The smart money says criticism of this weekend’s visit to Lawrence by an anti-Zionist chassidic rebbe from Jerusalem aligned with the Neturei Karta will be dismissed by some as the work of troublemaking bloggers (or perhaps of a muckraking newspaper that’s too modern for its own good).
What chutzpah! defenders of the Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok Rebbe will fume. Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Kohn is an adom gadol — a great man — a tzaddik, a talmid chachom, and a paragon of Yiras Shamayim and gemilas chasodim, too.
Very likely, that’s all true.
It is, however, not at all the point.
The Rebbe’s followers — at least a good number of them — are thugs and criminals who created an unprecedented desecration of G-d’s name with their violent street protests in Jerusalem.
In a few short weeks they managed to undo and turn around — v’nahafoch hu — a general perception of observant Jews as peaceful and genteel. In some cases they even altered our own self-perception; more than a few frum Jews this summer reported feeling discomfort at being seen as kin to the Orthodox hooligans in the news.
Yet, this weekend, in a display of shocking naïveté, the Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok Rebbe is to be feted and honored — and funded — at Cong. Shaaray Tefila in Lawrence, even as the Rebbe’s brother, the even more extreme Toldos Aharon Rebbe, is making his own appearances in the New York area.
Make no mistake: there are female members of nearly every shul in this region who would run the real risk of being physically attacked, were they to walk in their everyday street clothes through neighborhoods in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh these rebbes control.
While well-meaning people in the Five Towns are proffering respect and kavod haTorah to someone who looks very different from them but ostensibly observes the same Torah, ask yourself if the Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok or the Toldos Aharon communities would be terribly likely to extend the same courtesy in the reverse? Same tefillin, same mikvah, same Shabbos, same kosher. But not to them. Does that make us forgiving or foolish?
There are people in our community who cannot pay their mortgage. Who cannot pay tuition. Families that are in crisis and simply cannot make ends meet. They need and are entitled to our help first, based on the halachic ruling of aniyei ircha kodmim. It’s a shame if the community as a whole hasn’t yet internalized the Torah’s guideline, that charity must begin at home.
For those who say that Israel is local, and that supporting Torah study remains a primary value no matter what, fine — there are plenty of other kollelim and plenty of people in Israel who are more in line with our values.
You want a photo op with someone in Yerushalmi garb? Great. Go to Israel.
But here at home, why don’t we reserve scarce tzedakah dollars for people who don’t hold us in such low regard?
Great editorial. When will the members of our community realize that we need to support our local charities that help people from our neighborhood who are in need? It’s about time this issue is brought to everyone’s attention. During these tough economic times, when many of our neighbors are out of work, in danger of losing their homes and can’t afford yeshiva tuition, why would any local Shul actually host someone such as this Rabbi and encourage others to support his “cause”? UNBELIEVABLE!!!
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The grandfather of these two “Rebbes”, was the Shomer Emunim Rebbe, Rabbi Aron Roth. Rabbi Roth escaped europe in 1939 with the help of the Zionists, as did his good friend Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar who escaped on a stolen Zionist passport. Notwithstanding this, both men became ardent anti Zionists. The Satmar Rabbi would say, better for the chassidim to have died then to have become Israelis. Its ironic that these rabbis who yearn for the return of Israel to arab hands, and who frequently espouse how “in the olden days, pre Zionisim” life was so much better, are raising money from a pro israel community. It seems dollars make for strange compromises.
What is stranger is that a community like this would be hoodwinked to accept these two anti semitical rabbis, and that people like Dr Fred Marton would be willing to join hands with those who hate us. Their damage to Judaism doesn’t stop with their hatred of Israel. Their chassidim don’t pay taxes nor serve in the army yet make full use of Israels hospitals, doctors, roads, firefighters and police, utilities and other public services. Their vile protests make it onto CNN, BBC and other international tv stations and media outlets, making Jews look primitive and archaic at best or like close brothers to Hezbollah and Hamas at worst. They beat up women on busses, curse policemen who apprehend fathers who kill or starve their children, call security nazis, and cause the irreligious to truly despise God and the religious. A dollar to these misguided souls is a dollar to the destruction of Israel
In defense of Rabbi Weinberger and the other hosts, I can only say; the world is full of misguided souls. A few years ago a kindly settler gave a ride to a suicide bomber who killed 16 people in Tel Aviv.
