revenue streams. Asked if the city might continue to explore obtaining a minor league hockey team that is not affiliated with the Devils, Singer said it was not likely. Lakewood's future as a hockey town was tied to the Devils....... Boruch Shepotrani Meoinsho Shel Zeh! THE END.

Stop doing Chesed!

What about "Al shlosha devorim haolam omed. Al hatorah al hoavodah v'al GEMILAS CHASODIM? Arutzsheva: The Rabbi of Gush Katif, Rabbi Yigal Kaminetzky, gave a clear ruling on Thursday, to give precedence to election campaign efforts even at the expense of chessed (acts of benevolence) activities on behalf of the Gush Katif refugees. "We all need to focus on the most important thing right now, which is elections," he explained to a Matot Arim (Cities Action Committee) spokesperson, asking that his instructions be made available to the public at large. "We are extremely grateful to all those who normally perform much-needed chessed activities on behalf of our wronged community - but we ask that these activities be postponed until after Election Day and that people devote themselves to election work".

Call SHELLY!!!

Sent to YW Editor via email. I personally have no faith in Shelly Silver anymore. Do you realize how badly we are being treated?Did you know that the Teacher's Union is spending millions of dollars in their attempts to kill the Education Tax Credit plan set to pass in our state's capitol?That means, unless we do something right away, you can forget about the $500 per child tax credit for education expenses you are supposed to get.There are only 4 days left until the New York State Legislature votes – everyone has to call now and tell our politicians to support Tax Credits specifically for Education. The best person to call is Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver. He can really push this thing through. Call Shelly today at 212-312-1420 and ask him to save our $500 tax credit for education.

Yaakov Shwekey - Oorah Production

Click HERE to hear inspiring music sung by Yaakov Shwekey. The beautiful words were written by Bella (Rotenberg) Levitan. The video was produced for Oorah Kiruv Rechokim by Kol Rom Multimedia. It reminds us all the reason we need to bring our fellow Jews closer to Hashem. To view a complete music video featuring Srully Williger, Yaakov Shwekey, Shloime Daskal, Shoime Dachs & Mordechai Ben David CLICK HERE.

Skinheads threaten Yeshiva Bochur

USCJ: A group of neo-Nazis gathered outside Kiev's Brodsky synagogue on March 22, where they threatened and insulted a yeshiva student, according to a March 22, 2006 report by the MIG news agency, which covers Ukraine. The brazen incident took place at noon in front of numerous witnesses, and comes just weeks after a yeshiva student was assaulted on the Kiev metro (another student at that yeshiva only recently emerged from a coma after being stabbed and beaten last summer in Kiev). The neo-Nazis surrounded the student and screamed antisemitic slogans at him, before being scared off by the police. Police detained one of the neo-Nazis, who was found in possession of an antisemitic newspaper (“Personnel Plus”) published in Kiev by the Interregional Academy of Pesonnel.

Jews say NO to arabs

Haaretz: Sixty-eight percent of Israeli Jews would refuse to live in the same apartment building as an Israeli Arab, according to the results of an annual poll released Wednesday by the Center for the Struggle Against Racism.The "Index of Racism Towards Arab Palestinian Citizens of the State of Israel," conducted by Geocartographia, revealed on 26 percent of Jews in Israel would agree to live with Arab neighbors in the same building. Forty-six percent of Jews would refuse to allow an Arab to visit their home while 50 percent would welcome an Arab visitor. Forty-one percent of Jewish support the segregation of Jews and Arabs in places of recreation and 52 percent of such Jews would oppose such a move.........The poll further revealed that 63 percent of Jewish Israelis agree with the statement, "Arabs are a security and demographic threat to the state." Thirty-one percent of Jews did not agree. Agreement with the statement was strongest among Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews and low-income earners....

