2 Responses to “Some Torah Links For Your Pre-Shabbos Reading Pleasure”

1. Steve Brizel
   April 28th, 2006 @ 4:02 pm

   Thanks for the lonk to the Internet Parsha Sheet. I especially enjoyed the article re R Zevin ZTL and his position re Yom Haatzmaut. As a matter of Shalom Bayis on this blog, I would suggest that we defer any thoughts with respect to Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikraon, Yom Haatzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim unless and until our fearless and loyal coordinators deem these subjects and our views on them appropriate, given the rather wide hashkafic and halachic views on these and other subjects by Gdolim and the posters on this blog. .

2. Mordechai Y. Scher
   April 28th, 2006 @ 7:48 pm

   I appreciate Steve’s sentiments, wanting to preserve shalom bayit. What bothers me is that it is a sad commentary (and a realistic one) on the state of affairs among observant Jews.

   If I hold differently than some on matters of tzniut, kashrut, shabbat, or yom tov (all topics that appear here) as a matter of Torah (meaning what I received from my teachers, my own learning, and even what I teach), it seems a legitimate discussion and exposure for those who know only certain approaches to the matter at hand. But if I have similarly founded perspectives on the State of Israel, Yom Haatzmaut, etc….this is intolerable to some?

   Again, I think Steve’s suggestion may be realistic and therefore beneficial to shalom bayit…it’s just sad that it’s necessary.

   As often the case, I’ll relate a maaseh shehayah, kach hayah (and incident that occurred):

   About twenty years ago, while learning at Yeshivat Mercaz Harav, my chevruta and I decided to learn the halachot relating to safrut. We heard that the best shiur available was from Rav Mordechai Friedlander (a Squarer Hasid, if I recall correctly), who taught for Machon Mishmeret Stam. We started attending the shiur, the only religious Zionists (or obvious ones, anyway) in the group.

   Rav Friedlander invited me to learn with him during bein hazmanim. I eagerly accepted. During Hol Hamoed Pesah, I went to the beit midrash in Geulah where we planned to learn. A young fellow approached me, pointed to the kipah s’rugah (crocheted kipah) on my head, and told me I was in the wrong place. I responded that I had come to learn Torah in the beit midrash. He insistently repeated that I didn’t belong there. Rav Friedlander entered, and put the young man in his place.

   During the period that I learned by him (about a year and a half), he confided to me that until Eitan and I came to his shiur, he didn’t know quite what to think about fellows in Hesder yeshivot or Mercaz Harav. He didn’t really know that our respect for Torah, our skills in learning, our diligence were no different from what he knew in his own community. There were simply some differences in perspectives or p’sak; not in the loyalty to Hashem’s Torah. He did insist that we not talk about the same issues that Steve suggests avoiding, “Rav Mordechai, some topics we’re better off not discussing.”

   In Rav Tzvi Yehudah’s beit midrash, a disparaging word was never uttered about a talmid hacham. His opinions could be attacked in the manner that a dispute can occur for the sake of Heaven; but no genuine opinion in learning was ignored by way of de-legitimizing it. It was an eye-opener for me to discover that approach was not universal in yeshivot.

   Hashem should help us to unite in His Torah. Without that, we cannot unite the rest of Am Yisrael.

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