Excellent letter but I would urge you to take a leaf out of JK Rowling's book and submit it under a pseudonym....and see if they publish it for it's merits rather than ignore it due to your name
We should emphasize to the Charedim the notion of individual responsibility. Perhaps when Charedim read your arguments, some of them tell themselves "he has a point, but as long as I obey the Gedolim, I'm safe". We have to tell them that is not true. Each person is responsible for his own actions and decisions. Each person has free will. Isn't that the message of Passover? G-d took us out of Egypt so that we will be His direct servants, and not slaves to slaves. The individual responsibility includes trying to understand by oneself what the Torah is trying to tell us. If the Gedolim do not have satisfactory answers to Torah arguments -- אין סומכין על הנס, מלחמת מצווה, האחיכם יבואו למלחמה ואתם תשבו פה, וכו' -- then we have to decide by ourselves what to do.
Article in Hebrew on the yeshivot lenoshrim. They have lots of tiyulim and outings together. There are 3 shiurim per day, talmidim are expected to attend one per day. Maybe. There's a pool table.
How is this a framework for normal adults, let alone anything like serious learning? It looks like a recreational program for the mentally handicapped. Over 8,000 "boys" are enrolled in 132 such "yeshivot".
As the mother of 4 miluim (reserve) combat soldiers who were called up after October 7th, some of whom will be returning to combat right after Pesach, I was terribly disturbed by the interview in Mishpacha Magazine with Rabbi Yitzchok Berkovits of Aish HaTorah [https://mishpacha.com/pillars-imperiled-we-still-need-miracles/], defending the draft exemption for Yeshiva students.
I live in a Religious Zionist community in central Israel, and in our Shul alone, tens of our husbands, sons, and daughters (and a few wives and mothers) were called to duty immediately after October 7th. Some almost missed their own weddings. Two families lost beloved sons/grandsons, and several of the shul's soldiers were injured. Some returned to combat; others will never be OK.
Aish tries to always give the impression of Judaism being young, cool, and hip. Your website provides a mission statement stressing innovation, unity, the "wow factor" [your words], and the beauty of Torah. Your website highlights several soldiers, including a piece about Aner Schapiro z'l under a big fundraising banner [https://aish.com/aner-shapiro-an-israeli-hero/].
I wonder if your donors have any idea that the outreach they are supporting is that of a Hashkafa that is non-Zionist ("We view the government as something of a glorified vaad bayit, like the legal entity in charge of running apartment buildings here, which collects fees to maintain the collective building", in Rabbi Berkovitz's words), and against drafting of Hareidi Yeshiva students (while Rabbi Berkovitz's descriptions of Hesder were dismissive and inaccurate).
In a few weeks, we will read in Parashat BeHar the prohibition of אונאת דברים. The leadership of Aish is obviously free to determine the Hashkafa of their own organization. However, while the Aish website promotes an elegant, contemporary, and glitsy brand of Judaism, the underlying Hareidi Hashkafa, especially as manifested by its non-Zionism, is hidden from the view of donors and potential students.
These is the same old haredi/secular leftist distortion of religious Zionism. I assume they are trying to draw a false comparison with "blood and soil" nationalism. Even though RZ, as opposed to haredim (especially Ashkenazi) and the secular left have always been more inclusive of עדות המזרח and converts.
Why would Mishpacha ask Berkowitz about RZ as either a sociological phenomenon or a philosophy unless they were fishing for just such an answer?
"...the charedi community regards his Torah, his spiritual growth, and his life, as being worth less than theirs." You should have stopped at "worthless" and left out "than theirs".
Excellent letter but I would urge you to take a leaf out of JK Rowling's book and submit it under a pseudonym....and see if they publish it for it's merits rather than ignore it due to your name
We should emphasize to the Charedim the notion of individual responsibility. Perhaps when Charedim read your arguments, some of them tell themselves "he has a point, but as long as I obey the Gedolim, I'm safe". We have to tell them that is not true. Each person is responsible for his own actions and decisions. Each person has free will. Isn't that the message of Passover? G-d took us out of Egypt so that we will be His direct servants, and not slaves to slaves. The individual responsibility includes trying to understand by oneself what the Torah is trying to tell us. If the Gedolim do not have satisfactory answers to Torah arguments -- אין סומכין על הנס, מלחמת מצווה, האחיכם יבואו למלחמה ואתם תשבו פה, וכו' -- then we have to decide by ourselves what to do.
https://www.makorrishon.co.il/judaism/751646/
Article in Hebrew on the yeshivot lenoshrim. They have lots of tiyulim and outings together. There are 3 shiurim per day, talmidim are expected to attend one per day. Maybe. There's a pool table.
How is this a framework for normal adults, let alone anything like serious learning? It looks like a recreational program for the mentally handicapped. Over 8,000 "boys" are enrolled in 132 such "yeshivot".
I Just sent the following email to Aish:
As the mother of 4 miluim (reserve) combat soldiers who were called up after October 7th, some of whom will be returning to combat right after Pesach, I was terribly disturbed by the interview in Mishpacha Magazine with Rabbi Yitzchok Berkovits of Aish HaTorah [https://mishpacha.com/pillars-imperiled-we-still-need-miracles/], defending the draft exemption for Yeshiva students.
I live in a Religious Zionist community in central Israel, and in our Shul alone, tens of our husbands, sons, and daughters (and a few wives and mothers) were called to duty immediately after October 7th. Some almost missed their own weddings. Two families lost beloved sons/grandsons, and several of the shul's soldiers were injured. Some returned to combat; others will never be OK.
Aish tries to always give the impression of Judaism being young, cool, and hip. Your website provides a mission statement stressing innovation, unity, the "wow factor" [your words], and the beauty of Torah. Your website highlights several soldiers, including a piece about Aner Schapiro z'l under a big fundraising banner [https://aish.com/aner-shapiro-an-israeli-hero/].
I wonder if your donors have any idea that the outreach they are supporting is that of a Hashkafa that is non-Zionist ("We view the government as something of a glorified vaad bayit, like the legal entity in charge of running apartment buildings here, which collects fees to maintain the collective building", in Rabbi Berkovitz's words), and against drafting of Hareidi Yeshiva students (while Rabbi Berkovitz's descriptions of Hesder were dismissive and inaccurate).
In a few weeks, we will read in Parashat BeHar the prohibition of אונאת דברים. The leadership of Aish is obviously free to determine the Hashkafa of their own organization. However, while the Aish website promotes an elegant, contemporary, and glitsy brand of Judaism, the underlying Hareidi Hashkafa, especially as manifested by its non-Zionism, is hidden from the view of donors and potential students.
Respectfully yours,
....
"The absolute normative position in traditional Judaism is ain somchin al ha-nes, one does not rely on miracles."
Can someone explain why someone who disagrees is still considered orthodox?
These is the same old haredi/secular leftist distortion of religious Zionism. I assume they are trying to draw a false comparison with "blood and soil" nationalism. Even though RZ, as opposed to haredim (especially Ashkenazi) and the secular left have always been more inclusive of עדות המזרח and converts.
Why would Mishpacha ask Berkowitz about RZ as either a sociological phenomenon or a philosophy unless they were fishing for just such an answer?
"...the charedi community regards his Torah, his spiritual growth, and his life, as being worth less than theirs." You should have stopped at "worthless" and left out "than theirs".