An Email that we received

 Good morning. I understand many have issues with ...   .... and ... ....... Are you and others not aware of the many that have been sent for psychiatric evaluation by that Beis din. More to the point is who they send them too. I ask mechilah in advance if anything hits a sore point etc. 

I don't know your opinion on the Agudah or Torah Umesorah, but are you and others not aware of the dangers of some of their programs. The Kefirah that is now being taught in the chinuch system to children and being done through teachers Rabbaim etc. The two programs that have been set up over the last 5 years. The mashgiach program and now the DLI program which have been set up by dr. Shmuel Mandelman is extremely detrimental; yet it is louded by the masses as wonderful. He may be brilliant and smart but still loaded with sheker kefira and apikursis. None of the bedroom of yesteryear would have allowed what is being done today. Yet there is just silence and here and there whispers.

Please look into the man if you don't know about him. Mandelman gives or gave advise on a regular basis to the Beis din.

The damage that is being done by that man on a large scale will be in the masses. If the people don't wake up about him, Torah Umesorah and the Agudah soon; the next generation what everyone thinks will be more connected will end up being the exact opposite. Rachmana litzlan.

Yiddishkeit is becoming cultural, emotional, business etc. Rachmana litzlan. In my humble opinion None of the gedolim litvish, chassidish, or sephardic who was worth anything and stood for emes would allow or stay quiet the way the chinuch systems are turning.

Please do let me know your opinion and is there anything you think can be done on a larger scale to wake the masses up?

Bracha vhatzlocha.

An Anonymous Letter to Agudas Yisroel of America

 How the Agudah & the Moetzes Have Lost Touch With Their Followers:

 The following anonymous letter has been circulating:

Dear Agudas Yisroel of America.

I write to you as someone who considers himself an “Agudah Yid” even if I may be a few years behind in my membership dues! I grew up in a household where the Agudah and the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah reigned supreme. But it seems to be that we have reached a crossroads and that Agudah needs to make a decision. Fast.

It is no secret that Ultra Orthodoxy today is divided into several groups.

There are the Chassidim. Many major groups of Chassidim were anti Agudah from the start and the ones who weren’t don’t seem to be too eager to join right now. They are largely insular and prefer the leadership of their own rebbes. No Rebbe of a major Chasidus is part of Agudah. And so Agudah does not represent them nor should they attempt to.

There is “Lakewood” and the people under their influence. (Full disclosure, I live in Lakewood) The Lakewood yeshiva community is a right-leaning community. This means practically that the Lakewood Roshei Yeshiva and Rabbonim will sign bans against 24/6 (and Megillas Esther), will take strong positions against all new technology, always rule stringently in areas of women’s modesty, and – well, you get my point. Similar to the Chassidim, they are insular and do not have much interest in the outside world. To date, there is no major support, respect, or interest in Agudah from the Lakewood yeshiva community.

Then there are the others. These are the Ultra-Orthodox Jews from Brooklyn to Passaic to Monsey and from the tens of smaller communities across the country. They have a bona-fide yeshiva education but also look outward. They may have gone to college, or they may not have, but they certainly see value in a broader education and worldview. They also see themselves as part of a larger Jewish world, at home and abroad. They do not “support” the non-religious, but they are pained by the fact that so many Jews do not live a life of Torah. It seems to me that this is Agudas Yisroel’s constituency. To be fair, I think this was the dominant (non-Chassidic) view of Ultra Orthodoxy in American since World War 2, and it is the Lakewood Yeshiva crowd that has slowly moved in a new direction.

You may not want that or like that, but those are the facts. The core followers of the Agudah are the non-Chassidism, non-Lakewood communities.

And yet, your Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah is filled with people who are often at odds with your core constituency. No one is questioning the greatness of any member of the Moetzes (obviously), and there are legitimate positions on many issues, but members of an organization need and deserve to have a rabbinical board that share basic values and approaches with them. Why should the Lakewood yeshiva world have such a strong voice in the Moetzes of Agudah when the Lakewood yeshiva world is not even part of Agudah?

Now I know what you will tell me: “we listen to our Gedolim and accept their words even if we disagree”. But you and I both know that is false. To date there is no member of the Modern Orthodox world on your Moetzes despite there being many great Talmidei Chachamim among them. There is no member of Chabad on your board either. Clearly, there needs to be a baseline “hashkafah” that a Gadol has to have in order to be considered for the Moetzes. And so again, why is the Moetzes made up of so many members who are so at odds with the people who look to Agudah for guidance?

