Judge Caprio, may he rest in peace

 

Rabbi Avigdor Miller on false Judaism, from Sing You Righteous

 44. A. What kind of Judaism are you urging?

G. There is but one kind. Reform and Conservative “Judaism” are not Judaism, and Zionism is the opposite of the Torah. In some ways, these are even further than Christianity from the truth.

45. A. How is that possible?

G. The Reformers are actually atheists. Not only do they disbelieve in a Torah given by G-d, but even G-d is to them merely a word which they use 1) to mimic the gentiles and 2) to appease their conscience. The “Conservatives” are also muddle-headed men who are Reformers, or opportunists who swim with the tide. Many are actually atheists, and thus are inferior to the idolaters and followers of the spurious religions. The Zionists claim no form of religion.

46 A. Does Zionism, or the State of Israel, present an ideology which could preserve Jewish identity?

G. Even if it did, this would be a purely artificial ideology and could not appeal to a rational and truth-seeking mind. What right do atheists have to claim a land, unless by force of arms? It is not an ideology but an organization, and it cannot logically demand allegiance. There is no reason, according to such an artificial ideology why Jews should not lose themselves among the gentiles by assimilation and that is why a number of their leaders took gentile wives. It is (a) logical result of this lack of rational foundation that so many of the Israeli-born youth leave the country and are lost among the nations. The State of Israel presents the greatest peril to Jewish existence in history.

47. A. How is that possible?

G. Never before were Jews under the power of such a group of Jewish atheists. The Yevsekzia (Jewish communists) in Russia combated Judaism and urged assimilation, and they ruined millions of souls. But the leaders of the State of Israel speak Hebrew and proclaim themselves the true Jews, and they declare that no belief in G-d and in a Torah is necessary to be a genuine Jew.

48. A. Then gentiles who settle in the State of Israel and support it are also to be considered as Jews. 

G. This is precisely what the Government of Israel is doing. To facilitate matters, they have arranged (by means of the “religious” Zionists) for easy conversion-procedures whereby non-Jews are certified as genuine Jews. Thus the world becomes flooded not only with Jewish atheists who speak Hebrew and are supremely confident in the genuine Jewishness, but also with an unlimited number of true gentiles who speak Hebrew and are certified as Jews by the Israeli government. What Haman and Titus could not do, the Israelis are attempting: the first could only attempt to destroy the physical existence of Israel, but the State of Israel is attempting to counterfeit the term Jew and to erase all boundaries between Jew and non-Jew. No true seeker is deceived by these men; it is only the self-seekers or those who seek to escape from the Torah who have any interest in Zionism or secular Hebraism. The assimilated Jew seeks a sedative for his conscience, and he therefore welcomes Zionism and Israel as an easy and meaningless substitute for true Judaism. 

Actually, the State of Israel solves nothing. All "problems" remain the same, and new ones are created. For example: 1) The Arabian lands have been rendered uninhabitable for Jews; 2) constant wars with neighbors must be waged, incurring huge military expenditures and loss of many lives, in addition to constant peril; 3) it has exacerbated Jew-hatred in the nations, due to Arab influence and also to embroilment with the foreign policy of the nations; 4) and the proponents of the State of Israel attempt to kindle a fire under the Jews in all lands in order to make their position untenable so that they emigrate to augment the population of the new State. (For example, Ben Gurion's statement in the N.Y. Times 4/22/1963. "Jews are in truth a separate element in the midst of the peoples among whom they live an element that cannot be completely absorbed by any nation. For this reason no nation can calmly tolerate it in its midst").

Rabbi Avigdor Miller,  Sing You Righteous, #44-48

inciting the public against the chareidim

 

הרב דב לנדאו הזכיר כמה נורא זה שאנשים עם כיפות סרוגות מסיתים את הציבור נגד החרדים בקריאתם לגייס ביכורים ואברכים לישיבה. הרב שטרנבוך השיב שככל שנדבר איתם פחות, כך זה בריא יותר. בנו של הרב שטרנבוך נזכר שכאשר הרב שטרנבוך היה ילד בלונדון, בנים יהודים למדו או בבית ספר לא יהודי או בבית ספר יהודי שנוהל על ידי המזרחי. הרב אלחנן וסרמן פסק שבנים יהודים צריכים להעדיף ללמוד בבית ספר לא יהודי. (הרב לנדאו התפעל מפסיקה זו).

Rav Dov Landau mentioned how terrible it was that people with knitted yarmulkas were inciting the public against the chareidim with their call to recruit yeshiva bochurim and avrechim.

