העורך Editor

When a wild creature, a common product of the government’s welfare and public education system, enters some decent working man’s home, rapes and murders his wife and daughters, steals his goods, and destroys his home, if, by some extraordinary circumstance, the rapist is then caught, he is put in prison, where he is fed, sheltered, and clothed for the rest of his life with money extorted from the victim. That is called government justice.

Just a small reminder.

Hamodia’s “Inyan” (27 Av 5779, p. 32-33) interviewed Rabbi Yechiel Kessel of Kefar Zoharim (Kiruv for “Off The Derech” youth).

Rabbi  Kessel said this:

“That is the reason Rabbi Grossman invested millions of shekels in this project. All the boys here, without exception, are from chareidi homes. Every society has some ‘neshira’ – youth who leave their particular culture. But there’s a difference. When a boy grows up on Torah and mitzvos, then all his values are based on the Aseres Hadibros. When he leaves Torah, he loses all of them. And when he loses his values he turns criminal. He doesn’t know that even if you’re not chareidi, you don’t steal, because a person doesn’t steal. When a chareidi family deals with a son who is nosher, they’re dealing with a son who not only doesn’t keep Shabbos, they’re often dealing with a son who’s a criminal.

“Rabbi Grossman opened the Kefar to save these boys from criminal lifestyles. As far as teshuvah — it’s something we ultimately want, but it’s not up to us. It’s their own choice, their own bechirah. But at least they should be functional people.”

At the Kefar, the boys are given a vocation so that they no longer need to turn to crime…

Sure, “Derech Eretz precedes Torah”, says the Torah (!). As we have said before: “Those who heal such youth focus on turning them, firstly, into human beings, and rightly so. This isn’t merely about which sins are worse, but a form of “אל תרשע הרבה”.” Also, read Rabbi Hirsch quoted here. But Rabbi Kessel is speaking his mind to us all.

Let me get this straight.

• Indeed, כל שאינו מלמד את בנו אומנות כאילו מלמדו ליסטות. But there are plenty of places to gain a vocation! If the immediate, not “ultimate” goal is not comprehensive Teshuvah, is Rabbi Kessel then in the business of creating “functional” Meshumadim? What if some of them refuse to do Teshuvah?
• Without religion, a person shouldn’t steal? Exactly why not (including Bnei Noach)? It sounds like the traditional yeshivish twisting of מצוות שכליות/שמעיות. Furthermore, should loyal Jews, then, stop basing our values on Aseres Hadibros, Heaven forfend?!
• I quote: “They’re dealing with a son who not only doesn’t keep Shabbos, they’re often dealing with a son who’s a criminal.” Right… Stealing = Criminal. Desecrating Shabbos ≠ Criminal. Why “often” dealing with a criminal? Unlike theft, Chillul Shabbos is a capital offense!

(I interpret “Chareidi” above as plain “religious”, as is clear from the rest of the interview.)

The articles continues (p. 36):

The Kefar stands behind the boys until they can stand on their own two feet. “There aren’t too many other institutions, even very good ones, that put this as their goal,” says Rabbi Kessel. “Our goal is to do everything possible so that our boys will build good, healthy marriages and be able to succeed in this world.”

But what about returning to Torah and mitzvos? Though this isn’t the Kefar’s stated goal, it is the ultimate rehabilitation the staff hopes for.

Rav Kessel says that more of their graduates are shomrei Torah than not. And of those who are not Torah observant when they leave the Kefar, most return to Torah observance at some point down the road.

…

There are no rules about Torah observance in the Kefar. There’s no pressure. We expect our boys to be respectful, so when the’re in the Kefar they must be shomerei Shabbos and they need to wear a kippah, but that’s it…

• “Build good, healthy marriages” without Hilchos Niddah?! בת ישראל לא תילד את הנכרית מפני שמילדת בן לעבודה זרה.
• What good to God is a secular’s Jew ability “to succeed in this world“?!
• Note well: I don’t know percentages, but most ex-religious return to Torah observance “at some point”, either with or without Kiruv.

This is not chiefly about Rabbi Kessel or Kefar Zoharim. I read identical descriptions of Kiruv for “Off The Derech” youth in many publications. I am sure many of them achieve great things. And I have the same Torah disagreement with each and every one of them.

