Rebbe Avraham Mordechai Gottlieb on Gaza

 

and another good yid:

Lee Elmer Handley

 

Lee Elmer Handley (July 13, 1913 – April 8, 1970) was an American professional baseball second baseman and third baseman.

Jackie Robinson named Handley, who played for the Phillies in 1947, as the first opposing player to wish him well,^[3] and stated that he even apologized for the behavior of his teammates, who were acting on instructions of Ben Chapman, their manager, who was racist.^[4]

Is Torah learning in Eretz Yisrael more valuable than Torah learning in Chutz La'aretz?

  Rav Avigdor Miller: Now, it's well known that the avirei Eretz Yisrael is machkim. However, you have to learn everything with perushim. If a person goes to Eretz Yisrael and doesn't learn, then the avirei Eretz Yisrael won't be machkim him. If he has the same opportunities there as here, then he'll succeed more over there. But if he has more opportunities here, he shouldn't go there.

Le'olam yadur adam bimkom rabbo. Man should always live where his rebbe is. Because Ezra never wanted to forsake Bavel as long as his Rebbe, Boruch ben Neriah was still in existence. And although Eretz Yisrael is waiting for him, Anshei Knesses Hagedolah, and binyan Beis Hamikdash, he didn't go. Because building yourself up is more important than building a Beis Hamikdash! Building yourself up. And he sat with his rebbe as long as his old rebbe was still alive. Only after Baruch ben Neriah passed away, then Ezra went to Eretz Yisrael.

And therefore, it's important not to make any mistakes. And people go to Eretz Yisrael just because of Eretz Yisrael. But to sacrifice opportunities that they have elsewhere, they have to ask and take counsel before they do anything like that.

I know cases where Gedolim said, "Do not go to Eretz Yisrael." Even Rav Yisrael Salanter, zichrono livracha, told people not to go. They have to understand where it is better for you in ruchniyus.

And therefore, a person shouldn't just pick himself up and go. He has to find out if that's a place where he's going to succeed in ruchniyus.

(September 1992)

not bound to or dependent on any particular place

 “The poles (of the Ark) shall remain in the rings of the ark. They shall not be removed from it.” (Exodus 25:15) 

“The constant presence of the בדים testifies that God’s Torah is not bound to or dependent on any particular place—testimony that is boldly underscored by the contrast between the Ark and the other furnishings of the Sanctuary, especially the Table and the Menorah, which do not have permanently attached בדים.” (The Hirsch Chumash, 2014, Exodus, 25:15 in the Hirsch Anthology, (New York, NY: Feldheim, 2017) p. 447).

Hirschian Humanism After the Holocaust: An Analysis of the Approach of Rabbi Shimon Schwab - Sefoirm

Hirschian Humanism After the Holocaust:

An Analysis of the Approach of Rabbi Shimon Schwab

By Rabbi Shmuel Lesher

In 1959, Rabbi Shimon Schwab[1] made a unique contribution to the way his community and others commemorate the Holocaust. Shortly after he joined the rabbinate of K’hal Adath Jeshurun in Washington Heights, Manhattan, R. Schwab was asked by R. Joseph Breuer[2] to compose a special Tisha B’av kinnah for their kehillah. Although it was originally written for the KAJ community, many other congregations have adopted the custom of reciting it on Tisha B’av.[3] To be sure, there have been others who authored kinnot to commemorate the Holocaust.[4] However, it appears that, especially in America, R. Schwab’s kinnah is perhaps one of the first written by a rabbinic figure to gain widespread popularity.

In addition to his innovative Holocaust kinnah, the events of the Holocaust played a significant role in how R. Schwab interpreted and perpetuated the Torah Im Derekh Eretz philosophy to which he was heir. According to R. Schwab, Torah Im Derekh Eretz was seen by R. Samson Raphael Hirsch as the ideal model. However, openness to secular culture has historically been the minority opinion among gedolei yisrael.[5]

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