The rally in Washington D.C. this week is a perfect example of the problem. I am not concerned with the merits of either side; I simply want to take a look at the disconnect here.

Many Ultra-Orthodox communities across the country were eager to participate in this historic, and what they saw as vital, rally. And what was the position of the Agudah? First, they sent out a timid email with what appeared to be reluctant support for the rally. To an outsider it seemed that the Moetzes did not want to support the rally at all, but realized that opposing it would not sit well with their constituents and so they did not come out against it. Their weak email created a vacuum to allow the mess that was to follow.

The evening before the event a letter comes out signed by 4 member of the Moetzes (a 5th joined later) saying that it is assur to go to the rally. Never mind the cruelty of the November surprise, but to our point, the views of this Moetzes are simply worlds apart from the people who would be Agudah members. Even before the letter came out there were almost no buses from Lakewood going to the event. In in 5 Towns, you were embarrassed to not be attending the rally and in Lakewood no one even knew about it! Many Rabbonim from outside of Lakewood supported and joined the rally; are they not “chared lidvar Hashem”?

There is a terrible divide between the ideology of the voice coming out of Agudah and the people who are its loyal adherents. This is leading to nothing less than the destruction of Agudah. Consider the fact that most people would struggle to find some positive communal initiative that Agudah has implemented for Klal Yisroel over the past few years. They are clearly handicapped by the many voices in the Moetzes and so they take the path of least resistance and do nothing. While their counterpart at the OU are engaged in community changing Torah projects and initiatives, Agudah is making grand conventions. With their AllDaf app OU is teaching millions of Yidden Shas, while the Agudah is making millions off of Yiden with a Siyum HaShas.

(Caveat – We are talking here about Agudah as a voice and guidance for Torah Jewry in America. There are a lot of projects that Agudah is involved in, such as lobbying, legal/political initiatives that are invaluable.)

The Lakewood yeshiva world has adopted very different views then many of us. These are of course legitimate views, just as the Gedolim purporting them are tremendous people. If the Agudah wants to appeal to these voiced and embrace the Rabbonim who speak for them- fine. Let us know and we will wish you well, and probably start a new organization to speak for us. I should warn you, however, that most of the “yeshivsh” Rosh Yeshivas want nothing to do with Agudah and most of their followers have nothing but ridicule for you.

But if you want to continue to be the voice for what is still the mainstream Ultra-Orthodox in the country, it is time that real change comes to your institution. Those changes might be in who is allowed to be on the Moetzes, or maybe what types of questions need the Moetzes approval, or maybe who gets to have veto power, I don’t know. But I do know that you are currently in dangerous waters. You are being dominated by voices who are diametrically opposed to the deepest convictions of the only people who still support you. That situation cannot last.

Posted by Dusiznies at 11:00 AM 

Anonymous said...

Very well said' in a condensed article.November 17, 2023 at 12:31 PM

KASHRUS ALERT: Very confusing alert re: Gefen ChickPeas/Garbanzo Beans

1- It states on the bag, should be checked for infestation. A consumer would understand that when it was packed it was checked and was not infested at packing.

2- The notice says "THEY MAY NOT  BE USED", evidently it can't be checked by the consumer and it was infested at packing, so what was the purpose of the notice on the package, just a disclaimer of sort.

3- The Notice states only those two batch numbers, but the fact is that the later ones are also infested.

4-Therefore, that brand of product and or the Hashgocha are not reliable for infestation issues.
 

Whole wheat flour- seperating Challah

                                          KEMACH FOOD PRODUCTS CORP.

9920 Farragut Road           Brooklyn, NY 11236-2302           (718) 272-5655          (718) 272-6226 Fax

 

                                                                                      ** PUBLIC ALERT ** 

HAFRASHAS CHALLAH (SEPARATING CHALLAH) 

& WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR

 

Here are some important bullet points taken from this P’sak (halachic ruling) from our Rav Hamachshir, Harav Nusson N. Horowitz regarding the laws pertaining to being “Mafrish Challah” (Separating Challah) when using Kemach Whole Wheat Flour.

 

A special Thank You to Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Young for all the time and energy he put into researching the calculations and measurements that were used in this P’sak.

 

•    When in the process of milling whole wheat flour, the bran is removed from the flour and then mixed back, the halacha (in Shulchan Aruch) states that it no longer is counted towards the shiur (measurement) needed to be mafrish challah. Most manufactured whole wheat flour, and specifically Kemach Whole Wheat Flour is manufactured that way.