As stated in the title: Half the Time, Kiruv Artists Are Just Efficiency Experts for Meshumadim

An excerpt from Reb Akiva at Mystical Paths:

The position of the Lubavitcher Rebbe has always made the most sense to me as a religious Jew, it is: vote for a religious party and a party that protects the Land of Israel’s territory (that does not go with “land for peace” – or as can better be written nowadays “land for pieces of Jews blown up”).

The problem is that the seemingly ultra-orthodox Jewish religious parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas are: NOT RELIGIOUS, and have demonstrated historically that they have no care for protecting the Land OR the citizens of Israel.

What they are is good old fashioned patronage parties for their segment of the observant Jewish community, meaning they exist to funnel government budget and resources to their people. This is easily demonstrable by looking at their record: when religious issues have arisen, such as Shabbat construction on public infrastructure in Tel Aviv – they avoided being drawn into the issue (of governmental desecration of the Sabbath) which could have forced them to leave the government coalition. And they have supported land for pieces of Jews (for additional budget allocations).  But on budget issues and control issues of certain government authorities, they will push it to the limit.

It should be no surprise they have strong support among their constituency and are growing through the strong demographic growth of their segment of society.  After all, if your jobs or yeshiva or synagogue are dependent on their party success… you are theirs.

…

As a religious Jew living in the Land of Israel, I consider it prohibited to vote for United Torah Judaism or Shas, as both have never shown any concern for the Land of Israel or for the safety of the citizens of Israel, nor for the religious character of the State, which is the responsibility of every Jew, particularly those who call themselves religious.

See the rest here.

Here is Sefer Hachinuch (Mitzvah 550) regarding the prohibition against plowing with two different animals (from our Parshah, Ki Teiztei):

שורש המצוה כתב הרמב”ם ז”ל שהוא משורש איסור הרבעת הבהמה כלאים, כי דרך עובדי אדמה להביא הצמד ברפת אחת ושמה ירכיב אותם, ושורש איסור הרבעה כתבתיו במקומו בסדר קדושים תהיו [מצוה רמ”ד].

ואחר רשות אדוני הרב הנזכר והודאה על דברו הטוב, אענה אף אני חלקי ואומר כי מטעמי מצוה זו ענין צער בעלי חיים שהוא אסור מן התורה, וידוע שיש למיני הבהמות ולעופות דאגה גדולה לשכון עם שאינם מינן וכל שכן לעשות עמהן מלאכה, וכמו שאנו רואים בעינינו באותן שאינם תחת ידינו כי כל עוף למינו ישכון, וכל הבהמות ושאר המינין גם כן ידבקו לעולם במיניהן.

Translation of the bolded section above:

“… One reason for this mitzvah is the Torah prohibition against causing animal suffering (Tza’ar Ba’alei Chaim). Quartering different species of beasts or birds together is known to cause them emotional distress, further aggravated upon being yoked together for fieldwork. This fact is evident upon observation of undomesticated beasts. Ben Sira states this is specifically true of birds, but all wildlife is the same in this respect.”

So, there you go. “Other” animals, too, are “racist”…

By the way, the next sentence of the Chinuch relates well to associations both public and private:

וכל חכם לב מזה יקח מוסר שלא למנות שני אנשים לעולם בדבר מכל הדברים שיהיו רחוקים בטבעם ומשונים בהנהגתם כמו צדיק ורשע והנקלה בנבבד, שאם הקפידה התורה על הצער שיש בזה לבעלי חיים שאינם בני שכל, כל שכן בבני אדם אשר להם נפש משכלת לדעת יוצרם.

In a recent article, we quoted Rabbi Y.Y. Fischer using “Kettle Logic“, attempting to both claim the Luchos may, indeed, have been rounded, and that our custom to round the Luchos is to avoid copying the originals… (I like the latter part.)

A contributing author, Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, just brought to my attention an article he once wrote on this topic, uncannily similar to my own: Squared vs. Rounded Tablets.

It’s interesting to note Rabbi Shach’s final position was pro-square Luchos, though “Michtavim Uma’amrim”, the collection of Rabbi Shach’s letters and speeches somehow missed that letter.

Again, find it here.