Rav Sternbuch responded that the less we talk to them, the healthier it is. Rav Sternbuch’s son recalled that when Rav Sternbuch was a boy in London, Jewish boys attended either a non-Jewish school or a Jewish school run by the Mizrachi (“religious Zionists”). Rav Elchonon Wasserman ruled that Jewish boys should rather attend the non-Jewish school. (Rav Landau marveled at this ruling).

when the majority oppresses the minority

 A victorious majority will be the first to become unfaithful to its own cause. It has triumphed; it is, after all the majority. Its cause is now safe and secure. Its struggle is a matter of the past, and therefore can be ignored. Let minds and spirits now turn to new aspirations, new perceptions. The ancient truth for which that majority struggles so hard and whose victory had cost them so dearly now stands safe beneath the palladium of this very majority…And so the triumphant majority considers it sufficient to preserve, or if possible to increase, the numbers of its adherents. But the spiritual content of the triumphant truth is no longer cultivated; it is slowly forgotten. It will still survive as a resounding word as a name inscribed upon the banner of the majority; it will pass as a shallow watchword from generation to generation. But its core is empty, or in may instances is filled with ideas of a different character. (page 239)

However, precisely such complete dedication to its cause may easily lead the minority into intellectual one-sidedness. This may well stunt to a degree the development of the minority’s unique intellectual life. Furthermore, it may make that minority incapable of representing its cause effectively to the outside world. Thus, such one-sidedeness in a minority may do grave damage to the very cause that the minority seeks to preserve and to promote. The richer the minority’s cause, the more will the minority treasure it. But then it may easily come to regard all other knowledge in “outside” domains as unnecessary, or even as utterly worthless. It may reject all intellectual activity in any field outside its own as an offense against its own cause, as an inroad upon the devotion properly due to that cause and and infringement on its prerogatives.

Such a one-sided attitude does not stop at mere disregard for other intellectual endeavors. Once this attitude has taken hold in the Jewish minority, that minority will be unable to form a proper judgment and a true image of those intellectual pursuits which are not cultivated in its own ranks but pursued mainly by its opponents. Then, as a result of simple ignorance, the minority will begin to fear that which at first it merely neglected out of disdain. Consequently, the minority will begin to suspect the existence of an intrinsic close relationship between these “outside” intellectual pursuits and those principles to which the Jewish minority stands in opposition. (page 247)

R Hirsch Collected Writings Vol II

Pediatric doctor

“When I entered Gaza the Israeli military had a rule: I was only allowed to bring in three kilos of food. As I was weighing out protein bars, trying to get under the limit, I said to my husband: ‘How sinister is this?’ I’m a humanitarian aid worker. Why would there even be a limit on food? I’ve worked in many places with extreme hunger, but what’s so jarring in this context is how cruel it is, how deliberate. I was in Gaza for two months; there’s no way to describe the horror of what’s happening. And I say this as a pediatric ICU doctor who sees children die as part of my work. Among our own staff we have doctors and nurses who are trying to treat patients while hungry, exhausted. They’re living in tents. Some of them have lost fifteen, twenty members of their families. In the hospital there are kids maimed by airstrikes: missing arms, missing legs, third degree burns. Often there’s not enough pain medication. But the children are not screaming about the pain, they’re screaming: ‘I’m hungry! I’m hungry!” I hate to only focus on the kids, because nobody should be starving. But the kids, it just haunts you in a different way. When my two months were finished, I didn’t want to leave. It’s a feeling I haven’t experienced in nearly twenty years of humanitarian assignments. But I felt ashamed. Ashamed to leave my Palestinian colleagues, who were some of the most beautiful and compassionate people that I’ve ever met. I was ashamed as an American, as a human being, that we’ve been unable to stop something that is so clearly a genocide. I remember when our bus pulled out of the buffer zone. Out the window on one side I could see Rafah, which was nothing but rubble. On the other side was lush, green Israel. When we exited the gate, the first thing I saw was a group of Israeli soldiers, sitting at a table, eating lunch. I’ve never felt so nauseous seeing a table full of food.”

-------------------------------------------------------

Aqsa Durrani is a pediatric doctor and board member of Doctors Without Borders USA, with nearly twenty years of experience in humanitarian projects 

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“Compassion is the feeling of sympathy which the pain of one being awakens in another; and the higher and more human the beings are, the more keenly attuned they are to re-echo the note of suffering, which, like a voice from heaven, penetrates the heart, bringing all creatures a proof of their kinship in the universal God. And as for man, whose function it is to show respect and love for God's universe and all its creatures, his heart has been created so tender that it feels with the whole organic world bestowing sympathy even on beings devoid of feeling, mourning even for fading flowers; so that, if nothing else, the very nature of his heart must teach him that he is required above everything to feel himself the brother of all beings, and to recognize the claim of all beings to his love and his beneficence.” R' Samson R. Hirsch, Horeb,125

not just people but dogs are amazing

 

nobody knows it all

 Chess grandmasters can't answer basic questions:

Long before Oct. 7

4th grade children surprised their favourite cleaning lady

 https://x.com/i/status/1953924338761007200

Georgia woman forgives the man

 

NEW: Georgia woman forgives the man who took her husband’s life, embraces him in court as was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Regina Johnson and her husband Chuck Johnson were married for 50 years before his life was tragically taken.