75 year old - gets Semicha

Jpost: Reuven Bleich got a haircut and bought a new shirt on Sunday for the occasion. Not every day do you become a rabbi - especially when you are 75 years old. After officially becoming Rabbi Bleich he said he had mixed feelings about the ordination ceremony."On the one hand I was kind of swept off my feet by the whole thing," said Bleich, a father of six. "However, as an older man I have had a lot ofsignificant experiences, and I wouldn't say becoming a rabbi ranks up there at the top. Besides, what is so special about taking so long to become a rabbi?" he asked. Bleich, who grew up in New York's Bronx neighborhood in a non-Orthodox home, was one of 32 graduates of Yeshiva University's rabbinic program who are living in Israel. The ordination ceremony, which took place at the university's Jerusalem campus, is part of a week-long Torah U'Mada Symposium. The symposium began over the weekend with a Shabbaton and culminates Thursday evening with the awarding of honorary doctorates to four recipients: Efrat's Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Bar-Ilan University President Moshe Kaveh, Victor Geller, who supervised rabbinic placements from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, and Malka Bina, head of Matan, The Sadie Rennert Women's Institute for Torah Studies in Jerusalem. Approximately 3,000 Yeshiva University alumni live in Israel.

Rabbis & Imams agree

Jpost: In a stunningly positive denouement afterdays of unremitting hostility by Palestinian participants, the 2nd World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace being held here issued a concluding statement deploring "any incitement against a faith or people, let alone a call for their elimination," a statement Jewish and Israeli representatives took to be a rebuke of Hamas calls for the elimination of Israel. In an apparent behind-the-scenes deal to win approval of Palestinian imams and scholars attending the gathering of the concluding statement, Israeli representatives, including Haifa Chief Rabbi She'ar Yashuv Hacohen, agreed to language calling upon governments to show respect for "holy sites, houses of worship and cemeteries.........

SATMAR INCORPORATED

How come the Satmar Matzah Bakery isn't in their listed assets? And what about the enrite Kiryas Joel? NYSUN: Four state judges based in Brooklyn are expected to decide soon on a dispute over control of a New York real estate empire worth more than half a billion dollars. TOTAL ASSETS: Unknown, but likely more than $500 million............ KNOWN ASSETS: The Williamsburg Congregation of Satmar owns: * In Williamsburg: $339 million in 26 buildings and the land they are on. * One of those 26 buildings is an unfinished 200,000-square-foot synagogue whose building value is $40 million and land value is $15.2 million. * In Ulster County 329 acres of land worth $26 million. * 146 acres in Sullivan County worth $7.3 million. * Other congregations have holdings in Boro Park, Brooklyn, and Kiryas Joel.

Tendler & the Jewish Press - Part 11

I always get attacked for cursing out the Jewish Press. Well guess what? I will continue to do it. They are a bunch of lying idiotic dopes who think that they will continue to get away with reporting FALSE facts. A while back the Jewish Press wrote an article sticking up for Mordy Tendler (as usual) and wrote "Now, however, the conclusions of the Jerusalem Bet Din have also been reached by Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky of Israel and the Agudath Harabbanim of the United States and Canada. The Jewish Press has learned that Rabbi Kanievsky was presented with a halachic inquiry or shailah which outlined the circumstances of the RCA’s expulsion of Rabbi Tendler and the lashon hara issue – and he responded in writing that resort to a bet din to deal with the issues mentioned was required by halacha in order to determine the truth. In addition, Rabbi Zvi Hirsh Ginzberg, the administrator of the Agudath Harabbanim, in a written declaration on behalf of its religious court, came to the same conclusion, citing among other things, the statement of Rabbi Kanievsky." After reading it, I called my sources who are deeply embedded in R' Chaim Kanievsky's "Chatzar" and the confirmed my suspicions that he was never ever consulted regarding this matter. I bit my tongue and just sat back and waited for the ball to fall. Well folks it fell today. Today the RCA on it's website wrote "The Rabbinical Council of America has received personal verbal assurance from Rav Chaim Kanievsky of Bnei Brak, together with a written letter of confirmation in his name and with his full approval, that he was never asked nor has he ever rendered an opinion about the dispute between Rabbi Mordecai Tendler and the RCA. Thus any attempt by Rabbi Tendler or those claiming to speak for him to use the respected name of Rav Kanievsky in the context of his dispute with the RCA is both astonishing and blatantly false. The same is true of any statements made, or currently being asserted, by any Beis Din, newspaper reports or editorials that purport to be based on such a claim. A copy of the original written statement in Rav Kanievsky’s name is here attached." I will repeat what I have always said: The Jewish Press are a bunch of LIERS! They Belittle Gedolei Yisroel on a weekly basis. They are "Mashiv Torah Lo K'halacha". They poke fun at the Frum / Yeshivish oilam! They write and promote KEFIRA! They have lost ALL credibility. To view the actual letter from Hagoen R' Chaim Kanievsky CLICK HERE.

