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Adar 5764 • March 2004U.S.A. $3.50/Foreign $4.50 • VOL XXXVII/NO. 3

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CONTENTS

OBSERVEROBSERVERJewishJewishTHE

THE TORAH JEW AND THE MEDIA

6 Why the Media Matter, Rabbi Avi Shafran

11 Journalism and Accountability, Rabbi Aryeh Z. Ginzberg

14 Real Jews, Yonoson Rosenblum

THE TORAH JEW IN A NON-JEWISH WORLD

21 With Kindness and Respect, Rabbi Shimon Finkelman

PURIM ESSAY

32 The Merging of Heaven and Earth, Rabbi Ahron Rapps

38 Junk Genes, Rabbi Yisrael Rutman

INSIGHTS AND IMPRESSIONS

42 Visit with the Rebbetzin, Chaya Rivka Jessel h”i

44 Twenty Seconds in Jerusalem, K.M.

SECOND LOOKS

45 Of Venues and Agendas, Interaction with Representativesof Other Faiths

47 Selective Sensitivity, Yonoson Rosenblum

49 Examples, Rabbi Avi Shafran

BOOKS-IN-REVIEW

50 What the Angel Taught You: Seven Keys to Life Fulfillment,by Rabbi Noah Weinberg and Yaakov Salomon, reviewed byRabbi Yisroel Yehuda Pollack

52 Letters-to-the-Editor

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THE TORAH JEW AND THE MEDIA Rabbi Avi Shafran

The professor was peeved. Here, theDrew University academic com-plained to The New Jersey Jewish

News, he had submitted a news articleto the national Jewish newspaperForward exposing how “the yeshivaworld has become so extreme,” in fact“the equivalent of the Taliban,” andForward attached a headline to the storythat conveyed a totally different impres-sion.

The Forward article, about a BethMedrash Govoha avreich’s sefer address-ing the special nature of Klal Yisroel, wasfar from admiring in its portrayal of thesefer, accusing its author of “break[ing]new ground” with “full-blown racialisttheories” that have “no precedent in rab-binic literature.”

In reaching its conclusion, the arti-

cle cites numerous points that alleged-ly appear in the sefer – although as mycolleague Chaim Dovid Zwiebel point-ed out in correspondence with Forward,many of those citations were grossmisinterpretations and distortions ofwhat the sefer actually said.

Still and all, the professor cum jour-nalist did have a point. As a result of somebehind-the-scenes shtadlonus byAgudath Israel and other prominentOrthodox figures, the thrust of hisoriginal submission had indeed beenchanged, and some of the most outra-geous elements of his diatribe were omit-ted. And Forward’s headline did note thefact that distinguished chareidi rabbanimhad disavowed claims the professor hadplaced in the author’s mouth.

The inherent bias with which the pro-fessor approached his subject, as well ashis residual ire at Forward’s softening ofhis message, is as good a hook as any withwhich to introduce the topic of the good,bad and ugly of the Torah community’s

interaction with contemporary media.

Misleading or erroneous itemsabout Orthodox Jews orJudaism routinely appear in the

press, in everything from general read-ership periodicals like The New YorkTimes to the Jewish weeklies publishedin scores of cities across the country.Whether it was a Times article contendingthat the mekom hamikdash is notJudaism’s holiest site, or HadassahMagazine’s assertion that halacha con-siders an expectant mother to be the finalarbiter of her fetus’s fate; whether a Jewishacademic’s misreading a passage from theRambam as, chas v’shalom, condoningspouse abuse or a sociologist’s claim thatthe chareidi world has made no effortsat kiruv rechokim, misinformation aboutTorah Jews and Torah Judaism aboundsin the public sphere.

And those examples (each dulyresponded to by Agudath Israel) are onlyfrom recent months.

6 The Jewish Observer, March 2004

Rabbi Shafran serves as Agudath Israel ofAmerica’s Director of Public Affairs and as theAmerican director of Am Echad, the AgudathIsrael-inspired educational outreach effort andmedia resource.

A DECADE OF DEMONIZATION

Back in the 1990s, canards about theOrthodox Jewish communitywere bandied about with even

more abandon by misinformed orunethical journalists (who often proud-ly wrapped themselves in the hallowedrobes of the “fearless public servant”).Woodward and Bernstein* wannabeesmerrily threw not just caution but anysemblance of fairness and accuracy to thewind, in their quest to see who couldmost vividly portray Orthodoxy asbackward, intolerant or downright evil,and win whatever prize might be avail-able for such achievement.

Whether fabricating from wholecloth a particularly ugly Orthodox reac-tion to a provocative women’s prayer-service at the Kosel Ma’aravi orcontending that Orthodox Jews do notconsider their non-Orthodox brothersand sisters to be Jews; whether portrayingbuses in Bnei Brak which are gender-sep-arated in accordance to the wishes of theriding public as the equivalent of JimCrow practices of the 1950s AmericanSouth, or falsely asserting the existenceof an epidemic of kiddushei ketana (childbride incidents) in the New YorkOrthodox Jewish community, reporterswho claimed to be motivated by highjournalistic ideals routinely floutedrudimentary journalistic standards, rely-ing on hearsay, rumors and their ownfecund imaginations.

And in that carnival atmosphere, therecould be precious little hope that seri-ous but nuanced issues like religious stan-dards in Israel or what goes in thiscountry by the name of “Jewish religiouspluralism” could possibly receive fair,thorough and thoughtful airings.

TACKLING THE TACKINESS

Agudath Israel has long maintainedthe importance of shouldering thedifficult and largely thankless task

of attempting to wrestle the media mon-

ster. Under the tutelage of legendaryAgudath Israel leader Rabbi MosheSherer, l”xz, and with the guidance of,lehavdil bein chaim lechaim the RoshAgudas Yisroel, the Novominsker Rebbe,a”jyls, organizational spokesmen,myself included, have reacted – andencouraged and assisted others to react– in op-ed articles, letters-to-editors andcorrespondence with journalists whenmisrepresentations of Orthodox Jews andtheir beliefs have appeared in the press;and we have proactively helped preventthe publication of such misinformationby offering essays on a variety of religiousand social issues, and by making ourselvesand other responsible Orthodox voicesavailable to reporters from non-Jewishand Jewish media alike.

We labor under no illusions in thatendeavor, and maintain a healthy skep-ticism about the state of contemporaryjournalism, and in particular Jewish jour-nalism. Much in those fields, even whennot blatantly driven by political orsocial agendas, is nevertheless generouslyspiked with the preconceptions, biasesand bigotries of its processors. There canbe little doubt that (as Rabbi Aryeh ZevGinzberg so eloquently points out else-where in this issue) there is somethinginherently objectionable in the com-mission of journalism.

But in the end, there can be only twochoices with regard to the media: makethe hishtadlus, the effort, to deal with it,or leave it alone to communicate what-ever it wishes to millions, Jews and non-Jews alike.

Taking the latter path may be easy, butit is also irresponsible.

OUTREACH, ACTIVISM AND AUTHENTICITY

To be sure, the American chareidiworld has its own media, baruchHashem, these days, with high

quality, responsible newspapers andperiodicals that disseminate objectivenews and Orthodox perspectives on theissues of the day.

But those publications are, unfortu-nately, not read by most of the generalpublic, or even, more unfortunately still,

by the majority of American Jewry. Somemay regard those majorities as unwor-thy of our time or effort, as effectivelybeyond hope. But we do have an obli-gation to present the truth to the larg-er marketplace of ideas, and certainly adeep responsibility to all our fellow Jews.As our Gedolim have repeatedly remind-ed us, every Jewish soul is precious, andso very many American Jews are todayon the verge of oblivion. The experienceof recent decades, moreover, should serveas a constant reminder that even Jewsfrom the farthest reaches of society arenot beyond returning to their ancestralheritage. And whether we like it or not,those Jews get their information – andmisinformation – from the media.