Poste
This article is pure hogwash and lies. The Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok Rebbe is not “aligned with the Neturei Karta” in any shape. He does not allow his chassidim to attend demonstrations/riots if there is any possibility of violence. They were totally uninvolved in last years craziness and suffered immensely because of it. Not one of his chassidim has been arrested at a riot in Jerusalem. If they were seen hitting a woman G-d forbid, they would be thrown out of his shul in a NY minute.
Next time do your homework before spreading lies and fabrications about a wonderful and spritual person like this Rebbe. You don’t have to support him if you don’t want to, but do your homework before you write falsehoods and stupidities.
5 months ago, I was in Jerusalem and walking around meah shearim late one night. I was looking for a minyan for maariv and someone told me that the TAY shul has a late minyan. I was with my wife and son. We came to the shul and I asked one of the young men there if there’s a place my wife can wait while we davven. He very graciously led her to the women’s section and spent 15 minutes finding someone with the key to open it. After maariv, a guy invited us to his apartment for a tea. My wife sat at the table next to me and he gave us some true Jewish hospitality. I come from a community that’s very far from their ideology and way of life, and we were treated like brothers. And I’m not some rich guy with deep pockets who will leave some massive check on the table.
Editor’s note: The wonderful personal experience commenter lostinca describes doesn’t substantiate his other statements or disprove the ones that appeared in the paper. Thank you for reading.
Dear Editor,
I’m not a journalist so I can’t speak with authority about journalistic ethics. But as a common man, I think you need some facts to write such an incindiary article.
Here’s some quotes of yours:
“anti-Zionist chassidic rebbe from Jerusalem aligned with the Neturei Karta”
Do you have any proof of this? It is total hogwash. They are not associated with the neturei idiots, and suffer greatly because of them.
“The Rebbe’s followers — at least a good number of them — are thugs and criminals who created an unprecedented desecration of G-d’s name with their violent street protests in Jerusalem.”
Again where’s the proof? How many of his chassidim were arrested? ZERO. They stay away from any violent demonstrations as a rule. They will protest on occasion which I hope you agree is their right in a democracy. But violence? You’re barking up the wrong tree. BTW, the issue with the “starving mother” was not TAY.
“Make no mistake: there are female members of nearly every shul in this region who would run the real risk of being physically attacked, were they to walk in their everyday street clothes through neighborhoods in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh these rebbes control.”
Wrong again and big time. He and his brother do not control the streets of Jerusalem or Beit Shemesh by any stretch of the imagination. Furthermore, they would never attack a woman. There exists a group of meshugannas who do such things and they are despised by the TAY rebbe. If one of his chassidim would do such a thing, he would be ostracized until he paid restitution. They don’t put up with such actions.
Now for some truth. He was a student of the Imrei Chaim of Vishnitz from Bnei Brak. Vishnitz is part of Aguda and they vote in elections, have members in the knesset etc. When his father passed away, the leaders in toldos aaron did not want him to take over due to his soft manner and moderate outlook. So they passed him over and took his brother. He opened his own shul and schools and the more peaceful crowd, including most of the younger generation followed him. He is well known for his 5 hour tish where over half the crowd is not his followers. They include mizrachi types, Modern Orthodox, Yeshiva students, and even non-religious Israelis. They are all welcomed with no questions asked. He does not hide his opinions and outlook, but violence is totally repugnant to him.
FYI: On 21 Adar is the yartzeit of the Noam Elimelech. He is buried in Lizensk, Poland and thousands of people fly there on that day. Last year, Yisroel Weiss of neturei idiots, who attended the holocaust denial conference in Iran, showed up there. A group of satmar chassidim, who are sick and tired of the NK, beat the living daylights out of him. Since he always claimed that all chareidim support him, he couldn’t make an issue out of it and it was hushed up.
Editor’s note: Something tells us you’ve read the editorial accompanying the article but not the article. Don’t feel bad. You’re not the only one.