Rabbi Batzri - incitement

Just earlier today Yeshivaworld posted an article which quoted Rabbi Batzri as saying "An outbreak of deadly bird flu in Israel is God's punishment for calls in election ads to legalise gay marriages". It seems the Israeli government doesn't like this kind of radical talk. Ynet: The state prosecution ordered an investigation into prominent kabbalist Rabbi David Batzri and his son, Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri, for suspected incitement to racism. According to prosecution lawyer Shai Nitzan, the two used unacceptable means in attempt to convince residents of Jerusalem’s Pat neighborhood to protest a local bi-lingual school where Arab and Jewish children study together. The Arabic-Hebrew school opened nine years ago and until recently enrolled students from first through sixth grade. After a recent initiative to expand the school to serve seventh and eight grades as well, it was decided to construct a new building on the seam line between the Jewish neighborhood Pat and the Arab neighborhood Beit Safafa. Construction on the school begins next week with a ceremony for the laying of the cornerstone, and its completion is expected in two-and-a-half years.The project has met some enthusiasm, and recently a philanthropist from England contributed USD 3.5 million towards the school. However, not everyone is thrilled about the program. Leading an initiative against the school, Rabbi Batzri and his son held a conference two-and-a-half months ago where they made racist slurs against Arabs: “Arabs are a misfortune, a problem, Satan,” the two said, according to the prosecution. At the conference, the elder Batzri told Pat residents: “The establishment of a school like this one is a despicable and impure act. Stand in the way and prevent this. Darkness and light cannot be mixed. The people of Israel are pure and Arabs are a nation of asses. The question must be asked, why didn’t God give them four legs, because they are asses.” The son, Yitzhak Batzri, also made objectionable comments. “The Arabs are beasts and asses,” he said. “They are inferior, they want to take our daughters. People say we are racist, but – they are the evil ones, the cruel ones, the scum of snakes. This is war.” Rabbi David Batzri, a leading kabbalist, has been known to spout his racist ideologies whenever the occasion arises. On Rosh Hashana he spoke to Ynet and said that a light earthquake which shook Israel portends a good year for Jews and a bad year for non-Jews, while the hot weather foretold that “The king of Egypt will die this year, and there will be hunger and sadness in all eastern nations where they worship false gods.” Earlier last year, Batzri noted that the floods that killed thousands in the United States and left many more homeless were God’s punishment for the Americans' support of the disengagement from the Gaza Strip.