Any suspicion I personally ever hadthat it might be a waste of resources toseek to ensure that Torah viewpointsappear in the non-frum or non-Jewishmedia have been effectively dispelled bythe number of communications I havereceived from readers far and wide whoseneshamos have been touched byAgudath Israel comments published insuch organs. And as every newspaper edi-tor knows, for every letter-writer, calleror e-mail sender who bothered to com-municate, there are hundreds of otherswho were similarly affected but didn’tput phone to ear, pen to paper, or fin-gers to keyboard. I have no doubt thatOrthodox writers in the non-Orthodoxpress (of which there are, baruchHashem, quite a few) have had a simi-lar experience.

What is more, in our media-conscious– indeed, media-driven – world, inter-action with the press is really little morethan a logical extension of the shtadlonus-efforts that have always been an impor-tant part of Jewish perseverance in galus(and of Agudath Israel’s work).Although the word shtadlonus maymore immediately conjure up the imageof intercession with governmental insti-tutions, officials, and courts, Jewish com-munal activism today has come toencompass as well dealing with the for-midable and constant stream of infor-mation that feeds public – and in fact,as is often the case, governmental – per-ceptions.

The Jewish Observer, March 2004 7

* Pulitzer-prize-winnning reporters for theWashington Post whose newsbreaking expose ofthe Watergate break-in precipitated the end of theNixon presidency.

And, especially with voices regular-ly speaking for Judaism that have nocompetency or right to do so, it becomesparticularly important to ensure thatauthentic Jewish voices are audibleabove the din. Indeed, on more than oneoccasion, the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah(Council of Torah Sages – AgudathIsrael’s supreme policy-making body) hasitself asked Agudath Israel to take outprominent advertisements in majormedia to make perfectly clear to the worldthat objectionable actions or stances byindividual Jews or Jewish groups are dis-avowed by true upholders of the Jewishreligious heritage.

A DANGEROUS NEIGHBORHOOD

To be sure – as I can unhappilyattest from personal experience –there are considerable risks

entailed in the venture of media inter-action. A reporter bent on promoting ajaundiced view of Torah-committedJews or Judaism can twist even the moststraightforward comment into somethingvery different from its intent. Words canbe taken jarringly out of their context,and sentences mangled with malice afore-thought.

The good news is that such utterunconcern with truth or fairness is rel-atively rare. In my near-decade of deal-ing with the media on behalf of Agudath

Israel, only one reporter’s name resideson my “do not talk to” list, for havingrepeatedly exhibited a disdain for accu-racy and a ridiculously obvious anti-Orthodox bias.

More common – although meritingno small amount of caution themselves– are reporters who may harbor pre-conceptions about, or even bias against,the Orthodox world or its beliefs, butwho at least make a determined effortto prevent their prejudices from inform-ing their reportage. Sometimes they aresuccessful, all too often they are not.

CASTING LIGHT,OFFERING INCENTIVES

The unsuccessful efforts of sever-al such reporters, as well as thetransgressions of some of their

colleagues in the first category, were thefocus of an article I penned nearly fouryears ago for Moment Magazine, a non-denominational Jewish monthly read,overwhelmingly, by non-OrthodoxJews. The magazine’s cover art perfectlycaptured the essence of the piece; it por-trayed a stack of supermarket tabloidswhose headlines screamed the genre’scharacteristically outlandish allega-tions – but about Orthodox Jews (“ElNino: Orthodox Plot!” read one of thequotable screamers). The article itselfexamined a number of irresponsiblemedia claims about the Orthodoxcommunity that turned out to havebeen without basis.

The reporters at fault for those sto-ries were understandably disturbed bythe public exposure of their not-very-well-hidden biases. One, at the time awriter for the Jewish TelegraphicAgency, asked me no less than fourtimes over ensuing years for copies ofthe article, in order to identify the “clearerrors” it supposedly contained. Ifaxed it once, mailed it once, and e-mailed it twice, and to date I haven’treceived a response. Another (at thetime a New York Times correspondent)seemed thereafter to no longer reporton religious matters, and eventually leftthe paper. Whether or not being pre-sented with the evidence of theirshoddy reporting made them or theirsuperiors doubt their objectivity, therecan be little doubt that the possibilityof the exposure of their journalistic sinsis a considerable incentive for reportersto be more careful about letting theirbiases show.


Areporter bent on promoting a jaundiced view

of Torah-committed Jews or Judaism can

twist even the most straightforward comment into

something very different from its intent. The good

news is that such utter unconcern with truth or

fairness is relatively rare


Indeed, just the knowledge thatOrthodox Jews are watching and areunafraid of calling attention to jour-nalistic sloppiness has an effect, andmakes media interaction not onlyworthwhile but part of basic self-defense. Especially in light of recentmonths’ exposure of a number of majormedia reporters as liars and the resig-nations of top officials at The New YorkTimes and the British BroadcastingCorporation as a result of journalisticirresponsibility, letting reporters or edi-tors know when they have erred, andbeing available to them when they arewriting their stories, are potent meansof promoting responsible and accuratereportage.

COMPOUND INTEREST

Aside from the invisible fruit ofstory-ideas dumped andrumors ignored, efforts to rein

in the press can bring about positiveadmissions of error and even changes.Take references over past years in TheNew York Times to Yigal Amir, YitzchakRabin’s assassin, as “ultra-religious” andeven as a “Torah scholar.” Letters to TheTimes by Agudath Israel ExecutiveVice President Rabbi Shmuel Bloomand myself taking issue with thosedescriptions have been published in thepaper, and an article that appeared onJanuary 20 about Amir finally charac-terized him, accurately, only as a “fer-vent nationalist.”

Or consider a report in that samepaper on May 7 that referred to the caraccident that touched off the CrownHeights riots of 1991 and described theOrthodox ambulance crew as havingchosen to treat the Jewish driver of thecar rather than the black child whomit had struck. An immediate protestfrom our offices (that included quotesfrom a court’s findings on the events)resulted in the publication of a promi-nent correction the next day, noting thatthe police had ordered the ambulancecrew to leave with the driver, who wasbeing attacked at the time by a mob.

Or another correction that recent-ly ran in The Times. As mentioned

above, an article on a Middle East peaceplan presented the Kosel, rather thanthe Har HaBayis, as “Judaism’s holiestspot.” It stated that “Israel would cedesovereignty over a flash point shrine…known to the Jews as the TempleMount…. Israel would retain controlof the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiestsite.” This was misinformation with anapparently political/diplomatic aim –to imply that since Israel would receive“Judaism’s holiest spot,” it had little rea-son to oppose the plan in question.

But whatever the merits or demer-

its of the plan, the historical distortionwas glaring, as we pointed out in a seriesof e-mails to the paper’s ombudsman.As a result of those efforts, a correctionfinally appeared on the last day of 2003.

Likewise, Agudath Israel letters andopinion pieces in papers like Forwardor the New York Jewish Week haveoffered responsible points of view inopposition to those of their editorialpages, and helped set the recordstraight regarding a number of issuesthat had been misrepresented in newsstories.


Accomplishments like those mayseem minor, but when they are mul-tiplied by the numbers of people whoare exposed to them, and com-pounded by the effect they have onfuture reportage, the yield is notminor at all.

ELUSIVE OBJECTIVITY

And then there are the trulyobjective and professionalreporters, those who have no

axes to grind, nor scores to settle, butonly a determination to present a fairand accurate picture of their subjects.These are rare birds, indeed, but theydo exist. One such correspondent (anon-Jew, as it happens) for years cov-ered religion for The New York Times.As a self-imposed act of penance formistakenly implying in print thatthere was only one yeshiva in theOrthodox world, he took it uponhimself (after being apprised of his errorby Agudath Israel) to make a trip to alarge out-of-town yeshiva campus. Hesubsequently produced a thoughtfuland objective portrait for his paper ofthe idealism and Jewish scholarship heperceived there. Unfortunately (and,perhaps, tellingly), he has since left thefield of journalism for academia.