•    Based on this Halacha one must factor that (l’chumrah) up to 27% of the Kemach Whole Wheat Flour might be bran that was mixed back in.

•    It is important to note that this must be relied on only as a chumrah (stringency) and not a Kullah (leniency), i.e. one may not make a Brocho on hafrashas challah without factoring in the extra 27%. However, when taking challah on smaller amounts of flour upon which a brocho is anyway not said, the 27% is not a determining factor if hafroshas challah is needed at all.

•    PRACTICAL MEASUREMENTS (adding 27% by weight and proportionately by volume)

o When measuring by weight we need to multiply by 1.37. For example, one’s Rov holds that one should make the brocho on hafroshas challah only if the amount of white flour in the dough is at least 5 pounds. Multiplying 5 by 1.37 comes to 6.85. Accordingly, the amount of Kemach Whole Wheat Flour one needs to use in order to make a brocho would be almost 7 lbs. (More precisely, 6.85 lbs. which is 6 lbs. and 13.6 oz.).

o When measuring by volume we need to multiply by 1.52. For example, one’s Rov holds that one should make the brocho on hafroshas challah only if the amount of white flour in the dough is at least 18 cups (for less than 18 cups but at least 9 cups one should take challah but without a brocho). Multiplying 18 by 1.52 comes to about 27.5. Accordingly, the amount of Kemach Whole Wheat Flour one needs to use in order to make a brocho would be 27.5 cups.

o However, if as stated above, one uses less than 18 cups but at least 9 cups (e.g. 10 cups of flour), one should not multiply by 1.52. Instead in this case he should take challah from the 10-cup dough, but without a brocho.

Please note that all of the above is only applicable to Kemach Whole Wheat Flour. (Other companies might not remove and mix back in the bran, and/or might have different percentages).

אם ראית דור שצרות רבות באות עליו - צא ובדוק בדייני ישראל. שכל פורענות שבאה לעולם לא באה אלא בשביל דייני ישראל, שבת קל"ט - א

תלמוד בבלי מסכת שבת דף קלט עמוד א

תניא, רבי יוסי בן אלישע אומר

 אם ראית דור שצרות רבות באות עליו - צא ובדוק בדייני ישראל. שכל פורענות שבאה לעולם לא באה אלא בשביל דייני ישראל,

שנאמר שמעו נא זאת ראשי בית יעקב וקציני בית ישראל המתעבים משפט ואת כל הישרה יעקשו בנה ציון בדמים וירושלים בעולה ראשיה בשחד ישפטו וכהניה במחיר יורו ונביאיה בכסף יקסמו ועל ה' ישענו וגו' רשעים הן, אלא שתלו בטחונם במי שאמר והיה העולם. 

לפיכך מביא הקדוש ברוך הוא עליהן שלש פורעניות כנגד שלש עבירות שבידם. שנאמר לכן בגללכם ציון שדה תחרש וירושלים עיין תהיה והר הבית לבמות יער. 

ואין הקדוש ברוך הוא משרה שכינתו על ישראל עד שיכלו שופטים ושוטרים רעים מישראל, 

שנאמר ואשיבה ידי עליך ואצרף כבר סגיך, ואסירה כל בדיליך ואשיבה שפטיך כבראשונה ויעציך כבתחלה וגו'.

After a Bankruptcy, it's common to change the name, Why did KCL change their name, still without any basic kashrus reliability

 In other words, every agency, organization, and individual out there giving hashgacha should be doing a proper job.

Unfortunately, many are not, even to the point that one cannot eat at establishments that they certify or eat the products that they certify unless the kashrus system is independently verified.

Ubiquitous under-performance, even in bastions of holiness, does not make it more acceptable to do a sub-standard job, but it allows us to be more kind in considering that a deficient agency, organization, or individual is not a standout, but one of many.

The reasons vary: lack of expertise in kashrus systems, lack of management skills, lack of budget, lack of the community’s willingness to properly fund a top-notch, or even Halachically acceptable, kashrus program, misplaced compassion towards unqualified staff, turf wars, negligence, and sometimes even avarice and lack of yir’as Shamayim.

But the consequences are the same: a community unknowingly eats that which is Halachically prohibited, and the knowing of the community are left with no good options and are frowned upon by the unknowing.

May Hashem protect all His children and grant us all to eat properly kosher food.

