The gemara that I quoted is quoted extensively in sifrei emuna and is worthwhile for every Jew to be familiar with. I believe that we do have to make every effort to bring all rabbanim and all Jews who basically believe in the Torah, without a tsitsis check, to come together, stop fighting each other, stop pressing each other's buttons and strengthen one another. This is the idea behind Manhigut Yehudit. At all times and especially now, we Jews in EY receive appeals for tzedaka for fellow Jews in distress. A terrible disease, a widow with bli ayin hara lots of kids, etc. But the hareidi ones are signed by the hareidi rabbanim and the RZ ones by RZ rabbanim. Why does everything have to be political or tribal or whatever it is? Can't they all get together? Why do the secular politicians play them like a piano when building coalitions? It has to stop! By all means make any of this public. Make sure it is all in good English because the people who never learned in yeshiva or Bais Yaakov need to hear it as well.
May the true and complete Geula come soon.
Yehoshua Friedman
----- Original Message -----From: FaigeRayzel@aol.comSent: Sunday, March 25, 2007 9:13 AMSubject: Chareidi Rabbanim - Can I make our discussion public?In a message dated 3/24/2007 3:41:19 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, friedy07@netvision.net.il writes:Ms. Ticker,I generally agree with you on almost all points. The awful truth is that everybody is looking for someone else to solve the problem. The hareidi approach is that the geula is going to happen by the initiative of Hashem almost entirely alone.Rabbi Friedman, amv"shThank you so much for replying. As for your opinion of the Chareidi approach that Geula is going to happen by the initiative of Hashem, I am not sure this is the case. My last discussion with Hadas, Rav Eliashiv's secretary, did not seem to imply this. I had the impression from Hadas who is someone that has insider perspective, was that the Rabbanim wanted more Chizuk from other Rabbanim (important names). One of their considerations I gather was fear of a strong backlash including Kassam Rockets from the Arab Population. When Moshe Rabbeinu confronted Pharaoh to let the Jews go, it got much worse for the Jews. Moshe then went back to Hashem and said "Lama Hareiosa..." It is very likely that if the Jews finally have leadership that will confront Bush's Roadmap as being against the Bible it will be received with tremendous backlash. Apparently this must be the case because every Jewish Leader of stature is afraid to state the obvious and this Fundamental Truth of Torah. I gathered that Hadas personally felt that we still should persevere. She suggested Rav Mordechai Eliyahu as being the Rav that might be the most Mashpia and the Sadigerer and the Bostoner Rebbe to personally go to Rav Shteinman. I would suggest that they join forces with the Rabbanim of Yesha like Rav Kamenetsky of Gush Katif, the Rabbanim of Yishuvim in Hevron (Rabbi Danny Cohen, Rav Levinger, Rav Waldman, etc.) as well as the Rabbanim of the Shomron. She said that we need someone in Eretz Yisroel that will orchestrate this. As you can see from my letter to Hadas I was not afraid to confront the Rabbanim in a very strong way. And they did not reply that I was chutzpadik. I clearly said that Silence is a Chillul Hashem. I implied that the Silence of the Rabbanim has its roots with the Miraglim. While this correspondence was happening the Rabbanim, Rav Eliashiv and Rav Shteinman, initiated a letter to President Bush regarding Jonathan Pollard. I wonder whether they were testing the waters of how a public statement to the President of the US would be received. I spoke to Sara Nachshon personally and she said that the only person that she knows that is trying to reach the Rabbanim is Baruch Merzel. Perhaps he can be approached to find out other names of Rabbanim (Chasidish and LItvish) that have visited Chevron to add to the list of Rabbanim who will personally have the courage to speak out against Bush's Roadmap and for the Torah Roadmap. I believe the disengagement happened because of Arevius. Even though the people of Gush Katif were worthy, until the rest of Am Yisroel is willing to claim Eretz Yisroel as their own, and desire Eretz Yisroel and yearn to keep the Mitvoth that are dependant on the Land, then we as a Nation is Chayav. Every Jew in Chutz Laaretz must share in the yearning. Even if one has not stepped foot into Eretz Yisroel, or going on Aliya is too difficult from a practical or emotional level, every Jew must recognize that Eretz Yisroel is our Biblical Inheritance and that living elsewhere is temporary. The Rambam himself had a house in Egypt even though the Torah says not to go back to Egypt. Rambam held that it's ok to live in Egypt as long as we recognize that it's a temporary dwelling. If Yoveil was now in effect and each Jew knew which Shevet they were from, then it would be crystal clear that Eretz Yisroel is truly our inheritance and