The bottom line, though, is that, bad,mediocre or wonderful, the media doesjust what its name implies: it mediates– between facts and the public.Keeping the medium from distortingits message is not a task to be takenlightly, and it is certainly not one to beignored. ■


THE VORT

• The Vort celebration is to bediscontinued. The L’chaim (held at the time that the engagement isannounced) should also not turn into aVort.

THE WEDDING

• Only 400 invited guests may be seated at the chassuna seuda.

• The kabbolas panim smorgasbordshould be limited to basic cakes, fruit plat-ters, a modest buffet, and the caterer’sstandard chicken or meat hot dishes.

• The menu for the seuda is limited to 3courses followed by a regular dessert.

• No Viennese table and no bar.

THE MUSIC• A band may consist of a maximum of5 musicians (one of the musicians may actas a vocalist) or four musicians and oneadditional vocalist.

• A one-man band is recommended.

FLOWERS & CHUPA DECOR

• The total cost of these items for theentire wedding should not exceed $1,800.

FOR THE FULL VERSION OF THE SIMCHA GUIDELINESAND THE ACCOMPANYING KOL KOREH,

please email [email protected] or call 212-612-2300

Simcha GuidelinesSimcha Guidelines

Rabbi Shmuel BirnbaumRosh Hayeshiva, Mirer Yeshiva

Rabbi Elya SveiRosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva Gedola of Philadelphia

Rabbi Shmuel KaminetzkyRosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva Gedola of Philadelphia

Rabbi Yaakov PerlowNovominsker Rebbe

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak FeigelstockRosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva of Long Beach

Rabbi Moshe WolfsonMashgiach, Yeshiva Torah Vodaas

Rabbi Aron Moshe SchechterRosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva Chaim Berlin

Rabbi Yosef RosenblumRosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva Shaarei Yosher

Rabbi Eli Simcha SchustalRosh Hayeshiva, Bais Binyomin, Stamford

Rabbi Yisroel RokowskyRabbi Yisroel Simcha SchorrRoshei HaYeshiva, Yeshiva Ohr Somayach

Rabbi Aryeh Malkiel KotlerRosh Hayeshiva, Beth Medrash Govoha, Lakewood

Rabbi Yisroel Tzvi NeumanRosh Hayeshiva, Beth Medrash Govoha, Lakewood

Rabbi Dovid Tzvi SchustalRosh Hayeshiva, Beth Medrash Govoha, Lakewood

Rabbi Yeruchem OlshinRosh Hayeshiva, Beth Medrash Govoha, Lakewood

Rabbi Mattisyahu SalamonMashgiach, Beth Medrash Govoha, Lakewood

Rabbi Elya Ber WachtfogelRosh HaYeshiva, Yeshiva Gedolah of

South Fallsburg

Rabbi Chaim Boruch WolpinRosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva Karlin Stolin

Rabbi Zecharia GelleyRav, Khal Adas Jeshurun

Rabbi Lipa MarguliesRosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva & Mesifta Torah Temimah

Rabbi Dovid KviatChairman, Conference of Synagogue Rabbonimof Agudath Israel

Rabbi Shlomo MandelRosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva of Brooklyn

Rabbi Ephraim WachsmanRosh Hayeshiva, Mesivta Meor Yitzchok

We the rabbinical signatories — barring familial obligations — and unusual andextraordinary circumstances — will not participate in or attend a wedding celebration thatdisregards these guidelines. (Rabbinical Listing in formation)

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MASTER DAF


THE TORAH JEW IN A NON-JEWISH WORLD Rabbi Shimon Finkelman

My family has recently experi-enced a most difficult week,the observance of shiva fol-

lowing the passing of my mother, Mrs.Selma Finkelman, l”z. In this time of lossand sadness, we drew strength from theopportunity to share with others manylessons we learned from my mother, andwe drew strength from the memoriesthat others shared with us.

Particularly inspiring were the con-dolence calls paid by non-Jews whocrossed paths with my mother; inspir-ing, because these memories, perhapsmore than any other, bore testimony towhat Rabbi Yisroel Lefkowitz, heremployer for the last 30 years, said ofher: “She was a living kiddush Hashem.Our employees, both Jew and non-Jew,looked to her as someone to emulate.”

As one gentile put it,“Nowadays, mostpeople use G-d as their spare tire; butyour mother used Him as her steeringwheel.”

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF AVRAHAM

In truth, this should not be inspiringat all, for as our Sages taught: “EveryJews is obligated to say: ‘When will

my actions touch those of my forefathers,Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov?’”1 AndSifrei comments regarding the com-mandment to love Hashem:2 “Make Himbeloved to all people as did your forefa-ther Avraham.”

We are familiar with the Torah’sdescription of Avraham’s magnani-mous kindness towards the angels whowere disguised as wayfarers,3 and of thewayfarers’ inn that he established andthrough which he taught others to rec-ognize and praise Hashem.4

Our Sages relate that Avraham wouldnot wait for guests to arrive at his door.Instead, he would actively search forguests. Upon finding them and bring-ing them to his inn, he would inquirewhat sort of foods they were accustomedto eating. He would then serve them foodand drink that was superior to whatev-er they were accustomed to eating.5

After eating and drinking their fill,Avraham’s guests would bless him and

he would respond, “Do you think thatyou have eaten of what is mine? You haveeaten of the One Who spoke and theworld came into being!” The guestswould then acknowledge the beneficenceof Hashem, the One and Only G-d.6

What inspired Avraham to demon-strate such benevolence? The lateManchester Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi YehudaZev Segal l”xz, explained:

Avraham may have had an innatetendency toward chessed, but this wasnot the driving force behind his benev-olence. Avraham strove to help his fel-low man because he had come torecognize His Creator’s existence andhe perceived that G-d’s purpose in cre-ating this world was “to give of Hisgoodness unto others.”7 Avrahamunderstood that Hashem desires thatman emulate His attributes. Hashemknows the needs of His every creationand provides for each according to hisor her particular situation. As a par-allel to this attribute,Avraham perfectedwithin himself the quality of nosei b’olim chaveiro – sharing his friend’s bur-den. When Avraham would see a way-farer coming down the road, he

Rabbi Finkelman, a rebbe in Yeshiva DarcheiTorah, Far Rockaway, NY, is a frequent contrib-utor to these pages, most recently, “The ChazonIsh l”xz” (Nov. ’03). He is the author of severalbiographies published by ArtScroll MesorahPublications.

imagined himself as that hungry,weary and lonely wayfarer. The way inwhich the wayfarer was welcomedreflected Avraham’s unrelenting,incomparable pursuit of chessed.8

KINDNESS FOR ALL

The great people among us havealways excelled in their chessedtowards all human beings and in

this way, they sanctified the Name ofHashem.

Bernie, the gentile custodian of BethMedrash Govoha, revered its Rosh Yeshiva,Rabbi Aharon Kotler. No effort was too greatfor Bernie if there was something that RebAharon needed.

The night of Reb Aharon’s passing,Bernie stood in the lobby of the yeshiva build-ing with his head bowed in mourning. “TheRabbi was a saint,” he told someone. “Yousee the coat that I am wearing? Rabbi Kotlergave it to me.”

* * *Rabbi Mendel Kaplan was a much

beloved maggid shiur at the TalmudicalYeshiva of Philadelphia.

An obese, gentile woman of advancedyears lived on Reb Mendel’s block. Eachmorning, she would walk to a restaurant sev-eral blocks away for breakfast. One wintrymorning, as this woman was ploddingthrough the deep snow to the restaurant, RebMendel drove by. From the other side of theavenue, Reb Mendel rolled down his car win-dow and called to her, “Mary, wait! I’ll takeyou!” With some difficulty, he turned his cararound in the snow and gave her a ride tothe restaurant. After she finished eating, shewas shocked to see the rabbi’s car still at the

curb in front of the restaurant. Reb Mendelhad waited the entire time to take her backhome.

