Why Are So Many Jews On The Left?

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Luke Ford

Dennis Prager writes:

Jacob Cherub writes: “Throughout history there have been repugnant dictatorships on both the left and right,” and their “repression and brutality is really no different than communist repression and brutality.” He then cites, among other examples, fascist Italy, Franco’s Spain, Nazi Germany, various Latin American dictators, the shah in Iran, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Ne Win in Burma and Sudan’s Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir.

This is close to constituting a perfect example of how leftist teachings pervert history and thereby distort the thinking of those who believe those teachings.

It is morally indefensible that anyone would write — after the communist genocides in China (65 million to 75 million), Ukraine (5 million to 7 million), Russia (about another 20 million to 30 million), North Korea and Cambodia — that there is no difference between communist regimes and other kinds of dictatorships.

There are two rather significant things wrong with Mr. Cherub’s list of dictators: Many are not rightists, and none came close to communism in terms of the number of people murdered and enslaved. Yet, nearly everyone on the left thinks as Mr. Cherub does, namely, that left and non-left dictatorships (they label all non-left dictatorships “right”) are morally equivalent. That is why so many on the left supported the Khomeini revolution — anything would be an improvement over the right-wing shah, the left reasoned. But, of course, what replaced the shah has led to incomparably more suffering among Iranians than under the shah — not to mention the first threat of Jewish genocide since the Holocaust.

But it’s not only about the shah that Mr. Cherub is so wrong.

While Mugabe is indeed a monster, he is no rightist. In fact, he is a self-described Marxist. And his destruction of Zimbabwe has been done entirely in the name of African solidarity and fighting white racism.

So, too, Sudan’s al-Bashir is not a rightist; he is an Islamist.

And as regards Nazism, it was neither right-wing nor left-wing (even though Nazism stood for “National Socialism”). It was sui generis, a unique racial, not rightist, doctrine.

Mr. Cherub ends his letter: “It seems Prager wants to paint anyone politically to his left as evil and comparable with Stalin and the like.”

Apparently it doesn’t matter to some people that I have written in every column concerning the left that there are good and bad people on both the right and the left. And while I am convinced that leftism has damaged Jewish life and almost everyone and everything else it has strongly influenced, I find it quite easy to distinguish between people with left-wing opinions — many of whom I know to be fine people — and leftism. I have never in my life written, said, implied or even thought that anyone politically to my left is comparable with Stalin and the like. That is a smear.

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Modern Orthodox Demographics

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Luke Ford

In his fifth lecture on the Steipler for Torah in Motion, professor Marc B. Shapiro says: Modern Orthodox is larger than haredim. Modern is larger in Israel, about 20-25% of the population. The haredim are about 11%. The Modern are larger in America also but in 20 years they won’t be. When the haredim go left, they end up in a Modern Orthodox shul. Satmar dropouts just go crazy.

“In another generation, the Modern will be a minority in America. Israel, I don’t know.

“In England and in Baltimore, the haredim outnumber the Modern.

“England and all of Europe will be Islamic. Some of these countries are beyond the tipping point.”

“England will be haredi. France will not because it is Sephardic.”

“Do you know how many people would become Modern Orthodox and then they see the cost? School. Camp.

“Modern Orthodoxy has become an upper-middle-class lifestyle. Not in Israel. You have security guards wearing yarmulkes.

“In the haredi world, you can be lower-middle-class. There’s room for all types. That allows for entre by the baalei teshuva. Many people leave the Modern Orthodox world because they don’t feel like they can keep up with this rat race. They either go to Israel or leave, give it up. If you’re not middle class or upper-middle-class, what community can you live in? Who wants to live in a community where you are the poorest? You can’t have what other people have.”

“Modern Orthodoxy has real problems with continuity.”

“I’m not here to talk about myself because whatever I say, people will then say, that’s why you said this. You’re biased in that direction. Let me speak my piece and judge it for what it is.”

“If Haim Amsalem runs in the next election, could he get elected?”

“After Ovadiah Yosef, Haim Amsalem is the most popular Sephardic figure in Israel.”