Egged bus fight

Jpost: Dissent over the limits of religious observance on public buses has pitted Rehovot's modern religious residents against their ultra orthodox neighbors. The Rehovot English Speakers Organization (RESO), which has a preponderance of modern orthodox members, is preparing to petition the district court against the Egged bus company and the Transportation Ministry for "caving in", in their words, to haredi pressure to reduce service to a Bar Ilan University..."The petitioners claim the haredim are using the public arena - Egged buses - to launch a cultural war while trampling on the rights of non-haredim to regular bus service. In February 2005, Egged received approval from the Transportation Ministry to reduce service on the 318 bus that connects Rehovot to Bnei Brak via Bar Ilan University and in parallel to create a new line - the 319 - which bypasses Bar Ilan University. The 319 caters to Rehovot's haredi community which travels frequently to and from Bnei Brak. Attorney Menashe Kaplan, a resident of Rehovot who is representing the petitioners, claimed the haredim pushed for the change out of fear for the spiritual dangers presented by Bar Ilan University. "Young haredi people see modern religious men and women talking about Torah on the bus and then watch them get off at Bar Ilan," said Kaplan."Rabbis are afraid haredi children will be attracted to a secular education." Another supposed haredi claim, mentioned in the draft petition to be brought before the court, is that young women boarding the bus at Bar Ilan are not dressed modestly enough. The petitioners claim haredi pressure, especially from Viznitz and Kretchnev Hassidic sects in Rehovot, brought about the change. Rabbi Natan Weinfeld, a Viznitz Hassid and popular teacher of the daily Talmud page [daf yomi] in Rehovot, said the changes, which he helped initiate, were aimed at eliminating certain severe halachic prohibitions. He refused to elaborate, saying there was a halachic prohibition against publicizing the story because it was slander and would cause a desecration of God's name. Egged spokesman Ron Ratner rejected the petitioners' claim that Egged had caved in to haredi pressure. "We did not give in to pressure from anyone," said Ratner. "We give services to different types of citizens, including the haredim who are particularly dependent on Egged, and we are more than happy to serve them."

Hikind - "short term memory loss"

Politicker: Memories, it seems, are short in Brooklyn. Just last year, Assemblyman Dov Hikind campaigned, hard, against the incumbent district attorney, Joe Hynes, and for the organization candidate, John Sampson. But on April 2, Dov will be presenting awards at the Boro Park Jewish Community Council's legislative breakfast, including the "distinguished guardian award for integrity in government" to... one Charles J. Hynes. A reader who followed those Brooklyn races recalls that that wasn't exactly what Hikind was saying about Hynes at the time.

Picture of the day - 2/21/06

Jpost: Haaretz: Arutzsheva: These pictures was taken earlier today when B"H a car with a suicide bomber was caught after a high speed chase. Notice the Palestinians in their underwear! Kudos to the IDF!!

Radical statements

First Chacham Ovadia Yosef said "one who votes for shas is guaranteed a place in the world to come" Then Rabbi Shimon Baadani "promised hell to those who don't vote Shas," & also said "Ariel Sharon had a stroke because he went against Shas and hurt religious services". Today we have this statement by Rabbi Batzri. Any ideas? NCAU: An outbreak of deadly bird flu in Israel is God's punishment for calls in election ads to legalise gay marriages, according to Rabbi David Basri, a prominent sage preaching Kabbalah or Jewish mysticism."The Bible says that God punishes depravity first through plagues against animals and then in people," Rabbi Basri said in a religious edict quoted by his son. Rabbi Basri said he hoped the deaths of hundreds of thousands of turkeys and chickens would help atone for what he called the sins of left-wing Israeli political parties, the son, Rabbi Yitzhak Basri, said, a week before a national election. The bird flu outbreak stemmed from far-left political parties "strengthening and encouraging homosexuality," Rabbi Basri's son quoted him as saying. One of the parties aired an election commercial depicting two brides kissing. Some campaign advertisements also called for homosexual marriages to be legalised in Israel. (Rabbi Basri is a prominent Kabbalist and author of commentaries on the Zohar, the main Kabbalah mystical text.) Then another wacko decided to respond! PNC: Rabbi Danny Rich, the Head of British Liberal Judaism (above peals of laughter from the rest of his office) said: “this is so stupid it’s hardly worth responding to, but even scientists are not sure why bird flu has occurred, so I suppose this man is entitled to his flight of fancy. As far as I’m aware birds are not categorised by their sexuality, so what they have to do with gay marriage I don’t know. This Kabbalist seems to be muddled by his own mysticism and mystery. He must be a confused, sad man.”

LIft ban on gay rabbis?