The woman later met Reb Mendel’s wifeand related the entire episode. “Your hus-band is not a person,” she concluded, “he’san angel.”9

However, Avraham’s lovingkindnesstowards his fellow man is not his onlylegacy to us in regard to our relations withnon-Jews, as is beautifully explained byRabbi Eliyahu E. Dessler in MichtavM’Eliyahu.10

RESPECT FOR ALL

The final test of Avraham’s lifecame when he returned fromthe Akeida to find that his wife,

Sarah, had died. He knew that it wasG-d’s will that she be buried in theCave of Machpeila, and for this heneeded to deal with the lowly Chittim,a Canaanite tribe. As Rabbi Desslerexplains, the Chittim knew that G-dhad bequeathed their land toAvraham, which is why they referred toAvraham as “a prince of G-d.”11

Nevertheless, they sought to deny himownership of the parcel of land that hedesired.12

Thus, at a time when Avraham hadto weep over his righteous wife and eulo-gize her, he also had to deal with a lowlypeople who, while acknowledging theirrespect of him, were at the same timebeing difficult about honoring hisrequest.

And how did Avraham react? Hespoke to them with exemplary respectand bowed to them more than once.

Surely, says Rabbi Dessler, Avraham wasnot flattering them in order to get whathe wanted. Heaven forfend for Avrahamto engage in such deception! He accord-ed them great respect because he knewthat this is what Hashem expected of him.

Rabbi Dessler explains:The root of this requirement lies in

our obligation towards a human beingbecause he is a human being. As theMishna states: “Beloved is man, for hewas created in G-d’s image.”13

...It is also taught that RabbanYochanan ben Zakkai was always firstto extend greetings to someone —including a non-Jew — when meetinghim in the street.14 Let us consider thestature of Rabban Yochanan benZakkai. He was fluent in Scripture,Mishna, Gemora, Halacha, Aggada,Scriptural derivations, Rabbinic enact-ments, astronomical cycles, gematrios,speech of the Heavenly angels, and theworkings of the Heavenly chariot.15

...He was the Nasi (Prince) of theJewish people at the time of theSecond Destruction; all the needs of thenation rested upon his shoulders. Yethe was never too preoccupied with histhoughts to forget to extend greetingsto anyone —including a non-Jew.[Apparently,] he felt such conduct tobe obligatory and this feeling guaran-teed his utmost devotion to showingrespect for all human beings.

IN EVERY GENERATION

The Torah leaders of our day fol-low in the noble tradition ofRabban Yochanan ben Zakkai.


CHEVRA OSEH CHESEDOF AGUDATH ISRAEL

BURIAL PLOTSIN ERETZ YISROEL

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Rabbi Chaim Twersky, a distinguishedRav and a former chaplain at MaimonidesMedical Center, once addressed a group ofnurses and in the course of his remarks, men-tioned the name of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein.“Oh!” exclaimed Shirley, a non-Jewish nurse.“I know Rabbi Feinstein. He’s a realrabbi!”

Rabbi Twersky could not imagine howthis woman could know Reb Moshe, andsaid that she must be confusing thisTorah sage with someone else. No, Shirleyinsisted, there was no mistake. She wasspeaking of the famous Rabbi Feinstein. Shehad been the house-nurse for one of RebMoshe’s newborn great-grandsons, atwhose bris Reb Moshe served as sandak.As he was being wheeled out following thebris, Reb Moshe made a point of turningaround in his wheelchair to say good-byeto the nurse. This show of respect had madean indelible impression on her.

This nurse called Reb Moshe’s familyafter his passing to express her condolences.‘’I remember how the Rabbi smiled andwished me a good day,” she recalled. “Icould see that in his eyes I was important.”

* * *The day on which Rabbi Avraham Pam

was to enter the hospital for major sur-gery, he left the Mesivta Torah Vodaathbuilding to be driven home by RabbiAvrohom Biderman. They started to walkto the car when Rav Pam abruptly turnedaround and said that he had to return tothe yeshiva. They entered the building’slobby, where a Hispanic maintenanceworker was mopping the floor. “Goodmorning,” said Rav Pam with a smile. Theworker returned the greeting and Rav Pamleft the building.

“I always say ‘Good morning’ to him,”Rav Pam told Mr. Biderman. “But I wasso preoccupied with my thoughts that I didnot greet him when we left the first time.”

* * *Soon after Rabbi Mendel Kaplan

passed away suddenly, someone broughthis car to the auto shop that he had alwaysused. One of the gentile workers recognizedReb Mendel’s car and asked, “Where’s theRabbi?” When told that Reb Mendel hadpassed away, the man sat down and beganto cry. “I know all I am is a simple mechan-ic, but the Rabbi treated me like I was a

special human being,” he explained. “Heused to take an interest in my life and thatmade me feel like a million dollars. No onein the world made me feel as good as theRabbi did.”

LESSONS FROM MY MOTHER

In my parents’ neighborhood, therelives an elderly woman whom mymother would phone daily and visit

every Shabbos. During the shiva, wewere visited by this woman’s non-Jewish attendant. She was too overcomewith emotion to speak; all she couldmanage to say was, “Your mother, yourmother...!” I later asked my sister aboutthis and she explained:

Whenever my mother visited theelderly woman, she always greeted theattendant and inquired about herwell-being. When the attendant wasbroken after her own mother passedaway, my mother hugged her as sheexpressed her condolences. The atten-dant later commented how much sheappreciated this gesture. Whenever mymother brought mishloach manos forthe elderly woman, she brought a giftof food for the attendant. Similarly,when she brought a Chanuka gift forthe elderly woman, she would bringsomething for the attendant.

The day after my mother’s funeral,a Hispanic man came bounding up the


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stairs. He is the driver who runserrands for my mother’s place ofwork. “I just saw the sign about yourmother,” he exclaimed. “I’m so sorry.She was such a nice lady ... such a nicelady!” And he began to cry.

In the doctor’s office where mymother received chemotherapy, shemade a profound impression on thestaff, including a non-Jewish nurse.This woman was so taken by my moth-er’s warmth and wisdom that she con-fided in my mother regarding herpersonal life and sought her advice. For

her part, my mother appreciated thisnurse’s kindness and on at least oneoccasion brought home-baked cook-ies to the office for this nurse to sharewith her children.

This was my mother’s way through-out her life. Forty years ago, our fam-ily moved out of its tiny apartmentabove a store, which was adjacent to anapartment building. I was too youngto take note of how my parents actedtowards that building’s superintendent;but I do know that as our moving truckpulled away, the superintendent cried.

A NATION APART

In no way does the above contradictour status as G-d’s Chosen People. Tothe contrary, at the time of the giv-

ing of the Torah, the Jewish people werecharged with the mission of being a mam-leches Kohanim, a kingdom of ministers,who ultimately will lead all of mankindto an understanding and acceptance ofman’s Divine mission in this world. Thiscan come about only if the other nationsrecognize in us the sublime way of lifeand through interaction with others thatstamp us as a nation of Torah.

A young man in Brooklyn’s Torah com-munity works in Manhattan and often takesa taxi to work. One day as he alighted fromthe taxi an avenue block from his office,another Orthodox Jew entered the cab. TheHispanic driver told his new passenger: “Yousaw that fellow who just left this cab — doyou know what he told me? He works a blockaway from here, but he gets out here becauseit’s right by the subway. This way, I’m sureto get a new customer as soon as he gets outof the cab. So he walks a whole block justto help me out!

“I see why G-d made you the ChosenPeople.”

Nor does the above discussion con-tradict the need for a Torah Jew to main-tain havdala, separation, from thenon-Jewish culture around him andavoidance of social interaction with thoseof other faiths, lest he be adversely influ-enced by them. In fact, my mother hada heightened appreciation for the needto remain apart. For example, she wastroubled by the proliferation of koshereating places that specialize in foods ofother nationalities. She would ask,“Have you ever seen a treifa (non-kosher)restaurant advertise that it sells ‘kosher-style gefilte fish and kugel’? Of coursenot! So why must we eat Chinese orItalian food?”