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Modern Orthodox Always In For A Party

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Luke Ford

In his fifth lecture on the Steipler for Torah in Motion, professor Marc B. Shapiro says: “In the last ten years, upsherin (party to cut for the first time a three year old boy’s hair) has become popular in the Modern Orthodox world.”

“In my town, every year I’ll hear of two or three. Many of these people will say that they come from hasidic stock. Years ago, just because you were from hasidic stock, no one would do this.”

“It’s a good chance for a party. It’s fun. You get to cut the kid’s hair. The Modern Orthodox are always in for a party. Invite the Modern Orthodox to come in for some serious learning, that’s hard. But invite them for good food, they’re usually up to. Modern Orthodoxy is to a large extent a lifestyle as opposed to an ideological decision.”

According to Wikipedia: “Upsherin or Upsherinish (Yiddish: אפשערן, lit. “shear off”) is a Jewish haircutting ceremony, kabbalistic in origin, held when a Jewish boy is three years old. It is also known as “chalaka”, written חלאקה, from the Arabic word حلاقة.”

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Christian Science For Jews

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Luke Ford

In his fifth lecture on the Steipler for Torah in Motion, professor Marc B. Shapiro says: The Steipler thinks that for special people, it’s OK to follow the Ramban‘s view that you don’t need to go to the doctor. The Ramban thinks that certain people can totally rely on prayer. The Steipler believes there’s room for such a position.

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Why Don’t Many Unmarried Orthodox Women Try To Look Their Best?

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Luke Ford

Yitta Halberstam writes about the shidduch (finding a spouse) scene: The second thing that jolted me when I opened the door (and which I know will incur many a mother’s wrath, but which I feel I must speak about) was the conspicuous and glaring lack of make-up on a significant percentage of the girls’ faces. I was stunned. The girls knew why they were there; there was no attempt at pretense on anyone’s part. The mandate of the event was to give them the opportunity to present themselves in the best possible light. Why weren’t they?

Let me tell you about this particular population of girls: They were between the ages of 21 and 24, and mostly seeking “learning boys.” (The organizers’ plan for the future is to hold additional events for other age groups and different categories of boys: learners/earners, professionals, working boys only, etc.) They were eidel, frum, sincere, intelligent, and committed to the learning ideal. But even the most temimasdika ben Torah is looking for a wife whom he finds attractive. Yes, spiritual beauty makes a woman’s eyes glow and casts a luminous sheen over her face; there is no beauty like a pure soul. Make-up, however, goes a long way in both correcting facial flaws and accentuating one’s assets, and if my cursory inspection was indeed accurate (and I apologize if the girls used such natural make-up that I simply couldn’t tell), barely any of these girls seemed to have made a huge effort to deck themselves out.

Since most of the young women at chasunas seem quite presentable, I couldn’t shake off my sense of disbelief as I looked around now. What were they thinking? How had their mothers allowed them to leave their homes with limp hair and unadorned faces? With just a little blush, eyeliner and lip-gloss, they could have gone from average to pretty. There are very few women who can’t use a little extra help. Even the most celebrated magazine models can look downright plain when stripped of all cosmetics, al achas kamah v’kamah girls who are not born with perfect features. So what was going on? Were they in denial about the qualities young men are seeking in future wives? Yes, it is somewhat disillusioning that men dedicated to full-time Torah learning possess what these girls might perceive are superficial values, but brass tacks: they want a spouse to whom they are attracted. The young men themselves might be too shy or ashamed to admit it, but their mothers won’t hesitate to ask what for some is the deal maker/deal breaker question, namely: “Is she pretty?”

Thankfully, every one’s conception of attractiveness is different; beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and a woman’s intellect, personality and soul can have a tremendous bearing on the way in which her beauty is perceived. Still, there is trying, and then there is not trying. The mystery perplexed me: Why hadn’t some of the girls gone overboard in presenting themselves in the best possible light? I felt like shaking them in despair. As I further scanned the room (I had started assuming the role of disembodied observer once I realized that I was at the wrong event; my son is learning full time now, but plans to pursue a Ph.D so he wasn’t appropriate for this particular group), I could not help but notice the number of girls who could have vastly improved their appearances–gone from plain Jane to truly beautiful–if they simply made some effort. The truth of the matter is, I mulled, one way of looking at the story of Purim (and there are so many different prisms through which it can be viewed) is to see it as the narrative of the tyranny of beauty ruling every society in which Man (and woman) has ever lived. Vashti incurred Ahachshverosh’s wrath because he wished to parade her beauty and she refused (bad skin day). The women of the kingdom who vied for the Queen’s throne were given twelve months to prepare for the beauty pageant – why hadn’t some of the girls at the shidduch event taken a mere half hour?
Some women who are deeply religious or intellectually inclined may delude themselves into thinking that their male counterparts will only see, appreciate and cherish their inner beauty, and that will (or should) be their overriding priority.