Joseph Tillman was seen crying as he was sentenced for hom*cide by vehicle, DUI, and reckless driving. Johnson told Tillman that she forgives him and that God loves him. Tillman whispered back: “I'm so sorry. I am so sorry.” In response to the emotional moment, the judge said: “I don't think I've ever seen the wife of a victim hug the defendant where they k*lled somebody.”

Tillman was sentenced to 20 years with prison time suspended if he completes a two year inpatient rehab program, according to ABC 7.

https://x.com/i/status/1954276658694983715

Are you a Hirschian?

Article from Haaretz:

A new poll carried out by the Israel Democracy Institute showed that a vast majority of Israeli Jews – 79 percent – say they are "not so troubled" or "not troubled at all" by the reports of famine and suffering among the Palestinian population in Gaza. An almost exact mirror image appears among Israel's Arab public, where 86 percent said they are "very troubled" or "somewhat troubled."

This sad statistic is precisely what the government wants: How can Israelis be troubled by something they've either chosen not to believe, or aren't allowed to?

If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had his way, the Israel Democracy Institute would have been shut down for even having the temerity to ask people their opinion on such an "antisemitic blood libel."

It seems the government's highest priority is to silence those who dare to mention verified reports that Israel's months-long blockade on humanitarian aid has caused starvation in Gaza. The country is now vowing to punish artists who dared to sign a now-infamous petition against the war and Israel's policies of starvation. On Tuesday, the Knesset's coalition whip, Ofir Katz, said those "traitors" have "no place in the country," vowing to cut state funding to anything related to them. A Likud minister, May Golan, said the artists "stuck a knife in the backs of our soldiers."

At the same time, Israel is diplomatically fighting international allies that dare to raise the allegation of starvation. On Tuesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry reprimanded the Polish ambassador over what it called "unacceptable" statements made by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Tusk, on X, had reaffirmed Poland's support for Israel in its fight against Hamas but said it "will never be on the side of politicians whose actions lead to hunger and the death of mothers and children."

But not all Israelis are buying the government's influence operation against them, even though they know it may not be safe to do so. On Monday, a fundraiser in Tel Aviv by Israeli artists in support of Gazans was forced to change to a secret venue following concrete threats from right-wingers with accusations of "donating to the enemy." After a right-wing mob stormed a synagogue in central Israel that screened an Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony in April, no one is taking chances.

There are small signs that the unofficial censorship of suffering in Gaza may be beginning to crack. On Wednesday, a popular Tel Aviv club, Phi, put up a sign outside and posted a short message: "End the war now. Bring back the hostages. Stop the killing and starvation in Gaza." For few, it was welcome and overdue, drawing some praise online. But most comments were livid. One wrote, "Disgusting. I'll never set foot in your place again."

While a small number of people, mostly in Tel Aviv and some in Haifa and Jerusalem, are trying to act against starvation and war in Gaza, they remain under threat from those who actively deny it and a government that fosters that denial. [end of article]

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Are you a Hirschian? Where would you land in the survey?

“Compassion is the feeling of sympathy which the pain of one being awakens in another; and the higher and more human the beings are, the more keenly attuned they are to re-echo the note of suffering, which, like a voice from heaven, penetrates the heart, bringing all creatures a proof of their kinship in the universal God. And as for man, whose function it is to show respect and love for God's universe and all its creatures, his heart has been created so tender that it feels with the whole organic world bestowing sympathy even on beings devoid of feeling, mourning even for fading flowers; so that, if nothing else, the very nature of his heart must teach him that he is required above everything to feel himself the brother of all beings, and to recognize the claim of all beings to his love and his beneficence.” R' Samson R. Hirsch, Horeb,125

Mary Elmes

 In 1942, a Jewish boy and his family are trying to escape to Switzerland. They almost succeed, but the Nazis capture them. They are sent to Rivesaltes, a brutal camp in France. Then the boys are taken away from their parents. No notice is given. They are just gone.

Years pass. The boy matures but forgets some things. He recalls that there was a priest named Father Louis Bezard who put them in a sack and escorted them through a station. He recalls being brought up as a Catholic in Marssac. He recalls encountering his mother again. His father did not survive.