This understanding was also reflect-ed in her way of dress. She dressed taste-fully, but the idea of being “in style” wasanathema to her. She was from the schoolof thought once articulated by theManchester Rosh Yeshiva, who said:

Who are the designers of these fash-ions and what guidelines do they use


in originating their designs? They aresecularists and, more often than not,immoral. Their goal is to design a stylethat will attract the attention of men.In other words, these styles are a directcontradiction to the attribute of tze-nius, modesty, that is the hallmark ofJewish daughters. This is not to say thata Jewish woman cannot dress nicely.Certainly she can, but she must do itwith tzenius.16

Havdala means to recognize ourstatus as G-d’s Chosen People andmaintain a higher standard in all areasof life, a standard that unequivocally iden-tifies us as the nation of Torah. It meansto insulate ourselves, our families and ourhomes from the decadent culture of sec-ular society. Havdala does not mean toview people of other faiths as non-enti-ties, to be insensitive to their feelings andneeds. This sort of attitude can only leadto chillul Hashem.

A famous Talmudic passage states thatwhen a Jew deals honestly in business andspeaks pleasantly, then people say of him,“Fortunate is the father who taught him

Torah, fortunate is the teacher who taughthim Torah!”17 Rabbi MatisyahuSalomon noted that the term “people”includes non-Jews. A Jew must ensurethat at all times his behavior and man-ner of speech is of a type that glorifiesHashem’s Name before all humanbeings. Such is the way of Torah.

A LIGHT FOR OUR BRETHREN

In concluding his discussion of Rabban Yochanan benZakkai’s way of greeting non-

Jews, Rabbi Dessler writes:And if this is how he felt towards

non-Jews, then surely this was true inhis attitude towards Jews, of whom itis stated, “Beloved are the people ofIsrael, for they are called Children ofHashem.”18

Let us not forget that kiddushHashem is not limited to sanctifyingG-d’s Name in the presence of non-Jews. To the contrary, the verse fromwhich we derive this mitzva states,“And I [Hashem] will be sanctified

among the Children of Israel.”19 Inanother essay, Rabbi Dessler writesthat a person must first work tosanctify Hashem’s Name beforeother Jews by teaching them theproper way, and from there heshould proceed to the next level, tosanctify His Name before thenations.20 ■


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1 Taana D’vei Eliyahu Rabba, Ch. 25.2 Devarim 6,4.3 Bereishis Ch. 18.4 Ibid. 21,33. See Rashi.5 Avos D’Rav Nosson Ch. 7.6 Sota 10a.7 Derech Hashem Ch. 2.8 Inspiration and Insight, Vol. II, p. 151.9 From Reb Mendel and His Wisdom,by Rabbi YisroelGreenwald, published by ArtScroll\Mesorah.10 Vol. IV, pp. 245-247.11 Bereishis 23,6; see Ramban.12 See Malbim to Bereishis 23,5.13 Avos 3:18.14 Berachos 17a.15 Sukka 28a.16 Inspiration and Insight, Vol. I, p. 298.17 Yoma 86a.18 Avos 3:18.19 Vayikra 22:32.20 Michtav M’Eliyahu, Vol. III, p. 118.


Yisrael Rutman

“FILLER” NO LONGER

In journalism, there is somethingcalled “filler,” referring to items of lit-tle or no newsworthiness, which are

printed only to fill up what would oth-erwise be empty white space in thecolumns of a newspaper. That’s how sci-entists used to relate to vast amounts ofseemingly purposeless human geneticmaterial. They called it “junk DNA,” akind of genetic filler that the processesof evolution had blindly depositedinside us, taking up space for no par-ticular reason.

Scientists do not think that wayanymore, at least not about DNA. Forone of the most important break-throughs in genetic research in the firstyears of the new century concerns“junk DNA.” As The Washington Postreported late last year: “The hugestretches of genetic material dismissedin biology classrooms for generations as

‘junk DNA’ actually contain instructionsessential for the growth and survival ofpeople and other organisms, and mayhold keys to understanding complex dis-eases such as cancer, strokes and heartattacks….”The report went on to say that“the new analyses shocked scien-tists….’My goodness, there’s a lot morethat matters in the human genome thanwe had realized,’ said Eric Lander, direc-tor of genome research at the WhiteheadInstitute for Biomedical Research inCambridge, Mass., and a primary authorof the new work. ‘I feel we’re dramati-cally closer now to...being able to under-stand the basis of disease.’“ (from JustinGillis, “Genetic Code of MousePublished,” Washington Post, December5, 2002)

The textbooks are being revised toreflect this major discovery. One has towonder, though, whether those who wereresponsible for the original erroneous textwill be revising their attitudes, as well.Rabbi Avigdor Miller pointed the fingerof blame at atheism in general, evolu-tionism in particular. This is because ifyou think of the world as an accident,it doesn’t have to be perfect; on the con-

trary, imperfection should be built in.An imperfect evolutionary scheme canbe expected to produce useless anddestructive things. To the secular scien-tific mind, the discovery of waste or dys-function at the heart of creation is notonly not a disappointment, it is a con-firmation of first principles.

Jewish tradition teaches a very differ-ent attitude toward the world thatHashem created. In Avos (4:3) it says:“Donot be scornful of any person; do not bedisdainful of any thing, for you have noperson without his hour, and you have nothing without its place.”Shlomo Hamelechteaches:“One who despises something willsuffer from it” (Mishlei 13,13).

His father, David Hamelech, experi-enced this truth personally on three occa-sions. The Midrash relates that KingDavid questioned the need for insani-ty, fleas, and spiders. When he was cap-tured by Achish, King of Gath, heescaped harm by feigning insanity(Shmuel I ch. 21). When David wantedto take the spear of the sleeping KingShaul, a flea bit Shaul and caused himto lift his leg, thus allowing David accessto the spear (Shmuel I ch.26). Lastly, when

Rabbi Rutman teaches Gemora to beginners inYeshivas Ohr Yaakov, which is located in ZichronYaakov in Eretz Yisroel. This article appeared inthe November 13th, 2002 edition of The JewishTribune (UK). His article, “Something to ThinkAbout” was featured in JO May ’03.

David was hiding from Shaul in a cave,the Holy One sent a spider to spin a webacross the entrance. Shaul came, saw theweb, and thought, “Surely no man hasentered here,” thus sparing David onceagain from harm. (Aleph Beis deBen Sira,Otzar HaMidrashim 47.—- See ArtScrollEthics of the Fathers, p. 223.)

More generally, Tiferres Yisroel saysthat the Mishna cautions against deny-ing significance to any part of G-d’s cre-ation. No matter how puny, repulsive orharmful, every creature has its role to playin manifesting G-d’s glory in the world.Even the lowliest insects perform animportant function in purifying the airof disease-carrying microbes. And if theyare not needed in this time and place,they are needed elsewhere. As it says:“Allthat the Holy One, Blessed is He, creat-ed in His world, He created solely for Hisglory” (Avos 6:11).

THE GENES OF THE WORLD

There is a certain poetic justice,too, in the discovery of purposein the seemingly useless parts of

the human genome. There is a well-known passage in the Zohar that statesthat “G-d looked into the Torah andcreated the world.” This is commonlycompared to a builder consulting ablueprint. Just as a builder follows theplans drawn up by the architect whenbuilding the physical structure, so tooG-d used the Torah as the blueprint forcreation, the plan from which heformed the physical universe.

Rabbi Akiva Tatz explains that the anal-ogy is closer to that of genetic code.“TheTorah is not simply a plan in the sense ofan architect’s drawings; it is a plan in thesense of genes which themselves actual-ly carry out the construction of the organ-ism which results from the code carriedin those genes…. The Torah is the genet-ic material of the world.” Genes are nota passive plan describing what is or shouldbe, but “they are the reason that the bodylooks as it does, they are the instructionsand the mechanism which construct thephysical. In fact, the body is a reflectionof the genes!” (Worldmask, p. 14.)