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Rav Menashe Klein – Most Extreme Writer On Jewish Law

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Luke Ford

In his fifth lecture on the Steipler for Torah in Motion, professor Marc B. Shapiro says: “Menashe Klein was a genius, and the most extreme and fanatical of anyone writing halacha today.”

“Menashe Klein wants to recreate the way things were done in Hungary.”

“Haredi Judaism is this newfangled thing. You have all this women shiurim. Special classes for women. Menashe Klein writes, whoever heard of women shiurim in the old country? If a woman goes out [to a Torah class], then the man has to stay home to watch the children. Women should be like they were in the past.

“Menashe Klein Judaism is traditional Judaism.”

“The Haredim come up with all these new ideas. We never did this in the old country. Everyone takes their wives to hear parasha Zachor. All the early authorities are clear that women don’t have to hear this.”

“This is an American thing, for women to have to come to shul to hear Parasha Zachor. This is an influence of feminism. In Hungary [and Lithuania], women didn’t come to shul.”

“Yichus (who you descended from) doesn’t matter today. I asked people in Lakewood and they said yichus doesn’t matter now. If you’re a good learner, you’re a good learner.”

“According to Menashe Klein, a convert and a baalei teshuva (penitent) have no yichus. So don’t marry them.”

According to Wikipedia: “Rabbi Menashe Klein (1924-2011) (Hebrew: ר’ מנשה קליין), also known as the Ungvarer Rebbe (Yiddish: אונגווארער רבי), was a Hasidic Rebbe and posek (arbiter of Jewish law)[1] and author of 17 volumes of Mishneh Halachos and other 25 books. Toward the end of his life, he moved from Brooklyn, New York to live in Jerusalem, Israel.
The Ungvarer Rebbe was born in 1924 in a suburb near the town of Ungvar, Hungary (currently located in Ukraine), and studied in the Yeshiva of the rav of Ungvar, Rabbi Yosef Elimelech Kahane.
The Ungvarer Rebbe was active until old age and was considered by many to be a paramount leader of both Israel and the Diaspora Lithuanian-Haredi community. He had thousands of disciples.”

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The Victory Of The Orthodox Jewish Extremists

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Luke Ford

In his fourth lecture on the Steipler for Torah in Motion, professor Marc B. Shapiro says: “Why are so many extremist figures leaders in our era? Rav Ahron Kotler, the Steipler, Rav Shach.

“People are looking for extremism. Moderation is not something people are attracted to in this era. Extremist leaders have a way of frightening and silencing others. Rav Ahron Kotler had a strong personality and he was able to dominate the other roshei yeshiva.”

“Rav Ahron Kotler did not achieve significance in his lifetime. When he passed away, there were 200 students in Lakewood. The victory of the Lakewood yeshiva ideology comes in the next generation, beginning in the late 1970s.”

“In the 1960s, you’d say the future was in Yeshiva Torah Vodaas and Chaim Berlin, where they go to college at night. Today these are regarded as second-rate. If you want the major leagues, you want to go to Lakewood or eretz Israel.”

“A gadol is a social construct. The community determines who a gadol is. A gadol doesn’t mean someone who knows a lot. You have to have a position as a rav or a rosh yeshiva. You have to have a following. A gadol is a leader. You need to think he has great piety and great scholarship. You need to have people attracted to you.”

“The Steipler never kissed his grandchildren. Rav Soloveitchik writes that he was never kissed by his father. Never hugged by his father. Rav Soloveitchik carried on this tradition. Rav Soloveitchik never kissed his grandchildren.”