that this is the ideal reality and not some extreme ideology. Every Jew would be displaced and return to their true Nachala which is a physical piece of property. This piece of property may fall precisely in that section of Land that the gov't and/or JNF for example is very "generously" giving to the Arabs as a gesture of peace. I was reading Midrash Says on Vayikra. The introduction discusses that the Chofetz Chaim encouraged each and every Jew to learn the Mitzvoth of Karbanos and Tuma and Tahara since if Moshiach were to come today we would be ready for him and be knowledgeable. True we don't have a Beis Hamikdash so we cannot sacrifice Karbanos. However, why can't we keep SHemitta, Leqet, Shikcha and Peah, Maaser Rishon and Maaser Sheini to the best of our abilities given our limitations. This is precisely the work of the Beit Medrash LeTorat Eretz Yisroel in Har Nof, the brainchild of Rav Efrati who is a close confidant and secretary of Rav Eliashiv. Maybe this Beis Medrash are waiting for the people to bang down their doors begging them to speak up for Eretz Yisroel and end the dreadful Silence. Rav Eliashiv shlita is 96 years old amv"sh and according to Hadas has not been feeling well or receiving visitors of any kind within the last few weeks. Hadas said we should go to Rav Shteinman. I personally did not focus on Rav Shteinman because I was told by Rav Karmel of Lev LAchim that Rav Shteinman when asked about the Disengagement from Gush Katif replied "Nisht Inzere Sugia" i.e. that it is not relevant to what we are presently engaged in. I wonder sarcastically if he was referring to the Sugiot in Gemarra that relate to property ownership and Torts. Isn't stealing property from a fellow Jew related to more than one Sugia. How about all the other Mitzvoth D'oraita that were violated as a result of the disengagement. Not to mention the brutality of the police at Amona. Why isn't anyone confronting these Gedoilim on these aspects of Torah. How can the populace at large be duped that this is a matter of politics. My take on what's happening is that the Halacha of UTJ and SHas has truly been based on politics rather than on Torah. I suggested to Manhigut Yehudit to take up this challenge of addressing the Rabbanim and they too choose to address the secular Jew and unite with them as opposed to publicly address those that stand for Torah Values. It won't be too long for the children to recognize that the Torah that the Emperor is wearing is bare. Stating the truth is very scary. Yet standing up for Torah is much scarier.It is true that it the room for movement of our free will is pretty limited. A lot of us tried very hard a year and a half ago to stop the expulsion. It seems to have been decreed from above.When Yesurim happen one is obligated to be PishPesh Bemaasav and see why these Yesuriim Happened. Even Iyov, the perfect Tzadik that accepted his Yisurim with love, apparently was Silent before Pharaoh.To the extent that we can fathom an incomplete process with our limited perception, it seems to me as though the secular leadership of the country is being forced to have its nose rubbed in the filth it has created.This is no comfort to me. The religious Zionist camp, of which I am, since Gush Katif, a former member, ultimately gave more value to national unity with the secular public than to Torah values. This is changing. Growth is painful. The hareidi politicians also spent more time in one-upmanship against the RZ camp than they did in supporting Torah values. This put the rabbanim in a difficult position. The expulsion also caused the country to see the failure of the sudden withdrawal from Lebanon under Barak. It also precipitated the internal Arab fighting in Gaza. Truth sprouts from the earth, but first it has to be buried in the ground and rot. That is hard.The entire secular regime will have to be changed including not only the government but the courts, media, economic oligarchy, everything. As we come closer to being a majority, the opposition by the Sitra Achra will be greater. It is even possible that the secular leadership will call in foreign troops in support of the preservation of the Jewish Democratic People's Republic of Israel. The gemara in Sanhedrin does say that the Malchut (non-Jewish nations) will rule over EY for 9 months before Mashiach comes.I personally don't learn Gemorrah and I'm unfamiliar with this. But I believe that Hashem does not want us to suffer. Hashem just wants us to do Teshuva. What is decreed may happen but if we do Teshuva it will be w/o suffering and hardships. Our Emunah will pull us through. But we must be deserving.The other possibility is that in the face of a nuclear holocaust those people without emuna will run away and the maaminim will take control. But they will take the money with them. Things will be difficult one way or another, but in the end Hashem's will will be done.Pesach Kasher v'Sameach.Yehoshua Friedman
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