Furthermore, as Rabbi Moshe

Shapiro teaches, the physical world is amanifestation of Torah, of all the reve-lations of G-d contained therein. As such,the world reflects the laws of the Torah.One of the fundamental laws of the Torahis that a single word or letter missing from(or mistakenly added to) the tradition-al text renders it invalid. In other words,nothing in the Torah is superfluous, andits entirety is perfection. The physicalworld, which reflects the Torah, is there-fore also letter-perfect; nothing lacking,nothing superfluous. As the Mishna inEthics of the Fathers says,“Everything hasits place” (see Mama’akim, Bereishis).


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How wonderfully fitting, then, that thelesson of the purposefulness of all creationshould be learned from the humangenome. For just as there is nothing super-fluous in the Torah, which is the geneticmaterial of the world, so too is there noth-ing superfluous in the genetic code itself.

DISCOVERY AND CELEBRATION – ONE ROCK AT A TIME

On the other hand, one whobelieves in a Creator and a pur-poseful world, though he will

not be able to explain perfectly everyphenomenon in nature, need not bedaunted or discouraged by functionsthat do not seem exactly to sing joy-fully of a Higher Intelligence. It isenough, as Rabbi Miller has noted, thatwe see the signature of the Creator onone rock in the desert; it is not neces-sary to see it on every rock. But the factthat we see it in so many places is rea-son for celebration.

Just because we cannot explaineverything does not mean that we donot understand anything. On the con-

trary, one who believes in a CreatorWhose wisdom accounts for the infi-nite wonders of the universe should alsorealize that he cannot expect to fathomall the manifestations of that wisdom.“Ma gadlu ma’asecha...How great areYour works!” The greatness of creationis in the recognition that there is a powerand a wisdom that is beyond us. If wewould understand it all, it woulddiminish its greatness, not magnify it.

All of this does not mean, however,that the Torah Jew should disdain theaccomplishments of science, or view itas a threat to Jewish belief. Science atits best is a deep description of the worldHashem created; and as such, there real-ly should be no conflict between scienceand Torah. When there does appear tobe conflict, careful analysis is requiredto pinpoint where the error lies, eitherin the interpretation of scientific dataor the interpretation of Torah.Sometimes, there is no ready solution;but as the saying goes, nobody ever diedfrom a kashya.

Actually, it would be inadequate andmisleading to say that theoretically thereis no conflict between Torah and sci-ence. Not only is science compatible withTorah; it is a necessary part of it. TheKuzari points out that large sections ofJewish law demand a knowledge of thephysical world. Calculating the monthsand leap years of the calendar requiresa knowledge of astronomy, avoiding for-bidden mixtures of plant species needsa knowledge of agronomy, a properunderstanding of the parameters ofsukka construction cannot be hadwithout trigonometry. The VilnaGaon’s admonition – that to the extentthat one is ignorant in secular disci-plines, so will his comprehension ofTorah be impoverished – still stands. TheGaon himself mastered many disci-plines, and became known to theworld of mathematics for his author-ship of Kramer’s Theorem.

TWO PATHS, ONE GOAL

Indeed, because these branches ofknowledge are so integral to Torahlaw, Yaaros Devash states that it must


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be that they were transmitted with theTorah itself at Sinai. Time and the rig-ors of exile and persecution did theirwork, however, and the knowledge waslargely lost from tradition. The authen-tic advances of modern science repre-sent a recovery of that which was oncepart and parcel of Torah wisdom.

Nevertheless, as is quite obvious, thepursuit of science certainly does not nec-essarily lead to belief in Torah, or evenin the existence of G-d at all. It’s per-plexing. The Rambam (Hilchos YesodeiHaTorah 2,2) states that the path to rec-ognizing the Creator is through the con-templation of nature. How can it be,then, that so many scientists, who havedevoted their entire lives to studying thephysical world, whose intimacy with thewonders of the Creator far surpass thatof the average person, seem neverthe-less unmoved to any religious belief?

At the very beginning of the BaalHaTurim’s commentary to Bereishis, hequotes the Midrash Rabba: “For this rea-son, [the Torah] began with a ‘Beis’ andnot an ‘Aleph,’ because Beis is a language

of blessing [baruch], and Aleph is a lan-guage of cursing [arur]. Said the HolyOne, Blessed is He, I will begin with aBais, with the language of blessing, andperhaps it will stand” (ChagigaYerushalmi 2:1).

The question is asked: In ParshasYisro, the Ten Commandments beginwith the letter Aleph (“Anochi HaShemElokecha...”). Why is it that the creationmust commence with a letter of bless-ing, whereas the giving of the Torah canstart with a letter associated withcursing?

Rabbi Zev Leff has suggested that theanswer lies in a proper understandingof the abovementioned statement of theRambam. The Rambam did not meanthat the two paths to G-d are equal. True,nature can inspire a person to the loveof G-d; but Torah study is the preferredpath. For Torah contains the explicitteachings of G-d’s existence and His laws;the physical world, on the other hand,speaks primarily to those who arelooking for G-d. It is usually only theywho hear the song of praise to the

Creator in every living thing. Those whowish to ignore it will find explanationsfor natural phenomena in evolution anda host of other natural forces. It is forthat reason that the story of creation hadto begin with a Beis; the language ofblessing was necessary to counter the ten-dency to view nature as a power inde-pendent of any Divinity. The TenCommandments, on the other hand,which on their own proclaim the exis-tence of G-d, did not require it. So there,the starting point and encapsulation ofall Torah could begin with the first let-ter of the Aleph-Beis.

It is little wonder, then, that scientistsare not flocking to religion. They per-ceive in the physical universe what theywish to perceive, what they are trainedto perceive. Even the discovery that thejunk in the genetic code was only in theeye of the beholder is not likely to shakethe underlying assumptions of theaverage scientist. But for those of us whobehold the signature of G-d in the won-ders of nature, these latest discoveriesshould be a source of inspiration. ■



INSIGHTS AND IMPRESSIONS Chaya Rivkah Jessel h”i

A Cold, Rainy Morning in Bnei Brak

“Iknew I shouldn’t have told mymother that I was going to see aRebbetzin for advice. She would

never understand. How could she? Ishould rather have told her about myshopping spree.”

So said one of the eight women sit-ting in the anteroom-cum-porch wait-ing to meet Rebbetzin Kanievsky, the wifeof the great sage, Rabbi ChaimKanievsky a”jyls. A friend of mine hadconvinced me the day before that weneeded a spiritual overhaul, and that get-ting a beracha from the Rebbetzin woulddo the trick. We set out the followingmorning in very inclement weather —bitingly cold wind and sporadic, heavyrain — on a bus to Bnei Brak.Thankfully, I had made sure to bundleup my one-year-old son, because our waitwould be long and frosty. I had never metthe Rebbetzin — I had heard of herchessed and her tefilla; and, having beenon the receiving end of her prayers whenmy newborn son was admitted to inten-sive care, I felt duty-bound to person-ally thank her for her part in the Divineplan. However, I had no idea what toexpect.

We had pre-arranged with a local res-

ident to write our names on the list earlyin the morning, as our hour-long jour-ney precluded our arriving there in timeto ensure an audience. We entered thetiny enclosed porch, every availablespace occupied by a chair, and checkedto see where our names were on the list.Oh, no. We were numbers 10-12, andnumber one was still inside. We only hadtwo hours to spare; if we missed the 12o’clock bus, we’d be late picking up ourkids from kindergarten. And so begana two-hour journey of the spirit, whereour characters were constantly chal-lenged.

The first glitch became apparentwhen a rather stern woman informedeveryone in the room that she was num-ber ten on the list. My friend very polite-ly said that our names occupied placesten through twelve.“Well, I’ve been wait-ing here all morning. I was here beforeyou, and I’m going in when it’s my turn.”

It was useless to reply that althoughwe had indeed arrived after her, ournames had been filled in much earlierthat morning. She in fact was there first.