INA: A bid to lift a ban on gay rabbis and same-sex unions is posing a challenge for Conservative rabbis whose U.S.-based world movement prides itself on balancing Jewish tradition with modernity. Conservative rabbis meeting in Mexico City this week say it is no easy task for a group that once dominated American Judaism but in 15 years has been overtaken by the more liberal Reform movement as the biggest in the United States. "One doesn't easily overturn thousands of years of tradition," Kenneth Cohen, a rabbi to students at American University in Washington, D.C., said at the meeting in Mexico. But the rabbi said that, like most of his constituents, he favored lifting the ban. "Judaism never has existed in a vacuum," he said. "'Halakha' -- Jewish law -- is the application of Jewish values to real life." The last time the movement considered the homosexuality issue, in 1992, it said gays and lesbians would be welcome in the movement but it barred gay behavior, ordination, membership in the Rabbinical Assembly and same-sex commitment ceremonies. A growing number of Conservative rabbis have voiced support for lifting the ban. They say homosexuals want to come out of the closet, be ordained at rabbinical schools and receive religious blessings the same as heterosexual couples.

Shalom TV

CW: You don't have to be Jewish to love Shalom TV, but it'll help if you're a Comcast digital customer.At a Kaitz dinner a few years back, Time Warner chief Dick Parsons joked that cable was so deep a part of Brian Roberts' lineage that even the person who performed his ritual circumcision was a cable splicer. Both sides say Roberts' Jewish heritage had nothing to do with the March 20 announcement that Comcast has signed a corporate license agreement with cable net Shalom TV. Still, to paraphrase a Jewish joke that recommends chicken soup for every ailment, even death, "it couldn't have hurt."......Shalom sealed its deal with Blue Ridge two summers ago. English-language Shalom, which means "peace" in Hebrew, will deliver 50 hours of programs monthly, refreshed weekly, in categories including news/information, movies, Israel, children, Judaism, conversations, culture and history. The New York-based channel will also be akin to a Jewish-flavored C-SPAN, carrying unedited long-format coverage of lectures, panels and public forums, some from Israel. Shalom has secured agreements with a bevy of Jewish and Israeli organizations, which will provide films and English-language news coverage from Israel. While the channel will appeal mostly to Jewish viewers, Shalom TV president/CEO Rabbi Mark Golub argues that the network's appeal will extend to cable subscribers who are interested in news and information about Israel and those who are simply curious about Jewish life. While 5.2 million Jews live in 2.9 million homes in the U.S., ranking it first in the world for Jewish population, 75% of Jews reside in just 11 metropolitan areas....

Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim - case adjournment

TJN: The developer of a yeshiva with adult-student housing will be in Ramapo Justice Court in May to answer a violation for using a construction trailer for a preschool program. An attorney or a representative for Mosdos Chofetz Chaim did not appear before Town Justice Sam Colman yesterday when he granted the adjournment until May 8. The developer submitted an appeal to the town's Zoning Board of Appeals March 6 that under town law halts any judicial process, said Deputy Town Attorney Meryl Troodler, who is prosecuting the case. Troodler said the town would try to get the developer on the land-use board's May 4 agenda. Ramapo inspectors saw children in the trailer Feb. 17. The violation, which was issued Feb. 22, cites that the trailer had been occupied by children without a certificate of occupancy. Dennis Lynch, a Nyack attorney representing Mosdos Chofetz Chaim, said the appeal would "act like a freeze" on any judicial decision until the zoning board makes a determination. "The only endangerment to children is not providing a good religious education," Lynch said. "My client should be rewarded for providing religious education, not punished." In the letter to the zoning board, Rabbi Aryeh Zaks argued that a certificate of occupancy was not needed for the site. "We are grandfathered for use at the site as an educational center and we have an approved site plan for our ongoing development project," Zaks wrote. "We are utilizing a mobile classroom on a temporary basis and this does/should not require a certificate of occupancy. Many other temporary mobile classrooms are used at schools around the town and no such requirement is made." Troodler said if the developer was found guilty of the violation, it could face a $5,000 fine for each of the six counts. The 4.7-acre site on Grandview Avenue, a quarter mile west of New Hempstead Road, is one of four locations for adult-student housing in Ramapo, a controversial addition to the town's master plan for development. The town's planning and zoning boards approved the project in 2004. Besides a yeshiva, there will be 28 four-bedroom and 32 two-bedroom apartments.....