However, he has one recurring question. How did they manage to escape Rivesaltes?

Years later, he learns. A clerk in the records office tells him about Mary Elmes. She was there at the camp. She sneaked the boys into the trunk of her car and drove past Nazi guards. No reinforcements. No recognition. Just courage.

She assisted many children. Got in trouble. Served time. And then just faded into normal life. Never wanted credit.

She was recognized Righteous Among the Nations in 2013. First Irish individual ever.

https://www.quora.com

Shiur about our dual mission

 Here's a shiur by Rav Boruch Horovitz about Avraham starting the special mission of the Jews to be an elevated nation and to set an example for all of human kind. He elaborates here about our private mission and our mission to help the human race. 

and now David Grossman, one of Israel's most prominent authors

 

ROME - David Grossman, one of Israel's most prominent authors, told Italian daily La Repubblica he has decided to start using the word "genocide" to describe the situation in Gaza.

"For years, I refused to use the word 'genocide.' But now I can't hold back from using it, after what I've read in the newspapers, after the images I've seen and after talking to people who have been there", he said in the interview published in the paper's print edition on Friday.

Grossman said coming to the realization that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza was an extremely painful process on a personal level, but that he now found such conclusion inescapable.

"I want to speak as a person who has done everything he could to avoid having to call Israel a genocidal state. And now, with immense pain and a broken heart, I have to say that it is happening before my eyes. Genocide," he said.

In mid-July, an opinion piece titled "I'm a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It" in the New York Times by Professor Omer Bartov, an Israeli professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University, made the case for the use of the word genocide.

Ah, that explains it

So I'm in the supermarket buying food to break the fast and at the counter is a cashier who doesn't look like he's from these parts. He has a pony tail, piercings, a hipster light beard, and tattoos. I hesitated going to his counter for a moment because his look, in this religious neighborhood, shocked me a bit. I avoid non-religious Israelis because much of the time they are aggressive and impatient. Just the other day, the one at the package pickup truck that goes to a parking lot for just 2 hours a week shouted at me because I didn't say my name loudly enough. 

But this guy was nothing like that. Quite to the contrary, he seemed refined and conscientious in his dealings with the customers. "Is this yours too?" he asked in Hebrew. He made sure the groceries between customers didn't get mixed up as they often do since Israeli supermarkets don't offer those little portable dividers, and people don't wait for one another to finish. It's a big jumble. 

But he cared that everyone bought what they wanted to and not other people's stuff. He helped with the credit card machine when it failed to read people's cards. Usually, Israelis don't care, don't help. On a good day, they shrug their shoulders rather than snap in impatience. 

I thought to myself, "See, there are some nice ones. Of course, they are few, but they exist."

When my turn came, I needed to enter a code since the purchase was above 500 NIS. And I messed it up which means he'd have to touch something on his screen to make the amount appear again on my screen. Even though this young man had been pleasant with people, I feared that I was about to get yelled it because I have had so many experiences like that here.

And then it happened. Of course, of course. He spoke to me in perfect American English, figuring out somehow that I was an English speaker even though I hadn't spoken a word, maybe because I hadn't spoken a word. He said something like "Please try again." And I did and it worked, and he said, "Have a great day."

Instantly, I sized up the situation. Why was he here in this religious neighborhood? Most likely, he's an oleh, or a child of Anglo olim. He went to religious schools, and went off the derech. 

I feel confident saying that because I have met several like that in this town. You wonder, why are they working here. It's too far a commute from non-religious areas to work in a supermarket. 

It's because their parents live here. Maybe they just got out of the army and haven't set up an apartment yet in Tel Aviv. So they live home and work in the supermarket.

Two questions: 1) Why nearly always when an employee in a store is helpful and polite is he or she an Anglo, not an Israeli. (I witnessed this once in Meah She'arim of all places. 2) How can you bring your children to this country when so many leave the religion? I poskin that nobody of child bearing age is allowed to move to Israel. What? I'm not a posek. On this topic I am. 

Zionism has brought us to the lowest point in our history

Lt. Colonel Tony Aguilar on the food relief sham:

More:

Talking to Tucker:

 

Professor Mearsheimer on the Israelis in Gaza:

IDF soldiers mocking orphans:

Jewish podcasters talking about response of average Israeli to Gaza:

Soldier desiring to kill everyone because "they all are Hamas"

But there are Jews with a conscience:

Former PM:

Former dep. head of Mossad

last surviving delegate to the Continental Congress

 

A daguerrotype of John Armstrong Jr with his dog, 1840. Armstrong was the last surviving delegate to the Continental Congress, dying in 1843. He is the only delegate to have been photographed.