Then a woman arrived and asked to“just go in and get a beracha.” She prom-ised to only take five minutes. Half anhour later, and she was still inside.Apparently the Rebbetzin decided to keepher there longer than she had anticipated.So be it. But how were we going to makethat bus? It was so tempting to fall intothe routine response of ill-judging oth-ers…. Perhaps [most certainly!], the veryholiness of the room, the house, the per-sonage, prevented us from erring in this

way. Instead, we worked on ways to giveher the benefit of the doubt – I said thatmost likely someone had entered this verywaiting area and asked permission topush ahead of those in line in order tohave the Rebbetzin intercede when mybaby’s condition had become critical.Who was I, then, to begrudge this womanher time in getting a beracha? Who knewwhat burden she needed to offload andwhat Heavenly assistance she requiredto get through the day?

Becoming One With the Message

Afew minutes later, and a regularturned up and entered the roomwithout her name being on the

list. Something else was going on here,and we, with our Western, one-dimen-sional mindsets, could not fathom thenuances of the rules and regulations ofthis otherworldly realm. There was anorder, but one we were too far removedfrom to appreciate. It could just be thatfrom the Divine perspective, we had towait, and that obviously those other peo-ple were ahead of us, even though theirnames were “missing” from the list.

I tried to put a positive spin on thingswith comments such as,“Well, even if wedon’t get to go in this time, the wait inthis room and the spiritual work we’redoing here is obviously worth it.” Funnyenough, the more I said this, the more Igradually became one with the message— yes, it was worth it, struggling with mylower self, in the cold, with a wriggling,curious baby, and the minutes ticking by.

Chaya Rivkah Jessel of Moshav Matityahu wasniftar on 12 Teves. In this article, written beforeher illness, she describes her first visit toRebbetzin Kanievsky. Later, during the short threemonths of her illness, which included two moreencounters with the Rebbetzin, Mrs. Jessel foundthe memory and influence of these visits anextraordinary source of strength and inspiration.


I tried to envisage the Rebbetzin: Wasshe rather stern and somewhatremoved from the sometimes-pettygrievances brought before her? Whatcould she possibly have in commonwith the average petitioner? She, whohad absorbed, from her earliest years,the grace and fortitude of her illustriousfamily and in-laws*. She, who had madedo with so little for so long, could sheunderstand our pampered existencethat rolls with cars, cell phones, andmodern conveniences? And then, in mycase, would she be able to connect withme, a ba’alas teshuva with rudimentaryHebrew, scant yichus, and a host ofpost-modern issues and concerns?

11:30. I looked at my watch and thenat the women in the room. Still fourmore women ahead of us, and whoknew just how many other “regular”visitors? We had to leave by noon. I keptsaying that the wait was worth it, andeach time I internalized the message,I could feel the tension draining awayfrom my shoulders. Finally, at a quar-ter to twelve, it’s our turn. My friendgoes in. I turn to my other friend andwe try and visualize what is happen-ing in there. I spoke more to myselfthan to her when I murmured that Iwill probably not get what I’m askingfor, but most definitely what I need. Imean, she’s not a psychiatrist or any-thing, but still….

My Turn at Last!

Eleven fifty. My turn! I wheel inthe stroller, the Rebbetzin is sit-ting on a swivel chair facing the

wall. She seems small and frail, a ker-chief covering a dark brown sheitel. Andthen she turns around, and I am toomoved to speak. Her face. What radi-ance. What a smile. What a welcome.All my questions and worries anddoubts about her ability to hear me dis-sipate as she plays gently with my baby.

I introduce myself and my little mir-acle. She makes much of him, clappingher hands in genuine glee when shehears that he has had, baruch Hashem,a full recovery.

I then briefly outline the three areasI need help with. Regarding the first,she recommends reading IggeresHaRamban every day, and proceeds togive me a copy of the famous letterin Hebrew. She then encourages meto say the prayer “Nishmas” whenthings have improved. And for ageneral tool of tikkun hamiddos(character improvement), she ends bysuggesting learning two laws ofshemiras halashon (guarding ones’tongue from slander) every day.

Realizing that my time is up, I askhesitantly if this is indeed a programof tikkun hamiddos, “just” reading theRamban’s letter. It sounds too easy.Don’t I need to fast and wear sackcloth?What about a speechfast? She laughs.A beautiful laugh full of confidence inthe healing properties of speaking gen-tly to all people. “That’s all you need.”

Before I leave, I hand her a list of ournames to add to her prayer list. Shestands up and pulls me to her and kiss-es me on the cheek. She probably doesthat to all her female supplicants — andI’m sure they all felt as I did, that shereally cares “about me.”

Carrying the Rebbetzin With Me

We run to the bus, fold up thestroller, clamber inside, paythe fares, sit down, and still

we’re not quite present. A part of us isstill lingering in that room, and for theduration of the ride home, we try andrecapture the feeling by talking aboutour five-minute visits. I was not sur-prised to hear that my friend was alsoadvised to read the Ramban’s letter. Itmade sense. Even though she and I havedifferent needs and temperaments, thespiritual impact of controlling one’stongue and temper is so great that our“cure” is the same.

I sighed that I wished I could carrythe Rebbetzin with me, since being inher presence was so healing. That’s whenI realized that I do have her with me —all I have to do is think of her smile, andI’m back in the safety and warmth ofher embrace. ■

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of Jerusalem, leading authority in halacha; hermother is the daughter of Rabbi Aryeh Levinel”xz, “tzaddik of Yerushalayim.” Her husband isthe son of the late Steipler Gaon and of the sis-ter of the Chazon Ish hcrbl Mnvrcz!

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Interaction with Representatives of Other Faiths

We may endeavor to leadTorah-guided lives within thesanctuaries of our batei

midrash, protected from influences of aspiritually hostile world. Then, when westep forth into broader society for anynumber of reasons – pursuing a liveli-hood, making purchases, searching forinformation, seeking help or medicalattention – we do so taking our beismidrash sensitivities and perspectives withus. We are People of the Book in everysense of the word.

Sometimes, we must venture farbeyond beis midrash parameters, intoareas that are in conflict with ourbeliefs. For example, throughout our his-tory, we – individually or communally– have had encounters with leaders ofnon-Jewish religions. When doing so, wehave invariably sought to conduct our-selves with courtesy, deference and dig-nity, while honoring strict lines ofdemarcation. To this day, for example,Agudath Israel and Catholic leaders talkto each other with respect, but our com-munications traverse an immovablebarrier. We are we, and they are they.

Our political agendas may give uscommon cause with them in such areasas government aid to non-public edu-cation, and opposition to “gay rights” orabortion on demand, so in regard to suchissues, we often work cooperatively. Butreligious convictions and identitiesremain separate, distinct. There weretimes when our rabbinical and layleaders set out to plead their case withspokesmen of other faith groups in theclassic role of shtadlonim – representa-tives of our people, speaking on its behalf.In so doing, never – except in cases ofgovernmental coercion – have weengaged in theological discussions,comparing forms of worship and belief,or ecumenism. We have not ever entered

their houses of worship, nor have weinvited them to join us in ours.

What, then, are we to make of a storyin The New York Times that is headlined:“Talmudic Scholars Look Up and FindCardinals Among the Rabbis”? (January20, ’04). The story continues:

“In a study hall filled with the hub-bub of Talmudic debate, the menwearing scarlet sashes and large cross-es made their way between tables, some-times sitting to chat with the youngscholars, sometimes marveling at theintensity of study.

“A delegation of Roman Catholiccardinals from the United States andabroad visited Yeshiva University, tak-ing a first-hand look at a bastion ofAmerican Jewish Orthodoxy whileon a two-day visit to strengthenJewish-Catholic ties.”This particular visitation was part of

a larger conclave, described in TheJewish Week (Jan. 23, ’04) as “a gather-ing this week of leading rabbis and someof the world’s most influential Catholiccardinals.

