העורך Editor

“The” Gedolim, Rabbi Shach especially, were against this so-called התגרות באומות, while most everyone else was strongly for it, and until today the debate rages on: Who was right?

In a footnote on p. 337 of “Rav Avigdor Miller – His Life And His Revolution”, by Rabbi Yaakov Y. Hamburger, the editor quotes Dr. Luchin’s “The Underground Press” (Judaica Press, 2014) who quotes Kissinger saying the protests only delayed the solution. Sounds to me like diplomatic grandstanding by an unreliable man.

On the other hand, Rabbi Meir Kahane’s columns in The Jewish Press reproduced letters received from Jews actually behind the Iron Curtain at the time claiming this strategy was best (they would know!).

Still, I think the jury is out.

להלן הפרטים:

שימו לב: הפעם יש הגרלה גם לאלה שהולכות תמיד עם מטפחת!!!

ההגרלה מטעם ארגון “בראש ובראשונה” המנהל קווי צניעות מרתקים לגברים ולנשים.

My internet filter(s) won’t allow me to see it, but there is a reportedly-modest investigative series discussing the problem on YouTube produced by “Kan” TV called “פדופילים בחסות הדת”.

Apparently one can glean from the evidence presented that… it’s the state’s fault, of course.

Rabbi Chaim Greinemann wrote in a letter that in the Chazon Ish’s opinion the State of Israel is simply a gang of thieves, so there is nothing wrong with appealing to them to do less harm.

This is the quote (from “Michtavei His’orerus” part two, p. 152):

“מספרים שפעם אחת אמר מרן החזו”א ז”ל מה ביני לבין אחרים, אחרים אומרים זו מדינה, ממילא אסור לפנות אליהם ולהשתתף עמם במשהו ואין צריך לומר למוסדותיהם, ואני אומר זו חבורה של ליסטים, וצריך להשתדל עמהם כדי למעט את ליסטנותם וגזלנותם…

Although, as Rabbi Brand wrote somewhere, this cannot be accepted literally, since this would mean State-grown produce is ownerless regarding Ma’aser. And how would the  State of Israel be worse than any other band of thieves (I mean, state)?

We have written about this in the past. See also The Chazon Ish School on Tax Evasion.

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Reprinted with permission.