14 Comments
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Jerry Steinfeld's avatar

Not sure why this has to be a bash. It's obsessive and weird. Whatever.

Here's my take, along with many others: Shai is a true gadol and so is Agam. And I'm charedi.

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Gili Houpt's avatar

Yes and yes! But don't let word get out that you had a meal with the gedolim ;)

And refua shleima from the food poisoning. It seems to happen more frequently on Pesach. Maybe time for a rationalist post about that

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Todd Shandelman's avatar

It seems you had to title your post, "The גדולים and גדולות Among Us."

The latter are definitely out there. As you have so convincingly demonstrated.

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Saul Katz's avatar

Your comment "that the meal you had, you would remember for a long time". Reminds me of the time we went to Manchester and were staying at the Foyders hotel. The Israeli Lady taxi driver when we told her where we are going, told us somrthing we were surprised - you will remember this hotel for a long time. She was right we stayed at hundreds of hotels in our lives, but have hardly a memory of but we can never forget this one.

Sweet ,nice people but for an American this will stay with your memory

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Peter Gimpel's avatar

BS"D

And why?

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Todd Shandelman's avatar

Thanks for quoting the פלא יועץ.

It's an amazing piece of advice.

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David sommer's avatar

well said. Agam, as well as all the IDF soldiers, are the true gedolim of this world. more credit should be given to them

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Nachum's avatar

Shai Graucher will be lighting a torch on Yom HaAtzmaut.

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Liba's avatar

In July of 2024 I saw the mothers of Agam and Omer Shem Tov speak. I wrote about it on Substack , before it was trendy to cite Agam Berger. These parents and many others were influenced by Kesher Yehudi (in fact this is the organization which brought them to speak), as well as Ayelet HaShachar. Both of these are Chareidi organizations which have provided support and encouragement. They brought the families of hostages to Kever Rachel, to kvarim in the North, and to trips for “chizuk” to kvarim in chutz l”Aretz. These organizations started a kollel in hostage square. They introduced families to the idea of Shabbat and prayer, which were life-savers in times of unbearable suffering. Yes, Chareidi organization.

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Saul Katz's avatar

"Similarly they said that even the “empty ones” of Israel are as fully of mitzvot as a pomegranate is full of seeds"

So Rav Dov Landou has a chelek in olam haba, just like anyone else Jewish.

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Alan, aka DudeInMinnetonka's avatar

The quote of one who has saved the life it's as if they saved the world is my Jewish parachute safety net

I'm running with the theory that the three human lives that I saved were Jewish therefore all of my shrugging of my duties is covered and then I refer to the rabbis in the camps who put God on trial and found him guilty as for the reinforcement of it will be fine doing what I'm doing... What a wonderful wacky tribe we are

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Nachum's avatar

The whole point of that story is that immediately after finding God "guilty" someone klops on the table and gheh begin davening Maariv. No one shrugs anything.

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Yaacov Bar-Chaiim's avatar

THIS one was clear and straight, without jabs, hyperbole self aggrandizement.

Yeishar koiakh. A gut Moed, to Gedoilim and katanim : )

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David Ilan's avatar

Seems we have our own Passover plagues….

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