“[This was] a conference con-vened… at the Museum of JewishHeritage in downtown Manhattan ina glass-walled room overlooking NewYork Harbor. Dressed in their full reli-gious regalia of red-buttoned blackrobes, bright red sashes, large crossesand red …[skull caps], a dozen cardi-nals – some rumored to be leading con-tenders to be the next pope – and asmany rabbis each delivered papers overthe course of the gathering on Mondayand Tuesday. Many of the presentationswere scholarly explications of theJewish and Christian Bibles and of therespective religious perspectives oninterfaith dialogue.”The Forward (Jan. 23 ’04) published

a more detailed account of the pro-ceedings:

“The unofficial title of the sympo-sium was ‘The First Among the

Commandments.’ Most of the cardinalsdelivered religious papers on the com-mandments to love G-d and one’sneighbor that quoted heavily from theHebrew Bible and the New Testament.Participants said that because therewere no exchanges of views beyond theprepared papers, it did not formallyqualify as theological dialogue. Still, itskirted close – dangerously so in onerabbi’s view – to such debates.”

Some Troubling Questions

While positive results maywell emerge from the face-to-face encounters between

rabbis and bishops, theological dis-cussions serve no purpose. Our faithsdiffer on matters so fundamental,that dialogue is not only pointless, itis counterproductive. On what basis,then, did Orthodox rabbis engage ininterfaith dialogue – or even dialogueabout dialogue – with princes of theChurch? There has been unanimity inthe ranks of Orthodoxy about eschew-ing such dialogue for generations! Noless a spokesman for ModernOrthodoxy than Rabbi Joseph B.Soloveitchik l”xz made it unequivocallyclear that there are absolutely nogrounds for interfaith dialogue. Oneneed not search far to demonstrate thetraps inherent to such exchanges, andnote how the lines of distinction, whichhave preserved us for generations, canbecome blurred.

And then the impression conveyedby that yeshiva visitation: Among theguests who “made their way betweenthe tables, sometimes sitting to chatwith the young scholars” was Jean-Marie Lustiger, Cardinal of Paris. Borna Jew, he dropped his given name“Ahron Dov” when – after beingentrusted to non-Jews by his parents– he converted to Catholicism at ayoung age, just after World War II. One


Of Venues and Agendas

of the students of this institution ofhigher learning offered the followingin the school newspaper: “Though hechose to convert to Catholicism at thetender age of thirteen, the Archbishophas consistently refused to shake hisJewish heritage. His mother was killedat Auschwitz in 1943 and to this day,he recites Kaddish for her.” By sayingKaddish, this prince of the CatholicChurch has “refused to shake hisJewish heritage”!? Have we so thor-oughly assimilated the fashionablemantra of inclusiveness that we can

embrace a cardinal as one of our own? True, high on our agenda of programs

and activities is promotion of fosteringshalom – peace and positive relationshipswith other groups – but never has thisgoal called for concessions in standardsof conduct or surrender of basic con-victions.

Defining “Kiddush Hashem”

The hosts of the event and its stu-dent reporters bandied about thewords “Kiddush Hashem” in

describing the reception the cardinalsreportedly received in the beis midrashand their enthusiastic response towhat they had witnessed there. In ournational memory, that phrase hasbeen associated with a wide range ofconduct that exemplifies the higheststandard of Torah honesty and integri-ty. At its noblest, it refers to those whochoose death or torture rather thanyield to inducements to water down orabandon their faith, regardless of theconsequences they might suffer, or theinducements they may be offered.Surely the sacred memories of ournation’s martyrs are violated by use ofthese hallowed words in this particu-lar context.

True, it is tempting to bask in theapproving limelight of the liberalmedia that rate religious Jews on thebasis of how willing they are to com-promise their principles in favor of “tol-erance.” And for Jewish leaders whosincerely wish to gain support forimportant causes – especially in thesetimes of growing anti-Semitism –such a meeting may seem to representa significant coup. But leadershiprequires judgment and equilibrium. Wefear that these may have been over-whelmed when Kiddush Hashem wasre-defined. ■


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There were Jews who seemedsomehow gratified by the phe-nomenon it described. But the

January 14 front-page Wall StreetJournal article entitled “You Don’t Haveto Be Jewish to Want a Bar Mitzva Party”made many others among us wince.

The article provided just what itsheadline threatened: an account of hownon-Jewish children have begun pesteringtheir parents for celebrations thatresemble those held for their Jewishfriends’ bar- or bas-mitzvas. Needless tosay, it wasn’t the spiritual aspect of theevents for which the youngsters pined.

“The kids who had great bar mitzvaparties were elevated socially,” oneCatholic mother was quoted in expla-nation of why her daughter’s coming ofage was celebrated at a beachfront ban-quet hall – with a Hawaiian surfingtheme.

Another faux-mitzvah bash, thepaper reported, “cost $75,000 andincluded a tent with chandeliers, DJs anddancers.”

The optimistic spin was spun by theexecutive vice president of the Board ofRabbis of Southern California, who con-tended that the proliferation of suchastonishing excess shows “how much the

Jewish people and Jewish customs havebecome mainstream.”

To those of us, though, who perceiveself-centered immoderation as diamet-ric to the very meaning of the phrase bar-mitzva, the emulation of some Jews’indulgences by broader society showsinstead how the example we set can, sadly,sometimes be more of a blight than alight unto the nations.

Excess among Jews, of course, is notlimited to particular parts of theAmerican Jewish community. Even thechareidi community is not devoid ofexamples of self-focused intemperance.That is why our Torah leaders have longdecried the materialism they haveobserved creeping into our communi-ty, and why a number of them saw fitnot long ago to issue guidelines for thesize and elaborateness of weddings, whichthey regard as having become more spec-tacle than spiritual.

Thankfully, though, there areyoung Jews whose awareness ofwhat Torah is leads them to

make selfless rather than self-centeredchoices, who are quiet but profoundexamples of what others should emulate.

The development of Jews with altru-istic Jewish sensibilities is empowered byconscientious, committed Jewish parentsand responsible Jewish schools. Because

permeating so much of Jewish living andlearning is the idea that life is not aboutindulgence, but dedication; not about get-ting, but rather about sacrificing – forothers, for ideals, for Hashem.

A mere two days after the Wall StreetJournal article appeared, readers – albeitof a less widely-read periodical –wereshown a very different sort of exampleset by a young Jew on the cusp of Jewishadulthood. It appeared in Hamodia,which recently went from a weekly to adaily. In its January 16 edition, the paperoffered a guest column written by oneChavi Friedman, six months shy of hertwelfth birthday.

It was a first-person account of MissFriedman having been awoken in the weehours of the morning by her crying babysister, with whom she apparently sharesa room. Should she bring the infant to hermother? the writer wonders. “No,” shedecides, “it wouldn’t do to wake up thewhole house.”

Instead, despite the toll she knowsit will take on her school day, shedecides to try to lull her sister back tosleep. As she “grouchily stares” into thebaby’s eyes, she remembers what hergreat-grandmother and her great-great aunt, survivors of a Nazi con-centration camp, recounted to her. Eachday in the camps, her grandmother’ssister, knowing that inmates whoappeared more emaciated than otherswere candidates for execution, wouldsurreptitiously share part of her ownration of moldy bread with her slim-mer sister.

In the camps, Chavi reminds herself,“food was life.” And so she chides her-self that “if my aunt could give a awaya piece of her life each day, how can Inot give a few minutes of sleep to my sis-ter each day?”

“I look at my tiny sister,”her essay con-cludes. “Her eyes are closed, a contentlook is spread across her sweet little face.It’s 5:40. Not bad. I lovingly hug my lit-tle sister and put her back into her crib.Then I go back to sleep.”

Miss Friedman’s essay is entitled“Sacrifices.”

This one, equally aptly, is entitled“Examples.” ■

Rabbi Shafran serves as Agudath Israel ofAmerica’s Director of Public Affairs and as theAmerican director of Am Echad.

Rabbi Avi Shafran

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