The following article appeared in the past in KASHRUS Magazine (reprinted with some clarification.)

Catering Standards Questioned? Invited to an affair under the supervision of a Lakewood's yeshiva [ KCL] established  “Hashgocha” , but which was being held in a non-kosher facility, we went into the kitchen to look around and to compare notes with the Mashgiach. we were not prepared for what we found.

[ for copy of article- kashrusy@aol.com (subject line KCL article)]

Raw Chick peas / Garbanzo beans /Arbas- High quality

Alert! Gefen raw Chick Peas being recalled  to infestation issues.

 

The Brisker Rov zt’l famously stated;

One of the main functions of a Rabbi is to advocate for and support the "weakest" members of his community, “to give a voice to the voiceless”.

He said; Gehenim is big enough to hold the whole varsha.

RE: Bais Yosef invalid Bais Din Hazmonahs and Siruvim

 The Bais Yosef Bais Din's summonses and excommunications are hereby declared invalid.
Ownership of the Bais Yosef institutions and affiliates, situated in Brooklyn, vests exclusively with Rav Joffen. He has conferred a Power of Attorney upon Reb. Yehuda Shain, based in Lakewood, New Jersey, for all matters concerning the Bais Yosef Bais Din.

Reb Yehuda Shain has been contacted by certain parties in relation to the summonses and excommunications recently issued. He has clarified that he did not authorize any operational activities of the Bais Yosef Bais Din; in fact, he has explicitly directed the cessation of its operations.

A formal communication will be disseminated to the concerned parties within the forthcoming days to affirm this directive.

 

 Europe died at Auschwitz!

Who or what really died at Auschwitz? Here's an interesting viewpoint.

The following is a copy of an article written by Spanish writer Sebastian Villar Rodriguez and published in a Spanish newspaper. It doesn't take much imagination to extrapolate the message to the rest of Europe - and possibly to the rest of the world.

I walked down the streets in Barcelona and suddenly discovered a terrible truth - Europe died in Auschwitz !! We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims in the past 4 decades !!.

In Auschwitz, we burned a group of people who represented culture, thought, creativity, talent. We destroyed the chosen people, truly chosen, because they produced great and wonderful people who made great contributions to the world, and thus changed the world .

The contribution of today’s Jewish people is felt in all areas of life: science, art, international trade, and above all, as the conscience of the world. Look at any donors’ board at any symphony, art museum, theatre, art gallery, science Center, etc. You will see many, many, Jewish surnames. These are the people who were burned. Of the 6,000,000 who died, how many would have grown up to be gifted musicians, doctors, artists, philanthropists?

And under the pretense of tolerance, and because we wanted to prove to ourselves that we were cured of the diseases of racism and bigotry, Europe opened our gates to 20 million Muslims, who brought us stupidity and ignorance, religious extremism and lack of tolerance, crime and poverty, due to an unwillingness to work and support their families with pride .

They have blown up our trains and turned our beautiful Spanish cities into the third world, drowning in filth and crime. Shut up in the apartments they receive free money from the government, they plan the murder and destruction of their naive hosts .

And thus, in our misery, we have exchanged culture for fanatical hatred, creative skill for destructive skill, intelligence for backwardness and superstition. We have exchanged the pursuit of peace of the Jews of Europe and their talent for a better future for their children, their determined clinging to life because life is holy, for those who pursue death, for people consumed by the desire for death for themselves and others, for our children and theirs. What a terrible mistake was made by miserable Europe .

Recently, the UK debated whether to remove The Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offends' the Muslim population which claims it never occurred. It is not removed as yet. However, this is a frightening portent of the fear that is gripping the world and how easily each country is giving in to it. .

It is now approximately seventy years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, twenty million Russians, ten million Christians, and nineteen-hundred Catholic priests who were 'murdered, raped, burned, starved, beaten, experimented on and humiliated. Now, more than ever, with Iran, among others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth* ,' it is imperative to make sure the world "never forgets."

How many years will it be before the attack on the World Trade Center 'NEVER HAPPENED' because it offends some Muslim in the United States? If our Judeo-Christian heritage is offensive to Muslims, they should pack up and move to Iran, Iraq or some other Muslim country.

We must wake up America, England, Australia & Europe before it's too late !!."

 If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools ”.

Please do not just delete this message; It will take only a minute to pass this along.

This e-mail is intended to reach 400 million people. Be a link in the memorial chain and help distribute this around the world. Dusiznies Copyright 2010. .