There is a Chasidic vertel (small vort) that goes like this –
It says in the beginning of parshas Noach,נח איש צדיק (בראשית ו:ט). Rashi there comments from Chazal, יש מרבותינו דורשים לשבח, ויש שדורשים לגנאי (some of our Rabbis interpret this in a positive way, that Noach was a tzadik in his weak generation, all the more so would he have been in a stronger one, while others interpret it negatively, that in his spiritually meager generation he was considered righteous, but in a better generation he would not have been).
So the Hasidic comment notes that Rashi only uses the term מרבותינו (of our rabbis) when mentioning the positive interpretation, and not with the negative one. Why, it continues? To show us that someone who interprets negatively is not worthy of being called one of our rabbis.
Litvish analysis and Fact check
Though Hasidim and neo-Hasidim like the TYH folk may like that, it doesn’t hold water. As seen in the beginning of פרשת ויקהל, which we just read, in שמות לה:ג, where Rashi cites a different machlokes, about fire on Shabbos. He also cites a first opinion with the expression מרבותינו there, while omitting it when afterward citing a second one, even though this not a case where one side is a positive interpretation and the other a negative one. Showing us that that just is the way of Rashi (perhaps, or should I say likely, to economize on verbiage and letters in the days before printing, when things were written by hand).
Yehuda Epstein: The Sun Sets on English Jewry — But Rises Over Zion!
Jews of England: The wings of history are stirring – It’s time to come home
As England tightens its grip on Torah education, a divine call echoes louder—Jewry’s future lies not in exile, but in the Land of Israel
5 min read
The struggle of English Jewry against the decrees imposed on Torah education is reaching a critical stage, as the British Parliament prepares for the third reading of the “Law of Jewish destruction” before it is sent for approval by the House of Lords. While here in the Holy Land, concerns are raised about teachers’ salaries, the Ofek Hadash program, overcrowded classrooms in certain areas, and various incentives offered to institutions to subtly alter their adherence to tradition—matters that are certainly important to fight for—across the sea in England, an unprecedented legal initiative threatens to mandate the most extreme forms of heretical and immoral content as compulsory studies in all schools, without exception.
Reports from Britain inform us of the dramatic and stirring address delivered by the distinguished activist, Rabbi Shmuel Gershon Grad, one of the leading public figures in England, who spoke at a historic gathering outside the British Parliament on Tuesday of Parashat Yitro, in front of a massive assembly of English Jewry who had come to plead and cry out for their very survival—for their Judaism and their faith.
Alongside reports of widespread lobbying efforts by Jewish leaders in England to overturn the decree, we also hear of prayer gatherings and mass protests, led by England’s greatest rabbis, outside the British Parliament, proclaiming that the House of Israel will never, under any circumstances, surrender its Judaism—but will give its very soul and being to uphold it.
Well, I have a rather practical suggestion for English Jewry—one that may be far more effective than protests outside the British Parliament, which could be seen as provoking the nations.
In the State of Israel, as is well known, hundreds of thousands of Jewish children are raised in Torah and mitzvot, some in institutions entirely dedicated to holiness, others with some level of secular studies, depending on the views of the various factions that form the broad spectrum of the Haredi community in our land.
Yes, there are challenges here as well—but they can be managed.
And as time passes, the number of Torah institutions grows, and the pendulum is swinging ever more toward a majority of religious Jews in the Holy Land.
In fact, the day is not far off—closer than many think—when the official education system of our country will be based on the foundations of Torah and Y’irat Shmaim.
There is a concept known as “the wings of history.” There is a divine process unfolding before us. The world has a purpose, at the center of which stands the kingdom of G-d, where “the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day.” And this will happen in Jerusalem—not in London, not in New York, not in Paris, nor in Antwerp. This process has been unfolding for over two hundred years, and despite the efforts of its opponents to halt it, not only have they failed, but the movement is now gaining unprecedented momentum.
English Jewry has been given a message from Heaven: The time has come to pack your bags—and not merely for “another country,” but for the Land chosen by God as His dwelling place. And for those worried about housing shortages, the shores of Gaza could very well serve as an ideal location for building cities and communities dedicated to the study of Torah—without the imposition of heretical studies forced by foreign governments.
As Rabbi Gurwicz stated, the House of Israel will never, under any circumstances, surrender its Judaism—but will give its very soul and being to uphold it. Let us hope that after so many years in exile, English Jewry will finally come to understand that preserving Judaism requires a true recognition of our divine mission, the purpose of creation, and an understanding of our rightful place and destiny. This includes recognizing that their future does not lie on the British Isles.
The sun is setting on English Jewry. The time has come to return home—to the land chosen by G-d, where His eyes watch over it from the beginning of the year to its end. It is time to connect to the wings of history and join the struggle of Haredi Jewry to transform the Land of God into a land where Torah is the law of the nation.
Welcome, English Jewry—welcome home to the Land of G-d!
The author is Rabbi Yehuda Epstein, Chairman of Kedushat Tzion, the association of Haredim advocating for Zion with purity and holiness.
Kedushat Tzion is a group of right-wing Haredi Torah scholars dedicated to the redemption of Israel and the Land of Israel.