27 Comments
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shulman's avatar

Nice!!!

Maybe hearing it put nicely from "one of them" will help open some eyes. Nah, probably not, you're right.

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Avraham marcus's avatar

RDNS is not from the same hashkafa as the talmidei Harav kook, like Rav Neria. He quotes Rav Lichtenstein in general. Just like in the chareidi world you have Briskers, chazon ish, satmar etc

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Happy's avatar

Frankly, I don't think he has any hashkafa. He is an am ha'aretz whose only hashkafa is some very superficial form of secular Zionism, and if he happens to see a Rabbi who says things that he thinks align with that, he'll quote that Rabbi.

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test's avatar
Aug 5Edited

Has the yeshivishe army cancelled bein hazmanin yet? Or maybe a token 'start a few days before rosh chodesh ellul' will provide enough divine protection. Yep, as typical, in a time of heightened risk, close the yeshivos for bein hazmanim.

I hear from my family in Kiryat Seifer that substantial increases in a security presence has been demanded, due to the proximity to the West Bank. Odd that, isn't it? Torah not enough protection?

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Happy's avatar

Whataboutism

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test's avatar
Aug 5Edited

As we know, sakonos nefoshos is doche everything (but the big three) including whataboutism.

Out of interest, do you have a clear coherent structured response without leitzonus, word salad and linking to other random stuff? You sure haven't provided one to date.

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Happy's avatar

more whataboutism, along with leitzonus about whataboutisms, and a nice helping of poor yeshivish debating tactics

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Avraham marcus's avatar

I was reffering more to general identification. He is a gushnick who sends his kids to similar institutions and strongly criticizes the messianic minded students of Rav Kook.

By the way, not sure how much of an am-haaretz he is. Even if he is saying that doesn't give your arguments credibility. There are very learned Jew's who share his values. Abraham Geiger was very learned as well. It's better to respond לגופו של ענייו.

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Happy's avatar

How is he a gushnik? He learned in Gush? He sat in shiurim from Rav Lichtenstein? Am I also a gushnik, since my mesorah is also not like the the messianic minded students of Rav Kook?

We have shown many times on his blog that he is quite ignorant. For example,

https://irrationalistmodoxism.substack.com/p/does-torah-protect

https://irrationalistmodoxism.substack.com/p/how-an-am-haaretz-reads-torah-sources

https://irrationalistmodoxism.substack.com/p/was-rashi-a-corporealist

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Avraham marcus's avatar

He sends his kids there but no he hasnt learned in the gush.

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rkz's avatar

סוטה כב עמוד א

אתמר קרא ושנה ולא שימש ת"ח ר' אלעזר אומר הרי זה עם הארץ ר' שמואל בר נחמני אמר הרי זה בור ר' ינאי אומר ה"ז כותי רב אחא בר יעקב אומר הרי זה מגוש אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק מסתברא כרב אחא בר יעקב דאמרי אינשי רטין מגושא ולא ידע מאי אמר תני תנא ולא ידע מאי אמר ת"ר איזהו ע"ה כל שאינו קורא ק"ש שחרית וערבית בברכותיה דברי ר' מאיר וחכ"א כל שאינו מניח תפילין בן עזאי אומר כל שאין לו ציצית בבגדו ר' יונתן בן יוסף אמר כל שיש לו בנים ואינו מגדלן ללמוד תורה אחרים אומרים אפילו קורא ושונה ולא שימש ת"ח זהו ע"ה קרא ולא שנה הרי זה בור לא קרא ולא שנה עליו הכתוב אומר (ירמיהו לא, כז) וזרעתי את בית ישראל ואת בית יהודה זרע אדם וזרע בהמה:

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Shimshon's avatar

Does Rav Lichtenstein treat those who disagree with him with the kind of disdain and venom that Slifkin does?

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Avraham marcus's avatar

Not in the slightest but Rav Slifkin ascribes to his general viewpoint, or maybe to Rav Rabinovitch as well. Quoting Rav Neria doesn't mean much to him just like quoting the alter of slabodka won't mean much to a satmar chasid or even a Brisker.

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Shimshon's avatar

That was understood from your original comment. Obviously, the hatred is all his, and not those he allegedly ascribes to. What he learns from them is highly selective.

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Shaul Shapira's avatar

Many more similar sources are cited in this shiur.

האם יש מקורות לאי גיוס בני ישיבות? ועל חוצפת עקבות משיח | הרב מרדכי נויגרשל

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtyMYPh0rB0

Beginning at around 14:10 mark he begins citing R Herzog, what R Zevin really held etc.

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test's avatar

"Or the sefer must be a forgery."

I assume you are satirising your own chareidi approach, whenever a godol writes something a bit uncomfortable, one of the classic approaches is that some talmid interested into the seifer, he was chozer b'sof yomov, that sort of thing.

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test's avatar
Aug 2Edited

You do realise when he wrote this, the number of benei torah there were, and the seriousness with which those benei torah took their learning?

He is not talking about today's system full of 'benei yeshivah' with side hustles on the side, smoking in geulah and batalling leil shishi (and every other leil for that matter). Those that take time off for every third cousin's wedding or 3 months paternity leave? Shocking, I know.

But as a typical chareidi, looking at shu't, writings, mussar etc in their correct historical framework is academic modernish goyishkeit right? If Rabbis said 125 years ago that the State of Israel would be a disaster for torah Judaism, than it's a disaster for torah judaism whatever our eyes actually tell us today, right?

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rkz's avatar

Do you know when he wrote this?

Did you know that he published an expanded addition several years later?

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test's avatar
Aug 2Edited

Usual nit picking. I stand by what I wrote. He was not talking about many of today's 'benei torah' - even the ones next to me in the beis hamedrash last night who spent half of their seder discussing the latest gossip in town.

I also have no doubt that elsewhere in that sefer is context and refinement and further points of view completely contrary to chareidi hashkofos, chareidim are expert at cherry picking extracts to suit them.

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Shimshon's avatar

As usual, sounds like so much projection of how you were or would be were you in their shoes. Sad and pitiful.

I know otherwise.

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Benjamin Kurtzer's avatar

"In this week’s parsha, when the Tribe of Levi appears before Moshe and demands an exemption from military service so that they could pursue their service of G-d in the Tabernacle, Moshe rebuffs them sternly, chastising them for shirking their national obligations, in which every single person is to be recruited into the army for a period of three years."

Could you please share where in this week's Parasha is this found?

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Happy's avatar

Page 503, The Rabbi Dr. Sebastian Finkelstein Modox Edition, Yeshiva University Press, 2024

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Benjamin Kurtzer's avatar

Thank you. But I was referring to your commentary on the selection. You mention "this week's Parashat". I don't see anything in Matot-Maasei.

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Leib Shachar's avatar

Thanks for that mareh makom! and as always, your last line takes the cake:)

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