העורך Editor

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(The correct number is now 9,000, not 4,000!)

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We recently noted the heretical aspects of the Steinsaltz Talmud. But what about the basic quality of the work itself?

See Rabbi Aharon Feldman’s “The Eye of the Storm – A Calm View of Raging Issues”, 2009, chapter 17.

He shows the Steinsaltz Talmud to be shoddy scholarship. I don’t have permission to reproduce the entire chapter from Rabbi Feldman’s book, but it’s quite damning (thanks to a dear reader for the images!).

Here’s a revealing excerpt, where Steinsaltz claims the Gemara here says things for no reason at all (“certain sections of the passage are entirely superfluous”, sic), and puts that in the mouth of the Geonim:

Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein recently accused Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum in Cross-Currents of cheapening Jewish heroism and history. I would comment directly on the site, but I think I’m blocked (Yay!).

Here’s the main part of the article:

A few days ago, R Aron Teitelbaum of Satmar/Kiryas Yoel voiced his disapproval of the New York State Commissioner of Education for her ongoing attempt to force compliance with state curricular standards…

“She wants to change Klal Yisrael and remove us from our religion exactly as the Greeks wanted in their time, to destroy the education institutions, a decree of forced conversion (shmad). Who would have thought that here, in the greatest democracy in the world, a time would come when a decree on education would become reality?”

The Rebbe is known to be a clever, smart man. He cannot actually believe that the NYS Dept of Education is working for the apostasy of the Torah-true Jews of Kiryas Yoel and Williamsburg. So its just a bit of literary flourish, right? A bit of dramatic exaggeration? In a country currently awash with hyperbole, the Rebbe is perhaps no different than many in politics, broadcasting, and the academic world.

But there is something else wrong with this. Employing the “shmad” charge in this context cheapens centuries of Jewish history, and minimizes the sacrifices of countless Jews who laid down their lives in times of real gezeiras shmad. They knew the difference between the NYS Commissioner of Education and the likes of Antiochus, Torquemada, Count Uvarov, and the raiding parties in Iran that forcibly converted entire villages of Jews.

No. What Rabbi Adlerstein cannot imagine is that this is the case with all government education. Public schooling is an intentional threat to all religion or pseudo-religion (except for state “power religion”). Read the relevant chapter in Rothbard’s “For a New Liberty” for the historical proof. Polish up with Gatto’s “The Underground History of American Education” (free here).

Now maybe Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum doesn’t know all that either. But government education really is Shmad! Rabbi Brand expands the halachic “Shmad” category to state expulsions of Jews from the land of Israel, and similar matters as well.

Not hyperbole!

The Rebbe certainly knows that there is no locale in the entire country with a larger percentage of people living on the public dole than Kiryas Yoel. Not too many people are going to believe that the government is trying to wipe them out as a community. The Satmar argument that the State’s demands are excessive has some merit. It would be better, however, if it did not match that excessiveness with words that are a slap in the face of centuries of kedoshim.

That is an actual valid point. “Who pays the piper calls the tune.”

I wish to comment on the oft-heard claim selling or promoting segulah items is “manipulative”, because “there are people who end up impoverishing themselves due to desperate “investment” in such things.”

Unless it is halachically fraud (not my topic for the moment!), you can’t prove “opportunity cost”. How do you know they would have extra money left over if they hadn’t used it for this? You can’t know.

It’s like the claim if people weren’t wasting their time and energy on statistically ineffective politics, they could be making real changes in the world by Direct Action, or whatever. Says who? As best as I can tell, people like the illusion of politics. They don’t like changing things. And so one does not come at the expense of another.

Can you prove me wrong?

The Bagatz is releasing a couple of thousands of prisoners home because the jails are too crowded. Baruch Matir Assurim! I am torn, obviously. But the news reports that some of those released are dangerous pedophiles!

I just hope the fence around Kefar Shemaryahu (where just about all the Supreme Justices live) is nice and tall…