"Rabbi" - for U.S. President?

Jpost: Russell Feingold, the Democratic senator from Wisconsin, immediately raised his public profile here this past week when he stood up in Congress demanding that President George W. Bush be censured over his domestic eavesdropping program, which Feingold considers illegal. His proposal - a congressional action that has only been used once, in 1834, to reprimand Andrew Jackson - sent reverberations through both the Democratic and Republican ranks, with Vice President Dick Cheney issuing an unusual rebuttal, calling the motion "outrageous." It is hardly inconsequential that the senator's name is one of the three or four mentioned as possible candidates for president in 2008. And, though Feingold has not said whether or not he is going to run, he told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday night that there was one issue that wouldn't stand in his way: his Jewish identity. "Even though I know people say it would be a big problem, I really believe that this country is ready to overcome these things, whether it has to do with African-American candidates, Latino candidates, women candidates or Jewish candidates," Feingold said. "Maybe that's na ve. But I have a faith that if people are confronted with an opportunity, whether it be me or somebody else, they are not going to make their judgment based on a person's religion." Feingold, fresh from his appearance on the senate floor, received an award on Saturday night from a liberal Brooklyn synagogue, Kolot Chaiyenu. There he spoke to the Post about his Jewish upbringing. Feingold grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, Janesville, which was not big enough to house a Jewish congregation, and so, he said, his parents drove one hour each way to Madison for 25 years to attend services and bring him to a religious school. Feingold's sister, Dena, is a rabbi at Beth Hillel Temple in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and his grandfather Max, who first arrived in Janesville in 1917, later emigrated to Israel when his wife died in 1950, living in Kibbutz Yafit and Tivon. He also said he had a nephew who is a law clerk at the Israeli Supreme Court. He described what he called a "deep, personal connection to Israel................. OK. OK. That's enough, We are very proud of you. Now just go back to your cave in Wisconsin.

Wosner vs Tendler Part 17

UPDATED: 3/20/06 For the actual Teshuva Click Here. Hat tip: Luke & Canonist R' Bentzion Wosner will gave a shiur in halacha on Mordecai Tendler. It took place yesterday, Sunday March 19, 2006 at 5:50 pm in Beis Medresh Congregation Bnei Yakov; located at 11 Emes Lane. The lecture was given in English. [This might turn out to be interesting.......]

Tajikistan’s Shul - saved

FJC: DUSHANBE, Tajikistan – A wondrous event has happened for Jews of Dushanbe. The Government of Tajikistan has decided to allow the historical Synagogue in Dushanbe to remain on the site where it has stood for the past 100 years.Over the past few years, the international Jewish community has been alarmed by the tragic fate of the Dushanbe Synagogue, the only Synagogue in Tajikistan, which was slated for construction to make room for newer developments planned by the municipal government. In this regard, Chief Rabbi of Uzbekistan David Gurevich has paid several visits to Dushanbe in order to meet with foreign ambassadors, state officials and the city’s Mayor, Mahmadsaid Ubaidulayev.Lev Leviev, the President of the Ohr Avner Foundation and of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, forwarded letters to Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmonov, in which he expressed concern regarding the fate of the century-old Synagogue. In these messages, Mr. Leviev also expressed his certainty that the Government of Tajikistan, which has always been friendly towards the Jewish Diaspora, will allow this building, which is sacred to Jews of Dushanbe, to remain in its place.This week’s development has shown that the efforts of the local Jewish community, as well as those taken by Jews throughout the world, have finally been successful.“We are very happy that the government has decided to keep the Synagogue on its historical site,” expressed Rabbi Gurevich, who plans to appeal to world Jewry at the Sixth Bukharian Jewish Congress, which is to take place in the near future, regarding the required financial support to support the reconstruction of the Dushanbe Synagogue.Rabbi Gurevich has assured local authorities that, in the case that the Synagogue is able to remain on its historical site, he will find the means to fit the building into the appearance of the ‘Palace of Nations’, which is being built in the city center.