“Torah study above all else led to a dulling of emotions.”

“I have three different stories about gadolim whose relatives died on Shabbos and they refused to cry because it was Shabbos. There’s no mourning on Shabbos. The Brisker Rav had a child die and his wife was crying and he rebuked her.”

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Marvin The Orthodox Menace

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Luke Ford

My friend Cathy Seipp died five years ago today.

Cathy’s daughter Maia Lazar writes: Marvin could not concentrate on the Rashi script. The cantor was not good that day, and the lighting was very dim. Plus, the woman next to him through the lattice could not stop singing. Marvin did not like that. Marvin had a good day as long as women did not sing, he did not have to drive through Hispanic neighborhoods, and no bums protested against Bush.

…His life goals, jokingly, are to marry a virgin, and father a dozen children. So far, he has not succeeded. Firstly, he is not that observant as most Orthodox Jews are, and secondly, he is reaching forty, and few women younger than 25 are willing to elope with a man that old. In the last year, he has dated two women: a secular masseuse, and a fifty-year-old broad. Neither qualifies.
After each person had exited the synagogue, Marvin found himself alone with the director of the place. “We need to talk,” the scruffy rabbi murmured.
Marvin knew what he meant. “I apologize deeply for lying, and not telling you what happened…” he began to reply.
“You have proved yourself disloyal by doing your business in that field.” The rabbi elaborated, disgusted.
“You have every right to be angered but please allow me to explain.”
“Explain what? Until you’re a person of dignity and understanding, you are not welcome here any further, do you understand?!”
Marvin understood, but he had an appointment at Heebster Lounge that afternoon. He had the juiciest assignment in the “industry.”

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The Dignity Of Work

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Luke Ford

In his fourth lecture on the Steipler for Torah in Motion, professor Marc B. Shapiro says: “The Talmud says every man must teach his son a profession. The Steipler rejects this. All those passages that speak about the dignity of work and not surviving on charity, these are only stated with reference to someone who needed to make a living. One who could be supported while studying, God forbid that he should stop studying Torah.

“In other words, there is no value to work. There is no dignity to work. It’s something you do if you can’t be supported by someone else.”

“That’s why the haredi world is closed to any kind of trade schools and vocational training. It has been open the last few years, but this has been done in opposition to haredi leadership. The masses have been demanding it.

“You’ll see in 30 years that this will be standard in the haredi world and this will be the new da’as Torah. When Agudath Yisrael writes a new history, they’ll write how the gadolim recognized the necessity of earning a living and therefore they were at the forefront of establishing these schools.

“Just like 30 years from now, no one is going to believe us when we tell them that there were great rabbis who covered up sex abuses and shuffled them from school to school and didn’t believe you have to report this to the police. They’ll be able to read the Agudah history books that talk about how the gadolim were in the forefront. They saw this sexual abuse from the beginning. They saw how dangerous it was. They were at the forefront of insuring that all these people were removed from the yeshivas so they couldn’t harm the children. That will be the da’as Torah in 50 years. That will be Agudah history in 50 years. They won’t tell their readers that it was the masses who revolted against their rabbinic leaders and forced this issue.”

“Haredism as an ideology and a political force, it’s the Steipler [who was most influential].”

Rav Shach simply continued the work of the Steipler.

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He Never Learns Anything From His University of Scranton Students

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Luke Ford

In his third lecture on the Steipler for Torah in Motion, professor Marc B. Shapiro says: This semester [with T.I.M.] especially I have very learned people.”

“Sitting at the University of Scranton with typical American students, this [Talmudic teaching that you learn the most from your students] never applied to me. I never learn anything [about Jewish subjects] from my students. How could I learn anything? They don’t know anything.”

Marc emails: “Hi, I am happy to see that you are providing my “best lines”, so to speak. By the way, I clarified this point in a later lecture. I meant that I don’t learn anything about Jewish subjects, which is the context of the talmudic passage (and with my TIM students I learn Jewish things from them, which is why I enjoy it so much). With the Scranton students every semester I do learn an important thing or two. If I didn’t teaching wouldn’t be very exciting.”

My father taught college in Australia and in America. He said Americans students were generally terrible. He had to halve his homework load and assignments for them.

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